Category: Technology

The European Commission has started proceedings to ensure Google complies with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in certain ways. Specifically, the European Union’s executive arm has told Google to grant third-party AI services the same level of access to Android that Gemini has. “The aim is to ensure that third-party providers have an equal opportunity to innovate and compete in the rapidly evolving AI landscape on smart mobile devices,” the Commission said in a statement. 

The company will also have to hand over “anonymized ranking, query, click and view data held by Google Search” to rival search engines. The Commission says this will help competing companies to optimize their services and offer more viable alternatives to Google Search. 

“Today’s proceedings under the Digital Markets Act will provide guidance to Google to ensure that third-party online search engines and AI providers enjoy the same access to search data and Android operating system as Google’s own services, like Google Search or Gemini,” said Henna Virkkunen, the Commission’s executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy. “Our goal is to keep the AI market open, unlock competition on the merits and promote innovation, to the benefit of consumers and businesses.”

The Commission plans to wrap up these proceedings in the next six months, effectively handing Google a deadline to make all of this happen. If the company doesn’t do so to the Commission’s satisfaction, it may face a formal investigation and penalties down the line. The Commission can impose fines of up to 10 percent of a company’s global annual revenue for a DMA violation.

Google was already in hot water with the EU for allegedly favoring its own services — such as travel, finance and shopping — over those from rivals and stopping Google Play app developers from easily directing consumers to alternative, cheaper ways to pay for digital goods and services. The bloc charged Google with DMA violations related to those issues last March. 

In November, the EU opened an investigation into Google’s alleged demotion of commercial content on news websites in search results. The following month, it commenced a probe into Google’s AI practices, including whether the company used online publishers’ material for AI Overviews and AI Mode without “appropriate compensation” or offering the ability to opt out.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/the-eu-tells-google-to-give-external-ai-assistants-the-same-access-to-android-as-gemini-has-154157081.html?src=rss 

Pinterest is planning on laying off up to 15 percent of its workforce, according to a report by CNBC. The company has been posting stellar earnings reports these past few quarters, so why punish employees? You already know the answer. It’s AI.

The company said it’s “reallocating resources” to AI projects and prioritizing “AI-powered products and capabilities.” It’s also cutting down on office space, presumably because AI algorithms don’t require cubicles and the occasional low-grade snack.

Pinterest noted in a recent security filing that it expects these cuts to the workforce will be complete by the end of the third quarter in September. The company had 4,500 global employees as of April, so the layoffs should impact up to 675 people.

It will also be reshaping its sales and marketing strategies, likely to highlight new AI initiatives. To that end, Pinterest introduced an AI-powered shopping tool a few months back.

“Our investments in AI and product innovation are paying off,” Pinterest CEO Bill Ready said in November. “We’ve become a leader in visual search and have effectively turned our platform into an AI-powered shopping assistant for 600 million customers.”

Unfortunately, becoming a “leader in visual search” has created some headaches for end users. The platform has become overridden with AI-generated slop, leading the company to introduce a dial to reduce the prevalence of artificial content.

Pinterest is just the latest company to downsize in favor of AI. A consulting firm found that AI was the stated blame for around 55,000 layoffs in the US last year. 

This leads some to question the veracity of this reasoning, as some entities could be engaging in something called AI-washing. This is when companies exaggerate the use of AI and blame it for standard cost-cutting layoffs, leading investors to think “ooh, shiny.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/pinterest-is-conducting-a-massive-round-of-layoffs-to-prioritize-ai-powered-products-and-capabilities-163440004.html?src=rss 

Every time Apple’s AirPods 4 with active noise cancelation go on sale I have the same thought: maybe I made a mistake. Don’t get me wrong, I love my regular AirPods 4, but the noise canceling aspect makes their sister pair very enticing.

Take now, for instance, when the AirPods 4 with ANC are on sale for $119, down from $179. The 34 percent discount brings them to only $4 more than the standard AirPods 4 current sale price and below their usual $129. While we’ve seen the ANC model as low as $99, the $119 price tag is the best deal we’ve seen so far this year. 

Apple released its fourth-generation AirPods in late 2024 and they’re still our pick for best budget AirPods on the market. We gave the ANC model an 86 in our review thanks to their effective noise canceling, better sound quality and features like adaptive audio. Overall, at $60 off, they’re a great option to pick up. 

Check out our coverage of the best Apple deals for more discounts, and follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/airpods-4-with-anc-drop-to-119-153239093.html?src=rss 

California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced that his office is investigating whether TikTok is truly censoring content critical of Trump, days after ByteDance finalized a deal to spin off its business in the US. Newsom made the announcement in response to a post on X, claiming that you can no longer send messages in the app with the word “Epstein” in it. Newsom’s office, in a separate post, said it was able to independently confirm instances wherein TikTok suppressed content critical of President Donald Trump.

The governor’s office told Politico that it tried to send a direct message with the word “Epstein” in it and got a warning that it could not be sent because it may violate TikTok’s community guidelines. Newsom’s team is now “launching a review of this conduct and is calling on the California Department of Justice to determine whether it violates California law.”

If you’ll recall, ByteDance finalized a deal for a new US entity just as TikTok was about to be banned in the US. ByteDance only owns 19.9 percent of the new entity called the TikTok USDS Joint Venture, while the new investors own 80 percent. Oracle, Silver Lake and Emirati fund MGX have a 15 percent stake each. The US business will now retrain TikTok’s algorithm on US data and will also be in charge of content moderation.

After the US entity’s announcement, users started complaining about technical issues affecting TikTok’s recommendation algorithm and other features. Some claimed that they had difficulties posting videos about ICE over the weekend. TikTok blamed its issues, including bugs, slower loading times and timed-out uploads, on a power outage at one of its US data centers. It said it’s now working to restore its services.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/california-will-investigate-tiktoks-alleged-censorship-of-anti-trump-posts-130000558.html?src=rss 

Lego unveiled its Smart Play system at CES 2026 earlier this month, with a selection of sets designed for the engaging feature. Now, the toy company has announced five new compatible sets — all Stars Wars themed — available now for pre-order. Anthony Daniels, the original C-3PO, shared the news during the Nuremberg Toy Fair. 

The Smart Play system, Lego’s newest venture, involves a Smart Brick, Smart Tags and Smart Minifigures. Each Smart Brick has proximity sensors, an accelerometer, a speaker and more. The Smart Tags and Smart Minifigures relay what’s happening to the Brick. For example, if you whoosh a spaceship through the air, the Smart Brick should make a sound that imitates that. Vader, of course, also makes his deep breathing sound. Plus, it requires no screens or apps, so the fun remains in its true, tactical form. 

The five new Smart Play sets span the Star Wars universe: 

Luke’s Landspeeder with 215 pieces ($40)

AT-ST Attach on Endor with 347 pieces ($50)

Yoda’s Hut and Jedi Training with 440 pieces ($70)

Mos Eisley Cantina with 666 pieces ($80)

Millennium Falcon with 885 pieces ($100)

These sets join three initially announced Star Wars Smart Play ones: Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter ($70), Luke’s Red Five X-Wing ($90) and Throne Room Duel & A-Wing ($150). However, these three are “all-in-one” sets, meaning they come with the Smart Bricks. The newly announced options don’t come with a Smart Brick, requiring an extra purchase, but will have the Smart Tags and Smart Minifigures that will know what to do. 

All of the Smart Play Star Wars sets are available to pre-order as of today. They should be available starting March 1. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/lego-has-a-new-round-of-star-wars-sets-that-work-with-the-smart-brick-131210482.html?src=rss 

Google has agreed to a $68 million settlement regarding claims that its voice assistant inappropriately spied on smartphone users. Plaintiffs claimed that the company’s Google Assistant platform began listening to them after it misheard conversations that sounded like its wake words. The suit argued that private information that Google Assistant shouldn’t have heard was then used to deliver those individuals targeted ads. 

Reuters reported that Google denied wrongdoing in the suit, but according to court papers, the company agreed to a settlement in order to avoid the risk and costs of litigating the issue. The preliminary class action settlement was filed on Friday and now awaits approval from U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman.

Google has been transitioning away from the Google Assistant platform in the past year, replacing it with its Gemini tool. Not that AI chatbots should be trusted as paragons of privacy either.

Apple faced a very similar allegations around its Siri voice assistant in 2019; that class-action suit ended in a $95 million settlement in January 2025. Not sure if a reward of $20 per device feels sufficient when these companies are accidentally overhearing deeply personal conversations and details, but that’s how the justice system shakes out some times.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-agrees-to-68-million-settlement-in-voice-assistant-privacy-lawsuit-222405727.html?src=rss 

Google is rolling out a Gemini feature that could turn out to be pretty useful for many folks. It’s a Google Calendar tool that can help figure out the best time to schedule a meeting, taking into account attendees’ schedules. When creating a meeting, you can click the “Suggested times” option and Gemini will look at the availability that people have marked on their calendar and potential conflicts. You’ll then be able to choose from a list of suggested time slots.

But the time you pick may not work for everyone. So if multiple people decline the meeting invite, you can reschedule by going to the event. You’ll see a time when everyone is available and you can quickly update the invite.

There are a few catches here. Naturally, this will only work properly when meeting organizers have access to attendees’ calendars. It’s also limited to paid users who are on Google Workspace Business (Standard and Plus) and Enterprise (Standard and Plus) plans, as well as those with the Google AI Pro for Education add-on. The feature is available now on Rapid Release domains and it’ll start rolling out to Scheduled Release domains on February 2.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-aims-to-take-the-sting-out-of-scheduling-meetings-with-a-new-gemini-feature-204853761.html?src=rss