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OPEX® Corporation to demonstrate its Warehouse Automation technology at MODEX 2024, with launch of its newest solutions

MOORESTOWN, N.J. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — OPEX® Corporation, a global leader in Next Generation Automation for almost 50 years, will showcase its advanced Warehouse Automation solutions at MODEX 2024, the largest manufacturing and supply chain trade event, scheduled for March 11 through 14 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

 

“We look forward to participating in MODEX once again in 2024,” said Alex Stevens, President, Warehouse Automation, OPEX.

 

“This gathering provides an ideal forum to engage with industry thought leaders, and to demonstrate the innovative solutions in our Warehouse Automation portfolio. We’re particularly excited to be introducing our most advanced sorting solutions yet at MODEX 2024.”

 

At MODEX Booth #B6602, OPEX will be exhibiting two of its premier solutions. Onsite will be the Infinity® automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS), first introduced at MODEX 2022. Designed to reduce labor challenges, drive order accuracy, maximize existing space, and scale to meet demand, the Infinity AS/RS features unparalleled storage density, configurability, and flexibility. This next generation goods-to-person solution is ideal for multiple applications, including omni-channel distribution, store replenishment, micro-fulfillment, and ecommerce.

 

Making its debut at MODEX will be OPEX Corporation’s newest innovations in automated sortation. A press conference will be held in OPEX Booth #B6602 on Monday, March 11 at 10:30 am ET, where the company will unveil its latest technology. Onsite demonstrations will occur throughout the duration of the show.

 

OPEX will also host an educational session titled “The Future of Sortation” on Tuesday, March 12, from 2:30 to 3:25 pm ET in the Emerging Technologies Theater. During this session, Drew Stevens, Vice President, Global Business Development and Marketing, OPEX, will discuss the benefits of automating the sortation process and the various options available across the marketplace.

 

For nearly five decades, OPEX Corporation has served as a trusted partner, collaborating closely with clients to develop customized, scalable solutions that transform how business is conducted. OPEX continuously reimagines automation technology to help clients solve their most significant business challenges, today and in the future.

 

About OPEX

OPEX® Corporation is a global leader in Next Generation Automation, providing innovative, unique solutions for warehouse, document and mail automation. With headquarters in Moorestown, NJ, USA—and facilities in Pennsauken, NJ; Plano, TX; France; Germany; Switzerland; the United Kingdom; and Australia—OPEX has more than 1,600 employees who are continuously reimagining and delivering customized, scalable technology solutions that solve the business challenges of today and in the future.

Contacts

Laura Evans

levans@opex.com
+1.856.727.1100 x 5012

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Disneyland Paris Flagship Hotel re-opens in time for upcoming ‘World of Frozen’ launch

After three years of renovations, the Disneyland Hotel at Disneyland Paris, finally re-opened on Jan. 25 with a new focus on luxury.

 

Courtesy of Disney

With a five-star rating and a manager whose resume includes the Ritz and the Mandarin Oriental, the hotel, which is located over the main entrance to the park, boasts a spa, kids club, styling studio similar to Florida’s Bibbity Bobbity Boutique and even a pillow menu (there are seven different types of neck support to choose from) in addition to its 487 rooms and suites.

 

While Disney’s last foray into experiential accommodation ended in tears when Orlando’s Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser hotel shut down last fall just eighteen months after it opened, the company’s latest endeavour (which launched just a week before new Pixar Place Hotel at Disneyland in Anaheim) proves lessons have been learned about what guests actually want.

 

Gone are the windowless cabins and mandatory character interaction. Instead visitors can enjoy breathtaking views of Sleeping Beauty’s castle and soak in high-tech animated details, including a life-size version of Aurora’s dress made from fibreoptic fabric that turns from pink to blue at the touch of a button.

 

“You’re not only coming here to sleep in a bed,” manager Majbritt Iaconis tells Variety.

 

“Why are you coming here? It’s for all the different experiences on offer.”

 

Promising “excellence and immersive storytelling,” the hotel aims to offer both an extension of the company’s two French parks (as well as Disneyland Paris there is also a separately-ticketed park called Walt Disney Studios) and the first word in comfort, combining themed restaurants, character encounters and interactive suites inspired by classic films including “Beauty and the Beast” and “Cinderella” with amenities such as 24-hour room service and high-end bath products.

The lobby in the Disneyland Hotel in Paris (courtesy of Disney)

 

Disney’s French team, led by veteran Imagineer and art director Sylvie Massara (who was also responsible for the resort’s 2021 Marvel-themed hotel), were tasked with bringing the studio’s films to life, with Disney’s Burbank HQ providing archive art and props for inspiration as well as approving designs and interactive details, such as a glowing glass slipper in the Cinderella suite. Pixar Studios artists designed a “Brave”-themed tapestry, which was brought to life by craftsmen from a 130-year-old weaving workshop in the North of France and now hangs in the hotel’s Royal Banquet restaurant.

 

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— Variety

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Byju’s files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware, listing liabilities of $1B – $10B, assets from $500M – $1B for its US unit Alpha

Reuters:

 

— A U.S. unit of Indian education technology startup Byju’s has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the U.S. court of Delaware, listing liabilities in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion.
Byju’s Alpha unit listed its assets in the range of $500 million to $1 billion, according to a court filing, which showed estimated creditors in the range of 100 to 199.
The ed-tech company, founded by Byju Raveendran, was one of India’s hottest startups, valued at $22 billion in 2022, but has more recently seen lenders initiating bankruptcy proceedings against it. Some of Byju’s investors said the company’s valuation had fallen to between $1 billion and $3 billion.
Byju’s said on Monday it would raise $200 million through a rights issue of shares to clear “immediate liabilities” and for other operational costs.
It has also been negotiating the repayment of a $1.2 billion term loan in the last few months and laid off thousands of employees.
The firm has also been under the scanner of Indian authorities over alleged violations of the country’s foreign exchange laws.

 

 

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Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Shilpi Majumdar

— Techmeme

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Korea’s Barunson E&A boards ‘Respati’ Indonesian horror film

Barunson E&A, the production company behind Korean Oscar-winner “Parasite,” is investing in Base Entertainment’s upcoming Indonesian horror film “Respati.”

 

The Korean company will also take on worldwide sales duties and pre-sell rights at the upcoming European Film Market in Berlin. “Respati” tells the story of a teenager with the ability to enter other people’s dreams.

 

When he witnesses a dark spirit taking people’s lives in their dreams, he quickly realizes that it’s related to the mysterious deaths that are happening in the real world.

 

The film is currently in post-production and aiming for a theatrical release in May this year.

 

“Respati” is directed by Sidharta Tata, an up-and-coming director who ranked fifth at 2023 Indonesian local box office with his directorial debut “Waktu Maghrib.” His most recent film “Ali Topan” premiered at the Busan International Film Festival later last year and is set to release on Feb. 14, 2024, in Indonesia.

 

Base Entertainment, the production company behind “Respati,” previously produced Joko Anwar’s 2019 hit film “Impetigore” and Netflix original series “Cigarette Girl,” which also launched in Busan last year. Base also produced 2021’s “Trese,” which was Netflix’s first original anime series from Southeast Asia.

 

The investment is Barunson E&A’s second in a non-Korean title since the launch of its international operations in Oct. 2022. Barunson E&A expects to continue focusing on international co-production and film finance.

 

Sylvie Kim, head of international business unit of Barunson E&A, said, “We are looking out for projects that have unique concept produced by a strong creative team. We believe Respati is a horror piece that has great potential to be received well by the audience not only in Indonesia, but around the world.”

 

“We’ve had fun creating a fresh perspective on the horror film and looking forward to sharing it with everyone,” said Tata.

 

“This is a thrilling and innovative film [which we look forward to bringing] to a wide audience,” said Shanty Harmayn, co-chief executive of Base Entertainment.

 

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— Variety

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Byju’s declines investors voting rights for the removal of CEO Byju Raveendran and his family 

—  After months of private tussle, Byju’s and some of its largest investors are now taking their fight public

 

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:

 

 

Following months of behind-the-scenes conflict, Byju’s and some of its biggest investors are now publicly airing their complaints about one another.

 

Image Credits: Manjunath Kiran (opens in a new window)/ Getty Images

Byju’s, once India’s most valuable startup, said Friday its investors do not have the voting right to seek leadership changes, a day after a group of shareholders called for an extraordinary general meeting to remove founder Byju Raveendran and his family from the top roles at the edtech group.

 

In a press release, Byju’s said it will continue its deliberation to raise $200 million in a rights issue, for which it has received “encouraging responses from multiple investors.”

Separately, Byju’s leadership informed the employees earlier Friday that the ongoing rights issue has already received commitments for “more than 100 percent of the proposed amount.” They blamed investors for “seeing the crisis” as an “opportunity to conspire” and demand the removal of Raveendran.

 

The leadership at Byju’s also blamed the “artificially induced crisis” by select investors for the “slight delay” in making the January payroll.

 

Investors including Prosus, General Atlantic, Peak XV and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative said in a statement Thursday that they seek a resolution of the “outstanding governance, financial mismanagement and compliance issues; the reconstitution of the Board of Directors, so that it is no longer controlled by the founders of T&L; and a change in leadership of the Company.”

 

This is the third time the investors have sought an extraordinary general meeting (EGM). The new request follows Byju’s launching the rights issue to raise capital it said was essential for its survival. The Bengaluru-headquartered startup, once valued at $22 billion and which has raised over $5 billion, reset its valuation to $25 million in the rights issue, TechCrunch previously reported.

Here is the full Friday statement of Byju’s:

Think & Learn Private Limited, the parent of BYJU’S, has noted with sorrow, statements from a select few investors calling for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to replace founder and group CEO Byju Raveendran. Under these unfortunate circumstances, we would emphasise that the shareholder’s agreement does not give them the right to vote on CEO or management change.

TLPL will continue with the proposed $200 million rights issue after receiving encouraging responses from multiple investors. The company is gladened by the support received by a wide section of its shareholders

The criticality of the rights issue has been shared with all shareholders, with capital being pivotal for a successful turnaround. Unfortunately, the company and our employees are paying the price for a stand-off triggered by some investors. Business continuity is essential, and we shall prioritise this in our actions.

Byju Raveendran and his leadership team have kept TLPL afloat after three investors left the company’s board last year, triggering a broader crisis. The company, along with the advisory board consisting of Rajneesh Kumar and Mohandas Pai, constituted a working group with the investors to find a constructive way forward.

The company and its leadership have updated the working group on all crucial matters, including ongoing business restructuring, financial position and audits. TLPL has been turning around the business, cutting the monthly burn to near operational breakeven and working on an AI-led technological refresh soon. In context, the actions of some unnamed investors are disruptive at a highly challenging time.

TLPL will remain on the path of dialogue even as the founders and the leadership find ways to meet the company’s mounting obligations, including salary payouts. We want to re-emphasise that the company has not had any external investor funding for nearly two years apart from the founder infusing over $1 billion — a reason why it launched a rights issue as a quick and equitable way to raise money.

 

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— Techmeme

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Meghna Gulzar was obsessed by detail as she depicted an Indian War hero in ‘Sam Bahadur:’ ‘It was interesting thinking like a man’

“Sam Bahadur,” a biopic of Indian war hero Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, is the latest feature from Meghna Gulzar.

 

Ronnie Screwvala’s RSVP Movies produced the film, which released theatrically in December 2023 and proved to be a box office success.

 

The cast is led by Vicky Kaushal “(Dunki)” as Manekshaw and also includes Sanya Malhotra “(Jawan)” as his wife Silloo and Fatima Sana Shaikh as Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

 

Gulzar’s previous films include “Talvar” (2015), starring Irrfan Khan and Konkona Sen Sharma, and “Raazi” (2018), headlined by Alia Bhatt, both of which were critical and commercial successes and “Chhapaak” (2020), featuring Deepika Padukone as an acid attack victim. She was looking for a subject to work on with Screwvala, who suggested the Manekshaw biopic as the late Field Marshal’s daughters had been in conversation with him about wanting to make a film based on their father.

 

“I immediately said yes, because I just knew two things about him at that time, which is that he was the first Field Marshal of India, and that he was the Chief of Army Staff during the 1971 war [the India-Pakistan war that led to the creation of Bangladesh]. And just that much in itself was extremely inspiring and fascinating. And I really thought that somebody who has achieved those positions in life, they definitely must be having a story to tell,” Gulzar told Variety.

 

The filmmaker describes tackling what is an overwhelmingly male subject despite the presence of two strong women in the narrative, as “a lot of relief.” “I have been telling stories, which I wouldn’t say are women-centric, but the central character is feminine, or the nature of the subject is slightly more feminine,” Gulzar said. “What was most challenging was that to tell a man’s story, to think about how a male character would think, how they would evaluate things, or what would their expressions be and what would their reactions be? Fortunately, because this is not fiction, most of the cues were already in place, because you are just executing [a story about] a life that has already been lived. It was interesting to think like a man and characterize a man and, and that man more than anything.”

 

The film was made with the close cooperation of the Indian Army. Current Indian Army personnel played all the rank and file soldier roles in the film, not extras. All military depictions were vetted by an army department liaising with the production. Only some of Manekshaw’s dialogues with his wife and cook were fictionalized, with the rest drawn from interviews with him, published accounts and conversations that the project researchers had with his family, daughters, grandchildren and associates.

 

“Because he is such an important figure in our army’s history and is so revered by our forces, you can’t [afford to] go wrong with it, you can’t get anything about him wrong – or even around him. So, getting that authenticity and that detailing, right, was extremely challenging, but the entire team muscled through and our research was rock solid,” Gulzar said. “The entire team knew that our intent is that this is going to be error free. Absolutely zero error. And they all came with that dedication.”

 

The film features several interactions between Manekshaw and Indira Gandhi, who would go on to become the Prime Minister of India. “None of that is fictionalized,” Gulzar said. “Because we’re executing it and there are actors playing a part, there is a line that we have to balance. We have to be aware of maintaining that balance, that there is an affinity there. Yet, it’s not a gender thing, that there is immense mutual respect, even though there is antagonism sometimes. The tricky part was actually hitting that right tone for the actors, even for me.”

 

 

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— Variety

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‘Much Ado About Dying’ film as IDFA-winning doc, bought for US by First Run Features

“Much Ado About Dying,” Scott Chamber’s documentary about elderly care that won the best directing award at IDFA in 2022, has been acquired by First Run Features for the U.S. and Canada.

 

The feature, produced by Soilsiú Films and Tiffin Films, will have its U.S. festival premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival ahead of a national theatrical release set to launch at New York’s Film Forum on March 15.

 

Chambers’ third feature-length documentary, “Much Ado About Dying” deals with the issue of caring for elderly and dying relatives. Producers describe the film as “poignant and moving, but also hilariously funny,” following Chambers as he get very close to his dying uncle, a retired gay actor who still wants to perform “King Lear” before it’s too late. The director’s previous films, “Every Good Marriage Begins With Tears” and “Cowboys in India,” both toured the festival circuit extensively before broadcast outings in the U.K. on BBC Storyville and Channel 4 respectively.

 

“We are delighted to be working with Marc Mauceri and his team at First Run Features,” said Soilsiú Films’ David Rane, who distributed Soilsiú’s previous title, “Young Plato,” directed by Neasa Ní Chianáin and Declan McGrath.

 

“It’s a challenge these days to get an arthouse documentary out into U.S. cinemas, even one as charming and funny as ‘Much Ado About Dying,’ and we appreciate the motivation and commitment of the teams at First Run Features and Film Forum in releasing Simon’s beautifully directed film. This film deserves to be seen on the big screen, and there’s no better team to put it there.”

 

New York-based First Run, well-known for its 45-year history in the indie distribution world, has previously released four editions of Michael Apted’s “Up” Series (“28 Up,” “42 Up,” “49 Up” and “56 Up”) as well as the “Quiet Epidemic,” “Before Stonewall,” “Scrap” and “The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg.”

 

“’Much Ado About Dying’ is a moving and hilarious cinema documentary about growing old unapologetically and the often-invisible family members who care for us in our twilight years,” said First Run’s Mauceri. “We are honoured to be entrusted by director Simon Chambers to share his uncle’s story with audiences here in the USA. Soilsiú Films are becoming more prolific by the year in producing world class documentaries for cinema and we are delighted to be working with them after the success they had in the U.S. with ‘Young Plato.’”

 

See the trailer for “Much Ado About Dying” below.

 

 

 

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— Variety

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Fork & Good hosts first ever tasting of hybrid cultivated meat at Davos

The food startup shared its product with thought leaders and local residents at its first large-scale tasting since the launch of its pilot facility last year

 

 

DAVOS, Sz. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — On Jan. 16, heads of state, industry experts and business leaders gathered for the annual World Economic Forum conference at Davos.

 

At the same time, a smaller, though no less consequential, event took place just 10 minutes away at Sonas Irish Pub. Food startup Fork & Good conducted the city’s first blind tasting of hybrid cultivated meat to gather feedback from an eclectic group of 40 people.

 

Participants each received two small dishes distinguished by blue and yellow stickers. One contained 100% conventional pork and the other a blend of 30% cultivated and 70% conventional pork. (Willing vegetarians also had a chance to enjoy dumplings made with a blend of plant and cultivated pork).

 

“Mixing cultivated meat with conventional meat has many advantages,” said Fork & Good Chief Scientific Officer Gabor Forgacs.

 

“It helps alleviate the rising supply chain and environmental challenges meat producers face. It also allows for the gradual introduction of cultured meat through products consumers are already used to.”

 

Perhaps most importantly, it tastes just like meat — because it is 100% meat. As Fork & Good co-founders expected, participants at the blind tasting found no major difference between the two samples. An informal poll after the tasting showed more than half of the group preferred the 30/70 blend over conventional meat on its own. The group was equally split when asked to guess which dish contained cultivated meat.

 

The tasting was led by Fork & Good CEO Niya Gupta, who said, “We are aiming to serve everyone everywhere with affordable meat so it’s exciting to get input in this open and democratic way. We had everyone, from an American professor to a Swedish nonprofit worker to a Chinese student — even a regular Swiss person walking in off the street looking for a beer. Their feedback has been critical to us as we continue our product development journey.”

 

One of the participants, global data science leader Dr. Richard Kerr, said, “I wasn’t able to tell the difference between the samples, to the point that I thought it was going to be revealed that all the samples were 100% cultured. I love the idea, and will continue to follow [Fork & Good’s] progress with interest.”

 

The lunchtime tasting was a part of UnDavos, an informal entrepreneurship-focused gathering that takes place the same week as the WEF conference. Mark Turrell, founder of UnDavos and CTO of Fresh Solutions AI, invited Fork & Good to present their product at a “meal for the future” event.

 

“It was amazing to physically experience technology being integrated into our food — the food in our mouths,” Turrell said.

 

In addition to the blind tasting, Fork & Good was invited to the main WEF conference as a Technology Pioneer, one of just 100 early-stage startups developing innovative technologies to address global challenges. Gupta participated in back-to-back meetings and roundtables, including a bilateral meeting with one of the world’s largest meat producers who couldn’t tell the difference between conventional meat and Fork & Good’s hybrid cultivated meat.

 

Founded in 2018, Fork & Good launched its pilot facility in Jersey City, New Jersey. The facility is already capable of producing six to ten times more meat per square foot than is currently possible by conventional means. Fork & Good’s cultivated meat is ready for market, pending regulatory approval by the FDA and USDA.

 

ABOUT FORK AND GOOD

From its facility in Jersey City, Fork & Good is on a mission to grow the best of meat for everyone, everywhere. The company takes a novel approach to cultivating meat by growing muscle cells directly in proprietary bioreactors for maximum flavor and nutritional value—while drastically reducing the amount of land and water used in conventional livestock production. The team has 150+ years of combined experience that spans food, agriculture, and science, and is committed to helping build the industry in a safe, transparent way. Learn more at: www.forkandgood.com.

 

Contacts

Emily Bogan, Business Operations Manager

Email: hello@forkandgood.com
Phone: (201) 201-1392

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Apple’s proposed App Store, iOS changes seek to retain some iOS control but still regard the  EU’s DMA letter

John Gruber / Daring Fireball:

 

 

—  On Saturday, Apple announced a broad, wide-ranging, and complex set of new policies establishing their intended compliance with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act, which comes into effect March 7.

 

There is a lot to remark upon and numerous remaining questions, but my favorite take was from Sebastiaan de With on Twitter/X, the day before any of this was announced.

 

After quipping “Oh god please no” to a screenshot of the phrase “Spotify also wants to roll out alternate app stores”, de With had this conversation:

de With:

The EU is once again solving absolutely no problems and making everything worse in tech. I gotta say, they are if anything highly consistent.

“Anton”:

Overly powerful, rent-seeking gatekeepers seem like a problem.

de With:

I love that I can’t tell if you are talking about the EU or Apple in this case.

My second-favorite take, from that same thread, was this from Max Rovensky:

DMA is not pro-consumer.

It’s anti-big-business.

Those tend to coincide sometimes, which makes it an easy sell for the general public, but do actually read the DMA, it’s quite interesting.

 

I’d go slightly further and describe the DMA as anti-U.S.-big-business, because as far as I can tell, nothing in the DMA adversely affects or even annoys any European tech companies. There are aspects of it that seem written specifically for Spotify, in fact.

 

But Rovensky’s framing captures the dichotomy. Anti-big-business regulation and pro-consumer results often do go hand-in-hand, but the DMA exposes the fissures. I do not think the DMA is going to change much, if anything at all, for the better for iOS users in the E.U. (Or for non-iOS users in the EU, for that matter.) And much like the GDPR’s website cookie regulations, I think if it has any practical effect, it’ll be to make things worse for users. Whether these options are better for developers seems less clear.

 

I’ve often said that Apple’s priorities are consistent: Apple’s own needs first, users second, developers third. The European Commission’s priorities put developers first, users second, and “gatekeepers” a distant third. The DMA prescribes not a win-win-win framework, but a win-win-lose one.

 

Apple is proud, stubborn, arrogant, controlling, and convinced it has the best interests of its customers in mind.

 

The European Commission is proud, stubborn, arrogant, controlling, and convinced it has the best interests of its citizens in mind.

 

Ever since this collision over the DMA seemed inevitable, starting about two years ago, I’ve been trying to imagine how it would turn out. And each time, I start by asking: Which side is smarter? My money has been on Apple. Yesterday’s announcements, I think, show why.

APPLE’S PROPOSED CHANGES

 

It’s really hard to summarize everything Apple announced yesterday, but I’ll try. Start with the main Apple Newsroom press release, “Apple Announces Changes to iOS, Safari, and the App Store in the European Union”:

“The changes we’re announcing today comply with the Digital Markets Act’s requirements in the European Union, while helping to protect EU users from the unavoidable increased privacy and security threats this regulation brings. Our priority remains creating the best, most secure possible experience for our users in the EU and around the world,” said Phil Schiller, Apple Fellow. “Developers can now learn about the new tools and terms available for alternative app distribution and alternative payment processing, new capabilities for alternative browser engines and contactless payments, and more. Importantly, developers can choose to remain on the same business terms in place today if they prefer.”

 

Schiller is the only Apple executive quoted in the press release, and to my ear, his writing hand is all over the entire announcement. Apple was quite clear before the DMA was put into law that they considered mandatory sideloading on iOS a bad idea for users, and their announcement yesterday doesn’t back down an inch from still declaring it a bad idea.

 

Apple has also argued, consistently, that they seek to monetize third-party development for the iOS platform, and that being forced to change from their current system — (a) all apps must come from the App Store; (b) developers never pay anything for the distribution of free apps; (c) paid apps and in-app-purchases for digital content consumed in-app must go through Apple’s In-App Payments system that automates Apple’s 30/15 percent commissions — would greatly complicate how they monetize the platform. And now Apple has revealed a greatly complicated set of rules and policies for iPhone apps in the EU.

 

MG Siegler has a great — and fun — post dissecting Apple’s press release line-by-line. Siegler concludes:

I’m honestly not sure I can recall a press release dripping with such disdain. Apple may even have a point in many of the points above, but the framing of it would just seem to ensure that Apple is going to continue to be at war with the EU over all of this and now undoubtedly more. Typically, if you’re going to make some changes and consider the matter closed, you don’t do so while emphatically shoving your middle fingers in the air.

 

Some of these changes do seem good and useful, but most simply seem like convoluted changes to ensure the status quo actually doesn’t change much, if at all. Just remember that, “importantly, developers can choose to remain on the same business terms in place today if they prefer.” What do you think Apple prefers?

The puzzle Apple attempted to solve was creating a framework of new policies — and over 600 new developer APIs to enable those policies — to comply with the DMA, while keeping the path of least resistance and risk for developers the status quo: Apple’s own App Store as it is.

 

So the first option for developers is to do nothing — to stay in Apple’s App Store, exclusively, under the existing terms. (Apple made a few announcements yesterday that are effective worldwide, not merely in the EU, such as changes regarding the rules for streaming game services, mini-games, and mini-apps. For the sake of brevity — well, attempted brevity — I’m focusing on E.U.-specific changes related to DMA compliance.)

 

One point of confusion is that some aspects of Apple’s proposed DMA compliance apply to the App Store across all platforms (iPhone, iPad, Mac, TV, Watch, and soon, Vision), but other aspects are specific to the iOS platform — which is to say, only the iPhone. Third-party app marketplaces1 and web browsers using non-WebKit rendering engines are only available on iOS specifically, meaning they are iPhone-only,2 and not available for iPadOS. Apple’s main press release yesterday breaks out iOS changes and App Store changes separately, but on my first read did not make clear that the iOS changes did not apply to iPadOS.3

 

 

Here’s my summary of the options available to developers in the EU, under Apple’s proposal:

  1. Stay in App Store under the current (pre-DMA) rules, exclusively. Developers that take this option:
    • Are not permitted to use any of the new business termsavailable in the EU, but new iOS platform options for the EU, such as alternate browser engines, are allowed. (Because they are required to be allowed.)
    • Because nothing business-related changes under this option, the existing worldwide rules apply for paid apps, subscriptions, and in-app purchases (IAP), including the 30/15 percent commission to Apple and a requirement that apps exclusively use Apple’s App Store payments system.
    • The Core Technology Fee (CTF) is not collected, because the business terms haven’t changed. (See below re: the CTF.)
  2. Opt in to the new EU rules (all sub-options available under this choice require paying the Core Technology Fee for each app with over 1 million downloads in the EU):
    • After opting in to the new EU rules, developers can choose to remain in the App Store, and:
      • Use Apple’s App Store payments system: 20/13 percent commission + CTF paid to Apple automatically.
      • Use a custom in-app payments system (e.g. Stripe): 17/10 percent commission + CTF paid to Apple.
      • Use external links from inside apps to the web for payments and subscriptions: 17/10 percent + CTF paid to Apple.
      • The latter two options — using custom payment processing and/or external links to the web — are similar to the announced-last-week External Payment Link entitlement policy, regarding the developer’s obligation to track these payments, report sales to Apple monthly, and submit to audits by Apple to ensure compliance.
    • Distribute apps in one or more third-party marketplaces:
      • No option to use Apple’s App Store payment processing, because the apps aren’t coming from the App Store.
      • The only money due to Apple is the Core Technology Fee — there is no commission percentage on in-app transactions or links to the web.

 

Under option (2) — the catch-all for opting in to the new rules available in the EU — the sub-options are not mutually exclusive. Developers that opt in to the new EU rules can have (or keep) apps in the App Store and distribute those same apps, or different apps, via third-party app marketplaces. Or they can stay in the App Store exclusively (under the new business terms, with lower commissions but also the CTF), or they can distribute exclusively via app marketplaces.

 

Only options (1) and (2) are exclusive. However, once a developer opts in to the new EU rules, that decision is irrevocable. Quoting from the Q&A section of Apple’s “Update on Apps Distributed in the European Union” document:

Developers who adopt the new business terms at any time will not be able to switch back to Apple’s existing business terms for their EU apps. Apple will continue to give developers advance notice of changes to our terms, so they can make informed choices about their businesses moving forward.

(That entire FAQ section is a good summary and worth reading.)

 

THE CORE TECHNOLOGY FEE

Apple’s description of the CTF:

The Core Technology Fee (CTF) reflects Apple’s investment in the tools, technology, and services that enable developers to build and share their apps with Apple users. That includes more than 250,000 APIs, TestFlight, Xcode, and so much more. These tools create a lot of value for developers, whether or not they share their apps on the App Store.

 

The CTF only applies to developers who adopt the new terms for alternative distribution and payment processing — and whose apps reach exceptional scale. With membership in the Apple Developer Program, eligible developers on the new business terms get a free one million first annual installs per year for each of their apps in the EU. See terms for more details. Under the new business terms for EU apps, Apple estimates that less than 1% of developers would pay a Core Technology Fee.

 

Apple’s description is clear on the following point, but it’s worth reiterating: the CTF only applies to downloads above 1 million, like a marginal tax rate. So a developer whose app goes from 1,000,000 EU user downloads to 1,000,001 will only owe Apple €0.50 in Core Technology Fees. The CTF is recurring each year however, and updates count as downloads. Installing the same app on multiple devices does not count as multiple installations though.4 The CTF is calculated per user, per app, per year. (Apple has a CTF calculatordevelopers can use to game scenarios of prices, distribution method, and download counts.)

 

In plain language, the DMA demands that Apple unbundle its monetization for the App Store from its monetization of the iOS platform. Apple’s existing, purely commission-based, monetization for iOS apps implicitly bundles together the value provided from the App Store and iOS.

 

So under option (1) — where developers choose the existing rules for App Store distribution, including App Store exclusivity — nothing changes and Apple collects its 30/15 percent commissions from App Store transactions.

 

But under option (2) — where developers opt in to the new EU rules — Apple’s monetization for the App Store is severed from its monetization for the iOS platform itself. That’s why the commission fees under the new EU rules are reduced to 20/13 percent for apps distributed through the App Store that use the App Store payment system, and 17/10 percent for apps distributed through the App Store that use custom payment processing. Effectively, Apple is saying that their fair share of App Store distribution is 17/10 percent, and that Apple’s own App Store payment processing is worth an additional 3 percent. (3 percent is almost indisputably a fair estimate for the cost of payment processing alone.)

 

And, that’s why apps distributed outside the App Store will only pay Apple the CTF, with no commission on sales. The commissions under the new EU rules are only for the App Store, so apps from marketplaces don’t pay them. The Core Technology Fee is how Apple proposes monetizing the value provided by iOS itself.

 

All developers who opt in to the new EU rules are subject to the CTF. No developers who remain in the App Store under existing policies are subject to the CTF.

 

MARKETPLACE APPS ARE THE ONLY DISTRIBUTION OUTSIDE THE APP STORE

Third-party marketplace apps are the only way for developers to distribute apps in the EU outside the App Store. Apple’s proposal has no option for direct downloads of apps from developer websites. Apple has rules for who can become an app marketplace. You have to be a company, not an individual. You must “provide Apple a stand-by letter of credit from an A-rated (or equivalent by S&P, Fitch, or Moody’s) financial Institution of €1,000,000 to establish adequate financial means in order to guarantee support for your developers and users.” And more. In short, the qualifications aren’t trivial, but nor are they overly complicated.

 

But marketplace apps must be real “stores”. A marketplace can decide to exclusively distribute apps from a certain category — like games — but must be open to submissions from any developer in that same category. Company XYZ can’t create a marketplace that only distributes XYZ’s own apps. That’s not a proper category. Nor would Apple consider to be a proper category something like, say, “Apps from companies founded by Harvard dropouts whose origins were depicted in fun movies by Aaron Sorkin.”

 

One key restriction for developers who wish to distribute through multiple stores (including Apple’s App Store): an installation from one store cannot overwrite an existing installation of the same app from another store. The user must manually delete the installation from the old store first, then re-install the app from the other store. Apple claims — reasonably, perhaps — that this restriction is because they don’t know whether a fresh installation from a different store will preserve the data from the app installed via the previous store.

 

But this also means that if, say, Meta starts distributing their apps through a third-party marketplace (perhaps their own Meta Store), and wishes to encourage iOS users to switch from App Store installations to installations from the Meta Store, each user who does so must delete their existing installations of Meta’s apps before installing the new ones.

 

Third-party marketplace apps — the actual app store apps — will not be permitted in Apple’s App Store. To install a marketplace app — and third-party app marketplaces will be apps themselves — users must go to the marketplace app’s website. Safari (and other web browsers that adopt new APIs) will offer to install marketplace apps after confirmation from the user that they really want to install it. That confirmation scaresheet and the subsequent installation is provided by the system.

 

Part of what makes the DMA a terrible law (in this writer’s estimation) is its ambiguity and inscrutable language. It’s completely unclear whether Apple’s proposal to only allow distribution of apps outside the App Store through marketplace apps is compliant. Many proponents of the DMA have been under the conviction that the DMA mandates gatekeeper platforms like iOS to permit direct downloads of apps from the web (like on PCs and Macs). Here’s Article 6, Section 4 of the DMA, boldface all-caps emphasis added:

4. The gatekeeper shall allow and technically enable the installation and effective use of third-party software applications OR software application stores using, or interoperating with, its operating system and allow those software applications OR software application stores to be accessed by means other than the relevant core platform services of that gatekeeper. The gatekeeper shall, where applicable, not prevent the downloaded third-party software applications OR software application stores from prompting end users to decide whether they want to set that downloaded software application OR software application store as their default. The gatekeeper shall technically enable end users who decide to set that downloaded software application OR software application store as their default to carry out that change easily.

 

By Apple’s interpretation, all of those or’s would be and/or’s or and’s if the DMA demanded that iOS support both third-party marketplaces and direct installation of individual apps and games. See below regarding the uncertainty of this interpretation.

 

 

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— Techmeme

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Israel supporters use apps to mass report pro-Palestinian content; tech platforms question ‘citizen-led propaganda’

—  The apps raise questions for tech platforms over ‘citizen-led propaganda’ campaigns, experts say

 

 

Taylor Lorenz / Washington Post:

 

 

As the war in Gaza rages on, and both sides battle for support and public attention, supporters of Israel are making use of tools that allow them to mass report pro-Palestinian content as violating a platform’s rules.

 

The tools also generate AI-written suggested responses to posts online, allowing users to flood the comments of pro-Palestinian posts with pro-Israel messaging.

Experts who study communication online say the widespread use of such tools influences the online discussion of the war and is ushering in a new era of citizen-led propaganda campaigns. But the use of the tools does not appear to violate platform rules against what’s known as “coordinated inauthentic behavior,” or posts that appear to come from unrelated individuals but are really the result of an organized effort, often through automated accounts.

“Working in an orchestrated fashion can be violative, but it quickly becomes a gray area, and that’s why these apps exist,” said Nora Benavidez, senior counsel and director of digital justice and civil rights at Free Press, a nonpartisan organization that lists its goals as protecting free expression and civil liberties.

Researchers say it is difficult to determine which comments have been generated by such tools because there’s no way to publicly track a user’s private activity across multiple apps. Social media companies would have to come up with ways to detect their use, which is challenging because the apps operate on their own platforms, not those of the social media companies. If the apps were automatically posting, they would likely violate rules against inauthentic activity. But third-party apps that simply encourage legitimate users to report posts escape that sanction.

There’s also no way to know with precision that actions taken against someone’s account or posts are in response to activity from these apps. Anecdotally, some users report that after their Instagram and TikTok posts were mentioned on the apps, the posts were either removed or heavily downranked, making them less accessible to a large audience.

Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, did not respond to a request for comment. TikTok also did not respond to requests for comment.

“I’ve had many posts taken down, I’d say upwards of 15 to 20 posts removed,” said Nys, a content creator who posts on TikTok under the handle @palestinianpr1ncess and spoke on the condition that she be referred to by first name only because she’s worried about repercussions when traveling to the West Bank. Nys said that each of her posts that has been surfaced on one of the apps has received a flood of pro-Israel, seemingly AI-generated comments. The post is also usually removed after many users report it for bullying or hate speech. “I’m not using hate speech,” Nys said. “I’m just doing commentary on everything happening in Palestine.”

Laura Chung, a content creator and podcaster, said that she believes a mass reporting campaign facilitated by one of the apps is what led to her TikTok account being removed in December. “I was creating pro-Palestine content for education purposes and I was going massively viral,” she said. “I believe it’s these apps that got me banned on TikTok.”

Joan Donovan, a noted disinformation expert who is an assistant professor of journalism at Boston University, said the apps are a new development in the propaganda battle being waged on the internet over Israel’s offensive in Gaza and that social media companies need to find ways to monitor their use.

“Social media is a terrain of warfare, not just for cyber troops, but also for citizen battalions armed with AI-enhanced bots and the ability to generate endless unique posts that evade current content moderation tools,” she said. “It is incumbent on tech companies to defend against such abuses.”

“This level of organization only exists on one side of the conflict,” said Emerson T. Brooking, a former cyber policy adviser to the Defense Department who studies disinformation and propaganda campaigns as a resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab. “It exists for pro-Israel voices, and it exists because there are government ministries in Israel that support these tools and encourage their use.”

Brooking and other experts said they aren’t aware of any similar tools for Palestinian supporters.

At least one of these apps is directly tied to Israel. The app, called Moovers, encourages users to “Advocate for Israel, One Click at a Time.” It pulls in allegedly pro-Palestinian content from Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and X in a never-ending feed, allowing users easily to take action on that content, reporting it for review or commenting on it. It also provides pre-written pro-Israel scripts to respond to such posts.

In early December, a representative from Leaders, a Tel Aviv-based Israeli influencer marketing firm, began contacting creators in the United States, offering to pay them to promote Moovers to their audiences on Instagram. In emails viewed by The Washington Post, a representative from Leaders touted content on the Moovers app as “endorsed by Israel’s Government Advertising Agency.”

 

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— Techmeme