Regulation Episodes

Legal and regulatory news and rumors for tech companies.
July 29, 2021

Thu. 07/29 – Vaccine Mandates For Big Tech?

Tech companies dip their toes into vaccine mandate waters. Facebook in so many words says Apple’s privacy changes are about to impact earnings. Will Didi take itself private again to please the Chinese government? Is Peacock doing better than I at least thought? And a crypto startup is sliding into…
July 26, 2021

Mon. 07/26 – What The Heck Is Happening In China?

Is the DOJ probing Tether for bank fraud? When might FaceID come to the Mac? What do leaked photos tell us about the next Surface Duo? And I will spend the entire second half of the show trying my best to explain the seeming tech apocalypse happening in China right now.
July 3, 2021

(SPC CST) The Facebook Antitrust Blowup With @Kantrowitz

Alex Kantrowitz of the Big Technology newsletter comes on to try to help us work out what happened with that Facebook Antitrust case blowup. Also, what does this mean for regulating other companies.
Guest: Alex Kantrowitz
June 16, 2021

Wed. 06/16 – A Nightmare FTC Chair For Big Tech?

Lina Khan has not only been confirmed as FTC commissioner, she’s also been named FTC chair. Waymo raises a big new round, which is soops interesting. Spotify joins the audio rooms sweepstakes. A Windows 11 build leaks. And forget Apple Stores, would you visit an actual Apple Health Clinic?
April 30, 2021

Fri. 04/30 – The EU Brings The Hammer Down On Apple

The EU does indeed charge Apple with antitrust violations. Roku has indeed followed through on its threats to YouTube TV. Will the Magic Keyboard actually work with the new iPad Pros or not? And of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.
April 27, 2021

Tue. 04/27 – EU To Charge Apple This Week?

Is the EU about to bring the hammer down on Apple? Are Apple M2 chips right around the corner? Spotify launches its Podcast Subscription offering, and it is an interesting contrast to Apple’s. A whole slew of new Fire Tablets from Amazon. Lyft exits the self-driving game. And we’re in a dark new wo…
April 5, 2021

Mon. 04/05 – SCOTUS Rules: APIs Not Copyrightable

The Supreme Court has ruled on APIs in a way that should make most developers happy. Though, the punted on the President blocking people on Twitter. LG is exiting the smartphone business. And we already knew half a billion people’s Facebook data was out in the wild, but now that we’ve SEEN it in th…
March 26, 2021

Fri. 03/26 – The House Tech Hearings Were… Whatever…

The House tech hearings were a nothing burger, but I’ll try to explain what that means for us. Apple is considering a more rugged Apple Watch. Slack is doing a Clubhouse clone and… stories. WeWork is back, with a SPAC. And of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors:EditorX.comThoughtWo…
March 9, 2021

Tue. 03/09 – An FTC Commissioner To Make Silicon Valley Cower?

Is Joe Biden about to name the architect of the current antitrust movement to a seat on the FTC? Are other bad actors swooping in to take advantage of the SolarWinds hack? Is Microsoft gonna play both sides of the fence with new Surface devices? And why popular YouTubers are suddenly building their…
March 5, 2021

Fri. 03/05 – Eyes Emoji On Tim Wu Joining The Biden Administration

Tim Wu joined the Biden administration and that sound you hear is a big collective gulp from Silicon Valley. A tweet undo button has been unearthed. Turntable.fm has resurfaced. New data suggests the death of silicon valley has been exaggerated. And of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sp…
Feb. 25, 2021

Thu. 02/25 – The Biden Administration Addressed The Chip Shortage

The Biden administration signs an executive order addressing the chip shortage. I’ll tell you why this is evolving into a big deal. Coinbase files its S-1 so we get to look under the hood of their business for the first time. Paramount+ reveals pricing and content details for the first time. And ti…
Feb. 19, 2021

Fri. 02/19 – UK Supreme Court Officially Smacks Down Uber

Uber has lost one of its most significant independent contractor battles, in this case, in the UK. The Android 12 Developer Preview is here. Office 2021 is coming. And of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors:AirMedCareNetwork.com/tech offer code: TECHTovala.com/ride Links:Uber los…
Feb. 10, 2021

Wed. 02/10 – TikTok Pardoned By Biden?

Maybe… the whole TikTok kabuki theater is at its endpoint. Salesforce thinks the whole concept of the “9-to-5 workday” is at its endpoint. More smoke around the Apple Goggles fire. Why you need to get hip to the concept of non-fungible tokens. And why cops have gotten hip to playing Sublime songs t…
Dec. 28, 2020

Mon. 12/28 – After Jack Ma, Is China Freezing Its Entire Tech Sector?

The Chinese Communist Party is throwing serious cold water on its entire tech sector by continuing to target Jack Ma. Did Elon Musk once try to sell Tesla to Apple? Drones are getting digital license plates, of a sort. And a look at the generation of search engine startups hoping to, you know, mayb…
Dec. 18, 2020

Fri. 12/18 – Chinese Drone Maker DJI Blacklisted By The US

Drone maker DJI is blacklisted by the commerce department. Group video comes to Echo devices. Twitter launches Spaces. Sony offers refunds for Cyberpunk 2077. Coinbase files to go public. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors:Masterworks.io, promocode RIDE to skip the waitlis…