⏱Only on Etsy

Clash of the tech titans in court, and Basecamp messes up

Good morning everyone, and welcome to the first full week of May!

We do have some sad news though—this week will be the last week of 90 Second News. While we’ve enjoyed connecting with and bringing the news to you over the past six months, all good things must come to an end. Thanks for being a part of this journey with us—but don’t worry. When we decide what we’re doing next, we’ll let you all know. And if you’re worried about missing the news, we’ve got you covered. Over the course of the week we’ll direct you to some of our friends who do a great job! If you have any questions, comments, or anything else, let us know at team@90SecondNews.info

0:20- An Epic battle between tech titans

• The court case between Epic Games and Apple will begin today, with Epic Games accusing the App Store of being a monopoly and taking anti competitive commissions (up to 30% of revenue from in-app purchases). Naturally, Apple disputes these charges, stating that Epic and other developers enjoy a plethora of options, including console e-stores, Google’s App store, and PC stores such as Steam. The US District Judge in charge of the case, Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, told the court last week, “This is going to be a fascinating trial.”

0:44- Basecamp is the last stop

• Last week, Basecamp, a project management software company, released a public memo on their company philosophy that prohibited the likes of “societal and political discussions” on internal message boards and in meetings. In the following days, there was immense blowback, and when the company offered severance packages to employees who disagreed with the stance, more than a third of the company’s 57 employees took it and left the company in shambles.

1:03- “Where’d you buy the gun?” “Etsy”

• Despite being banned by their terms and conditions, a recent investigation conducted by Insider found more than 800 cases of prohibited listings including pet remains, porn, weapons, radioactive substances, counterfeits, and drugs. Following this report, Etsy released a statement indicating that they’ve now pledged an additional $40M to moderate their listings, which will help to multiply their content review team by a factor of 10 by the end of the year.

1:22- A rather... unique new pet

• Planning on a new pet in the future? What about a gargoyle? As the cathedral of Notre Dame is being rebuilt after its destruction in a fire in 2019, the Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris are raising money to help with the efforts by giving people the option to “adopt” a gargoyle or saint through a donation.  

Have a great rest of your day, and we’ll see you tomorrow bright and early!

-The 90 Second News Team

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