“I don’t need another email whining about COVID”: Austin Landlords Lead the Way into the New Venue-Free Future

When former real estate lawyer and current Austin Mayor Steve Adler cancelled SXSW in February there was one upside. Given his deep experience as a real estate lawyer he would appreciate the vast economic complexities of the sudden contraction of the cash flow to the Live Music Capitol of the World. In fact, Mayor Adler […]

Why No One Should Be Surprised About Tencent

MTP readers will not be surprised at the Executive Order relating to Tencent and one of its apps called “WeChat.”  The WeChat app has long been considered a tool of censorship associated with China’s Ministry of State Security and the Chinese Communist Party. Most prominently, WeChat was linked to action taken by the ruling Chinese […]

The TikTok Blame Game Starts

The walls appear to be closing in on TikTok (or as it’s becoming known, TikSoft).  This is probably particularly galling to the founder of Bytedance (TikTok’s parent company). Zhang Yiming worked at Microsoft but left in 2008. Mr. Zhang is launching a Google-style reaction and deflection campaign against the U.S. Government’s standard Committee on Foreign […]

When Pigs Fly: The TikTok Fire Sale Belly Flop

You may have heard that the massive copyright infringer TikTok is going to be sold.  I seriously doubt that’s what’s going on at all.  It’s not a “sale” in any normal sense.  It’s a fire sale at best.  You’ve heard the (sexist) expression in mergers and acquisitions circles, put some lipstick and stockings on that […]