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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri and Snap CEO Evan Spiegel will have to testify in an upcoming trial that deals with social media safety and whether the executives’ platforms are addictive. A Los Angeles judge ruled that the three men will need to testify in the trial set to begin in January, according to CNBC.

“The testimony of a CEO is uniquely relevant, as that officer’s knowledge of harms, and failure to take available steps to avoid such harms could establish negligence or ratification of negligent conduct,” Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl wrote. As CNBC points out, the January trial will be closely watched as it’s the first of many lawsuits alleging harms to young social media users that will head to trial. 

Lawyers for Meta and Snap had argued that the executives should be spared from testifying at the upcoming trial. Meta’s lawyers reportedly argued that forcing testimony from Zuckerberg and Mosseri would “set a precedent” for future trials. Meta is currently facing numerous lawsuits over alleged harms to younger users of its platforms. The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Snap is also facing a number of lawsuits over alleged safety issues. In a statement, the law firm representing Snap said that the judge’s order “does not bear at all on the validity of Plaintiffs claims” and that they “look forward to the opportunity to explain why Plaintiffs’ allegations against Snapchat are wrong factually and as a matter of law. “

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/mark-zuckerberg-adam-mosseri-and-evan-spiegel-ordered-to-testify-in-trial-over-social-media-addiction-190500907.html?src=rss 

Apple’s war of words with Europe over its Digital Markets Act (DMA) is bleeding into the court system. Bloomberg reports that the company criticized the regulations at the General Court in Luxembourg. The European Commission is currently conducting its first formal review of the law. Apple lawyer Daniel Beard told the court reviewing the DMA that it “imposes hugely onerous and intrusive burdens.”

The language echoes Apple’s go-to framing of the regulations as an anti-consumer, anti-privacy hardship on the nearly $4 trillion company. “Over time, it’s become clear that the DMA isn’t helping markets,” the company wrote in a September blog post. “It’s making it harder to do business in Europe.” Apple even cited porn as one of the law’s alleged dangers. “For the first time, pornography apps are available on iPhone from other marketplaces — apps we’ve never allowed on the App Store because of the risks they create, especially for children.”

Apple also claimed the DMA caused it to delay several features. These include AirPods Live Translation, iPhone Mirroring in macOS, and the Visited Places and Preferred Routes features in Maps.

The iPhone maker asked the EC to repeal the law in September. In response, the commission essentially told the company to shove it. “Apple has simply contested every little bit of the DMA since its entry into application,” EU spokesperson Thomas Regnier said. He added that the EC had “absolutely no intention” of ditching the law.

Bloomberg reports that Apple is challenging the DMA on three fronts. First is its requirement that rival hardware (like earbuds and smartwatches) work with the iPhone, which Apple claims is a security risk. The company also objected to the App Store’s inclusion under the rules and a probe into whether iMessage should have been included.

In response, EC lawyer Paul-John Loewenthal highlighted Apple’s immense power in Europe. He said the company’s “absolute control” over the iPhone has led to “supernormal profits” in markets where competitors can’t possibly compete on equal footing.

“Only Apple has the keys to that walled garden,” Loewenthal told the court. “It decides who gets it and who can offer their products and services to iPhone users. And through such control, Apple has locked in more than a third of European smartphone users.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apple-steps-up-its-attacks-on-europes-dma-regulations-175332390.html?src=rss 

GM is ending production of the Chevy Brightdrop electric van, according to portions of a transcript of a recent earnings report published by The Verge. The decision was made due to slowing demand in the EV market, as hundreds of Brightdrop vans have begun piling up in dealer lots.

“This is not a decision we made lightly because of the impact on our employees,” CEO Mary Barra said in the earnings call. “However the commercial electric van market has been developing much slower than expected, and changes to the regulatory framework and fleet incentives has made the business even more challenging.”

Those changes to the regulatory framework she mentions likely refer to the recent disappearance of the federal EV tax credit. The policy offered prospective buyers a $7,500 tax credit and was supposed to wind down in 2032, but the Trump administration killed it back in September as part of the so-called Big, Beautiful Bill. Brightdrop vans were also eligible for a $7,500 rebate for commercial EVs under 18,000 lbs, which went away along with the tax credit.

In other words, Brightdrop electric vans are simply too expensive for most consumers. They started at $74,000. The double discount brought the starting price down to $59,000, but that’s gone now. Additionally, rival Ford’s E-Transit van starts at $51,600.

GM first launched the Brightdrop vans back in 2021, and this seemed to be a serious attempt to capture the commercial EV market. The company made its own fleet management software and inked deals with Walmart, FedEx and others. Money is money, however, and not too many commercial customers have an extra $15,000 laying around to make up for those lapsed credits and rebates.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/gm-to-end-production-of-its-chevy-brightdrop-electric-vans-183622673.html?src=rss 

If you’re on the go a lot, a power bank is practically a backpack essential, and while a chunkier device is sometimes necessary for power users, if you just need something to juice up your phone you can easily stay within the realms of pocketability. Baseus’ Picogo 5K belongs to the latter category, and right now you can pick one up for $36, which is a record low price.

While this particular accessory only made it into the “others we tested” section in our guide to the best MagSafe power banks for iPhone, that’s only because it was slightly beaten in the slimness department by the Anker Nano. However, as we noted in the guide, the Nano doesn’t have a stand, and the Picogo 5K does, so if you like to be able to prop up your phone while it’s charging, it might be the better pick for you.

As you can probably guess from its name, Baseus’ power bank has a 5,000mAh capacity and is Qi2-certified. In our testing. It gave our tester iPhone 15 a 43 percent bump in battery in 42 minutes, which returned the phone to 91 percent. It has a curved design and is wrapped in soft silicone, making it easy to grip in a pinch.

As a reminder, MagSafe charging is supported on iPhone 12 models and later, though you’ll need an iPhone 13 or later to reach the 15W charging speed on a third-party Qi2 accessory such as the one featured in this deal.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/this-baseus-magnetic-power-bank-is-cheaper-than-ever-at-only-36-164814402.html?src=rss 

Google just announced several updates for its digital telecom provider, Google Fi. It’s introducing AI-enhanced audio for better sound quality during calls. The company says this will ensure “optimized audio quality for every call, so you can confidently take calls from a windy park or busy cafe.” This feature rolls out sometime in November.

Google Fi is getting HD/HD+ calling, which should also improve the overall audio quality. The service will soon automatically connect to Wi-Fi when available, with the company touting “seamless, secure switching.” As for security, each call and text goes through a VPN. There’s no extra cost for this service and it doesn’t count against the pre-existing data allocation.

The platform will also soon let users make calls and send texts from any web browser. This is coming in December and will feature a new interface with full RCS support, allowing folks to add hi-res photos and videos to message threads.

Finally, Google is integrating Gemini into the platform to create an AI-powered billing summary. The company says this offers “simple, easy explanations of all your billing statements.” The feature has been in a beta for a while and Google says users have given it “high positive sentiment.”

These tools are accompanied by a limited-time promo for new subscribers, amounting to 50 percent off for 15 months when bringing in a phone. The discount is only available for the Unlimited Premium and Unlimited Standard plans.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/google-fi-will-start-using-ai-to-make-calls-sound-better-170025805.html?src=rss 

OpenAI’s long-rumored browser has a name, and you can try it out today — provided you’re an Apple user. ChatGPT Atlas is available to download on macOS, with the company promising to bring it to Windows, Android and iOS soon. Atlas integrates ChatGPT directly within the browser interface, allowing users to engage with the chatbot while they’re surfing the web — no need to jump between different tabs and copy and paste content. When you select a text field, an icon will appear that allows you to prompt ChatGPT. OpenAI demoed this feature in Gmail where an employee asked the chatbot to polish an email he was writing to a colleague. Naturally, a prompt bar will also appear when you open a new tab, and you can open a sidebar where you can converse with ChatGPT at any time. 

The more you use Atlas, the more ChatGPT will “remember” about your preferences. One of the benefits of this is that you’ll be able to more easily filter through your search history. For instance, you can write “re-open shoes I looked at yesterday,” and ChatGPT will know the specific website you want to look at again. Browser memories are optional, and if you decide to enable the feature, you can manage them through the settings menu, and just like any other browser, you can delete your history or go surf the web using an incognito mode. OpenAI says it won’t use the content users browse to train its future models.    

Atlas also includes an agent mode where ChatGPT can surf the web for you and complete tasks. The feature builds on the Operator tech debuted at the start of the year, and is currently available as a preview within the browser that Plus, Pro and Business accounts can try out. “It can help you book reservations or flights or even just edit a document that you’re working on,” said Adam Fry, product lead for ChatGPT Search, during the livestream where OpenAI announced Atlas. 

“Tabs are great but we haven’t seen a lot of browser innovation since then,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at the start of the livestream. “This is just a great browser all-around — it’s smooth, it’s quick, it’s really nice to use.”

Developing… 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openais-chatgpt-browser-arrives-today-on-macos-170735087.html?src=rss