Judge in Twitter v. Elon Musk postpones trial to October 28th

The Twitter v. Elon Musk trial is now on hold as the two sides work to hammer out a deal for Musk to complete his buyout of the social media company. On Thursday, Judge Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick, Chancellor of Delaware’s Chancery Court, stayed the trial until October 28th, following a motion from Musk’s lawyers to call off the trial.

However, if the two sides aren’t able to close by the end of the month, a trial could be back on. “If the transaction does not close by 5 p.m. on October 28, 2022, the parties are instructed to contact me by email that evening to obtain November 2022 trial dates,” McCormick wrote.

The stay comes less than two weeks before the five-day trial was scheduled to begin, and on the same day that Musk was scheduled to be deposed in the case. It’s the latest sign that Musk and Twitter are moving closer to a deal. Earlier in the week, Musk said he would agree to a deal at the original price of $54.20 a share, provided he finalized his financing and that the trial was adjourned. Twitter also confirmed it wanted to close the deal on its original terms.

But since then the two sides have still been arguing over the particulars of the arrangement. Bloombergreported Musk wanted a provision that would still allow him to sue Twitter over the number of bots on the platform, while The New York Times reported Twitter didn’t want to call off the trial until its shareholders had been paid.

Musk’s lawyers alluded to the disagreements in their filing, writing that “Twitter will not take yes for an answer,” claiming the company was endangering the deal. McCormick didn’t weigh in on the disagreement, though she noted that Twitter has opposed Musk’s motion to stay the trial.

Elon Musk’s lawyers ask judge to call off Twitter trial

Lawyers for Elon Musk have officially asked to cancel the upcoming trial with Twitter, as the two sides attempt to negotiate a deal. In a new court filing, Musk’s lawyers asked the judge to call off the trial, which is currently scheduled to begin October 17th.

Earlier this week, Musk’s camp had proposed proceeding with the original deal, to buy Twitter at $54.20 a share, contingent on Musk’s financing going through and the adjournment of the trial. Twitter responded that it was also intent on closing the deal.

While that certainly seemed to put the two sides a lot closer to an agreement, it wasn’t an immediate end to the litigation. The New York Times has since reported that Twitter does not want to call off the trial until a deal is finalized and the company’s shareholders have been paid. There are likely other sticking points, too. Bloomberg reported Tuesday that “Musk is also seeking to reserve his rights to file a fraud suit over his claims the platform’s executives misled him and other investors about the number of spam and robot accounts.”

In their latest filing, Musk’s lawyers confirm the disagreement over the trial, writing that Twitter is now endangering the deal. “Twitter will not take yes for an answer,” Musk’s lawyers write. “Astonishingly, they have insisted on proceeding with this litigation, recklessly putting the deal at risk and gambling with their stockholders’ interests. Instead of allowing the parties to turn their focus to securing the Debt Financing necessary to consummate the transaction and preparing for a transition of the business, the parties will instead remain distracted by completing discovery and an unnecessary trial.”

Notably, the filing comes on the same day Musk was scheduled to be deposed in the case. The deposition was delayed — for the second time. Musk’s lawyers say they expect the deal could close “on or around October 28.”

Update 6 PM ET: The judge in the case has stayed the trial until October 28th, the date Musk’s lawyers said they expected to close. “If the transaction does not close by 5 p.m. on October 28, 2022, the parties are instructed to contact me by email that evening to obtain November 2022 trial dates,” Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick wrote. 

Google will pay Arizona $85 million over illegally tracking Android users

Google will pay Arizona $85 million to settle a 2020 lawsuit, which claimed that the search giant was illegally tracking Android users, Bloomberg reports. At the time, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich argued that Google continued to track users for targeted advertising, even after they turned off location data settings. If this sounds familiar, it’s because Google is also being sued by attorneys general in Texas, Washington, D.C., and Indiana over similar data tracking complaints. Brnovich’s office also notes that the $85 million settlement is the largest amount Google has paid per user in a privacy lawsuit like this. 

But given that Google is currently seeing quarterly revenue over $69 billion, the punishment may seem like a drop in the bucket. It’s nothing compared to the $1.7 billion Google was fined by the EU over abusive advertising practices. In a statement, Google spokesman José Castañeda said the suit was related to older product policies that have been changed. “We provide straightforward controls and auto delete options for location data, and are always working to minimize the data we collect,” he said. “We are pleased to have this matter resolved and will continue to focus our attention on providing useful products for our users.”

Brnovich, meanwhile, says he’s “proud of this historic settlement that proves no entity, not even big tech companies, is above the law.”

Apple faces US labor complaint over union busting

Apple’s alleged union busting has prompted federal action. As The New York Timesreports, the National Labor Relations Board has issued a complaint against Apple following accusations it broke multiple laws trying to thwart union organizers at the World Trade Center store in New York City. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) union claims Apple surveilled and questioned staff, limited access to pro-union fliers and made employees listen to anti-union speeches.

The NLRB found enough merit in two of the claims. A judge will hold a hearing on December 13th if there’s no settlement.

We’ve asked Apple for comment. In a statement to The Times, a spokesperson said the iPhone maker disputed CWA’s allegations and was anticipating “presenting the facts.” In the past, Apple has maintained that unionization would hinder labor improvements and prevent “direct engagement” between the company and store workers. Apple told staff it would increase pay, but also that unionization could lead to fewer promotions and fixed hours.

There’s no certainty the NLRB complaint will lead to change in Apple’s labor practices. However, it comes as teams at multiple US stores have made unionization bids. While people at an Atlanta location gave up their efforts, Towson, Maryland workers voted to unionize this spring. Oklahoma City employees vote next week. There’s mounting pressure on Apple to act, if just to minimize similar complaints.

The Morning After: Twitter says it will close deal with Elon Musk, again

Twitter has agreed – once again – to Elon Musk’s proposal to buy the company for $54.20 a share. In a statement, Twitter confirmed it had received Musk’s letter that “the intention of the Company is to close the transaction at $54.20 per share.” The agreement follows months of legal drama after Musk tried to back out of his original agreement this spring to buy the company for $44 billion.

The two sides were set to go to trial later this month. But Musk abruptly reversed course on Tuesday, telling Twitter he would proceed with the original terms of the deal. In the letter filed with the SEC, Musk’s lawyers say they will go ahead with the agreement struck in April if Delaware Chancery Court will “adjourn the trial and all other proceedings related” to the ongoing lawsuit.

It’s not yet clear when the acquisition could actually close. Twitter’s shareholders have already voted to approve the deal, but both sides now need to wait for Delaware’s Chancery Court’s response. The next question: What will Musk do with Twitter?

– Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

‘Overwatch 2’ server attack prevented fans from playing the game on launch day

We were stuck in a queue behind tens of thousands of other people.

Overwatch 2‘s early access launch has been marred by a massive DDoS attack preventing players from getting into the game. Many gamers, including me, were stuck on the connection screen, put in a queue behind tens of thousands of other players also trying to get in. When the countdown finished, I was booted from the server. I was apparently not the only one. Blizzard president Mike Ybarra tweeted that the game was “experiencing a mass DDoS attack” on its servers, causing drop and connection issues.

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Xiaomi’s 12T Pro packs a 200-megapixel camera

But without Leica branding.

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Engadget

Xiaomi’s 12T Pro uses Samsung’s ISOCELL HP1 sensor to capture epic 200-megapixel stills. The HP1 includes 2x in-sensor zoom, 4-in-1 pixel binning to mimic larger pixel sites for better sensitivity and 16-in-1 super pixel binning to simulate even bigger pixel sites for dark environments. If you shoot 200-megapixel images, you can let the AI-powered Xiaomi ProCut tool analyze those shots and suggest ideal compositions. Oddly, there’s no Leica branding here. Engadget reached out to Xiaomi on this matter, and a rep replied: “While Leica is a partner in our strategic imagery upgrade, it won’t necessarily contribute to every device.”

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‘The Onion’ filed a real brief with the Supreme Court supporting man jailed for making fun of cops

A man was arrested for a Facebook page that parodied his local police department.

Satire and comedy news site The Onion filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in support of Anthony Novak, who was arrested and jailed for four days after briefly running a Facebook page parodying the police department of Parma, Ohio, back in 2016. Parma’s police department claimed back then that people were confusing his posts with real information from law enforcement. Novak filed a civil suit against the city of Parma and the officers that arrested him , arguing his constitutional rights were violated. After federal appeals, he eventually took the battle to the Supreme Court.

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CDPR is working on a ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ sequel

And several new Witcher games.

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CDPR

The game developer has shared a long-term roadmap that elaborates on its plans for its big gaming franchises. A project codenamed Orion is effectively a sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 to “further develop the potential” of the sci-fi franchise. We’ve already heard of a new Unreal Engine 5-based The Witcher game in the works, but it’s just the start of a new trilogy. We might not have to wait long to see the story reach its conclusion, either. CDPR hopes to release all three games within a six-year span, with the first (codenamed Polaris) serving as a technology foundation for the remaining two.

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One person’s quest for the perfect productivity mouse

Is it time for an upgrade?

James Trew’s mission for a mouse had several requirements. Top of the list: ergonomics. The Magic Mouse is… fine, but a little low profile for his palming style. Given that some rough repetitive strain injury (RSI) was exclusively in his mousing arm, that was crucial. As was a reasonable degree of configurability. So, of course, he tested 11 mice.

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Twitter confirms it intends to close deal with Elon Musk

Twitter has agreed — once again — to Elon Musk’s proposal to buy the company for $54.20 a share. In a statement, Twitter confirmed it had received Musk’s letter that “the intention of the Company is to close the transaction at $54.20 per share.”

The agreement follows months of legal drama after Musk tried to back out of his original agreement to buy the company for $44 billion this spring. The two sides were set to go to trial later this month as Twitter attempted to force Musk to keep up his end of the agreement. Musk had claimed Twitter had misled him about the number of bots on the platform, and had raised concerns about issues disclosed by the company’s former head of security who filed a whistleblower complaint against the company.

But Musk, once again, abruptly reversed course on Tuesday, telling Twitter that he would be willing to proceed with the original terms of the deal. In the letter filed with the SEC, Musk’s lawyers say they will go ahead with the agreement first struck in April if Delaware Chancery Court will “adjourn the trial and all other proceedings related” to the ongoing lawsuit.

It’s not yet clear when the acquisition could actually close. Twitter’s shareholders have already voted to approve the deal, but both sides will now also need to wait for Delaware’s Chancery Court’s response.

Musk, who has said he intends to take Twitter private, could eventually bring dramatic changes to Twitter. He has publicly mused about opening sourcing the site’s algorithms and taking a more lax approach to content moderation. In messages to CEO Parag Agrawal, made public last week, he also stated that he wanted to “unwind permanent bans, except for spam accounts and those that explicitly advocate violence.”

Elon Musk tells Twitter he wants to go ahead with original deal

Elon Musk wants to own Twitter after all. The Tesla CEO has decided he wants to go ahead with the deal he originally struck to buy the social media company for $54.20 a share, Bloomberg reports.

News of the proposal comes less than two weeks before the two sides were set to go to trial in Delaware’s Court of Chancery over Musk’s attempt to get out of that deal. He has cited concerns about the number of spam and bot accounts on Twitter, and later added allegations from the company’s former head of security turned whistleblower to his suit.

Twitter didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But CNBC reported that trading of Twitter’s shares was halted following the report. 

If the two sides were to agree to go ahead with the terms of the original deal, it would end a months-long legal battle that has grown increasingly messy. Last week, hundreds of Musk’s private messages were published in legal filings. The texts detailed how Musk’s negotiations with Twitter had broken down in the spring, prompting him to announce he would buy the company and take it private.

But not long after he agreed to buy the company, Musk began questioning Twitter’s accounting of how many bots and spam accounts are on the platform. Musk claimed that Twitter had vastly undercounted the number, and in a legal filing accused the company of fraud. Twitter’s lawyers maintained his estimates were inaccurate and his claims about bots were merely a “pretext.” They cited text messages in which Musk, speaking to his banker at Morgan Stanley, said he was worried about Putin’s moves in Ukraine and a potential “World War 3.”

Update 3:18 PM ET: Musk’s letter to Twitter’s lawyers was published in an SEC filing. In the note, Musk’s lawyers say they will go ahead with the original terms of the deal if Delaware Chancery Court will “adjourn the trial and all other proceedings related” to the ongoing lawsuit. 

Update 3:38 PM ET: Twitter has confirmed that it received Musk’s letter, and now says it intends to close the deal for $54.20 a share. 

‘The Onion’ filed a real brief with the Supreme Court supporting man jailed for making fun of cops

When was the last time you’ve read an amicus brief? If you’re not involved in the legal profession, chances are you may have never actually spent precious time reading one. This amicus brief (PDF) could change that. It was submitted by The Onion, which describes itself in the brief as “the world’s leading news publication” with “4.3 trillion” readers that maintains “a towering standard of excellence to which the rest of the industry aspires.” In addition to running a highly successful news publication, The Onion said it “owns and operates the majority of the world’s transoceanic shipping lanes, stands on the nation’s leading edge on matters of deforestation and strip mining, and proudly conducts tests on millions of animals daily.” Oh, and its motto is “Tu stultus es.” That’s “you are dumb” in Latin. 

The Onion, of course, is the popular parody website that once named Kim Jong-un as the sexiest man alive. Its team has filed a very real amicus brief with the Supreme Court in support of Anthony Novak, who was arrested and jailed for four days after briefly running a Facebook page parodying the police department of Parma, Ohio back in 2016.

According to The Washington Times, Novak had suggested that the cops were racist and lacked compassion in about half a dozen posts within 12 hours that the page was up. Parma’s police department claimed back then that people were confusing its posts with real information from law enforcement. Novak filed a civil suit against the officers that arrested him and the city of Parma, arguing that his constitutional rights were violated. After a federal appeals ruled that the officers were protected by what’s known as “qualified immunity” for law enforcement, he took the battle to the Supreme Court. 

Despite writing the brief in the same voice its publication uses, and despite filling it with outlandish claims and hilarious quips, The Onion made a very real argument defending the use of parody and explaining how it works:

“Put simply, for parody to work, it has to plausibly mimic the original. The Sixth Circuit’s decision in this case would condition the First Amendment’s protection for parody upon a requirement that parodists explicitly say, up-front, that their work is nothing more than an elaborate fiction. But that would strip parody of the very thing that makes it function.

The Onion cannot stand idly by in the face of a ruling that threatens to disembowel a form of rhetoric that has existed for millennia, that is particularly potent in the realm of political debate, and that, purely incidentally, forms the basis of The Onion’s writers’ paychecks.”

As Bloomberg notes, Supreme Court Justices have yet to decide whether to hear the case.

Elon Musk and Twitter are now fighting about Signal messages

Elon Musk’s private messages could once again land him in hot water in his legal fight with Twitter. Lawyers for the two sides once again faced off in Delaware’s Court of Chancery ahead of an October trial that will determine the fate of the deal.

Among the issues raised in the more than three-hour long hearing was Musk’s use of encrypted messaging app Signal. Twitter’s lawyers claim that Musk has been withholding messages sent via the app, citing a screenshot of an exchange between Musk and Jared Birchall, the head of Musk’s family office.

According to Twitter’s lawyers, the message referenced Morgan Stanley and Marc Andreesen as well as “a conversation about EU regulatory approval” of Musk’s deal with Twitter. Twitter’s lawyers said they uncovered a screenshot of the exchange after Musk and Birchall had denied using Signal to talk about the deal. The screenshot showed the message was set to automatically delete.

Lawyers for Twitter also cited “a missing text message” between Musk and Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison, who was set to be a co-investor in the Twitter deal. Musk and Ellison were texting the morning before Musk tweeted that the Twitter deal was “temporarily on hold.” It’s not clear what the significance of the texts are, but Twitter’s lawyers noted that Musk wrote to Ellison saying “interesting times” before arranging a phone call with him.

Twitter’s lawyers are asking the judge in the case, Kathaleen St. J. McCormick, to sanction Musk over his side’s handling of his messages. “We do think that the time has come for the court to issue a severe sanction,” Twitter’s lawyers said during the hearing.

Musk’s side attempted to downplay the significance of the Tesla CEO’s use of Signal. “There actually is no evidence that we destroyed evidence,” one of Musk’s lawyers responded. “Signal, you know, it sounds like it’s a nefarious device,” she said. “In fact, Twitter executives have testified that a number of them actually use Signal messaging.”

Musk’s lawyers cited the existence of Signal messages between Jack Dorsey and board chair Bret Taylor, and noted that current CEO Parag Agrawal has also turned over Signal messages. “Signal is not some exotic mechanism, it’s very common in Silicon Valley to use this platform,” she said.

Notably, the latest hearing is not the first time Twitter’s lawyers have used Musk’s private messages obtained in the legal discovery process in their bid to enforce the original terms of the deal with Musk. Twitter’s lawyers previously called out a text message between Musk and one of his Morgan Stanley bankers in which he cited concerns about “World War 3” as a reason to slow-roll his negotiations with Twitter.

McCormick is expected to rule on Twitter’s motion to sanction Musk in the next couple days. A five-day trial that will determine the fate of the deal is scheduled for October 17th.

SEC sues former MoviePass executives for fraud

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a lawsuit against two former MoviePass executives. In a federal complaint seen by Bloomberg, the agency accused Theodore Farnsworth and Mitch Lowe on Monday of misleading investors about the viability…