### Issue 1791 - Wednesday 22nd February, 2023

## In Today's Issue

- Section 230 comes under scrutiny in the US Supreme Court
- Microsoft signs 10-year promises to supply Nintendo & Nvidia with the latest games
- Auror, a retail crime intelligence platform, is used by our biggest retailers & police
- This EV charging station in Germany is a look into the future of road trips
- Cheap Onkyo amp, Sennheiser wireless headphones, Samsung S23 Ultra, Katamari Damacy Reroll for Switch, refurb Alienware QD-OLED 34" monitor, Samsung 8TB SSD

## The News

### Section 230 comes under scrutiny in the US Supreme Court

There's two trials going on at the moment in the US Supreme Court that could make Section 230 - the law that allows internet platform owners to not be liable for what the users of their platform do or say - invalid. Both Gonzalez v. Google and Twitter v. Taamneh argue that the platform is responsible for what the users on it say because they're using an algorithm to recommend it to others. If the Supreme Court agrees, it sets a precedent for countless other legal actions against Google, Meta, Twitter, TikTok and any other place hosting online content that may have harmed someone. It'll be months until a decision is reached, but initial comments from the judges make it sound like they're "concerned about the potential large-scale economic impact of making any decision that could lead to a crash of the digital economy or an avalanche of lawsuits over targeted recommendations".

### Microsoft signs 10-year promises to supply Nintendo & Nvidia with the latest games

Microsoft is trying to convince regulators around the world that its purchase of Activision won't mean they're gonna make all of Activision's games exclusive to the Xbox, so they've made 10 year deals with Nvidia's GeForce Now streaming service and Nintendo, promising to supply them with the latest Microsoft games at the same time they appear on Microsoft's platforms (Windows & Xbox) - including Call of Duty, the title most of the competition regulators are concerned would be locked up on Xbox, making it difficult for Sony and Nintendo to compete due to the insane popularity of the honestly tired and boring gaming franchise. Also note that Sony and Microsoft didn't make an announcement or agreement.

### Auror, a retail crime intelligence platform, is used by our biggest retailers & police

Cam Wilson has a story in Crikey about how places such as Woolworths, Coles, Bunnings, and Myer use a "Retail Crime Intelligence Platform" called Auror to record over 100,000 "crime events" each month. It ingests various data sources (CCTV mainly) and builds profiles on individuals using facial recognition, license plate detection and self-checkout cameras. That data is then shared with other users of its platform, along with police, who have direct access to Auror. From a technical and product perspective, Auror is impressive but damn it's creepy. Do we want this thing in our society? I'm not sure I like these private dossiers getting built with little to no oversight on who can access it and what is done with the data it collects.

## Something I Saw On The Internet

### This EV charging station in Germany is a look into the future of road trips

Out of Spec Reviews went to Germany a few months ago and did a cool video exploring a massive electric car charging station in Zusmarshausen called the Sortimo Innovationspark. It's designed from the ground up to be for electric cars and has dozens of "slow" AC chargers, dozens of "fast" DC chargers and a couple of "rapid" DC chargers. You can even pay for the charging without an app at a machine using a credit card! The amneties look really nice too, so much better than anything here between our capital cities. It feels like Australia is a solid decade behind something like the Sortimo Innovationspark appearing on our highways.

## Bargains

- Onkyo TX-RZ50 AV Receiver - $2199 from RIO Sound and Vision
- Sennheiser HD 250BT wireless Bluetooth headphones - $49 from Amazon
- Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 512GB storage, 12GB RAM - $1799 from Unique Deals (possible Officeworks price beat opportunity)
- Katamari Damacy REROLL for Switch - $7.45 on the Nintendo eShop
- Refurb Alienware AW3423DWF QD-OLED 34" monitor - $1359 from Dell Outlet
- Samsung 870 QVO 8TB 2.5" SATA SSD - $749 + delivery at Scorptec

## Image Of The Day

IBM president (named CEO May, 1956) Thomas J. Watson Jr. in office (LIFE Photo Collection)

## The End

📻 Dreams - Beck

😎 The Sizzle is curated by Anthony "decryption" Agius and emailed every weekday afternoon.

💬 Checked out the paid subscriber only forum? It's a tidy little place to discuss tech with like minded Aussies.

👋 Forums not your thing? The Sizzle has a Slack group you can procrastinate in and chat with other nerds bored at work.

💳 Paid subscriber looking to manage your billing info, change email address or cancel your subscription? Visit the customer portal.

🎁 Make someone's day and buy them a 12 month gift subscription to The Sizzle.

📚 Browse The Sizzle Archive. A few issues are missing and it's not searchable, but it's better than nothing.

🫂 Friends of The Sizzle is a small group of businesses or organisations operated by Sizzle subscribers. Support your fellow Sizzler!

💔 Tired of my bullshit? Unsubscribe and I'll never speak to you again.

## Always Was, Always Will Be Aboriginal Land

The Sizzle is created on Wathaurong land and acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, recognising their continuing connection to land, water and community. I pay my respect to them and their cultures and to elders both past and present.