theverge--2020-07-21--LG launches repair program for overheating OLED TVs in South Korea

LG has launched a repair program for some of its OLED TVs sold in South Korea since 2016 , Yonhap News reports .
The issue is related to components in the TVs ’ power boards , which LG said could cause current increase leading to potential overheating as performance degrades over time .
A spokesperson for the company said that the issue only appears to be affecting TVs sold in South Korea for now , but added that LG is “ investigating other markets ” for potential issues .
“ The overheating issue occurred only in very few models out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but we will provide free component swaps for all of them for customer safety , ” LG said in a statement , ZDNet reports .
A total of around 60,000 TVs are believed to be affected , and LG has already swapped out the affected components in 22,000 of the units .
In response to an inquiry from The Verge , LG said that the repair program wasn ’ t an official recall .
“ No government body or consumer protection agency is mandating this , ” the spokesperson said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a preventative measure before boards experience problems .
”

LG has launched a repair program for some of its OLED TVs sold in South Korea since 2016, Yonhap News reports. The issue is related to components in the TVs’ power boards, which LG said could cause current increase leading to potential overheating as performance degrades over time. A spokesperson for the company said that the issue only appears to be affecting TVs sold in South Korea for now, but added that LG is “investigating other markets” for potential issues.
“The overheating issue occurred only in very few models out of the total that used the component, but we will provide free component swaps for all of them for customer safety,” LG said in a statement, ZDNet reports. A total of around 60,000 TVs are believed to be affected, and LG has already swapped out the affected components in 22,000 of the units.


theverge--2020-07-21--Antitrust investigations aren’t the biggest threat to Facebook’s future

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A week from now , Facebook ’ s Mark Zuckerberg will be among the CEOs appearing before the House of Representatives ’ antitrust committee .
Today let ’ s check in on how the Federal Trade Commission ’ s antitrust case is developing .
The first thing to say is that the case is developing slower than expected .
Once on track to wrap up before the US presidential election , it now appears that the case will arrive afterward @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reports in the New York Times : What ’ s behind the delay ?
One explanation is that the federal government has chosen to focus instead on Google for the moment .
But it ’ s also taking the FTC longer than expected to develop a theory of the case about Facebook , Margaret Harding McGill and Ashley Gold report at Axios .
One part of the agency , the Office of Policy Planning , wants to evaluate Facebook ’ s market dominance through the question of whether it has raised prices for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the Bureau of Competition , wants to investigate Facebook through the lens of competition , examining how the company ’ s practice of making its services free to use has reduced the number of players in the space .
Axios writes : Also still up for debate : whether to depose Zuckerberg and Facebook ’ s chief operating officer , Sheryl Sandberg .
Last year , when the FTC fined Facebook $ 5 billion , the terms were all but dictated by Facebook , Tony Romm reported in the Washington Post .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ bigger settlement out of Facebook than it would have otherwise in part by excusing Zuckerberg and Sandberg from depositions .
It seems strange to me that an inquiry into Facebook ’ s market power would not involve sworn depositions from its top two executives .
But then nothing about this investigation has so far proceeded in the way I thought it would .
What is the best case that Facebook unfairly dominates the advertising market , uses its power to reduce competition , and has harmed consumers by doing so ?
The legal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eventually be made by the FTC , will surely run dozens of pages , and be supported by mountains of supporting briefs and other documents .
But if you want to look at the basic shape of it — what the FTC might say , and what Facebook might say back — you could start with this conversation last year between Wired editor in chief Nick Thompson and antitrust crusader Tim Wu .
Thompson presents Facebook ’ s case for itself as traditionally made by Zuckerberg , and Wu does his best to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ itself goes something like : we have tons of competition , from consumer products to advertising products ; our free services are a public good that , among other things , support the growth of millions of small businesses ; and breaking us up would make all the problems that really worry you much worse .
If you want a company to invest heavily in protecting the platform from bad actors , the argument goes , you want that company to be a giant .
Finally , if you break us up , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ likely emerge as the world ’ s dominant social network , creating a beachhead for the expansion of Chinese soft power — and , along with it , censorship and authoritarianism .
Perhaps you ’ ve heard of ByteDance ?
The Wu case goes something like : Facebook acquired Instagram to reduce competition .
Facebook acquired WhatsApp to reduce competition .
Facebook ( with Google ) now has an effective duopoly on digital advertising , and continues to acquire smaller social products that could threaten its dominance .
This has harmed consumers by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ technology industry .
It also turned Facebook into something like a single point of failure for the distribution of foreign propaganda , with famously dire results in 2016 .
Break up Facebook and force the new Baby Books to compete on innovation , including in the trust and safety services that Facebook now says only a company of its size can provide .
As for China ?
Better to have a vibrant consumer technology industry than select a lightly regulated , monopolistic national champion to fight on America ’ s behalf , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
You ’ ll note that these arguments don ’ t have much to do with the price — in dollars — that consumers pay as a result of Facebook ’ s outsized success .
They can ’ t : the services are free .
The question looming over the Facebook antitrust case — and the one being debated by officials within the FTC — is whether the agency is willing to take other costs into account .
If that agency won ’ t , perhaps the nation ’ s attorney generals or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conducting their own antitrust investigations into Facebook , will .
One reason some people are skeptical of antitrust cases is that tech companies often just fall apart by themselves .
The US government sued Microsoft for bundling its Internet Explorer browser with Windows out of fears that doing so would permanently entrench its monopoly in personal computers .
And then Google made Chrome , and Microsoft just kept making Internet Explorer , and Microsoft made a series of really bad mobile phones , and Apple made a good one , and within a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ company with a video game console division and it was hard to remember what the whole fuss had been about in the first place .
Until recently , it has been hard to envision how something similar might happen to Facebook , since there has been so little growth in other social networks .
Snapchat and Twitter tick up a bit each quarter , but their user bases remain a fraction of Facebook ’ s .
And even if a competitor did emerge , we know Facebook would either clone it , attempt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Then TikTok came along and challenged that view .
Yes , it had to spend $ 1 billion on advertising to hit escape velocity .
But it did , and now it has .
Children now spend an average of 80 minutes a day on TikTok .
If you ’ re Facebook , that ’ s the very definition of a competitive threat .
For that reason , you might expect that Facebook executives reacted warmly to the news that the app has been banned in India .
Facebook raced to bring its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in India , and has promised to roll it out in dozens more countries by next month .
It looks like classic Facebook : working ruthlessly to disrupt a competitor in a moment of weakness .
But Zuckerberg has told employees that he finds the move worrisome , I ’ m told .
If India can ban one app used by 200 million people , citing rather vague national security concerns , it can ban others .
Facebook already faces fights around the world from governments on both the left and the right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ broad umbrella of national security : election interference , influence campaigns , hate speech , and even just plain-old democratic speech .
Zuckerberg knows that the leap from banning TikTok on national security grounds to banning Facebook on national security grounds is more of a short hop .
The so-called “ Splinternet ” is a long time in coming .
When I wrote about it here last year , it was in the context of a new European internet emerging alongside the American and Sino-Russian authoritarian ones .
When India banned TikTok , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the global internet .
And as those cracks continue to spread , they risk shrinking the size of Facebook more than even the FTC ever could .
Last week Twitter suffered a catastrophic security breach , with attackers managing to wrangle temporary control of the accounts of President Barack Obama , Joe Biden , Jeff Bezos , Elon Musk , and others .
Since then , some new details have come to light .
One unanswered question from last week was : could attackers access victims ’ direct messages ?
In eight cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yes , according to a blog post Twitter put up Friday .
But none of the accounts whose DMs may have been breached were verified accounts , Twitter said , throwing cold water on theories from last week that the Bitcoin scam perpetrated by the accounts was meant to be a distraction from some larger blackmail campaign or other scheme .
All in all , attackers targeted 130 accounts for takeover and managed to crack 45 , Twitter said .
Meanwhile , the New York Times talked to some individuals who say they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ takeaway : the hackers ’ original interest had been in taking over short usernames — @ 6 , @ y , that sort of thing — and only belatedly realized they might be able to make more money taking over famous people ’ s accounts .
To the extent that gives you comfort that the attack was just about making money and not destabilizing the nature of our reality and / or starting nuclear war , there you go .
Twitter says it ’ s embarrassed .
A former FTC official says the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which are many , are “ egregious.
” Everyone who thinks about the prospect of something similar happening in the run up to Election Day shudders with fear .
As for remaining questions , here are two .
One , will the FTC or another branch of government take action against Twitter for this lapse ?
And two , Twitter hasn ’ t said anything more about how its own employees may have been involved in the breach .
Did the attackers have an inside man , or did they simply trick an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s hoping we get an answer to that one , and soon .
Today in news that could affect public perception of the big tech platforms .
Trending down : Anti-transgender Facebook content shared by right-wing news sources generated more engagement than content from pro-transgender or neutral sources combined .
The news comes from a study of 225 viral posts by Media Matters for America .
Feels like a difficult one for the “ fight bad speech with more speech ” crowd .
What happens when the platform keeps amplifying the bad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Tim Fitzsimons / NBC ) Trending down : Microsoft is knee-deep in services for law enforcement , fostering an ecosystem of companies that provide police with software using Microsoft ’ s cloud and other platforms .
The company has evaded much of the scrutiny that companies like Amazon have gotten for working with law enforcement agencies .
( Michael Kwet / The Intercept ) ⭐ Fiona Scott Morton , a top antitrust expert known for her warnings that American tech giants are stifling competition , is also advising two of the biggest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Both companies are facing antitrust investigations .
Here ’ s David McLaughlin at Bloomberg : For years , tech giants have pushed op-eds from small business owners , think tanks , and academics into US newspapers without disclosing their involvement .
The op-eds , which tend to advance the tech giants ’ policy positions , make it seem like they have more public support than they actually do .
( Alex Kantrowitz / Big Technology ) Google and Apple ’ s COVID-19 exposure notification system was supposed to preserve people ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work on smartphones with Google ’ s Android operating system , users must first turn on the device location setting , which enables GPS and may allow Google to determine their locations .
( Natasha Singer / The New York Times ) Tech companies across the country are scrambling to figure out how they can remain in compliance with international privacy laws after Europe ’ s highest court struck down the EU-US Privacy Shield .
The court said the framework did not adequately protect European users from the US government ’ s far-reaching @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Protocol ) Mark Zuckerberg tried to shut down rumors that he ’ s made a deal with Trump not to take action on the president ’ s inflammatory posts .
“ I ’ ve heard this speculation , too , so let me be clear : There ’ s no deal of any kind , ” he said .
“ Actually , the whole idea of a deal is pretty ridiculous.
” ( Mike Allen / Axios ) US District Judge Phyllis Hamilton denied NSO Group ’ s request to dismiss a lawsuit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is accusing the spyware maker of creating accounts to send malware to mobile phones of 1,400 people to snoop on them .
( Malathi Nayak / Bloomberg ) As California attorney general , Sen. Kamala Harris saw Facebook and other big tech companies as allies rather than threats , according to a trove of emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request .
At times , she even teamed up with tech companies to market herself as a rising star in American politics .
( Zach Carter / HuffPost ) A fact-check @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quietly removed from Facebook earlier this month .
Now , if users try to share the article , which argues that concern about climate change is overblown , there is no warning and no link to the fact-check .
Facebook says it ’ s opinion piece , and so this sort of nonsense is fair game .
( Popular Information ) Related : Sen. Elizabeth Warren is demanding more information about the reported “ loophole ” for climate misinformation in Facebook ’ s fact-checking program .
In a letter , she wrote : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ... that the climate crisis is not a matter of opinion and act to close loopholes that allow climate disinformation to spread on its platform.
” ( Rebecca Heilweil / Recode ) Disney has dramatically slashed its advertising spending on Facebook amid an ongoing boycott from companies upset with its handling of hate speech and divisive content .
Disney was Facebook ’ s top US advertiser for the first six months of 2020 .
( Suzanne Vranica / The Wall Street Journal ) The Global Alliance for Responsible Media , an industry body @ @ @ @ @ @ @ advertising companies , has agreed to evaluate how to better define hate speech across the industry .
Facebook , Google , and Twitter are part of the group , as are Procter & Gamble and Unilever .
Do we want a single industry-wide definition of harmful speech , or do we want to encourage competition here ?
Important question !
( Sara Fischer / Axios ) Twitter removed a campaign video that President Trump retweeted on Saturday over a copyright complaint .
The Linkin Park song “ In the End ” was featured @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which included images of President Trump and excerpts from his inauguration speech .
The campaign used the song without permission .
Law and order !
( Kim Lyons / The Verge ) Trump ’ s presidential campaign is running ads on Facebook and Instagram urging supporters to sign a petition to ban TikTok .
The move is part of an escalating fight between the White House and the video sharing app .
( Kari Soo Lindberg / Bloomberg ) Experts on China say that while concerns over TikTok ’ s national security risks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ app would be a drastic measure .
It would also mean United States is participating in the same Chinese-style internet sovereignty tactics it has long criticized .
( Louise Matsakis / Wired ) Democratic lawmakers tend to post more often and have more followers on Twitter than their Republican counterparts .
But Republican members of Congress get more audience engagement across both Facebook and Twitter .
( Pew Research Center ) The “ Platform Accountability and Consumer Transparency Act ” is an intellectually serious effort to grapple with the operational challenges of content @ @ @ @ @ @ @ internet , argues this author .
While you might not agree with it entirely , it ’ s a welcome change from bills like FOSTA and EARN IT .
( Daphne Keller / The Center for Internet and Society ) Andrew Yang ’ s plan to make social media companies pay you for your data doesn ’ t add up , this piece argues .
There are too many loopholes , the plan would be too expensive , and other plans like it have already failed .
( Will Rinehart / Wired ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ created a barricade to protect hundreds of protesters from federal officers during demonstrations against police brutality in Portland , Oregon , on Saturday .
“ We ’ ll be out until no protester needs protecting , ” one of the mothers , who organized the Facebook group “ Wall of Moms , ” said .
( Ryan Mac / BuzzFeed ) Google removed the carousel of tweets from search result pages after dozens of prominent Twitter accounts were hacked last week .
The Twitter carousel box usually comes up when searching for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Schwartz / Search Engine Land ) ⭐ US companies are rushing to hire chief diversity officers amid pressure to address racial divisions and inequities within their organizations .
But the role has long been marked by high turnover , with many leaving over a lack of resources , unrealistic expectations and inadequate support from senior executives .
Chip Cutter and Lauren Weber at The Wall Street Journal have the story : TikTok pulled back from talks to open the headquarters for its non-China business in the United Kingdom after the government banned Chinese @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s 5G mobile phone network .
The move threatens the creation of roughly 3,000 jobs .
( Phillip Inman / The Guardian ) Evan Spiegel made Miranda Kerr a gingerbread house on their first date , and now they live in a three-bedroom house in Brentwood .
This article , which is mostly about Spiegel and Kerr ’ s relationship , also dives into Spiegel ’ s refreshingly straightforward take on regulating hate speech on Snapchat .
( Christina Binkley / The Wall Street Journal ) Snapchat launched Headspace Minis , free meditations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the app .
The in-chat meditations are partly an attempt to encourage people to develop a mindfulness practice by making it something they can do with friends .
( Rachel Kraus / Mashable ) Cameo , the celebrity shout-out app , launched a new feature that allows businesses to buy endorsements from famous people .
The feature lets companies bypass the legal hurdles and enormous price tags of traditional celebrity endorsements .
( Rebecca Jennings / Vox ) Logic signed to Twitch , in a deal worth roughly seven figures .
The move @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be retiring from music .
( Bijan Stephen / The Verge ) Twitch intervened to stop the US Army from using fake prize giveaways on its esports channel to redirect viewers to army recruitment pages .
( James Vincent / The Verge ) Stuff to occupy you online during the quarantine .
Read about how the top vaccine candidates are coming along .
There ’ s room for cautious optimism .
In 2020 .
Imagine !
Watch Superman and Witcher star Henry Cavill build a gaming PC .
I have known this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Send us tips , comments , questions , and your Facebook antitrust arguments : casey @ theverge.com and zoe @ theverge.com .

I.
A week from now, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg will be among the CEOs appearing before the House of Representatives’ antitrust committee. Today let’s check in on how the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust case is developing.
The first thing to say is that the case is developing slower than expected. Once on track to wrap up before the US presidential election, it now appears that the case will arrive afterward — if at all, Cecelia Kang reports in the New York Times:
The investigation into whether the tech giant has broken antitrust laws continues to move along, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was private. A round of document production from the company and its rivals was done in the spring, and staff members appear to be preparing depositions of Facebook’s top leadership, including its chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, according to the people. The agency also began looking into concerns by rivals about Facebook’s recent acquisition of Giphy, a search database for short video clips. But investigations often require multiple rounds of document requests, and the interviews will take time to complete, indicating that the agency is far from finishing its review and deciding whether to pursue a lawsuit, the people said.
What’s behind the delay? One explanation is that the federal government has chosen to focus instead on Google for the moment. But it’s also taking the FTC longer than expected to develop a theory of the case about Facebook, Margaret Harding McGill and Ashley Gold report at Axios. One part of the agency, the Office of Policy Planning, wants to evaluate Facebook’s market dominance through the question of whether it has raised prices for consumers. Another part of the agency, the Bureau of Competition, wants to investigate Facebook through the lens of competition, examining how the company’s practice of making its services free to use has reduced the number of players in the space. Axios writes:
One antitrust lawyer familiar with the workings of the FTC said the Office of Policy Planning “would not want to move the needle much” with antitrust guidelines, and is generally reluctant to consider new definitions for anticompetitive behavior. “The policy people live in a world where there is a one-size-fits all formula,” a person familiar with the back-and-forth said. “They want it to be less messy, but the enforcers recognize that antitrust is inherently messy because it’s fact-based.”
Also still up for debate: whether to depose Zuckerberg and Facebook’s chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg. Last year, when the FTC fined Facebook $5 billion, the terms were all but dictated by Facebook, Tony Romm reported in the Washington Post. The FTC later said it got a bigger settlement out of Facebook than it would have otherwise in part by excusing Zuckerberg and Sandberg from depositions.
It seems strange to me that an inquiry into Facebook’s market power would not involve sworn depositions from its top two executives. But then nothing about this investigation has so far proceeded in the way I thought it would.
II.
What is the best case that Facebook unfairly dominates the advertising market, uses its power to reduce competition, and has harmed consumers by doing so?
The legal answer to that question, should it eventually be made by the FTC, will surely run dozens of pages, and be supported by mountains of supporting briefs and other documents. But if you want to look at the basic shape of it — what the FTC might say, and what Facebook might say back — you could start with this conversation last year between Wired editor in chief Nick Thompson and antitrust crusader Tim Wu. Thompson presents Facebook’s case for itself as traditionally made by Zuckerberg, and Wu does his best to dismantle it.
The Facebook case for itself goes something like: we have tons of competition, from consumer products to advertising products; our free services are a public good that, among other things, support the growth of millions of small businesses; and breaking us up would make all the problems that really worry you much worse. If you want a company to invest heavily in protecting the platform from bad actors, the argument goes, you want that company to be a giant. Finally, if you break us up, a giant technology company from China will likely emerge as the world’s dominant social network, creating a beachhead for the expansion of Chinese soft power — and, along with it, censorship and authoritarianism. Perhaps you’ve heard of ByteDance?
The Wu case goes something like: Facebook acquired Instagram to reduce competition. Facebook acquired WhatsApp to reduce competition. Facebook (with Google) now has an effective duopoly on digital advertising, and continues to acquire smaller social products that could threaten its dominance. This has harmed consumers by reducing the amount of innovation in the technology industry. It also turned Facebook into something like a single point of failure for the distribution of foreign propaganda, with famously dire results in 2016. Break up Facebook and force the new Baby Books to compete on innovation, including in the trust and safety services that Facebook now says only a company of its size can provide. As for China? Better to have a vibrant consumer technology industry than select a lightly regulated, monopolistic national champion to fight on America’s behalf, as if in a Westerosi trial by combat.
You’ll note that these arguments don’t have much to do with the price — in dollars — that consumers pay as a result of Facebook’s outsized success. They can’t: the services are free. The question looming over the Facebook antitrust case — and the one being debated by officials within the FTC — is whether the agency is willing to take other costs into account.
If that agency won’t, perhaps the nation’s attorney generals or the Department of Justice, which are conducting their own antitrust investigations into Facebook, will.
III.
One reason some people are skeptical of antitrust cases is that tech companies often just fall apart by themselves. The US government sued Microsoft for bundling its Internet Explorer browser with Windows out of fears that doing so would permanently entrench its monopoly in personal computers. And then Google made Chrome, and Microsoft just kept making Internet Explorer, and Microsoft made a series of really bad mobile phones, and Apple made a good one, and within a few years Microsoft was an enterprise software company with a video game console division and it was hard to remember what the whole fuss had been about in the first place.
Until recently, it has been hard to envision how something similar might happen to Facebook, since there has been so little growth in other social networks. Snapchat and Twitter tick up a bit each quarter, but their user bases remain a fraction of Facebook’s. And even if a competitor did emerge, we know Facebook would either clone it, attempt to acquire it, or both.
Then TikTok came along and challenged that view. Yes, it had to spend $1 billion on advertising to hit escape velocity. But it did, and now it has. Children now spend an average of 80 minutes a day on TikTok. If you’re Facebook, that’s the very definition of a competitive threat.
For that reason, you might expect that Facebook executives reacted warmly to the news that the app has been banned in India. Facebook raced to bring its TikTok clone, Reels, to market in India, and has promised to roll it out in dozens more countries by next month. It looks like classic Facebook: working ruthlessly to disrupt a competitor in a moment of weakness.
But Zuckerberg has told employees that he finds the move worrisome, I’m told. If India can ban one app used by 200 million people, citing rather vague national security concerns, it can ban others. Facebook already faces fights around the world from governments on both the left and the right related to issues that fit under the broad umbrella of national security: election interference, influence campaigns, hate speech, and even just plain-old democratic speech. Zuckerberg knows that the leap from banning TikTok on national security grounds to banning Facebook on national security grounds is more of a short hop.
The so-called “Splinternet” is a long time in coming. When I wrote about it here last year, it was in the context of a new European internet emerging alongside the American and Sino-Russian authoritarian ones. When India banned TikTok, it added a new fault line to the global internet. And as those cracks continue to spread, they risk shrinking the size of Facebook more than even the FTC ever could.
The Twitter hack
Last week Twitter suffered a catastrophic security breach, with attackers managing to wrangle temporary control of the accounts of President Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and others. Since then, some new details have come to light.
One unanswered question from last week was: could attackers access victims’ direct messages? In eight cases, the answer appears to have been yes, according to a blog post Twitter put up Friday. But none of the accounts whose DMs may have been breached were verified accounts, Twitter said, throwing cold water on theories from last week that the Bitcoin scam perpetrated by the accounts was meant to be a distraction from some larger blackmail campaign or other scheme. All in all, attackers targeted 130 accounts for takeover and managed to crack 45, Twitter said.
Meanwhile, the New York Times talked to some individuals who say they were involved in the attack. Key takeaway: the hackers’ original interest had been in taking over short usernames — @6, @y, that sort of thing — and only belatedly realized they might be able to make more money taking over famous people’s accounts. To the extent that gives you comfort that the attack was just about making money and not destabilizing the nature of our reality and / or starting nuclear war, there you go.
As for remaining questions, here are two. One, will the FTC or another branch of government take action against Twitter for this lapse? And two, Twitter hasn’t said anything more about how its own employees may have been involved in the breach. Did the attackers have an inside man, or did they simply trick an employee into doing their bidding? Here’s hoping we get an answer to that one, and soon.
The Ratio
Today in news that could affect public perception of the big tech platforms.
🔽 Trending down: Anti-transgender Facebook content shared by right-wing news sources generated more engagement than content from pro-transgender or neutral sources combined. The news comes from a study of 225 viral posts by Media Matters for America. Feels like a difficult one for the “fight bad speech with more speech” crowd. What happens when the platform keeps amplifying the bad speech because it gets more engagement? (Tim Fitzsimons / NBC)
🔽 Trending down: Microsoft is knee-deep in services for law enforcement, fostering an ecosystem of companies that provide police with software using Microsoft’s cloud and other platforms. The company has evaded much of the scrutiny that companies like Amazon have gotten for working with law enforcement agencies. (Michael Kwet / The Intercept)
Governing
⭐ Fiona Scott Morton, a top antitrust expert known for her warnings that American tech giants are stifling competition, is also advising two of the biggest names in tech: Amazon and Apple. Both companies are facing antitrust investigations. Here’s David McLaughlin at Bloomberg:
She didn’t disclose those relationships in papers she recently co-authored outlining how the U.S. could bring antitrust cases against Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook Inc. Scott Morton, hailed in a 2019 article in the New Republic as an “antitrust crusader,” said she began consulting for Amazon in the last year, while her work for Apple dates back several years. She said she usually discloses her clients when speaking at conferences. The lack of disclosure on the Google and Facebook papers, she said, shouldn’t be an issue because Apple and Amazon didn’t pay her to write them. What’s more, she added, those papers didn’t focus on either Apple or Amazon.
For years, tech giants have pushed op-eds from small business owners, think tanks, and academics into US newspapers without disclosing their involvement. The op-eds, which tend to advance the tech giants’ policy positions, make it seem like they have more public support than they actually do. (Alex Kantrowitz / Big Technology)
Google and Apple’s COVID-19 exposure notification system was supposed to preserve people’s privacy. But for the apps to work on smartphones with Google’s Android operating system, users must first turn on the device location setting, which enables GPS and may allow Google to determine their locations. (Natasha Singer / The New York Times)
Tech companies across the country are scrambling to figure out how they can remain in compliance with international privacy laws after Europe’s highest court struck down the EU-US Privacy Shield. The court said the framework did not adequately protect European users from the US government’s far-reaching surveillance laws. (Emily Birnbaum / Protocol)
Mark Zuckerberg tried to shut down rumors that he’s made a deal with Trump not to take action on the president’s inflammatory posts. “I’ve heard this speculation, too, so let me be clear: There’s no deal of any kind,” he said. “Actually, the whole idea of a deal is pretty ridiculous.” (Mike Allen / Axios)
US District Judge Phyllis Hamilton denied NSO Group’s request to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Facebook and WhatsApp. Facebook is accusing the spyware maker of creating accounts to send malware to mobile phones of 1,400 people to snoop on them. (Malathi Nayak / Bloomberg)
As California attorney general, Sen. Kamala Harris saw Facebook and other big tech companies as allies rather than threats, according to a trove of emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. At times, she even teamed up with tech companies to market herself as a rising star in American politics. (Zach Carter / HuffPost)
A fact-check of a viral climate misinformation article was quietly removed from Facebook earlier this month. Now, if users try to share the article, which argues that concern about climate change is overblown, there is no warning and no link to the fact-check. Facebook says it’s opinion piece, and so this sort of nonsense is fair game. (Popular Information)
Related: Sen. Elizabeth Warren is demanding more information about the reported “loophole” for climate misinformation in Facebook’s fact-checking program. In a letter, she wrote: “...the company must immediately acknowledge ... that the climate crisis is not a matter of opinion and act to close loopholes that allow climate disinformation to spread on its platform.” (Rebecca Heilweil / Recode)
Disney has dramatically slashed its advertising spending on Facebook amid an ongoing boycott from companies upset with its handling of hate speech and divisive content. Disney was Facebook’s top US advertiser for the first six months of 2020. (Suzanne Vranica / The Wall Street Journal)
Twitter removed a campaign video that President Trump retweeted on Saturday over a copyright complaint. The Linkin Park song “In the End” was featured in the background of the video, which included images of President Trump and excerpts from his inauguration speech. The campaign used the song without permission. Law and order! (Kim Lyons / The Verge)
Trump’s presidential campaign is running ads on Facebook and Instagram urging supporters to sign a petition to ban TikTok. The move is part of an escalating fight between the White House and the video sharing app. (Kari Soo Lindberg / Bloomberg)
Experts on China say that while concerns over TikTok’s national security risks should not be dismissed, blocking the app would be a drastic measure. It would also mean United States is participating in the same Chinese-style internet sovereignty tactics it has long criticized. (Louise Matsakis / Wired)
Democratic lawmakers tend to post more often and have more followers on Twitter than their Republican counterparts. But Republican members of Congress get more audience engagement across both Facebook and Twitter. (Pew Research Center)
The “Platform Accountability and Consumer Transparency Act” is an intellectually serious effort to grapple with the operational challenges of content moderation at the enormous scale of the internet, argues this author. While you might not agree with it entirely, it’s a welcome change from bills like FOSTA and EARN IT. (Daphne Keller / The Center for Internet and Society)
Andrew Yang’s plan to make social media companies pay you for your data doesn’t add up, this piece argues. There are too many loopholes, the plan would be too expensive, and other plans like it have already failed. (Will Rinehart / Wired)
A group of more than 30 moms created a barricade to protect hundreds of protesters from federal officers during demonstrations against police brutality in Portland, Oregon, on Saturday. “We’ll be out until no protester needs protecting,” one of the mothers, who organized the Facebook group “Wall of Moms,” said. (Ryan Mac / BuzzFeed)
Google removed the carousel of tweets from search result pages after dozens of prominent Twitter accounts were hacked last week. The Twitter carousel box usually comes up when searching for a well-known person or brand. (Barry Schwartz / Search Engine Land)
Industry
⭐ US companies are rushing to hire chief diversity officers amid pressure to address racial divisions and inequities within their organizations. But the role has long been marked by high turnover, with many leaving over a lack of resources, unrealistic expectations and inadequate support from senior executives. Chip Cutter and Lauren Weber at The Wall Street Journal have the story:
Longtime diversity executives said the space can suffer from rhetoric when it is specific goals that matter. Gerri Mason Hall is the chief diversity and social responsibility officer for the Americas at Sodexo, a food service company. Her team sends out a scorecard to managers every month, listing the rates of hiring, retention and promotion by gender and race, among other things. She has a team of 10, reports to her CEO and said organizations tend to be successful when they treat diversity goals the way they do other business priorities that result in better profits. “What is the company trying to accomplish?” she asks. “Is it really you just want to put on a show?”
TikTok pulled back from talks to open the headquarters for its non-China business in the United Kingdom after the government banned Chinese telecom firm Huawei from developing Britain’s 5G mobile phone network. The move threatens the creation of roughly 3,000 jobs. (Phillip Inman / The Guardian)
Evan Spiegel made Miranda Kerr a gingerbread house on their first date, and now they live in a three-bedroom house in Brentwood. This article, which is mostly about Spiegel and Kerr’s relationship, also dives into Spiegel’s refreshingly straightforward take on regulating hate speech on Snapchat. (Christina Binkley / The Wall Street Journal)
Snapchat launched Headspace Minis, free meditations that live in the chat section of the app. The in-chat meditations are partly an attempt to encourage people to develop a mindfulness practice by making it something they can do with friends. (Rachel Kraus / Mashable)
Cameo, the celebrity shout-out app, launched a new feature that allows businesses to buy endorsements from famous people. The feature lets companies bypass the legal hurdles and enormous price tags of traditional celebrity endorsements. (Rebecca Jennings / Vox)
Logic signed to Twitch, in a deal worth roughly seven figures. The move comes days after the artist announced he would be retiring from music. (Bijan Stephen / The Verge)
Twitch intervened to stop the US Army from using fake prize giveaways on its esports channel to redirect viewers to army recruitment pages. (James Vincent / The Verge)
Things to do
Stuff to occupy you online during the quarantine.
Read about how the top vaccine candidates are coming along. There’s room for cautious optimism. In 2020. Imagine!
Watch Superman and Witcher star Henry Cavill build a gaming PC. I have known this pain myself, and it is real.
Those good tweets
Talk to us


theverge--2020-07-21--Ford made a ludicrous 1,400-horsepower electric Mustang Mach-E

About a year ago , before the Mustang Mach-E broke cover , Ford ’ s motorsports division quietly started work on something outrageous : a one-off version of the electric vehicle that makes 1,400 horsepower .
Now , the company is showing it off for the first time .
Dubbed the Mustang Mach-E 1400 , it ’ s a wicked-looking three-seater demonstration car that screams like a banshee and smokes tires like they ’ re kindling .
Equipped with a massive rear wing , aerodynamic bodywork , and seven — yes , seven — electric motors , the Mustang Mach-E @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 160 miles per hour .
It can presumably reach that speed in very quick fashion , though Ford says it hasn ’ t yet benchmarked a 0-60 mph or quarter-mile time .
Powered by seven — yes , seven — electric motors The motors pull their power from a relatively small 56.8kWh battery pack ( that ’ s about 75 percent the capacity of the “ standard range ” production Mach-E ) made up with nickel manganese cobalt ( NMC ) pouch cells .
Ford says these cells allow for “ ultra-high performance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the pack is designed to be liquid-cooled while charging to quickly fill back up .
Still , A a battery pack of that size feeding seven motors will run out rather quickly .
Since this is just a demonstration car , Mark Rushbrook , the global director of Ford Performance , tells The Verge the goal was to create something that could make multiple runs across the span of , say , an hour before needing to be recharged , all while showing the “ extreme potential ” of Ford ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ motors : four drive the rear wheels , and three drive the front , so the demonstration car can put down power in lots of different ways .
It can run in all-wheel drive , rear-wheel drive , or front-wheel drive modes , and be easily tweaked for drag racing , traditional track driving , or drifting .
That this electric one-off can do massive smoky burnouts shouldn ’ t be a surprise , as Ford Performance built the Mustang Mach-E 1400 with help from professional drifter Vaughn Gittin Jr. Rushbrook says the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was the result of some lucky timing .
“ We as a company are making this big investment , $ 11.5 billion before the end of 2022 into full electric cars , ” he says , “ [ so ] we at motorsports started thinking , ‘ Okay , well , how do we how do we become part of this ?
’ ” At the same time , Rushbrook says Gittin Jr. — who has a long history of working with Ford and building terrifyingly fast specialty cars — “ started thinking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do with a high-performance version of one.
” Ford has reportedly considered entering Formula E , the young but exciting all-electric alternative to Formula One , and even had discussions with the Penske-owned team .
Competing in motorsports is the typical way to showcase a company ’ s technology ( and push it to its limits ) .
Rushbrook says Ford Performance is keeping the door open to joining an all-electric racing series ( a number of others have sprung up in Formula E ’ s wake ) , but also says there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Mustang Mach-E 1400 as a one-off : “ There are no rules.
” That is why the car the company wound up developing is so absurd .
While there are a good number of electric and hybrid supercars that make 1,000 or more horsepower , few do it with the overkill of seven motors .
Rushbrook says this let his team practice “ learning at the extreme , ” especially when it comes to the thermal management of the battery , as well as the braking system .
This helped inform the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he says , which is due out later this year .
To show off the Mustang Mach-E 1400 ’ s capabilities , Ford released a video of it drifting and doing burnout after burnout alongside some of the most recognizable performance variants , like the company ’ s NASCAR car , Ken Block ’ s Hoonicorn , and one of Gittin Jr. ’ s own custom Mustangs .
Believe it or not , this isn ’ t the first 1,400-horsepower electric Mustang to come out of Ford Performance this year .
In April @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mustang powered by electricity .
Ford Performance also helped create an electric Mustang with a manual transmission that was unveiled at last year ’ s Specialty Equipment Market Association ( SEMA ) trade show in Las Vegas .
But the Mustang Mach-E 1400 serves a far more specific purpose .
With those other projects , the company was stuffing electric technology into Mustangs that were built to run on gasoline .
This outrageous new one-off , though , is a modification of the first Mustang that was made to be electric from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to sell people on the idea that an electric Mustang can go stupidly fast — even if it ’ s an SUV meant to fit a family of four .

About a year ago, before the Mustang Mach-E broke cover, Ford’s motorsports division quietly started work on something outrageous: a one-off version of the electric vehicle that makes 1,400 horsepower. Now, the company is showing it off for the first time. Dubbed the Mustang Mach-E 1400, it’s a wicked-looking three-seater demonstration car that screams like a banshee and smokes tires like they’re kindling.
Equipped with a massive rear wing, aerodynamic bodywork, and seven — yes, seven — electric motors, the Mustang Mach-E 1400 has a top speed of around 160 miles per hour. It can presumably reach that speed in very quick fashion, though Ford says it hasn’t yet benchmarked a 0-60 mph or quarter-mile time.
Powered by seven — yes, seven — electric motors
The motors pull their power from a relatively small 56.8kWh battery pack (that’s about 75 percent the capacity of the “standard range” production Mach-E) made up with nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) pouch cells. Ford says these cells allow for “ultra-high performance and high discharge rate,” and that the pack is designed to be liquid-cooled while charging to quickly fill back up.
Still, A a battery pack of that size feeding seven motors will run out rather quickly. Since this is just a demonstration car, Mark Rushbrook, the global director of Ford Performance, tells The Verge the goal was to create something that could make multiple runs across the span of, say, an hour before needing to be recharged, all while showing the “extreme potential” of Ford’s EV technology.
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As for those electric motors: four drive the rear wheels, and three drive the front, so the demonstration car can put down power in lots of different ways. It can run in all-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, or front-wheel drive modes, and be easily tweaked for drag racing, traditional track driving, or drifting.
That this electric one-off can do massive smoky burnouts shouldn’t be a surprise, as Ford Performance built the Mustang Mach-E 1400 with help from professional drifter Vaughn Gittin Jr. Rushbrook says the company’s collaboration with Gittin Jr. was the result of some lucky timing.
“We as a company are making this big investment, $11.5 billion before the end of 2022 into full electric cars,” he says, “[so] we at motorsports started thinking, ‘Okay, well, how do we how do we become part of this?’” At the same time, Rushbrook says Gittin Jr. — who has a long history of working with Ford and building terrifyingly fast specialty cars — “started thinking about all-electric cars and what he might do with a high-performance version of one.”
Ford has reportedly considered entering Formula E, the young but exciting all-electric alternative to Formula One, and even had discussions with the Penske-owned team. Competing in motorsports is the typical way to showcase a company’s technology (and push it to its limits). Rushbrook says Ford Performance is keeping the door open to joining an all-electric racing series (a number of others have sprung up in Formula E’s wake), but also says there’s a benefit to having made the Mustang Mach-E 1400 as a one-off: “There are no rules.”
“There are no rules.”
That is why the car the company wound up developing is so absurd. While there are a good number of electric and hybrid supercars that make 1,000 or more horsepower, few do it with the overkill of seven motors. Rushbrook says this let his team practice “learning at the extreme,” especially when it comes to the thermal management of the battery, as well as the braking system. This helped inform the consumer version of the Mustang Mach-E, he says, which is due out later this year.
To show off the Mustang Mach-E 1400’s capabilities, Ford released a video of it drifting and doing burnout after burnout alongside some of the most recognizable performance variants, like the company’s NASCAR car, Ken Block’s Hoonicorn, and one of Gittin Jr.’s own custom Mustangs.
Believe it or not, this isn’t the first 1,400-horsepower electric Mustang to come out of Ford Performance this year. In April, the company debuted a drag racing Mustang powered by electricity. Ford Performance also helped create an electric Mustang with a manual transmission that was unveiled at last year’s Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) trade show in Las Vegas.


theverge--2020-07-21--TikTok clone Zynn returns, replacing cash rewards with useless Zynncheers points

Controversial Chinese video app Zynn has returned to iOS and Android after being booted from both platforms following reports of plagiarism and complaints about a pay-to-watch system that one media watchdog described as a “ pyramid scheme.
” The app returned to Google ’ s Play Store on July 2nd and Apple ’ s App Store on July 16th , but users are frustrated by the changes it ’ s made , particularly to the reward system that helped boost Zynn to the top of app download charts earlier this year .
The app previously offered users cash or gift @ @ @ @ @ @ @ videos , and referring friends .
Now , this cash system has been replaced with a system of “ Zynncheers ” points .
And what are Zynncheers points good for ?
Nobody knows , including Zynn .
The company introduced the system in June , and seems to have swapped any cash users had accumulated but not yet redeemed for points .
These points are a “ type of credit representing community activity level , ” says Zynn , which users will be able to receive “ benefits ” for .
But what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be redeemed is unclear .
On social media , Zynn users have been responding to the company ’ s posts to vent their frustrations , complaining that the main function of Zynncheers seems to be stopping them from cashing out any money they ’ d previously accumulated .
“ The sole and only reason that 90 % of people downloaded this app for is money ” “ What are Zynn cheers for ?
Just wondering lol , ” says one user .
Another asks : “ can zynncheers be useful already , i @ @ @ @ @ @ @ store , the reviews are more specific in their grievances .
“ The sole and only reason that 90 % of people downloaded this app for is money , ” says one user on July 18th .
“ But ever since they added zynncheers the app has become useless ...
They said that they are finding uses for zynncheers but it ’ s been a long time and they are still worthless.
” Zynn says it ’ s working on developing Zynncheers , but hasn ’ t offered any solid updates on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ve reached out to the company to ask for more information and will update this story if and when we hear back .
In the meantime users are abandoning the app or moving on to pastures new .
In a Facebook group where Zynn users previously shared referral codes and swapped tips on how to accumulate cash quickly , people are either bemoaning the app ’ s demise or hawking new video apps which promise their own get-rich-quick cash reward schemes .
“ I ’ m inviting you to join Cash Crates , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with social media .
I just earned $ 54.00 and you can too !
Sign up today for a $ 25 bonus !
” says one post .
Another user replies : “ lmao are u dumb ?
”

Controversial Chinese video app Zynn has returned to iOS and Android after being booted from both platforms following reports of plagiarism and complaints about a pay-to-watch system that one media watchdog described as a “pyramid scheme.”
The app returned to Google’s Play Store on July 2nd and Apple’s App Store on July 16th, but users are frustrated by the changes it’s made, particularly to the reward system that helped boost Zynn to the top of app download charts earlier this year. The app previously offered users cash or gift cards for simply signing up, watching videos, and referring friends. Now, this cash system has been replaced with a system of “Zynncheers” points. And what are Zynncheers points good for? Nobody knows, including Zynn.
The company introduced the system in June, and seems to have swapped any cash users had accumulated but not yet redeemed for points. These points are a “type of credit representing community activity level,” says Zynn, which users will be able to receive “benefits” for. But what these benefits are and how they can be redeemed is unclear.
On social media, Zynn users have been responding to the company’s posts to vent their frustrations, complaining that the main function of Zynncheers seems to be stopping them from cashing out any money they’d previously accumulated.
“The sole and only reason that 90% of people downloaded this app for is money”
“What are Zynn cheers for? Just wondering lol,” says one user. Another asks: “can zynncheers be useful already, i need money.”
On the Google Play store, the reviews are more specific in their grievances. “The sole and only reason that 90% of people downloaded this app for is money,” says one user on July 18th. “But ever since they added zynncheers the app has become useless ... They said that they are finding uses for zynncheers but it’s been a long time and they are still worthless.”
Zynn says it’s working on developing Zynncheers, but hasn’t offered any solid updates on the scheme in recent weeks. We’ve reached out to the company to ask for more information and will update this story if and when we hear back.
In the meantime users are abandoning the app or moving on to pastures new. In a Facebook group where Zynn users previously shared referral codes and swapped tips on how to accumulate cash quickly, people are either bemoaning the app’s demise or hawking new video apps which promise their own get-rich-quick cash reward schemes.


theverge--2020-07-21--Amazon confirms Prime Day delay in the US

Amazon Prime Day has been delayed in the US , the company announced today .
The annual shopping event , which promises discounts for Amazon Prime members , is usually held in mid-July , but Amazon has now confirmed that it intends to hold the event “ later than usual ” this year .
The company did not set a new date , but said it would be “ sharing more details soon.
” ” This year we ’ ll be holding Prime Day later than usual , while ensuring the safety of our employees and supporting our customers and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the company told The Verge .
They added that the company plans to go ahead with a discount event in India on August 6-7 .
“ Members all around the world will experience Prime Day later this year , ” the spokesperson said .
” This year we ’ ll be holding Prime Day later than usual ” The reason for the delay appears to be the COVID-19 pandemic , which has caused demand for Amazon ’ s services to skyrocket during an economic downturn , adding $ 74 billion to Jeff Bezos @ @ @ @ @ @ @ total of $ 189.3 billion , according to Bloomberg .
The pandemic has also put pressure on the company to operate without endangering its warehouse workers .
As of mid-May , NBC News reported that eight of the company ’ s warehouse workers had died of the virus , and Amazon is now facing a lawsuit from employees who allege its hygiene policies didn ’ t go far enough to protect them .
Amazon said in April that it expects to spend over $ 4 billion in coronavirus-related expenses including personal protective equipment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and building out its own COVID-19 testing facilities .
Rumors that Prime Day would be delayed date back to at least April , when it was reported that the event could be delayed until August .
However , most recently , CNBC reported that the company had told third-party sellers to expect Prime Day to happen on October 5th this year .
That ’ s within two months of another major shopping day for Amazon , the Black Friday weekend , which is due to start on November 27th this year .

Amazon Prime Day has been delayed in the US, the company announced today. The annual shopping event, which promises discounts for Amazon Prime members, is usually held in mid-July, but Amazon has now confirmed that it intends to hold the event “later than usual” this year. The company did not set a new date, but said it would be “sharing more details soon.”
”This year we’ll be holding Prime Day later than usual, while ensuring the safety of our employees and supporting our customers and selling partners,” a spokesperson for the company told The Verge. They added that the company plans to go ahead with a discount event in India on August 6-7. “Members all around the world will experience Prime Day later this year,” the spokesperson said.
”This year we’ll be holding Prime Day later than usual”
The reason for the delay appears to be the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused demand for Amazon’s services to skyrocket during an economic downturn, adding $74 billion to Jeff Bezos’ personal fortune in 2020 for a total of $189.3 billion, according to Bloomberg. The pandemic has also put pressure on the company to operate without endangering its warehouse workers. As of mid-May, NBC News reported that eight of the company’s warehouse workers had died of the virus, and Amazon is now facing a lawsuit from employees who allege its hygiene policies didn’t go far enough to protect them. Amazon said in April that it expects to spend over $4 billion in coronavirus-related expenses including personal protective equipment (PPE), cleaning for facilities, and building out its own COVID-19 testing facilities.


theverge--2020-07-21--Samsung’s Galaxy Note 20 Ultra may try to be the Xbox Phone

Samsung ’ s Note 20 Ultra , which is expected to launch on August 5th at the next Samsung Unpacked event , may be highly optimized to stream Xbox games over xCloud , according to a new report from WinFuture .
While that might come as a surprise , Samsung and Microsoft have actually gotten pretty cozy over the past year .
Last August , at the last Galaxy Note launch event , Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella appeared onstage to recognize an increased partnership between the two companies , and the two companies announced that Samsung would preinstall Microsoft ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , LinkedIn , and OneDrive on the Galaxy Note 10 .
Samsung and Microsoft already announced they would be partnering on a game streaming service The two companies also announced they would be partnering on a cloud-based game streaming service in February .
A Microsoft-made game streaming service would also fill a hole for Samsung , which shut down its own PC-to-phone game streaming service in March .
More than 90 games will apparently be available to stream on the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra over xCloud , according to WinFuture .
WinFuture ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s new flagship Note .
The phone is expected to have a 6.9-inch screen with a 3200 x 1440 resolution , and will apparently be capable of a variable refresh rate of up to 120Hz , similar to the Galaxy S20 Ultra .
The phone may also be the first to have Corning ’ s Gorilla Glass 7 .
The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is expected to have three cameras on a huge camera bump — which we ’ ve seen on previous leaks of the phone — and WinFuture mostly corroborates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says the phone will have a 108 megapixel main camera , a 12 megapixel ultrawide camera , and a 12 megapixel periscope lens ( though leaker Ice Universe reported it would be 13 megapixels ) that can magnify up to 50X .
That zoom would a step down from the Samsung S20 Ultra ’ s hyped 100X zoom , but that turned out to be gimmicky in real-world use , so perhaps the reduced zoom will result in better photos .
And the hole-punch front camera is 10 megapixels , reports WinFuture .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ latency of nine milliseconds The S Pen stylus in the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra may only have a latency of nine milliseconds , according to WinFuture .
And YouTuber Jimmy Is Promo revealed that the Note 20 Ultra could have a new “ pointer ” mode that will let you use an on-screen cursor by pointing the S Pen at the phone , as shown in a video posted earlier this month .
Rounding out the specs , WinFuture reports the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra will work on 5G networks , comes with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that can be expanded via microSD , and has 12GB of RAM , Wi-Fi 6 , and a 4,500mAh battery .

Samsung’s Note 20 Ultra, which is expected to launch on August 5th at the next Samsung Unpacked event, may be highly optimized to stream Xbox games over xCloud, according to a new report from WinFuture.
While that might come as a surprise, Samsung and Microsoft have actually gotten pretty cozy over the past year. Last August, at the last Galaxy Note launch event, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella appeared onstage to recognize an increased partnership between the two companies, and the two companies announced that Samsung would preinstall Microsoft’s Your Phone app, Office apps, LinkedIn, and OneDrive on the Galaxy Note 10.
Samsung and Microsoft already announced they would be partnering on a game streaming service
The two companies also announced they would be partnering on a cloud-based game streaming service in February. A Microsoft-made game streaming service would also fill a hole for Samsung, which shut down its own PC-to-phone game streaming service in March. More than 90 games will apparently be available to stream on the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra over xCloud, according to WinFuture.
WinFuture’s report also included details about Samsung’s new flagship Note. The phone is expected to have a 6.9-inch screen with a 3200 x 1440 resolution, and will apparently be capable of a variable refresh rate of up to 120Hz, similar to the Galaxy S20 Ultra. The phone may also be the first to have Corning’s Gorilla Glass 7.
The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is expected to have three cameras on a huge camera bump — which we’ve seen on previous leaks of the phone — and WinFuture mostly corroborates other rumors about those cameras. WinFuture says the phone will have a 108 megapixel main camera, a 12 megapixel ultrawide camera, and a 12 megapixel periscope lens (though leaker Ice Universe reported it would be 13 megapixels) that can magnify up to 50X. That zoom would a step down from the Samsung S20 Ultra’s hyped 100X zoom, but that turned out to be gimmicky in real-world use, so perhaps the reduced zoom will result in better photos. And the hole-punch front camera is 10 megapixels, reports WinFuture.
The new S Pen may have a latency of nine milliseconds
The S Pen stylus in the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra may only have a latency of nine milliseconds, according to WinFuture. And YouTuber Jimmy Is Promo revealed that the Note 20 Ultra could have a new “pointer” mode that will let you use an on-screen cursor by pointing the S Pen at the phone, as shown in a video posted earlier this month.


theverge--2020-07-21--Twitter cracks down on QAnon conspiracy group, including a ban on 7,000 accounts

Twitter just announced an crackdown on QAnon , the far-right wing conspiracy theory movement , by banning 7,000 accounts and taking several specific actions that could prevent the spread of their propaganda from as many as 150,000 more , reports NBC News .
The company confirmed the numbers to The Verge .
In addition to flagging QAnon-specific content for bans under its existing rules ( see embedded Tweets below ) , Twitter says it will block QAnon-related links from even being shared on Twitter and no longer recommend QAnon-related accounts .
It will also no longer promote the accounts in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them as trending topics .
Here ’ s part of the company ’ s Twitter thread on the subject : It seems social media companies have slowly become aware of the danger posed by QAnon — a movement that promotes theories as wild as the existence of thousands of hidden child-eating pedophiles — as the 2020 election nears .
Facebook in particular has been struggling with QAnon moderation after attempting to remove some groups in May ; a report at The Guardian suggests QAnon continues to flourish on the platform .
Twitter suspended @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Even Roku removed a QAnon channel from its set-top-boxes and TV sticks earlier this month .
Reddit was ahead of the curve , banning a prominent group from its platform nearly two years ago .
Why is Twitter only cracking down now ?
Twitter tells The Verge that after monitoring closely and talking to experts , the company believes QAnon supporters have continued and in some cases increased harassment of Twitter users in recent weeks , and that it ’ s clear the content that QAnon supporters share is causing actual harm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That said , the first 7,000 accounts were banned for violations of Twitter ’ s existing policies .
We ’ ll have to see how well Twitter enforces the new rules ; in particular , blocking people from sharing any QAnon-associated URL could be like playing an impossible game of whack-a-mole .

Twitter just announced a crackdown on QAnon, the far-right wing conspiracy theory movement, by banning 7,000 accounts and taking several specific actions that could prevent the spread of their propaganda from as many as 150,000 more, reports NBC News. The company confirmed the numbers to The Verge.
In addition to flagging QAnon-specific content for bans under its existing rules (see embedded Tweets below), Twitter says it will block QAnon-related links from even being shared on Twitter and no longer recommend QAnon-related accounts. It will also no longer promote the accounts in search or conversations and will cease highlighting them as trending topics.
Here’s part of the company’s Twitter thread on the subject:
Twitter suspended a single QAnon related account in 2019. Even Roku removed a QAnon channel from its set-top-boxes and TV sticks earlier this month. Reddit was ahead of the curve, banning a prominent group from its platform nearly two years ago.
Why is Twitter only cracking down now? Twitter tells The Verge that after monitoring closely and talking to experts, the company believes QAnon supporters have continued and in some cases increased harassment of Twitter users in recent weeks, and that it’s clear the content that QAnon supporters share is causing actual harm to those who use the service.


theverge--2020-07-21--Over half of US kids are playing Roblox, and it’s about to host Fortnite-esque virtual parties too

Epic Games ’ popular free-to-play title Fortnite has shown that people , especially kids , are willing to flock to attractive virtual spaces to hold meetups and parties as ways to socialize during the pandemic .
Many of those kids are likely playing Roblox , too .
The company just told The Verge that over half of US kids and teens under the age of 16 play the game — and this week , Roblox is adding its own private space for them to host virtual private birthday parties and social gatherings .
Unlike Fortnite ’ s Party Royale mode @ @ @ @ @ @ @ full of activities for the entire community to enjoy , including concerts and movie screenings sponsored by Epic Games itself , Roblox ’ s “ Party Place ” is a specific venue for players to host their own events .
Party Place is currently in beta testing and free to access ; it was previously used by the developers to host their own in-game events , including the One World : Together At Home Virtual Concert in April .
That same month , the developers began accommodating players looking to hold social-focused events @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an initiative that made creating and joining private servers through Roblox cheaper at 10 Robux ( roughly 12 cents ) per server .
Now , though , developers can offer those private servers for free , and they can pick the Party Place if they want to host a virtual birthday party on that specific Roblox stage .
Roblox launched in September 2006 and has been one of the many games that players , specifically children , have used to stay connected with their friends while stuck in quarantine .
In March , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ users ; in April , Roblox Corporation told Bloomberg that “ two-thirds of all U.S. kids between 9 and 12 years old use Roblox , and it ’ s played by a third of all Americans under the age of 16.
” In just three months , that number has apparently now grown from “ a third ” to “ over half ” of all Americans that age , and the company says it has 120 million active monthly players .

Epic Games’ popular free-to-play title Fortnite has shown that people, especially kids, are willing to flock to attractive virtual spaces to hold meetups and parties as ways to socialize during the pandemic. Many of those kids are likely playing Roblox, too. The company just told The Verge that over half of US kids and teens under the age of 16 play the game — and this week, Roblox is adding its own private space for them to host virtual private birthday parties and social gatherings.
Unlike Fortnite’s Party Royale mode, which is a small public island full of activities for the entire community to enjoy, including concerts and movie screenings sponsored by Epic Games itself, Roblox’s “Party Place” is a specific venue for players to host their own events.
Party Place is currently in beta testing and free to access; it was previously used by the developers to host their own in-game events, including the One World: Together At Home Virtual Concert in April. That same month, the developers began accommodating players looking to hold social-focused events by launching “Play Together,” an initiative that made creating and joining private servers through Roblox cheaper at 10 Robux (roughly 12 cents) per server.
Here’s how Roblox described “Play Together”:
An easy way to find games that allow you to engage in fun social activities with others, like visiting shopping malls, going camping, or riding waterslides, all while remaining safe and healthy indoors.
Now, though, developers can offer those private servers for free, and they can pick the Party Place if they want to host a virtual birthday party on that specific Roblox stage.


theverge--2020-07-21--Facebook will study whether its algorithms are racially biased

Facebook is forming new internal teams dedicated to studying its main social network and Instagram for racial bias , in particular for whether its algorithms trained using artificial intelligence adversely affect Black , Hispanic , and other underrepresented groups .
The team will be “ tasked with ensuring fairness and equitable product development are present in everything we do , ” a Facebook spokesperson tells The Verge .
“ We will continue to work closely with Facebook ’ s Responsible AI team to ensure we are looking at potential biases across our respective platforms.
” The new equity team — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( a similar team is being formed to study Facebook ’ s main app and website ) — marks a departure for the company , which has historically resisted efforts within the company to study effects of racial bias .
The news of Facebook ’ s new research teams was first reported on Tuesday by The Wall Street Journal .
“ The racial justice movement is a moment of real significance for our company .
Any bias in our systems and policies runs counter to providing a platform for everyone to express themselves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president of product for Instagram , said in a statement given to The Verge .
While we ’ re always working to create a more equitable experience , we are setting up additional efforts to continue this progress — from establishing the Instagram Equity Team to Facebook ’ s Inclusive Product Council.
” “ The racial justice movement is a moment of real significance for our company.
” The company ’ s decisions today arrive as protests against racism and policy brutality continue daily in American cities following George Floyd ’ s death @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enduring the final stages of a month-long advertising boycott under the # StopHateForProfit movement organized by the Anti-Defamation League , Color of Change , the NAACP , and other civil rights groups .
The boycott has included large spenders like Coca-Cola , Disney , McDonald ’ s , Starbucks , and Walmart , among dozens of others , although CEO Mark Zuckerberg was called “ disappointing ” and accused of offering shallow excuses when meeting with boycott organizers earlier this month .
Last month , Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri pledged to overhaul how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Black and other underrepresented groups face on the platform .
“ It starts with accounting for the experiences and challenges that underrepresented groups , such as our Black community , face when they use Instagram , ” Mosseri wrote .
“ We ’ ve done a lot of work to better understand the impact our platform has on different groups , and that ’ s helped us get to where we are today .
But I think there ’ s more to do across some key areas , which fit into our broader @ @ @ @ @ @ @ harassment , account verification , distribution , and algorithmic bias as areas he thinks Instagram needs to improve on to better serve Black users .
Facebook has a rocky history with racial bias .
The company was found to have been allowing advertisers to exclude certain minority groups when advertising within federally regulated markets like housing and jobs .
Facebook often sidestepped the concerns using technicalities , such as classifying users not by race but by so-called “ ethnic ” or “ multicultural ” affinities , or self-selecting identity groups consistent with what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or other minorities might statistically like on the platform .
Only after rigorous coverage from media outlets , most prominently ProPublica , did Facebook eventually disable ad targeting options for housing , job , and credit ads as part of a legal settlement with civil rights groups .
The company is also comprised of less than 4 percent Black employees , and last year company officials barred employees from studying the racial effects of its platform without approval from the most senior leaders , according to the WSJ .
As a result , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suspensions on Instagram has been found to disproportionately affect users the platform suspects are Black , the WSJ reports .
Facebook has pledged to donate $ 200 million to support black-owned businesses in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests around the country .
The company also said last month it plans to boost the percentage of Black and other underrepresented minorities composing ts leadership team by 30 percent over the next five years , as well as trying to double the number of Black and Hispanic employees by 2023 .
An 89-page @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Colfax over the course of two years and released on July 8th called for Facebook to study and eliminate racial bias in its AI-trained software and systems , although those conducting the audit were not permitted to study internal company research and AI models .

Facebook is forming new internal teams dedicated to studying its main social network and Instagram for racial bias, in particular for whether its algorithms trained using artificial intelligence adversely affect Black, Hispanic, and other underrepresented groups. The team will be “tasked with ensuring fairness and equitable product development are present in everything we do,” a Facebook spokesperson tells The Verge. “We will continue to work closely with Facebook’s Responsible AI team to ensure we are looking at potential biases across our respective platforms.”
The new equity team — as it’s called within Instagram (a similar team is being formed to study Facebook’s main app and website) — marks a departure for the company, which has historically resisted efforts within the company to study effects of racial bias. The news of Facebook’s new research teams was first reported on Tuesday by The Wall Street Journal.
“The racial justice movement is a moment of real significance for our company. Any bias in our systems and policies runs counter to providing a platform for everyone to express themselves,” Vishal Shah, the vice president of product for Instagram, said in a statement given to The Verge. While we’re always working to create a more equitable experience, we are setting up additional efforts to continue this progress — from establishing the Instagram Equity Team to Facebook’s Inclusive Product Council.”
“The racial justice movement is a moment of real significance for our company.”
The company’s decisions today arrive as protests against racism and policy brutality continue daily in American cities following George Floyd’s death in late May. Facebook is also enduring the final stages of a month-long advertising boycott under the #StopHateForProfit movement organized by the Anti-Defamation League, Color of Change, the NAACP, and other civil rights groups. The boycott has included large spenders like Coca-Cola, Disney, McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Walmart, among dozens of others, although CEO Mark Zuckerberg was called “disappointing” and accused of offering shallow excuses when meeting with boycott organizers earlier this month.
Last month, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri pledged to overhaul how the company tries to solve problems that Black and other underrepresented groups face on the platform. “It starts with accounting for the experiences and challenges that underrepresented groups, such as our Black community, face when they use Instagram,” Mosseri wrote. “We’ve done a lot of work to better understand the impact our platform has on different groups, and that’s helped us get to where we are today. But I think there’s more to do across some key areas, which fit into our broader company commitments.” Mosseri specifically called out harassment, account verification, distribution, and algorithmic bias as areas he thinks Instagram needs to improve on to better serve Black users.
Facebook has a rocky history with racial bias. The company was found to have been allowing advertisers to exclude certain minority groups when advertising within federally regulated markets like housing and jobs. Facebook often sidestepped the concerns using technicalities, such as classifying users not by race but by so-called “ethnic” or “multicultural” affinities, or self-selecting identity groups consistent with what a majority of Black, Hispanic, or other minorities might statistically like on the platform. Only after rigorous coverage from media outlets, most prominently ProPublica, did Facebook eventually disable ad targeting options for housing, job, and credit ads as part of a legal settlement with civil rights groups.
The company is also comprised of less than 4 percent Black employees, and last year company officials barred employees from studying the racial effects of its platform without approval from the most senior leaders, according to the WSJ. As a result, Facebook software that automates moderation like account suspensions on Instagram has been found to disproportionately affect users the platform suspects are Black, the WSJ reports.
Facebook has pledged to donate $200 million to support black-owned businesses in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests around the country. The company also said last month it plans to boost the percentage of Black and other underrepresented minorities composing ts leadership team by 30 percent over the next five years, as well as trying to double the number of Black and Hispanic employees by 2023.


theverge--2020-07-21--Snap is conducting an investigation after reports of discrimination

Snap has launched an investigation into accusations of racism and sexism within the company , anonymous sources have told Business Insider .
Per the sources , the independent firm ( Seattle-based Williams Kastner ) have contacted both current and former staff .
The investigation appears to concern stories that ex-employees recounted in a June 9th Mashable article about their experiences working for Snap between 2015 and 2018 .
Multiple sources told Mashable that they experienced a racist culture during their time at the company , and that leadership disparaged Black representation in media .
One employee said they were asked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ performers with a “ friendlier face.
” The same manager told another employee that a story was “ too black-heavy ” and asked that some snaps of Black people be replaced with people of other races .
The employee included the incident in an HR review of the manager but did not hear back .
Snap told Mashable at the time that it was “ looking into ” the complaint .
CEO Evan Spiegel told employees in a recent all-hands meeting that the company was investigating the incidents that Mashable reported .
Snap @ @ @ @ @ @ @ companies that has never released a diversity report .
In the same all-hands meeting , Spiegel announced that the company would continue to keep its diversity numbers private .
“ We ’ ve been worried that all these disclosures have actually normalized the current composition of the tech workforce , ” the executive said in an interview with CNBC .
He claimed that Snap is working on “ a new way right now to release that information.
” ” We are fully committed to publicly releasing our diversity numbers , along with our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Snap spokesperson said in a statement to The Verge .
The company also drew criticism for releasing a Juneteenth filter that prompted users to “ smile and break the chains , ” showing what appeared to be an approximation of the Pan-African flag .
Snap ’ s president of diversity and inclusion apologized in a companywide email , specifying that the filter was the result of a collaboration between Black and white employees .
Snap is investigating that matter as well , per a company spokesperson .
It wasn ’ t the first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — the company released a Bob Marley filter back in 2016 that effectively created blackface , as well as an anime-inspired lens that some users felt morphed faces into racist Asian caricatures .
Update July 21st , 6:01pm ET : The story has been updated to include a statement from Snap .

Snap has launched an investigation into accusations of racism and sexism within the company, anonymous sources have told Business Insider.
Per the sources, the independent firm (Seattle-based Williams Kastner) have contacted both current and former staff. The investigation appears to concern stories that ex-employees recounted in a June 9th Mashable article about their experiences working for Snap between 2015 and 2018.
Multiple sources told Mashable that they experienced a racist culture during their time at the company, and that leadership disparaged Black representation in media. One employee said they were asked to replace a lead image of Black performers with a “friendlier face.” The same manager told another employee that a story was “too black-heavy” and asked that some snaps of Black people be replaced with people of other races. The employee included the incident in an HR review of the manager but did not hear back.
Snap told Mashable at the time that it was “looking into” the complaint. CEO Evan Spiegel told employees in a recent all-hands meeting that the company was investigating the incidents that Mashable reported.
Snap is one of the few Silicon Valley companies that has never released a diversity report. In the same all-hands meeting, Spiegel announced that the company would continue to keep its diversity numbers private. “We’ve been worried that all these disclosures have actually normalized the current composition of the tech workforce,” the executive said in an interview with CNBC. He claimed that Snap is working on “a new way right now to release that information.”
”We are fully committed to publicly releasing our diversity numbers, along with our plans for meaningful change,” a Snap spokesperson said in a statement to The Verge.
The company also drew criticism for releasing a Juneteenth filter that prompted users to “smile and break the chains,” showing what appeared to be an approximation of the Pan-African flag. Snap’s president of diversity and inclusion apologized in a companywide email, specifying that the filter was the result of a collaboration between Black and white employees. Snap is investigating that matter as well, per a company spokesperson.
It wasn’t the first filter Snap has gotten in trouble for — the company released a Bob Marley filter back in 2016 that effectively created blackface, as well as an anime-inspired lens that some users felt morphed faces into racist Asian caricatures.


theverge--2020-07-21--Snap grows its daily user base and keeps advertiser money coming in, even during the pandemic

The pandemic hasn ’ t been too terrible for Snap .
The company behind Snapchat announced its second quarter earnings today , detailing how its business has fared during the COVID-19 outbreak around the world .
Its user base is up by 9 million people daily over last quarter , and its revenue is up 17 percent year over year , at $ 454 million .
Snap is positioning the growth as a win , especially given that advertiser budgets are shrinking amid a global economic downturn .
“ The economic environment has become challenging for many of our advertising @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the rate of growth in our business , ” says Derek Andersen , Snap CFO , in prepared remarks .
The pandemic took an obvious hit on the company ’ s business .
Year-over-year growth in January and February was approximately 58 percent , he says , before declining to approximately 25 percent in March .
He went on to say the high growth early in the year suggests that , under normal market conditions , Snap could thrive .
“ We are cautiously optimistic ... but we are also conscious that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Andersen acknowledges that the economic forecast is foggy going forward and Snap ’ s success will likely depend on how long the pandemic continues and whether advertisers keep tightening their budgets .
“ We are cautiously optimistic that trends could improve over time if conditions begin to normalize , but we are also conscious that economic conditions may not improve and some of our advertising partners could continue to face headwinds caused by the crisis , ” says Andersen .
The user growth is encouraging for the company but also predictable given @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been stuck inside with stay-at-home orders .
The company says users check Snapchat an average of over 30 times per day , and CEO Evan Spiegel says in his prepared remarks that the team has seen an increase in “ group activities , ” like games , calls , and chats .
Snap launched five games this quarter and saw average daily time spent in games more than double in the month of March , he says .
Snap is one of the first major social platforms to announce its second quarter earnings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continue to be advertiser fallout amid the pandemic .
Brands have , for instance , boycotted Facebook over its handling of incendiary posts from President Donald Trump , as well as ongoing issues with misinformation .
Meanwhile , TikTok is facing a full-out potential ban in the US .
Snap , for its part , is just weathering the storm , trying to bring more users into the fold and keep advertisers on deck .

The pandemic hasn’t been too terrible for Snap. The company behind Snapchat announced its second quarter earnings today, detailing how its business has fared during the COVID-19 outbreak around the world. Its user base is up by 9 million people daily over last quarter, and its revenue is up 17 percent year over year, at $454 million. Snap is positioning the growth as a win, especially given that advertiser budgets are shrinking amid a global economic downturn.
“The economic environment has become challenging for many of our advertising partners and this has had an impact on the rate of growth in our business,” says Derek Andersen, Snap CFO, in prepared remarks. The pandemic took an obvious hit on the company’s business. Year-over-year growth in January and February was approximately 58 percent, he says, before declining to approximately 25 percent in March. He went on to say the high growth early in the year suggests that, under normal market conditions, Snap could thrive.
“We are cautiously optimistic ... but we are also conscious that economic conditions may not improve.”
Still, Andersen acknowledges that the economic forecast is foggy going forward and Snap’s success will likely depend on how long the pandemic continues and whether advertisers keep tightening their budgets.
“We are cautiously optimistic that trends could improve over time if conditions begin to normalize, but we are also conscious that economic conditions may not improve and some of our advertising partners could continue to face headwinds caused by the crisis,” says Andersen.
The user growth is encouraging for the company but also predictable given that many people around the world have been stuck inside with stay-at-home orders. The company says users check Snapchat an average of over 30 times per day, and CEO Evan Spiegel says in his prepared remarks that the team has seen an increase in “group activities,” like games, calls, and chats. Snap launched five games this quarter and saw average daily time spent in games more than double in the month of March, he says.


theverge--2020-07-21--Xbox’s Summer Game Fest event has 70 demos of new games you can try now

More than 70 demos of unreleased Xbox One games are now available to play as part of Microsoft ’ s @ @ @ @ @ .
You ’ ll be able to check them out until July 27th .
You @ @ @ @ @ of demos available right here .
Two games that catch my eye include Destroy All @ @ @ @ @ of the alien invasion game first released in 2005 , and SkateBird , where you @ @ @ @ @ bird .
With the big summer gaming trade shows canceled or shifted to online-only events @ @ @ @ @ event could be a great way to check out some upcoming games from the comfort @ @ @ @ @ With more than 70 games to try , you ’ ll have a lot of @ @ @ @ @ now and the 27th .
And if you ’ re wondering about games coming to @ @ @ @ @ Microsoft is hosting a digital event focused on games coming to the next-gen console that @ @ @ @ @

More than 70 demos of unreleased Xbox One games are now available to play as part of Microsoft’s Summer Game Fest Demo Event. You’ll be able to check them out until July 27th.
You can see the full list of demos available right here. Two games that catch my eye include Destroy All Humans!, a remake of the alien invasion game first released in 2005, and SkateBird, where you play as an adorable skateboarding bird.
Image: Glass Bottom Games
With the big summer gaming trade shows canceled or shifted to online-only events, Microsoft’s demo event could be a great way to check out some upcoming games from the comfort of your own couch. With more than 70 games to try, you’ll have a lot of potential demos to play between now and the 27th.
And if you’re wondering about games coming to the Xbox Series X, Microsoft is hosting a digital event focused on games coming to the next-gen console that will air on Thursday.


theverge--2020-07-21--Three of TikTok’s biggest stars just signed off-platform deals

Three of TikTok ’ s biggest stars announced deals outside of TikTok yesterday , giving the creators another way to make money off their immense popularity on the shortform video app .
Charli D ’ Amelio ( TikTok ’ s most followed creator ) and Dixie D ’ Amelio ( who rivals Will Smith in TikTok followers ) announced a makeup line in partnership with Morphe , and Addison Rae ( TikTok ’ s second most followed creator ) announced a Spotify-exclusive podcast that ’ ll be co-hosted by her mom .
YouTubers have taken these exact same steps to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ offer creators a way to make money from their popularity on the app .
Creators can receive tips during live streams , but live-streaming is a very small part of TikTok .
The short dance videos that receive millions of views don ’ t make creators anything , so they have to post sponsored videos or — as we ’ re seeing this week — head off-platform to monetize their popularity .
These kinds of deals are newer terrain for TikTok stars , but plenty of YouTube creators and other online influencers have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in particular , is known for partnering with YouTube creators .
A collaboration with Shane Dawson and Jeffree Star last year was expected to bring in $ 35 million in sales , Morphe said at the time .
Spotify has also turned shows from YouTubers into exclusive podcasts , like Mom ’ s Basement from FaZe Banks and Keemstar .
Unlike YouTube , TikTok doesn ’ t give creators a cut of the ads that run between the videos it plays .
That ’ s a big drawback for creators , and it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to make money .
Rae posted a video about an American Eagle partnership today ; Dixie did a recent video for T-Mobile ; and Charli has posted ads for Aerie and the film The High Note in recent months .
Charli could be charging as much as $ 40,000 per sponsored post , according to a Rolling Stone report that spoke with digital marketers .
Charli , in particular , has gone off-platform in big ways before : she appeared in a star-studded Super Bowl commercial earlier this year for Sabra Hummus .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ posted to her TikTok account .

Three of TikTok’s biggest stars announced deals outside of TikTok yesterday, giving the creators another way to make money off their immense popularity on the shortform video app.
Charli D’Amelio (TikTok’s most followed creator) and Dixie D’Amelio (who rivals Will Smith in TikTok followers) announced a makeup line in partnership with Morphe, and Addison Rae (TikTok’s second most followed creator) announced a Spotify-exclusive podcast that’ll be co-hosted by her mom.
YouTubers have taken these exact same steps to make money
TikTok largely doesn’t offer creators a way to make money from their popularity on the app. Creators can receive tips during live streams, but live-streaming is a very small part of TikTok. The short dance videos that receive millions of views don’t make creators anything, so they have to post sponsored videos or — as we’re seeing this week — head off-platform to monetize their popularity.
These kinds of deals are newer terrain for TikTok stars, but plenty of YouTube creators and other online influencers have taken these steps before. Morphe, in particular, is known for partnering with YouTube creators. A collaboration with Shane Dawson and Jeffree Star last year was expected to bring in $35 million in sales, Morphe said at the time. Spotify has also turned shows from YouTubers into exclusive podcasts, like Mom’s Basement from FaZe Banks and Keemstar.
Unlike YouTube, TikTok doesn’t give creators a cut of the ads that run between the videos it plays. That’s a big drawback for creators, and it means they have to look to sponsorships to make money. Rae posted a video about an American Eagle partnership today; Dixie did a recent video for T-Mobile; and Charli has posted ads for Aerie and the film The High Note in recent months. Charli could be charging as much as $40,000 per sponsored post, according to a Rolling Stone report that spoke with digital marketers.