Humble Bundle hasn’t exactly won fans with donation caps and potentially confusing subscription tiers, but it’s hoping to make some amends. As of February 1st, the company’s monthly Humble Choice service is consolidating around a single $12 monthly plan that gives you permanent copies of every game offered in a given month. Humble noted the number of games might vary, but you can still skip a month if you don’t like the selection and want to remain a member.

You’ll also have access to more games so long as you’re subscribed. A new Humble Games Collection gives you access to a curated, expanding catalog of titles you can access only as a Choice member. The initial mix is limited to just five games (including the relatively well-known Void Bastards) available through the Humble app, but the company clearly hopes the promise of a PlayStation Plus- or Xbox Game Pass-style library will keep you paying even when the monthly Choice selections aren’t to your liking.

Choice has other modified perks. You’ll receive as much as a 20 percent discount on eligible games you buy in the Humble Store, but you’ll have to stay subscribed for at least a year. You’ll get that discount immediately if you’re subscribed by February. Five percent of your membership fee will be donated to charities.

This won’t thrill everyone. Classic subscribers who switch will lose their 20 percent discount the moment they skip a month, for instance. This could still be less confusing, though, and might be alluring if you want access to a host of indie games regardless of what the monthly catalog has to offer.

Source: Engadget – Humble Bundle’s simplified game subscription will include a members-only library

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) can move forward with its latest antitrust lawsuit against Meta, a US district judge ruled on Tuesday. The decision is a significant win for the regulator, which had seen its first complaint thrown out by Judge James Boasberg last June.

Per The Washington Post, Boasberg now says the agency can move forward with its complaint thanks to the “more robust and detailed” evidence it presented with its amended suit, which the FTC filed in August. “Although the agency may well face a tall task down the road in proving its allegations, the Court believes that it has now cleared the pleading bar and may proceed to discovery,” the judge said.

In October, Meta asked the court to dismiss the suit, arguing the FTC had failed yet again to present a “factual basis for alleging monopoly power.” The agency’s amended complaint is approximately two dozen pages longer than its original one, but it puts forward many of the same arguments. Specifically, the FTC alleges Facebook used the acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp in 2012 and 2014 to secure its dominant position in the social media market.

“It is unfortunate that despite the court’s dismissal of the complaint and conclusion that it lacked the basis for a claim, the FTC has chosen to continue this meritless lawsuit,” the company said at the time. “The FTC’s claims are an effort to rewrite antitrust laws and upend settled expectations of merger review, declaring to the business community that no sale is ever final.”

Source: Engadget – The FTC’s antitrust suit against Facebook is cleared to move forward

As part of its ongoing efforts to stay on the right side of App Store rules, Tumblr is adding a Sensitive Content toggle to its iOS app. The setting is enabled by default, and it keeps posts with sensitive tags out of recommendations, blocks search results with sensitive tags and hides blogs “that are explicit in nature.”

Disabling the toggle will allow users to search for tags that might include posts of a sensitive nature and see recommendations that might include suggestive or sensitive content. Switching off the setting will also allow you to tap through an overlay on blogs that have been marked as explicit. However, you still won’t be able to view posts that have been flagged as explicit.

It’s not entirely clear how Tumblr defines “explicit” in this context (Engadget has asked for clarification). Tumblr banned porn and realistic depictions of human genitals in December 2018 after Apple temporarily removed the app from the App Store.

Tumblr says the sensitive content setting only applies to those using the latest version of the iOS app. For now, users will need visit their settings on the Tumblr website to disable the toggle. They’ll then be able to access sensitive content in the iOS app after they quit and relaunch it.

Last month, Tumblr blocked search terms and recommendations featuring potentially sensitive content on the iOS app to comply with App Store rules. The sensitive content toggle should make the platform a bit more open for iOS users, though still less so than on Android or the web.

“These latest updates provide more control to our community on the iOS app to build the experience that fits them best, and to explore the content that they find interesting,” Tumblr wrote in a blog post. “While the experience for our community is a top priority, we must also comply with Apple’s App Store guidelines and our own guidelines.”

Source: Engadget – Tumblr adds a sensitive content filter to its iOS app