allegations

Winsage
July 27, 2025
Microsoft introduced the Recall feature in Windows 11 about a year ago, which was intended to record and remember users' activities. The feature faced significant backlash over privacy concerns, leading to its retraction. Users were uncomfortable with the idea of Microsoft recording their actions, despite assurances that data processing would occur locally. The launch of Windows 10 in 2015 also faced criticism due to telemetry, which is the collection of anonymized data for monitoring software performance. This led to perceptions of surveillance and privacy infringement, prompting Microsoft to implement new privacy controls. By 2017, increased transparency and enhanced privacy features improved user reception. Despite the backlash, telemetry remains a standard practice in software development, and Microsoft has become more aware of privacy concerns, influencing user vigilance regarding data. As Windows 10 approaches its tenth anniversary on July 29, 2025, it highlights the heightened awareness of software privacy among users.
AppWizard
July 26, 2025
Racquel Couch, a 39-year-old woman from Kaysville, has been sentenced to a prison term ranging from six years to life for her involvement in the sexual abuse of a 13-year-old boy in 2020. Initially charged with multiple serious offenses, including four counts of child rape and one count of sodomy, she entered a guilty plea to a single count of aggravated sexual abuse of a child as part of a plea agreement. This agreement resulted in a continuous protective order for the victim and a lifetime requirement for Couch to register as a sex offender. The abuse occurred between January and March 2020, during which Couch allegedly took the boy to secluded locations and instructed him to keep the incidents secret. She also sent nude photographs and engaged in inappropriate texting with the victim. Although she initially denied the allegations, Couch later admitted to inappropriate touching and acknowledged her position of "special trust" and "undue influence" over the boy.
AppWizard
July 25, 2025
A coalition of five digital rights and privacy organizations has filed a complaint against Google under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), alleging that the company restricts user autonomy on Android devices by making it difficult to remove or disable pre-installed applications like Google Search, Chrome, and Maps. The complaint claims that Google, designated as a ‘gatekeeper’ under the DMA, fails to comply with legal obligations to allow users to uninstall default services easily. Users reportedly face hidden settings, complicated instructions, and misleading warnings when trying to disable Google apps, which the coalition argues are designed to keep users reliant on Google's services. The European Commission has received the complaint and will review it as part of its enforcement process for the DMA, which allows for fines up to 10% of a company's global annual revenue and mandates changes in business practices for compliance.
AppWizard
July 24, 2025
A coalition of six civil society organizations has filed an antitrust complaint against Alphabet in Europe, alleging violations of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). The complaint claims that Alphabet has not complied with DMA requirements that mandate tech "gatekeepers" to allow users to easily uninstall pre-installed applications. The organizations involved include ARTICLE 19, European Digital Rights, Free Software Foundation Europe, Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte, Homo Digitalis, and Vrijschrift.org. They argue that Google's Android operating system makes it difficult for users to remove pre-installed apps and that Alphabet discourages users from disabling these applications. The complaint requests an investigation by the European Commission into Alphabet's potential breach of the DMA. Alphabet has dismissed the allegations, stating that uninstalling apps on Android is easy and that similar complaints have been rejected by other regulatory bodies. The European Commission is currently assessing the complaint.
AppWizard
July 23, 2025
The Stop Killing Games movement has gathered 1.4 million signatures for its European Citizens' Initiative (ECI), which seeks to ensure that games can operate on customer systems after official support ends. If validated, the European Commission must consider the proposal. However, an anonymous complaint has been filed alleging "systemic concealment of major contributions" by the campaign's founder, Ross Scott, who reportedly has not disclosed significant professional contributions valued between €63,000 and €147,000. Scott argues that EU regulations do not require reporting of non-financial support from volunteers. The trade association Video Games Europe has expressed concerns that the initiative could hinder developers' creative choices. The petition deadline is July 31.
AppWizard
July 17, 2025
The former leadership team of Unknown Worlds has filed a lawsuit against Krafton, claiming that Krafton pressured them to delay the release of Subnautica 2 beyond its expected 2025 launch. The lawsuit alleges that Krafton intentionally delayed the game by withdrawing marketing materials and retracting commitments necessary for pre-launch preparations, aiming to avoid a 0 million payment owed to the founders and employees of Unknown Worlds. Following the acquisition, Krafton reportedly decided to push the game's launch to 2026 to retain revenue while avoiding the payment. Krafton responded by stating that its decisions were made to ensure the game's quality and to meet fan expectations, expressing disappointment over the lawsuit and affirming its commitment to defend its position in court.
AppWizard
July 10, 2025
Blue Archive launched on Steam after four years as a mobile exclusive, quickly gaining over 20,000 concurrent players and more than 10,000 reviews. A controversy arose when it was revealed that the developer organized an in-game event encouraging players to leave reviews on Steam, which violates Steamworks guidelines. Players were promised in-game rewards if the review count reached 10,000, but this event has since been removed. A user pointed out that developers are prohibited from manipulating the review system or soliciting reviews for rewards. Blue Archive is categorized as a tactical RPG with gacha elements, and following its release, Umamusume: Pretty Derby also achieved over 50,000 concurrent players on Steam.
AppWizard
July 9, 2025
Epic Games has settled its antitrust lawsuit against Samsung Electronics, dismissing allegations of collusion with Google to restrict rival app marketplaces on Android devices. The lawsuit, initiated in September, accused Samsung of working with Google to maintain its market dominance, particularly through Samsung's Auto Blocker feature, which was designed to prevent malicious software but also hindered downloads from competing app stores. The settlement removes Samsung from the broader antitrust case, leaving Google as the sole defendant on remaining claims. Both companies deny wrongdoing, with Google calling the lawsuit "meritless." The settlement comes ahead of Samsung's new Galaxy phone announcements and does not disclose specific terms. Epic's ongoing challenges with its mobile app store highlight the difficulties faced by alternative marketplace operators.
Tech Optimizer
July 7, 2025
Atlassian has migrated its database infrastructure to Amazon Web Services’ Aurora, transferring four million Postgres databases that support Jira implementations. The migration involved approximately 3,000 PostgreSQL servers across 13 AWS regions. The move aims to reduce costs, enhance reliability, and improve performance, upgrading the service level agreement from 99.95% uptime on RDS to 99.99% on Aurora. Samsung has postponed the completion of its chip manufacturing plant in Texas due to difficulties in securing customers. Infosys has advised its employees against exceeding nine hours and 15 minutes of work daily to combat burnout. Qantas has acknowledged a cyberattack affecting six million customers and will provide details on the incident's impact. Xerox has acquired Lexmark from Ninestar Corporation for .5 billion. India and Australia are collaborating on a research initiative to improve tracking of submarines and underwater vehicles. JPMorgan Chase has requested to terminate its custom top-level domains, ".CHASE" and ".JPMORGAN." China’s National Space Administration has released images of Earth and the Moon taken by its Tianwen 2 probe.
AppWizard
July 4, 2025
Minecraft YouTuber Skeppy, also known as Zak Ahmed, faced serious allegations of emotional abuse and grooming from two community members, Csyre and Kaiya. They shared their claims on social media, including detailed Google Docs with screenshots and personal narratives. Csyre described a tumultuous relationship with Skeppy from late 2023 to 2024, while Kaiya alleged inappropriate advances when she was 16, though many observers found a lack of substantial evidence for these claims. Both individuals later retracted their accusations, with Csyre stating her experiences were misinterpreted and Kaiya acknowledging the absence of evidence for criminal behavior. Skeppy has not publicly responded to the situation.
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