Tag Archives: author_name|Sarah Fielding

Meta could get slapped with a massive fine for violating the EU’s Digital Markets Act

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In late June, the European Union shared its preliminary findings that Apple had violated the Digital Markets Act (DMA) — the bloc's first regulatory action since the law took effect in March. Now, it's Meta's turn, with the EU announcing Facebook and Instagram's owner has also breached the DMA. The European Commission first opened investigations into Apple, Meta and Google's parent company, Alphabet, shortly after the DMA became law.

The Commission's preliminary findings on Meta focus on concerns about Meta's "consent or pay" model. Meta currently gives users the choice to have free access to its apps and consent to data sharing or pay to prohibit its collection. The Commission's statement argues that Meta "Does not allow users to opt for a service that uses less of their personal data but is otherwise equivalent to the 'personalised ads' based service," Furthermore, Meta doesn't "allow users to exercise their right to freely consent to the combination of their personal data." 

Echoing past statements, the Commission called for Meta to create an "equivalent alternative" that requires no fee payment. The EU's regulatory body has until late March 2025 — one year after opening its investigation — to make a final decision. If Meta is found guilty of violating the DMA, it could owe a fine equal to ten percent of its annual global revenue.

Meta has yet to concede any wrongdoing. "Subscription for no ads follows the direction of the highest court in Europe and complies with the DMA. We look forward to further constructive dialogue with the European Commission to bring this investigation to a close," Meta said in a statement. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-could-get-slapped-with-a-massive-fine-for-violating-the-eus-digital-markets-act-120053616.html?src=rss

Microsoft reveals further emails compromised by Russian hack

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An attack on Microsoft by Russian hackers had further implications than initially reported. The tech giant is notifying additional individuals that emails between them and Microsoft were accessed, Bloomberg reports. A group known as Midnight Blizzard or Nobelium orchestrated this attack, along with the 2020 SolarWinds hack. The US government has previously linked Midnight Blizzard to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service. 

Microsoft previously informed some individuals that their emails were viewed, but the company is now sharing specifics. "This week we are continuing notifications to customers who corresponded with Microsoft corporate email accounts that were exfiltrated by the Midnight Blizzard threat actor, and we are providing the customers the email correspondence that was accessed by this actor," a Microsoft spokesperson stated. "This is increased detail for customers who have already been notified and also includes new notifications." Microsoft is making customers aware via email, which initially led to concerns that the notification was a phishing scam.

Microsoft first disclosed the hack in January, stating that a password spray attack gained the group access to "a very small percentage of Microsoft corporate email accounts" in late 2023. Employees with compromised emails included members of the senior leadership, cybersecurity and legal teams.

At the time, Microsoft said vulnerabilities in its systems were not to blame for the attack but that it would be improving security. However, the US government has brought the heat against Microsoft, with a March report from the Cyber Safety Review Board finding the company's "security culture was inadequate and requires an overhaul." In April, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued an order requiring federal agencies to analyze hacked emails and secure Microsoft cloud accounts, among other measures. CISA notified all impacted agencies and required them to provide regular updates on the steps taken to thwart this "grave and unacceptable risk."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-reveals-further-emails-compromised-by-russian-hack-130014275.html?src=rss

Get a Blink Outdoor 4 system with a Blink Mini 2 for $50 in an early Prime Day deal

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Prime Day isn't until next month but Amazon is already discounting a lot of great items for Prime members. The latest steal comes courtesy of a 64 percent discount on the Blink Outdoor 4 and Blink Mini 2 bundle. It normally costs $140 for the duo but, right now, you can pick them up for $50. 

The combination of the Blink Outdoor 4 and the Blink Mini 2 keeps you covered inside and outside your home. We named the Outdoor 4 one of the best smart home gadgets for 2024. The wireless device offers two-way audio, Alexa integration and 1080HD video. Plus, the lens expanded to a 143-degree field of vision, with improved low-light vision and a quicker movement pick up, compared to its predecessor. 

The Blink Mini 2 is also a significant step up from the original. The plug-in security camera has improved day and night image quality, along with an LED spotlight to allow for color night vision. With a $3 monthly Blink subscription, you can access cloud recording, smart notifications and person detection. 

Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for Prime Day tech deals. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Amazon Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/get-a-blink-outdoor-4-system-with-a-blink-mini-2-for-50-in-an-early-prime-day-deal-140346588.html?src=rss

YouTube reportedly wants to pay record labels to use their songs for AI training

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Much of the conversation about AI has revolved around the use of copyrighted materials to train models. YouTube is allegedly taking steps to avoid this issue, offering major musical labels payment to license their songs for AI training, the Financial Times reports. 

Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Records are all reportedly involved in talks with the Google-owned platform. However, it's unlikely the companies will get the last word as it would reportedly be up to each artist whether they participate.

Many musicians are far from thrilled about allowing AI anywhere near their work. In April 2023, over 200 artists signed an open letter stating, "We must protect against the predatory use of AI to steal professional artists' voices and likenesses, violate creators' rights, and destroy the music ecosystem."

In November, YouTube launched Dream Track, a tool that allowed select creators to pull from the lyrics and voices of singers such as John Legend and Charli XCX. However, only ten artists participated in the tool's test, and YouTube apparently aims to have "dozens" participate in an AI song generator. 

Record labels have taken a stand against companies they see using their copyrighted content. On June 24, the trio of Sony, Universal and Warner filed a suit against music generators Suno and Omio for "massive scale" copyright infringement. They demand injunctions against further use and up to $150,000 per work.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/youtube-reportedly-wants-to-pay-record-labels-to-use-their-songs-for-ai-training-125052503.html?src=rss

Google uses AI to add 110 new languages to Translate

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While Google Translate is far from perfect, it's still a helpful way to gain information or engage in conversation. Now, that option is expanding as Google uses AI to give Translate 110 new languages, such as Cantonese, Punjabi (Shahmukhi) and NKo. About a quarter of the languages come from Africa and Google claims that all the new ones together represent 614 million speakers — about eight percent of the global population. 

Google credits its LLM, PaLM 2, as "a key piece to the puzzle, helping Translate more efficiently learn languages that are closely related to each other, including languages close to Hindi, like Awadhi and Marwadi, and French creoles like Seychellois Creole and Mauritian Creole." Isaac Caswell, Senior Software Engineer, Google Translate, adds: "As technology advances, and as we continue to partner with expert linguists and native speakers, we'll support even more language varieties and spelling conventions over time."

Google Translate got its last big influx of languages in May 2022 with the help of Zero-Shot Machine Translation. Zero-Shot allows a model to learn a new language even though it doesn't view examples. Later that year, Google announced the 1,000 Languages Initiative, which aims to create AI models that can support — you guessed it — the 1,000 most common languages spoken globally. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-uses-ai-to-add-110-new-languages-to-translate-123009750.html?src=rss

One of our favorite cordless vacuums is $175 off at Amazon

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No, vacuums aren't the most exciting thing to buy, but they do make life a lot better — especially if you have a pet. A clean house can be a bit cheaper right now thanks to a 30 percent discount on Tineco's Pure ONE S15 Pet Smart Cordless Vacuum Cleaner. The vacuum for pets is down to $349 from $500, and there's an additional, clippable $25 coupon that will bring the final price down to around $325 — a new all-time low price on one of our favorite cordless vacuums. 

Tineco Pure ONE S15 Pet Smart Cordless Vacuum Cleaner is a cordless option with a charging base that requires no installation. The vacuum uses Zerotangle technology and grabs hair without wrapping it around the device. 

If you're looking for a higher-end option, try Tineco's Pure ONE Station FurFree Cordless Vacuum Cleaner. It's 25 percent off, dropping to $599 from $799 — another record-low price. It can go into an OmniHub and gets self-cleaned when being recharged. The vacuum also has 60 days of use with a three liter eco dustbin. 

Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for Prime Day tech deals. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Amazon Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/one-of-our-favorite-cordless-vacuums-is-175-off-at-amazon-153017720.html?src=rss

Amazon is reportedly working on a new AI chatbot

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Amazon is allegedly working on a new chatbot codenamed "Metis," Business Insider reports, citing an internal document and unnamed sources familiar with the project. It would be powered by a new AI model, Olympus, rather than Amazon's previously released Titan.

With Metis, Amazon is reportedly aiming to use an approach known as retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). As the company describes it, RAG "redirects the LLM to retrieve relevant information from authoritative, pre-determined knowledge sources. Organizations have greater control over the generated text output, and users gain insights into how the LLM generates the response."

Basically, RAG allows systems to retrieve data outside of pre-loaded information from sources like APIs and document repositories. This data can be updated separately without having to retrain a model and could allow it to access up-to-date information, thus providing more accurate, clear responses (ideally).

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and Rohit Prasad, its AGI team's head scientist and a senior vice president, are working directly on the development of Metis. The team also reportedly includes many veteran Alexa AI workers, and their work on Metis seems to borrow from technology they developed for the forthcoming  "Remarkable Alexa" voice assistant.

Amazon tentatively plans to release Metis in September, around the time the company typically has its product launch event. However, one of the sources stated: "Technically it will work, I guess, but the question is if it's already too late." OpenAI first launched ChatGPT at the end of November 2022, and Google launched Bard (now known as Gemini) in March 2023 — to name just two of the big players that Amazon will face. Amazon's Titan isn't as powerful as its competitors, though the company has been trying to reach more customers with options like a business-centric model, Q.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-is-reportedly-working-on-a-new-ai-chatbot-132948672.html?src=rss

Amazon Prime members can get this Blink Outdoor bundle with a video doorbell for 63 percent off in an early Prime Day deal

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If you've been looking to improve your home's security but don't want to spend a fortune, Amazon Prime Day presents an excellent time to shop for some new gear. An early Prime Day deal discounts this Blink Outdoor bundle by 63 percent. For $120 — down from $320 — you can get a Blink Video Doorbell and three Outdoor 4 smart security cameras with Sync Module 2. Like most Prime Day deals, this one is exclusive to Prime members in the lead-up to the big day. 

The Blink bundle allows you to monitor your home, whether you're far away or right inside. You can use Video Doorbell to answer the door, get alerts when there's motion and speak to visitors. It uses infrared night vision and 1080p HD live view to give you insight during the day or night. The device requires two double AA batteries (included in the bundle) and should last for about two years. 

Then there are Blink's fourth-generation Outdoor Cameras, one of our picks for best smart home gadgets. The lens offers a 143-degree field of vision, 1080p HD video, two-way audio and Alexa integration. It also has better low-light vision and catches movement faster than its predecessors.

If you don't need three cameras and want to save some money, there's another option for you. This early Prime Day deal bundle includes a Blink Video Doorbell and just one Outdoor 4 smart security camera with Sync Module 2. The pair is also 63 percent off, with the deal dropping their price to $60 from $160. 

Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for Prime Day tech deals. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Amazon Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-prime-members-can-get-this-blink-outdoor-bundle-with-a-video-doorbell-for-63-percent-off-in-an-early-prime-day-deal-134858607.html?src=rss

Roku launches a weekly pop culture quiz

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I have to admit that the fact nerd in me is partial to a good guessing game, so I'm intrigued by Roku's newest offering. The streaming system has launched a new feature for US users called Roku Weekly Trivia, featuring pop culture questions you can answer right on your TV screen.

Roku Weekly Trivia should now exist in the options list at the left of your screen alongside categories like Live TV and Streaming Store. There, you can access a multiple-choice quiz with questions on topics such as movie and television premieres, the Summer Olympics, holidays, and more cultural moments. You can test your own knowledge or go up against friends and family — at the very least, it's an easy way to decide who picks the movie. 

A new quiz should appear on Roku every Tuesday. I tried a few sample questions ahead of its release, including "What was the first feature-length animated movie ever released?" and "Which movie franchise has the most films?" The first one I got, while the second surprised me, but I've never been a big REDACTED fan (I don't want to give you all the answers!). 

Update, June 25 2024, 3:00PM ET: A previous version of this post stated there would only be 10 questions per week. While questions are released in batches of 10, there will be over 100 per week according to a company spokesperson.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/roku-launches-a-weekly-pop-culture-quiz-130005360.html?src=rss

EU finds Microsoft violated antitrust laws by bundling Teams

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It has been nearly a year since the European Commission opened its investigation into Microsoft and there's finally a preliminary finding. The European Union's executive body announced its "view" that the tech giant violated antitrust laws by tying Microsoft Teams to its Office 365 and Microsoft 365 business suites. Last October, Microsoft unbundled Teams for users in the European Union and Switzerland, but the European Commission's Statement of Objections calls it "insufficient."

The European Commission used its statement to detail its concern "that Microsoft may have granted Teams a distribution advantage by not giving customers the choice whether or not to acquire access to Teams when they subscribe to their SaaS productivity applications. This advantage may have been further exacerbated by interoperability limitations between Teams' competitors and Microsoft's offerings. The conduct may have prevented Teams' rivals from competing, and in turn innovating, to the detriment of customers in the European Economic Area."

Microsoft faces a fine equal to 10 percent of its annual worldwide turnover if the EU confirms its preliminary findings, so it's no surprise the company is being cordial. "Having unbundled Teams and taken initial interoperability steps, we appreciate the additional clarity provided today and will work to find solutions to address the Commission's remaining concerns," said Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft, in a statement shared with Engadget.

This ordeal began in 2020 when Slack — now owned by Salesforce — filed an antitrust complaint against Microsoft, claiming it broke the EU's competition rules in bundling Teams to its suites. In April 2023, Microsoft declared its intention to offer Teams on its own (albeit without a clear plan), but the European Commission still formally opened an investigation just three months later. Following October's unbundling, Microsoft announced this past April that Teams would be available separately from Microsoft 365 and Office 365 to customers worldwide — current users could also switch plans. 

The European Commission's Statement of Objections also mentions a complaint by Alfaview, another video-conferencing software, which filed a similar grievance to Slack in July 2023 and notes it has open proceedings based on that complaint.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/eu-finds-microsoft-violated-antirust-laws-by-bundling-teams-121520916.html?src=rss