The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

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The Briefing

By Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

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Recent Editions

Apple CEO Tim Cook at the Epic trial in May. Photo by Bloomberg.

Court Delivers Epic Ruling on Apple's App Store

By Martin Peers · Sep 10, 2021 5:00pm PDT

Today’s court ruling on Epic v. Apple is the kind of decision that seems to have something for everyone, even the news media (a big story on a Friday—yippee!). Apple won on most counts, including one of its counterclaims against Epic. But Epic prevailed on a key count: Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple’s policy preventing app... Today’s court ruling on Epic v. Apple is the kind of decision that seems to have something for...

Microsoft's campus in Redmond, Washington. Photo by Bloombrg.

The Downside of Tech’s Neverending Remote Work Shift

By Martin Peers · Sep 9, 2021 5:00pm PDT

Is remote work going to end up as standard across tech, simply by default? Microsoft today followed Apple, Facebook, Google and Amazon in delaying, again, plans for a full reopening of its offices. Unlike those companies, each of which set January as the next planned reopening target, Microsoft has given up forecasting a date. Instead, it... Is remote work going to end up as standard across tech, simply by default? Microsoft today...

Outside a Whole Foods store in Berkeley, Calif. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon Finally Fesses Up on Cashierless Whole Foods Plans

By Martin Peers · Sep 8, 2021 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Ever since Amazon opened its first Amazon Go cashierless convenience store to the public at the start of 2018, its executives have been brushing off questions about whether they planned to introduce the same technology to Whole Foods. Sometimes those brushoffs were outright denials, like in this New York Times account, while other times... Ever since Amazon opened its first Amazon Go cashierless convenience store to the public at the...

Steve Martin and Martin Short, two of the stars of Hulu's New "Only Murders in the Building"

Disney Threatens Hulu’s Success With Price Hike

By Martin Peers · Sep 7, 2021 5:00pm PDT

Steve Martin and Martin Short, two of the stars of Hulu's New "Only Murders in the Building"

Disney Threatens Hulu’s Success With Price Hike

By Martin Peers · Sep 7, 2021 5:00pm PDT

It may be time for a consumer price index just for video streaming. Disney’s Hulu is raising its price by $1 a month, the company revealed today, just six months after Disney jacked up the price of its flagship Disney+ service by the same amount. Both price bumps followed a similar move by Netflix late last year. If this reminds you of the cable... It may be time for a consumer price index just for video streaming. Disney’s Hulu is raising its...

Jeff Bezos, center, after his space flight in July. Photo by AP

The Best and Worst of the Summer's Tech Stories

By Martin Peers · Sep 3, 2021 5:00pm PDT

With Labor Day upon us, summer is effectively over. And with news today thin on the ground, this seems an appropriate moment to review the highs and lows of the summer in tech business. So without further ado, here are The Briefing’s awards for the most distinctive tech business stories of the past three months:Worst Boys-and-Their-Toys Moment:... With Labor Day upon us, summer is effectively over. And with news today thin on the ground, this...

Apple's Fellow Phil Schiller, who oversees the App Store. Photo by Bloomberg.

Apple’s Already-Arbitrary App Store Rules Just Became More Complex

By Martin Peers · Sep 2, 2021 5:00pm PDT

Law schools may want to start introducing a new program to train lawyers in interpreting Apple’s App Store rules. The company’s latest changes, introduced to settle a Japanese antitrust investigation, add a layer of complexity to already-opaque rules. The rules have long had an element of arbitrariness, treating developers differently, as The... Law schools may want to start introducing a new program to train lawyers in interpreting Apple’s...

Jeff Bezos. Photo by Bloomberg

Bezos’ New Growth Tactic is Filing Lawsuits

By Martin Peers · Sep 1, 2021 5:02pm PDT · 1 comment

Elon Musk joked on Twitter today that “filing legal actions against SpaceX” is Jeff Bezos’ “full time job.” Musk has a point. For all of Bezos’ talk about never forgetting the Day One principles of a startup, growing by a relentless focus on customers, it’s surprising how often his companies—Amazon and Blue Origin—have lately relied on legal... Elon Musk joked on Twitter today that “filing legal actions against SpaceX” is Jeff Bezos’ “full...

An Allbirds store in San Francisco. Photo by Bloomberg

AllBirds and Warby Parker Pose Test of Investor Appetite for Consumer Brands

By Martin Peers · Aug 31, 2021 5:00pm PDT

An Allbirds store in San Francisco. Photo by Bloomberg

AllBirds and Warby Parker Pose Test of Investor Appetite for Consumer Brands

By Martin Peers · Aug 31, 2021 5:00pm PDT

Allbirds’ IPO filing today, a week after Warby Parker filed to go public, means that we’re going to have two big consumer brand names hitting the public market in the last few months of the year. It will be something of a parallel to the end of 2020, when shares of DoorDash and Airbnb began trading on Wall Street. Not that investors are likely... Allbirds’ IPO filing today, a week after Warby Parker filed to go public, means that we’re going...

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google’s App Store Profits No Plaything

By Martin Peers · Aug 30, 2021 5:00pm PDT

It seems only to be a matter of time before Apple and Google have to give up the tight controls they exercise over their mobile app stores, given the onslaught of litigation, investigation and legislation they each face around the world. And that means investors need to start thinking about the bottom line impact of the potential changes.We got... It seems only to be a matter of time before Apple and Google have to give up the tight controls...

The Curious Timing of Apple’s App Store Settlement; Amazon’s Affirm-ation

By Josh Sisco · Aug 27, 2021 5:31pm PDT

Late last night, Apple caught a break in its ongoing battle with app makers. To settle a class action antitrust lawsuit from a group of small developers, Apple will fork over $100 million to give to those who generate less than $1 million in annual revenue. It will also loosen some of the restrictions that had prevented developers from letting... Late last night, Apple caught a break in its ongoing battle with app makers. To settle a class...

Mathias Döpfner, chief executive officer of Axel Springer SE, at a conference in 2019. Photo by Bloomberg

The Risk of the Politico Deal; Peloton’s Party Ends

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 26, 2021 5:00pm PDT

I interrupt this regular Briefing—which will once again be brought to you by Martin Peers next week when he returns from vacation—with a dispatch from the land of the news media, which seemed to be on fire Thursday. German media company Axel Springer agreed to buy Politico in a deal worth more than $1 billion. Forbes is preparing to go... I interrupt this regular Briefing—which will once again be brought to you by Martin Peers next...

President Joe Biden (right) and Google CEO Sundar Pichai at a meeting at the White House on ransomware and other cybersecurity threats.

Jassy and Nadella Go to Washington

By Nick Wingfield · Aug 25, 2021 5:24pm PDT

President Joe Biden (right) and Google CEO Sundar Pichai at a meeting at the White House on ransomware and other cybersecurity threats.

Jassy and Nadella Go to Washington

By Nick Wingfield · Aug 25, 2021 5:24pm PDT

The tech industry’s top CEOs made a pilgrimage to the White House on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the growing problem of ransomware and other cyber threats. Oh, to be a fly on the wall at that meeting to see the side-eye between Andy Jassy, Amazon’s new CEO, and Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s leader. The tech industry’s top CEOs made a pilgrimage to the White House on Wednesday afternoon to...

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg

In Defense of Tim Cook

By Nick Wingfield · Aug 24, 2021 5:31pm PDT

Tuesday was a good day for Tim Cook. On the 10-year anniversary of his appointment as Apple CEO, tributes to his leadership of the company began flowing—drowning out, for a moment, the gripes from some of his critics.The most common of the Cook complaints is that Apple has lost its creative razzle-dazzle. His predecessor, Steve Jobs, hit a... Tuesday was a good day for Tim Cook. On the 10-year anniversary of his appointment as Apple CEO,...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg

Facebook's Own Goal on Giphy

By Amir Efrati · Aug 23, 2021 5:23pm PDT

Last week, Federal Trade Commission lawyers made clumsy arguments when they refiled their antitrust case against Facebook. This week, it’s Facebook’s turn to look dumb and arrogant in its dealings with the FTC and the public.When Facebook acquired Giphy—a provider of animated GIFs—in May 2020, it structured the roughly $400 million deal in order... Last week, Federal Trade Commission lawyers made clumsy arguments when they refiled their...

A rendering of the Propel Center, a tech-focused learning hub Apple is funding in Atlanta. Image provided by Apple.

Apple’s Unsavory Lobbying; Musk’s Autopilot Dream Is Still Far Off

By Nick Wingfield · Aug 20, 2021 5:41pm PDT

It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone when companies pull out the stops to lobby against legislation they view as harmful to their interests. And yet, a new examination of Apple’s lobbying tactics contained a detail about Apple’s tactics in a recent battle with Georgia state lawmakers that was jaw-dropping, especially for a company that often... It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone when companies pull out the stops to lobby against...

The Federal Trade Commission building in Washington, D.C. Photo by Bloomberg

The FTC’s Clumsy Second Salvo Against Facebook

By Amir Efrati · Aug 19, 2021 5:51pm PDT

The Federal Trade Commission building in Washington, D.C. Photo by Bloomberg

The FTC’s Clumsy Second Salvo Against Facebook

By Amir Efrati · Aug 19, 2021 5:51pm PDT

Two months ago, the Federal Trade Commission was chastened by a federal judge who summarily dismissed the agency’s antitrust lawsuit against Facebook in which it sought to force the company to spin off Instagram and WhatsApp. Now the agency seems to be asking for another lashing from the jurist—and a similar result.On Thursday the agency filed a... Two months ago, the Federal Trade Commission was chastened by a federal judge who summarily...

A Whole Foods Market in Houston. Photo provided by Whole Foods

Where Amazon’s Physical Growth Isn’t So Explosive

By Nick Wingfield · Aug 18, 2021 5:11pm PDT

Amazon has a voracious appetite for physical space for its warehouse and other facilities. Paris showed that vividly in her story today about how dramatically the company has increased its physical footprint over the past couple years (by six Disneylands-worth of space, doubling its U.S. real estate holdings over that time, she writes).But there... Amazon has a voracious appetite for physical space for its warehouse and other facilities. Paris...

People near Taliban signature white flags at a border crossing point in Pakistan on Aug. 17. Photo: AP

Facebook’s Taliban Maneuvers; Lina Khan Buzz on the Conference Circuit

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Aug 17, 2021 5:30pm PDT

As the Taliban moves to seize control of Afghanistan, Facebook’s actions in crisis are under scrutiny once more. A top executive at the social media company said Tuesday it was "proactively" taking down content related to the Taliban across Facebook's apps. (The group is banned under Facebook’s policy against terrorist organizations.) But... As the Taliban moves to seize control of Afghanistan, Facebook’s actions in crisis are under...

Photo: Bloomberg

Why TikTok Will Become a Political Football Again

By Amir Efrati · Aug 16, 2021 5:29pm PDT

One of the hottest topics in business last summer was then-President Donald Trump’s effort to ban TikTok, the Chinese-owned viral video app that had accumulated more than 100 million American users. But while TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, ultimately prevailed against Trump in federal court, some of the key arguments TikTok made to defend itself... One of the hottest topics in business last summer was then-President Donald Trump’s effort to ban...

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Photo by Bloomberg

Where Have All Amazon’s Investor Fans Gone?

By Martin Peers · Aug 13, 2021 5:00pm PDT

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Photo by Bloomberg

Where Have All Amazon’s Investor Fans Gone?

By Martin Peers · Aug 13, 2021 5:00pm PDT

This week concluded the bulk of tech’s summer earnings season (although Zoom Video and Snowflake are among the stragglers still to report). We’ve learned a lot about how robust the digital ad market is (very), the state of play in ride-hailing (so-so) and food delivery (still strong). It’s notable that some of the newly public crop of tech... This week concluded the bulk of tech’s summer earnings season (although Zoom Video and Snowflake...