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Apple Hoping to Drive Original Content Interest with Free Shows

Jeff Gamet ·

Insider sources tell CNBC Apple will let anyone with an Apple TV, iPhone, or iPad watch its original streaming shows for free. They’ll be available through the TV app, which also groups together other subscription channels. From the report:

The product will include Apple-owned content, which will be free to Apple device owners, and subscription “channels,” which will allow customers to sign up for online-only services, such as those from HBO and Starz.

My guess is that the insiders are partially right. I think Apple will offer an episode or two from each show for free. Watching full seasons will require a paid subscription of some sort. That could be an Apple Music subscription, or a new package Apple will create for its TV shows.

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Rare Bipartisan Push to Scrutinize Silicon Valley After Google+ Fiasco

Andrew Orr ·

Google+ recently suffered an incident where a bug potentially exposed the data of thousands of users. Now we’re seeing a bipartisan push to reign in tech companies after a deluge of leaks.

At a Senate hearing Wednesday, Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R., S.D.) said it is increasingly clear from Google+ as well as Facebook Inc.’s earlier Cambridge Analytica scandal that industry self-regulation is no longer sufficient to protect users’ privacy.

We should never have trusted corporations to be able to self-regulate in the first place. That’s like telling a criminal to voluntarily turn themselves in.