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Try couples therapy Do it for the sake of your baby, ahem, company. Illustration of a silhouetted man and woman sitting on a couch "It's like a marriage," said Nathan Baschez, who attends couples therapy with his Every co-founder Dan Shipper. Illustration: iStock/Getty Images Plus; Protocol Lizzy Lawrence September 1, 2022 You don't really know a person until you move in with them. That's when you discover all their quirks, both annoying and lovable. Maybe they love blasting music while showering at two in the morning. Maybe they're an anxious cleaner, an invisible shadow dusting up the little messes you make in the living room. For Dan Shipper and Nathan Baschez, starting a business together felt a bit like becoming roommates. Even spouses. "You get to know things about each other that don't ever come up unless you mutually have a thing that you care about a lot," Shipper said. "It's like a marriage, if you're like, 'At some point the marriage will maybe run its course and we'll do other things,'" Baschez offered. The two launched Every, a media company offering a bundle of newsletters for business professionals, in 2020. They met around 2014 in the early-stage startup scene in New York and instantly became close friends. They had never come into serious conflict before, but the stress of startup decisions had them fighting all the time. Shipper had undergone couples therapy with a romantic partner previously. The conflicts felt somewhat similar, so they decided to forgo traditional executive coaching and tried couples therapy instead. Every Tuesday for an hour, Shipper and Baschez hash out their differences with a licensed couples therapist. They swear by it. "You have a space where it's dedicated and planned that you're going to be diving into the more uncomfortable stuff," Baschez said. "Almost like compartmentalizing, but in a good way." "It's like a marriage, if you're like, 'At some point the marriage will maybe run its course and we'll do other things.'" Tech co-founders have espoused couples therapy, or "cofounder coaching," for some time now. The practice attracted a lot of media attention back in 2015 after the Genius founders told The New York Times about their therapy sessions. Most of the tech co-founders who have talked about couples therapy publicly are men, as are most co-founders generally. The pandemic, a crisis event that likely drove many of us to therapy, increased co-founders' use of couples therapy as well. But it's by no means commonplace among business leaders, especially outside of the startup bubble. Experts told Protocol they're hopeful that growing acceptance toward therapy in general might also popularize therapy for business partners. "Most of the co-founders that have come to me are already in a pretty bad place," said Laura Kasper, a psychologist who sees both romantic couples and co-founders. "That was my experience as a couples therapist maybe 15 years ago, whereas now people who come to me for couples therapy are getting ahead of it." It's like a marriage The founder relationship is like a marriage but without the sex -- usually, Kasper quipped. Sometimes the founders who come to her have a romantic past. "The crossover of romance and starting a business -- I've definitely seen that," she said. Typically, though, the founders Kasper sees had a close friendship or at least an acquaintance before starting their business. One overlap between romantic couples therapy and business couples therapy? Money. Kasper helps founders work through tensions caused by spending or budgeting decisions, and thus uncover the power dynamics in the relationship. Companies are like children, in a way. They require constant attention, loads of cash and a healthy relationship between co-parents/co-founders. "Part of your life and part of your value depends on the other person doing the right thing as far as you see it," said Patrick Meade, a psychologist who also sees co-founders. Matthew Jones, psychologist and creator of Cofounder Clarity, said theoretical frameworks behind couples therapy like the Gottman method or Imago Relationship theory can also apply to business relationships. But the intended outcomes are often different. While part of the goal is to improve the founders' relationship, therapy is geared toward the best interest of the company. Sometimes separation is what's best for the company. Kasper has had clients who parted ways, where somebody went to the company's board and got rid of the other one. "All of those factors might feel different than traditional couples therapy, where there's an emphasis on just the couple in a vacuum and it's less outcomes-driven," Jones said. The challenges are typically personal, Meade said. They might stem from one founder forgetting the other's birthday, for example. Meade said he sees a lot of founders whose personal problems become heightened when coming up to a funding round. That new phase in a company can be the impetus for couples therapy in the first place. Starting a company may be one of the most stressful work experiences imaginable. Co-founders spend an inordinate amount of time together, and the personal life/work boundary becomes blurrier. This is the case for Shipper and Baschez. "Boundaries? What are you talking about?" they joked. They have a level of trust that allows them to delve into more personal topics during therapy. The co-founder relationship is unique; couples therapy would not be effective among colleagues with different authority levels, Kasper said, because of fear of retaliation. Even co-founder therapy requires a great deal of trust and comfort with crossing into the personal. "You have to really trust the person," Shipper said. "They can really hurt you if they take things that you say or reveal about yourself and use it out of context." Founder couples therapists are sensitive to topics their clients might consider off-limits. Jones typically avoids delving into childhood issues, as he's able to talk through patterns without discussing origins of behavior in detail. Kasper has found that the clients who come to her are already prepared to dig into personal issues with their co-founder. Meade thinks that many of his founder clients actually need to put more boundaries in place. "Some of this work is about re-establishing boundaries and saying, 'Hey, you're actually spending way too much time together,'" Meade said. "You need a weekend day when you don't actually communicate with each other." Coaching versus therapy Executive coaching is already well established in the business world, as it was built for the business context. The difference between coaching and therapy is hazy. Some people, like Kasper, offer both. "Coaching is a little bit more action-oriented, problem-solution-focused than traditional, psychodynamic, let's uncover the history of these patterns from your family," Kasper said. Therapists are equipped to diagnose clients and dig deeper into mental health issues, whereas coaches might avoid that level of depth. Coaching is more strictly business, while therapy is more holistic. Confidentiality is better protected in therapy than in coaching. "Therapy has many more layers of confidentiality, ethical standards and more regulatory bodies at work to increase privacy of clients, whereas coaching is the Wild West," Jones said. "Confidentiality practices are much more lenient, although many of the quality coaches that I engage with do their best to prioritize confidentiality as well." "Therapy has many more layers of confidentiality, ethical standards and more regulatory bodies at work to increase privacy of clients, whereas coaching is the Wild West." Shipper and Baschez think therapy is essentially equivalent to coaching, but have found it to be less expensive. They haven't found lack of business knowledge to be an issue because usually the problem is emotional. It's not about making the right business decision. "If you feel like what you really need is the tactical business stuff, get a coach," Shipper said. "But our experience is that 80 to 90% of the stuff is actually emotional and about interpersonal relationships and yourself." Less of a novelty Many of the previous headlines about tech founders seeing therapists treat the practice as a bit of a spectacle (check out this incredible video of co-founders doing a live session with famed therapist Dr. Ruth). Right now it's still a novelty, but experts think it could become more ubiquitous. "It's something that is going to go from this woo-woo, touchy-feely domain to something I think should be standard operating practice for a successful, venture-backed company," Jones said. Jones thinks it will grow in influence especially as younger people enter the industry, and there's less of a stigma about therapy as a whole. Leaders in the industry care increasingly more about founder mental health and getting in touch with your emotions as a manager. Sometimes people handle this vulnerability poorly: think crying CEO after layoffs. But in its best form, couples therapy can create more awareness of your leadership style and skills. "It's something that is going to go from this woo-woo, touchy-feely domain to something I think should be standard operating practice for a successful, venture-backed company." If founders went to therapy from the get-go, they might know when to step away and avoid blowing up the company or themselves. Maybe we'd have less infamous company downfalls, creating less fodder for buzzy Silicon Valley TV series. Maybe society would look like this. It's certainly a stretch to say that couples therapy will solve all of a company's issues. But it can improve the health of your co-founder relationship, and by extension the health of your company. "There's a lot of things that go wrong inside of companies that therapy can make easier to process, or make it not such a disaster when it does happen," Shipper said. Lizzy Lawrence Lizzy Lawrence ( @LizzyLaw_) is a reporter at Protocol, covering tools and productivity in the workplace. She's a recent graduate of the University of Michigan, where she studied sociology and international studies. She served as editor in chief of The Michigan Daily, her school's independent newspaper. She's based in D.C., and can be reached at llawrence@protocol.com. executive coaching therapy mental health managers startups uber Climate Uber is recruiting users in its congestion pricing fight The ride-hailing giant has flip-flopped in its approach to congestion pricing in New York. Now it's launched a campaign asking riders to oppose the policy. The campaign shows the company's apparent about-face when it comes to New York's plan for congestion pricing. Photo: Eduardo MunozAlvarez/VIEWpress September 2, 2022 Lisa Martine Jenkins Lisa Martine Jenkins is a senior reporter at Protocol covering climate. Lisa previously wrote for Morning Consult, Chemical Watch and the Associated Press. Lisa is currently based in Brooklyn, and is originally from the Bay Area. Find her on Twitter ( @l_m_j_) or reach out via email (ljenkins@protocol.com). September 2, 2022 A number of New York-area Uber users received a surprising message this week. It wasn't an offer for free rides; instead, it was an email from the ride-hailing service imploring them to "tell the MTA that their proposed increase in fees and your lack of accessible subways or bus lines leaves you flat out of options for getting where you need to." It's part of a campaign that's been hitting users' inboxes and app notifications for the past month and shows the company's apparent about-face when it comes to New York's plan for congestion pricing. The policy, which was approved by lawmakers in 2019 but has yet to be ironed out by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, would charge drivers entering much of lower Manhattan during rush hour an extra fee in an attempt to both ease traffic and reduce carbon emissions. Uber was originally among a coalition of companies and NGOs lobbying New York state lawmakers in support of congestion pricing. Now that the process of ironing out the details is underway, though, the company seems to have changed its tune. Josh Gold, Uber's senior director of public policy and communications, told Protocol that the company "strongly [believes] congestion pricing should go forward." However, it takes issue with one of the options for structuring the toll, which he said "bizarrely puts an additional burden on riders coming in from [outer boroughs] while giving a cheaper ride to those going from a TriBeCa condo to their Midtown office." This scenario, though, is just one of seven under review by the MTA. It would charge commuters $23 for a rush hour trip into the heart of Midtown, and $17 for an off-peak-hours trip. The scenario that would cost drivers the least would include a toll of $9 during peak hours and $7 for off-peak hours. Taxi drivers have also protested congestion pricing, rallying in front of Gov. Kathy Hochul's office on Aug. 24 for exemptions to the new law. But Uber is alone in using its access to riders, including information about where they live, to marshal them to the company's cause. The email to riders who live in transit deserts brings users to a form email directed at the MTA. "It's critical we improve our public transit system -- I understand that better than most - but the largest burden shouldn't fall on those with the least access," the email reads. "Please don't leave me stranded." The company has also been targeting riders via messages both in the app and attached to post-ride invoices. Seth Friedman, a Brooklyn resident, told Protocol that he has started noticing messages about congestion pricing even when he wasn't riding into Manhattan. Screenshots of messages from Uber Messages asking New Yorkers to push back against potentially high tolls as a part of the city's congestion pricing policy have landed in the notifications and invoices of riders like Seth Friedman. These were received between July 29 and Aug. 30.Images: Seth Friedman Since 2019, New York Uber riders received notes on certain invoices prompting them to "learn more about the government-mandated pricing rules, taxes, and fees that make trips in NYC more expensive," but without reference to new congestion pricing scenarios. However, beginning on Aug. 25, that message has evolved to be more explicit, telling users that the congestion pricing policies could result in "tolls as high as $23 per trip during peak hours," with a link to "say no to new fees" that brings users to a different form email without the transit desert language that will be sent to the MTA. During a ride on Aug. 30, Friedman noticed that the invoice ads had been complemented by a pop-up in Uber's ride interface as well. For Friedman, who describes himself as "a strong supporter of congestion pricing," the ads seem to have backfired. "It makes me not want to use Uber anymore," Friedman said. "I think it's really gross that they're doing this." The MTA's environmental assessment found that implementing tolls would reduce the number of vehicles entering the central part of Manhattan by 15.4% to 19.9%, and improve air quality as a result. The fees collected would be used in part to improve public transit, further incentivizing New Yorkers to use lower-emissions ways of getting around. "Anyone who has been in New York City in the past decade knows that for-hire vehicles are a part of the story of congestion in Manhattan's Central Business District, which has harmful air quality impacts and slows down the economy," said John McCarthy, chief of external relations for the transit agency. The public comment period for the program's environmental assessment, which lays out the potential tolling scenarios, ends on Sept. 9. While the rollout of congestion pricing does not yet have a firm timeline, the tolls could take effect as soon as late 2023. Keep Reading Show less Lisa Martine Jenkins Lisa Martine Jenkins is a senior reporter at Protocol covering climate. Lisa previously wrote for Morning Consult, Chemical Watch and the Associated Press. Lisa is currently based in Brooklyn, and is originally from the Bay Area. Find her on Twitter ( @l_m_j_) or reach out via email (ljenkins@protocol.com). uber congestion pricing new york transportation sponsored content Sponsored Content Why freelance workers could be exactly what businesses need right now August 25, 2022 David Silverberg David Silverberg is a Toronto-based freelance journalist, editor and writing coach. He writes for The Washington Post, BBC News, Business Insider, The Toronto Star, New Scientist, Fodor's, and several alumni magazines. He also writes for brands such as 23andme, Shopify and Bold Commerce. He has served as editor of B2B News Network, Canada's only B2B news magazine, and Digital Journal, a leading pioneer in citizen journalism. Find more about him at www.davidsilverberg.ca August 24, 2022 If you thought the rise of remote work, independent contractors and contingent workers rose sharply during the pandemic, just wait until the next few months when you see a higher uptick in the on-demand talent economy. Rising workload and pace, the stress of commuting and a taste of the flexible work-from-anywhere lifestyle have all contributed to what many are calling the Great Resignation, which is only just the beginning of the headwinds organizations are facing, says Tim Sanders, vice president of client strategy at Upwork, a marketplace that connects businesses with independent professionals and agencies around the globe. "It began with front-line workers, but it's not going to end there," Sanders notes, "Recent data suggests that the biggest industries for quits are now software and professional services and on top of that, I predict that we'll see more leaders and managers continuing to quit their jobs." As the economy leans toward a recession, and layoffs across dozens of tech firms make headlines, Sanders predicts companies will increasingly turn to on-demand talent. "These highly skilled independent contractors and professionals offer the speed, flexibility and agility companies are seeking right now. Leaders are becoming more empowered to fully embrace a hybrid workforce and shift away from rigid models." Leaning into headwinds: Driving growth amid uncertainty A recent report from Upwork, The Adaptive Enterprise, underscores the importance of flexible on-demand talent during uncertain times. Sanders notes: "A growing number of organizations, including Upwork and customers like Microsoft, Airbnb and Nasdaq understand that on-demand talent enables companies to reduce risk, drive cost savings, and at the same time, protect their people from burnout. Flexible workforce models also allow businesses to respond to and recover faster from crises than more traditional models." Some crises come in the form of economic slowdowns, while others can take the shape of geopolitical conflicts that disrupt life and work as we know it. Mitigating risk -- such as a pandemic wave striking a certain region housing the majority of a company's staff -- is one reason businesses turn to on-demand talent, but it's certainly not the only one. CEOs surveyed by Deloitte in 2022 see talent shortages as the biggest threat to their growth plans. The survey goes on to report that CEOs believe that talent is the top disruptor to their supply chain and there is more to be gained within their workforce by providing greater flexibility (83% in agreement) as opposed to merely offering more financial-related incentives. What is top of mind for many business leaders is needing to fill talent and skills gaps, so they can deliver new products and enhanced services. In other words, companies are struggling to find the specific skill sets needed to advance their business objectives and innovation agendas. The biggest benefit of leveraging on-demand talent is often tapping into the talent and skills that businesses can't find elsewhere. Upwork's recent report highlights that 53% of on-demand talent provide skills that are in short supply for many companies, including IT, marketing, computer programming and business consulting. By harnessing a global talent pool from digital marketplaces like Upwork, businesses have wider access to skilled talent who can accelerate what those companies offer to customers at a fraction of the cost. "Skillsourcing" on-demand talent helps companies maintain a more compact population of full-time employees to concentrate on work that only they can do as well as maximize their strengths while bringing in independent professionals to handle the rest. Behind the growth: Speed, flexibility and agility Speed, flexibility and agility are three critical benefits offered by on-demand talent to businesses seeking competitive advantages in their sector. While on-demand talent solutions give companies speed-to-market advantages, Sanders sees that they also give organizations a strategic form of flexibility. "An agile organization is able to make bold and quick moves without breaking everything," Sanders says, "and look at a number of our Fortune 100 customers that have a workforce made up of almost half on-demand talent, and how they can pivot on a dime. It's a case of structure enabling strategy." As for speed and efficiency doing the actual work, Sanders says clients report that when hiring managers have been given access to on-demand talent, they engage the needed talent within days instead of months, and when they bring them onto projects, the work is completed up to 50% faster than through traditional avenues. Sanders says, "Businesses have realized that remote work experiences are best led and judged by outcomes, not just time in the office, and more leaders are comfortable and confident opting for a hybrid workforce that can deliver based on those outcomes." Upwork's Labor Market Trends and Insights page shows that organizations are indeed ramping up their hybrid workforces: 60% of businesses surveyed said they plan to use more on-demand talent in the next two years. "The old way of acquiring talent isn't efficient," Sanders says. "Staffing firms aren't the silver-bullet solution they once were, and more businesses need to rethink and redesign their workforce with on-demand talent as the economy and work rapidly evolve. The conversation is no longer about the future of work, but the future of winning." Keep Reading Show less David Silverberg David Silverberg is a Toronto-based freelance journalist, editor and writing coach. He writes for The Washington Post, BBC News, Business Insider, The Toronto Star, New Scientist, Fodor's, and several alumni magazines. He also writes for brands such as 23andme, Shopify and Bold Commerce. He has served as editor of B2B News Network, Canada's only B2B news magazine, and Digital Journal, a leading pioneer in citizen journalism. Find more about him at www.davidsilverberg.ca sponsored sponsored content #content Entertainment 'House of the Dragon' and 'Rings of Power' go head-to-head Don't know what to do this weekend? We've got you covered. Spend the weekend in. Image: HBO, Sony Interactive Entertainment; The Verge September 2, 2022 Nick Statt Nick Statt is Protocol's video game reporter. Prior to joining Protocol, he was news editor at The Verge covering the gaming industry, mobile apps and antitrust out of San Francisco, in addition to managing coverage of Silicon Valley tech giants and startups. He now resides in Rochester, New York, home of the garbage plate and, completely coincidentally, the World Video Game Hall of Fame. He can be reached at nstatt@protocol.com. September 2, 2022 Fantasy fans can feast this weekend on the two biggest prequels in prestige TV: The third episode of HBO's "House of the Dragon" airs Sunday, while Amazon's two-episode premiere of LOTR prequel "Rings of Power" landed for U.S. Prime subscribers Thursday evening. After that, consider diving back into Naughty Dog's PS5 remake of The Last of Us. One prequel to rule them all with Amazon's 'Rings of Power' While HBO is riding high on the success of "House of the Dragon," Amazon is trying its hand at the arguably even trickier task of reviving the high fantasy world of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" in a new mass media format. The Warner Bros. film trilogy is one of the most beloved adaptations of all time, and the expectations for the "Rings of Power" TV series, which is set thousands of years before the films, are mixed, with many fans wondering if it might flop without strong enough threads tying it back to Frodo Baggins and crew. But early reviews are positive, and Amazon spent a staggering $715 million on the series' licensing rights and first-season budget. Let's hope it was money well spent. 'House of the Dragon' soars into its third episode with a season two renewal Despite what the internet may tell you about the lasting legacy of HBO's "Game of Thrones," the worldbuilding of author George R.R. Martin remains unrivaled, and the engrossing political drama on "House of the Dragon" is yet more proof. The prequel series, adapted from Martin's "Fire & Blood" and focused on the Targaryen war of succession, premiered to a record 10 million viewers in its first episode last month, while last week's follow-up actually increased the show's viewership to 10.2 million. A second season has already been ordered, and it's clear why: The world of Westeros is rich in lore, and "House of the Dragon" is so far doing a great job of teasing it out in new and unique ways. Not all free-to-play games last forever The success of the free-to-play business model has become a central narrative in the trajectory of the game industry and in particular the explosive growth of mobile gaming. But it's not all meteoric rises and massive revenue gains. A new report at The Verge examines the unfortunate aftermath of free-to-play hits shutting down in the wake of Nintendo's planned shuttering of Dragalia Lost. With single-player titles, you can always revisit them, but when free-to-play games get shut down, they're gone for good -- taking players' hard-earned progress and paid-for cosmetics with them. The Last of Us Part 1 is back, again The video game industry's tried-and-true practice of repackaging old products and marketing them with nostalgia is out in full force with Friday's release of The Last of Us Part I. It's a remake of a 9-year-old game, which already has its own remastered version, with a retail price of $70. The title, released as a kind of swan song to the PS3 back in 2013, is heralded as one of the best single-player narrative games of all time. But it's also an open question of whether it justifies its own cost. The new remake, which builds on the 2014 remaster of the game with a major visual overhaul for the PS5 and other small tweaks and changes, is certainly aimed at diehard fans. That makes it hard to recommend, especially without the multiplayer component of the original. That is unless you never played the original. If this would be your first time taking the reins of Joel and Ellie in their post-apocalyptic zombie adventure, it's definitely worth the steep price tag. For everyone else, perhaps it's best waiting until the game hits PlayStation Plus at some point in the future. A version of this story also appeared in today's Entertainment newsletter; subscribe here. Keep Reading Show less Nick Statt Nick Statt is Protocol's video game reporter. Prior to joining Protocol, he was news editor at The Verge covering the gaming industry, mobile apps and antitrust out of San Francisco, in addition to managing coverage of Silicon Valley tech giants and startups. He now resides in Rochester, New York, home of the garbage plate and, completely coincidentally, the World Video Game Hall of Fame. He can be reached at nstatt@protocol.com. game of thrones amazon lord of the rings free to play gaming video games sony playstation #content data sanctuary Policy California could become a 'data sanctuary' Two bills passed in California would protect data related to gender-affirming care for out-of-state minors and those who access abortion care in the state. And they could be the first of many. States like California are passing laws that would make them data sanctuaries. Photo: Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images September 2, 2022 Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu Kwasi (kway-see) is a fellow at Protocol with an interest in tech policy and climate. Previously, he covered global religion news at the Associated Press in New York. Before that, he was a freelance journalist based out of Accra, Ghana, covering social justice, health, and environment stories. His reporting has been published in The New York Times, Quartz, CNN, The Guardian, and Public Radio International. He can be reached at kasiedu@protocol.com. September 2, 2022 As states across the country introduce bills that would restrict gender-affirming care for trans youths and limit access to abortion services, lawmakers in California and other Democratic states are moving to turn their regions into what some are referring to as "data sanctuaries," which protect the private information of people traveling out of state for care. This week, California's legislature passed SB 107, a bill that would prohibit health care providers, law enforcement and courts in California from aiding in another state's investigation related to a minor receiving gender-affirming care in California. That bill is now headed to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk. A separate bill introduced by assemblymember Mia Bonta, which was also passed by the legislature, would shield people who traveled to California for abortion services from having their medical records shared with states and third parties looking to enforce out-of-state abortion bans. Through these bills, California lawmakers are hoping to do for trans and reproductive rights what other sanctuary city and state policies have done for immigrant rights. The legislation could help cut off at least some of the digital trails that civil liberties and privacy advocates fear could be used against trans youths and people seeking abortions. "What is happening now is there are a series of red states -- Texas, Alabama, others -- that are trying to criminalize parents for allowing their trans children to receive gender-affirming care," state Sen. Scott Wiener, who co-sponsored SB 107, told Protocol. "This bill is a response to those vile laws." Recent laws in states such as Arkansas have attempted to ban gender-affirming health care for minors, and in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott has issued an order calling on the public to report parents who allow their children to receive gender-affirming care. The Supreme Court's overturn of Roe v. Wade has also unleashed a flood of restrictive abortion laws across the country. Residents in those states now have to look to nearby states where abortion and trans rights are protected to gain access to care. But without protections, the data they leave behind could be used to prosecute them when they return home. "We know that parents are crossing borders with their kids. It is, I think, only a matter of time until the anti-trans investigators are looking into the movement of kids over state lines and turning to data that is in the pro-trans states," said Adam Schwartz, a senior lawyer at Electronic Frontier Foundation, who recently wrote in support of more states becoming data sanctuaries for trans kids. According to a March 2022 report by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, "more than 58,000 transgender youth and young adults across 15 states are in jeopardy of losing access to gender-affirming care." SB 107 would make it a lot harder for other states to investigate instances of minors receiving gender-affirming care in California. It would prohibit compliance with out-of-state subpoenas that seek data to enforce state laws banning gender-affirming care of minors. It would also prohibit law enforcement from cooperating with the enforcement of out-of-state laws that prohibit this kind of care. Since the bill was introduced, 19 other states have proposed similar so-called "trans refuge state" bills, according to Wiener's office. While federal laws such as HIPAA do protect the handling and disclosure of sensitive health information, not all local officials are covered under that regulation, and some aspects of a person's information -- such as the license plates of the car they drove to a clinic -- are not protected and could be obtained with a subpoena or warrant. The California bills are intended to have a similar effect as those enacted by Democrat-led cities and states to protect undocumented immigrants in the past. According to a 2020 study, those sanctuary policies have been effective at "reducing deportations of people with no criminal convictions by half -- without affecting deportations of people with violent convictions." Of course, there are other ways that anti-trans states could go about getting the data they are seeking without implicating the California law enforcement agencies, courts or health care providers targeted in the bill. Data brokers sell sensitive data readily. Meanwhile, platforms such as Facebook could always share data voluntarily when asked, though Facebook's stated policies generally suggest it would only do so in response to a law enforcement request or in emergency situations. Still, supporters of the bill including Wiener concede this is something of a loophole, and are willing to see amendments. "If Apple or Facebook or anyone else thinks that we need to make any tweaks to it to make it more expansive, we are happy to have that conversation," Wiener said. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, reproductive rights groups have also called on tech companies to do more to protect the data of people seeking abortions. Recently, authorities in Nebraska have used private Facebook messages to prosecute a mother and daughter in connection with an abortion. (Facebook said the law enforcement request for the data made no mention of abortion.) For Schwartz, shielding information held by social media companies would be a crucial next step toward greater data protection. "There is a lot of hard work to be done to figure out how to be a data sanctuary," Schwartz said. "There are a million cracks in the dike, and people are just beginning to figure out how to fill them." Keep Reading Show less Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu Kwasi (kway-see) is a fellow at Protocol with an interest in tech policy and climate. Previously, he covered global religion news at the Associated Press in New York. Before that, he was a freelance journalist based out of Accra, Ghana, covering social justice, health, and environment stories. His reporting has been published in The New York Times, Quartz, CNN, The Guardian, and Public Radio International. He can be reached at kasiedu@protocol.com. abortion california privacy protection texas transgender data sanctuary activision blizzard Entertainment UK regulators press Microsoft on Activision deal The CMA says it is "concerned" that the acquisition could "substantially lessen competition" in gaming consoles, subscription services and cloud gaming. The U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority is pressing Microsoft on the Activision deal, all but ensuring a more in-depth regulatory review will be required. Image: Microsoft September 1, 2022 Nick Statt Nick Statt is Protocol's video game reporter. Prior to joining Protocol, he was news editor at The Verge covering the gaming industry, mobile apps and antitrust out of San Francisco, in addition to managing coverage of Silicon Valley tech giants and startups. He now resides in Rochester, New York, home of the garbage plate and, completely coincidentally, the World Video Game Hall of Fame. He can be reached at nstatt@protocol.com. September 1, 2022 Microsoft is now contending with increased pressure from U.K. regulators over its proposed acquisition of game publisher Activision Blizzard. On Thursday, the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority said it had "concerns" over the deal and would proceed with a second and extended period of regulatory review if Microsoft did not address the issues within five business days. The tight time window all but ensures the so-called Phase 2 review will likely commence, which may involve deeper negotiations with the CMA over a period of many months that could prevent the deal from closing until well into 2023. Microsoft originally set a final deadline of June 2023 for the deal to pass, and the company is still working with both the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the European Union's European Commission, the other two major regulatory bodies that could reasonably hold up or even doom the deal entirely. "The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is concerned that Microsoft's anticipated purchase of Activision Blizzard could substantially lessen competition in gaming consoles, multi-game subscription services, and cloud gaming services (game streaming)," the CMA wrote in a statement. The agency went on to say that it's concerned that if "Microsoft buys Activision Blizzard it could harm rivals, including recent and future entrants into gaming, by refusing them access to Activision Blizzard games or providing access on much worse terms." Sorcha O'Carroll, the CMA's senior director of mergers, said in a statement, "We are concerned that Microsoft could use its control over popular games like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft post-merger to harm rivals, including recent and future rivals in multi-game subscription services and cloud gaming." Microsoft has already released a blog post in response that outlines its position on the deal and tries to assuage concerns around Call of Duty and other thorny parts of the proposed acquisition. The post, penned by Microsoft Gaming CEO and Xbox chief Phil Spencer, echoes familiar statements company executives have made over the past nine months, including a commitment to keep Activision's Call of Duty franchise available to PlayStation players. "We've heard that this deal might take franchises like Call of Duty away from the places where people currently play them. That's why, as we've said before, we are committed to making the same version of Call of Duty available on PlayStation on the same day the game launches elsewhere," Spencer said. "We will continue to enable people to play with each other across platforms and across devices. We know players benefit from this approach because we've done it with Minecraft, which continues to be available on multiple platforms and has expanded to even more since Mojang joined Microsoft in 2014." Spencer's post also goes to great lengths to outline exactly why Microsoft sees the Activision acquisition as a vital way to grow its consumer base beyond the console audience. "While we love consoles, we recognize that they are not the only way that people play games. Today, the largest and fastest growing segment of gaming is mobile platforms. To reach the billions of players where they are and no matter what device they play on, we need to embrace choice," Spencer wrote. "We are expanding choice in two ways: through the creation of Game Pass, which gives players a subscription option; and by bringing more games to mobile platforms, including through our cloud game streaming technology." Spencer said the Activision deal includes not only big console and PC franchises like Diablo and Overwatch in addition to Call of Duty, but also mobile expertise in the form of Candy Crush maker King. Combined, the deal would allow Microsoft to grow its cloud gaming initiative to bring console games to smartphones and other screens while also developing more mobile-first titles to compete in the mobile gaming market. (Sony on Monday announced it had acquired its first mobile gaming studio to develop new PlayStation titles for smartphones.) "This promises to open up mobile gaming, creating new distribution opportunities for game developers outside of mobile app stores while delivering compelling and immersive experiences for players by using the power of the cloud," Spencer said. "And we can extend the joy of playing to devices that people already own, including Smart TVs and laptops." Keep Reading Show less Nick Statt Nick Statt is Protocol's video game reporter. Prior to joining Protocol, he was news editor at The Verge covering the gaming industry, mobile apps and antitrust out of San Francisco, in addition to managing coverage of Silicon Valley tech giants and startups. He now resides in Rochester, New York, home of the garbage plate and, completely coincidentally, the World Video Game Hall of Fame. He can be reached at nstatt@protocol.com. activision blizzard microsoft xbox sony playstation game pass regulation cma gaming video games Latest Stories See more Most Popular The tech boomers are showing their age Changing of the guard Exclusive: Amazon tightens its belt Why freelance workers could be exactly what businesses need right now Nvidia, AMD warned of new US export restrictions on AI chips Axon's plan for Taser drones in schools isn't dead yet Bulletins September 02, 2022 13:11 EST New details about ByteDance's next Pico VR headset emerge September 01, 2022 12:33 EST Diablo Canyon nuclear plant gets $1.4 billion loan to stay open August 31, 2022 18:30 EST Nvidia, AMD warned of new US export restrictions on AI chips About UsCareersContact UsAdvertiseRSS feeds Privacy StatementDo not sellTerms of Service (c) 2022 Protocol Media, LLC To give you the best possible experience, this site uses cookies. If you continue browsing. you accept our use of cookies. 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