TC Daily Newsletter 07/12/16

1. Pokémon Go is mechanically beautiful

Is there a reason you're so addicted to Pokémon Go? There is â€" the elemental structure from a game design perspective. Matthew Lynley takes a look at why Nintendo and Niantic's game keeps us coming back for more, and why it has achieved the scale it has amassed so very quickly.

Meanwhile, here's how to actually get better at the game, once you're done understanding your obsession.

2. Tesla faces SEC investigation over failure to disclose Autopilot accident

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We know what Elon Musk thinks â€" the May 7 accident resulting in a fatality wasn't "material" to stockholders. But someone else has a different opinion, aannnd unfortunately that someone else is the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC is taking a closer look at what did or didn't happen with passing information on to stockholders in the case of the crash. It's hard to see them not at least looking into the matter, however, given how much attention there is on Tesla at the moment.

3. YouTubers getting paid results in Warner Bros getting finedY

Did someone pay that YouTube celeb for the video you're watching? The FTC believes you might not know the answer. The U.S. broadcast regulator revealed that Warner Bros has been paying a whole host of prominent YouTubers to pump up interest in 'Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor' without adequate disclosure. They specifically asked the personalities to put their disclosures in the video description, rather than in the video itself. How often have you really read a video description in full?

Did I hear that it's now illegal to share my Netflix password?

You did â€" but if you just saw this headline sprint by in your feed, you may be missing part of the story. A U.S. court did issue a ruling last week that could open the door for charging people who share passwords for services like Netflix with a crime, but the lead judge in the ruling heavily qualified that opinion to make sure people don't suddenly start getting jail time for flipping their Hulu creds to family member.

5. Ashley Madison thinks clean design could restore its rep

You may have heard of Ashley Madison, since it had one of the most public, damaging and messy meltdowns in internet history, thanks to a massive leak of customer data. Leaks happen relatively frequently, but Ashley Madison's line of business made it worse, since it essentially outed millions of cheaters. The hook-up service for attached individuals is hoping to make a comeback, however, with a redesign of its brand that includes the disgusting hashtag "#findyourmoment," as well as new video ads that are creepy as hell. People are probably going to sign up regardless, even with their terrible privacy rep.

6. The moon photobombs the Earth

NASA has a pretty unfair advantage when it comes to viral content, since they pretty much own the game on space-based imagery. And they got a doozy of a series of pics thanks to a camera onboard their DSCOVR satellite. It caught a fully lit moon traversing the face of a bright earth, looking like some computer-generated magic. If you were a conspiracy theorist, maybe you think it was CG. It wasn't â€" it was beautiful.

7. Throwing tech at regulatory problems isn't a solution

Airbnb is probably the latest large-scale tech company to face significant regulatory hurdles to its business models, since it's now suing the city of San Francisco in response to legislation against unregistered Airbnb hosts operating in the city. John Mannes looks into Accela, a SaaS company that thinks it can provide regulatory-navigation-as-a-service. Which is probably at least a little nuts.