Microsoft's Monopoly Abuse
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GitHub Users File a Class-Action Lawsuit Against Microsoft for Training an AI Tool With Their Code [Ed: Microsoft keeps breaking thje law in an attempt to injure the competition]
GitHub programmers have filed a class-action lawsuit against GitHub, its parent Microsoft, and its technology partner, OpenAI, for allegedly violating their open-source licenses and using their code to train Microsoft’s latest AI tool, called Copilot.
GitHub Copilot, which was launched in June, suggests code and functions to GitHub users in real time. Copilot is powered by Codex, an AI system that was created by OpenAI and licensed to Microsoft. According to OpenAI, Codex was trained on “millions of public repositories” and is “an instance of transformative fair use.” However, open-source programmers on GitHub disagree, claiming that Codex has violated their open-source licenses, which only allow non-commercial redistribution and modification of the code and often have restrictions including a requirement to preserve the name of the authors.
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European Union opens 'in-depth' investigation into Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard
As expected, the European Commission will carry out a full-scale investigation into Microsoft’s $69 billion bid to buy Activision Blizzard. Following a preliminary probe, the European Commission announced Tuesday (via Reuters) it believes the deal may “significantly reduce competition” in a handful of areas, including the PC and console gaming markets, as well as among cloud gaming services.
According to the Commission's antitrust officials, Microsoft has the potential economic incentive to prevent competitors from accessing Activision Blizzard’s “high-profile and highly successful games,” including new Call of Duty entries. The body notes it’s also concerned the deal could unfairly advantage Windows against competing PC operating systems. On the surface, that seems like a strange concern, but it’s worth pointing out that the success of devices like the Steam Deck has made Linux something of a viable gaming alternative to Windows.
With today’s announcement, the European Commission now has 90 working days to complete its probe, a timeline that means a decision would arrive on March 23rd, 2023 at the latest.
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Cory Doctorow Wants You to Fight Big Tech
In their new book, Chokepoint Capitalism: How Big Tech and Big Content Captured Creative Labor Markets and How We’ll Win Them Back (Beacon, 2022), Rebecca Giblin and Cory Doctorow explain how big market players squeeze creators and consumers through monopoly and monopsony — and outline a way to break free from their grasp.
Coauthor Cory Doctorow recently spoke to David Moscrop for Jacobin and discussed Chokepoint Capitalism, Doctorow’s anti-capitalist oeuvre, what chokepoint capitalism means for creators and consumers, its prevalence in the cultural industries, and how to fight against it.