protectionism
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Italian law requires domestic movies hit theaters before they stream
France isn't the only country particularly wary of streaming services. Italian Culture and Tourism Minister Alberto Bonisoli recently unveiled a law that would require all Italian-made movies to show in theaters before they reach Netflix, Prime Video and other streaming providers. It also formalizes a 105-day delay between the theatrical and streaming releases, although that can be shortened to 'just' 60 days if a picture either shows in fewer than 80 theaters or has fewer than 50,000 viewers in its first three weeks.
Missouri is close to banning Tesla's direct-to-customer sales
The US as a whole may strongly believe in free trade, but that seems to go out of the window whenever Elon Musk is involved. According to KOLR 10 News, Missouri's legislature has sneakily included a ban on Tesla Motors' direct-selling model, shortly before the long-standing bill was passed through the Senate. Apparently, Bill HB 1124 previously was concerned with the sale of off-road and all-terrain vehicles. However, between being passed by the house on April 17th and being passed by the senate on May 7th, a new provision was included that essentially blocks Tesla's dealership-free business. Missouri isn't the first state to do this, as lobby groups have already enacted similar legislation in New Jersey, Arizona and Texas. Given that the FTC has already come out in favor of Tesla, we suspect the company will move to block the bill reaching the House floor, and has advised the locals to do the same. [Thanks, Andrew]
China to impose more restrictions on foreign online games
We've mentioned some of the issues that China's licensed World of Warcraft operator The9 faces with bringing Wrath of the Lich King to market, and what this latest round of regulation could mean for the the operator. The government's newfound concern with controlling exactly what content exists in online games played in China may have an impact that goes far beyond World of Warcraft. Other foreign MMOs are presently operating in China, while others have their eyes on this growing market.JLM Pacific Epoch cites (the Chinese-language news portal) Sohu, which reports that the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) will "tighten approval criteria for online game imports in an effort to protect the development of online game enterprises and avoid the excessive penetration of foreign culture among Chinese youth."
