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A former lobbyist for Meta is now in charge of the EU’s chief regulator for big tech firms, according to reporting by The Irish Times. Niamh Sweeney has been named commissioner of the Data Protection Commission (DPC), which is one of the largest EU data protection authorities.

Prior to this, she worked at Meta for six years. Sweeney was director of European public policy at WhatsApp and head of Irish public policy at Facebook for many of those years. She becomes the third active commissioner of the regulatory body, joining Des Hogan and Dale Sutherland.

“As the responsibilities and scope of the DPC continue to grow, I am pleased that three commissioners will now lead and manage this key regulatory body,” said Ireland’s Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan.

The organization has welcomed Sweeney’s appointment, saying it looks forward to “working with her as the DPC continues to uphold the EU’s fundamental right to data protection.” However, this regulatory body is notorious for being friendly to big tech, as is Ireland in general.

The country offers a low corporate tax rate and tends to be lenient when it comes to regulations. The DPC has developed a reputation for not actually calling on big tech companies to pay out fines for violating laws like the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation. As a matter of fact, the organization has only managed to collect around 0.6 percent of the billions of dollars in fines levied toward tech companies.

Some of these violations were attributed to Meta itself. The company was fined nearly $300 million after a data breach impacted Facebook accounts throughout the globe. Meta was fined another $100 million after it was found to be storing passwords in plain text, which is a GDPR violation. Here’s hoping Sweeney is willing to step up against her old bosses.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/a-former-facebook-lobbyist-is-now-in-charge-of-the-eus-facebook-regulator-154444108.html?src=rss 

China is ending its antitrust probe into Google, which had centered around Android’s ubiquity in the mobile world and what impact, if any, it was having on Chinese phone makers like Oppo and Xiaomi that use the software. As reported by the Financial Times, this move comes amid ongoing discussions between the US and Chinese governments over TikTok, NVIDIA, tariffs and the broader trading relationship between the world’s two largest economies.

Google’s search engine remains blocked in China, along with many of its other core products like Gmail, YouTube and Google Maps. Despite this, the tech giant still generates substantial revenue in the country through cloud services and ad sales to Chinese companies targeting overseas audiences.

According to the Financial Times, the decision by Beijing to ease up on Google is a tactical move, as China increasingly flexes its regulatory scrutiny on NVIDIA as a negotiating tool during trade talks with the US.

Earlier this summer NVIDIA struck a deal with the Trump administration to sell its pared-back H20 GPUs in China on the condition that it gives the US government 15 percent of the sales. Shortly thereafter, however, China began discouraging local companies from buying the H20 chips. Recently, the government outright banned Chinese tech companies from buying NVIDIA’s newest AI chip made specifically for the region, the RTX Pro 6000D.

In yet another move to exert control and flex power, Chinese regulators have accused NVIDIA of violating Chinese antitrust laws with its acquisition of chipmaker Mellanox. Were the chipmaker to be found in violation of China’s anti-monopoly law, the company could owe fines between 1 percent and 10 percent of its 2024 sales.

US and Chinese officials just wrapped three days of trade talks in Madrid, with President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping set to speak on Friday. The leaders are expected to discuss a supposed framework for a TikTok deal that would cede control of the company’s US business to American companies, resulting in a roughly 80 percent stake in the entity domestically.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/china-closes-antitrust-probe-into-googles-android-operating-system-145815140.html?src=rss 

Just ahead of the iPhone 17 lineup arriving on Friday, you can pick up Apple’s 25W MagSafe charger for a song. The two-meter version of the more powerful charging cable has dropped by 29 percent from $49 to $35. That’s a record-low price.

As it happens, that actually makes the two-meter version of the cable less expensive than the one-meter variant. The shorter cable will run you $39 as things stand.

If you have an iPhone 16, iPhone 17 or iPhone Air, this cable can charge your device at 25W as long as it’s connected to a 30W power adapter on the other end. While you’ll need a more recent iPhone to get the fastest MagSafe charging speeds, the charger can wirelessly top up the battery of any iPhone from the last eight years (iPhone 8 and later). With older iPhones, the charging speed tops out at 15W. The cable works with AirPods wireless charging cases too — it’s certified for Qi2.2 and Qi charging.

The MagSafe charger is one of our favorite iPhone accessories, and would pair quite nicely with your new iPhone if you’re picking up one of the latest models. If you’re on the fence about that, be sure to check out our reviews of the iPhone 17, iPhone Pro/Pro Max and iPhone Air.

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/apples-25w-magsafe-charger-is-on-sale-for-35-143415970.html?src=rss 

If you’ve just shelled out thousands of dollars on one of Samsung’s smart fridges, you’d be forgiven for expecting it to leave you alone, rather than encouraging you to spend even more money. But that is no longer the case — following a recent update, you’ll start seeing ads on the fridge’s display.

According to Android Authority, the new software update is being rolled out to Samsung’s Family Hub refrigerators in the US, and will now display ads and promotions while the display is idle. In a statement to the outlet, Samsung confirmed that it’s conducting a pilot program as part of its commitment to (brace yourselves for this one) “enhancing every day value for our home appliance customers.”

The Cover Screen on which ads show up appears when a refrigerator is not displaying something else, such as Samsung’s Art Mode or a photo album. Samsung told Android Authority that advertising won’t appear when one of these modes is active, adding that specific ads can also be dismissed and won’t appear again while the campaign is running.

What the statement doesn’t make clear is whether advertising can be turned off altogether, which again, seems like a reasonable option given that you can expect to pay anything between $1,800 and $3,500 for a Family Hub-equipped fridge. But it doesn’t appear to be possible while the pilot period is live. It also isn’t clear if any specific models are omitted from the testing.

Back in April, Samsung’s head of R&D for digital appliances, Jeong Seung Moon, told The Verge that at that time the company had no plans to bring ads to its smart home displays, but in the case of its refrigerators it appears to have changed its mind pretty quickly.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/samsungs-very-expensive-family-hub-fridges-will-now-treat-you-to-ads-on-their-displays-143529070.html?src=rss 

Try as I might, turn-based strategy games don’t usually do it for me. That’s one reason I haven’t yet dipped into Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, many people’s favorite of the year so far. I’d almost always rather be playing a more action-based game. 

But after trying the demo for Flick Shot Rogues on a whim during the most recent Steam Next Fest, the game hasn’t been far from my thoughts. The debut title from Butter By The Fish, a three-person studio in Germany, arrived on Steam this week. Despite the likes of Hollow Knight: Silksong tugging at my attention, I keep turning back to this pirate-themed, turn-based roguelite.

It’s a bit like Subbuteo but with crabs, monkeys and lasers. Each level features several enemies on red discs that you have to take out by flicking your character toward them. One hero causes damage when you clatter into enemies, and another will smash every foe within a certain radius after they stop moving. My favorite, the Froggomancer, collects frogs and uses them to attack goons that they slide by or end up next to.

You can take a couple of characters into each run (and swap to the other one before your turn) and equip each with a relic. These include fire damage, lightning attacks and sticky bombs. Many of these have chain effects, so you can use them to attack multiple bad guys in one turn. Since this is a roguelite, you’ll upgrade your abilities as you go. After the first couple of stages, each level has at least one enemy or boss with a yellow disc. Once you take those out, you beat that wave or level.

There are no prizes for guessing that putting together a strong build is a big part of this game. In one run, I tripled up on a trinket that gave me a 50 percent attack boost (so 150 percent extra damage) when I had full shields, making the first shot of each round all the more important.

Flick Shot Rogues echoes one of my favorite games of 2023, Subpar Pool. I played quite a bit of snooker and pool growing up, and I always enjoyed figuring out the angle and power of my shot — executing it successfully was an entirely different matter. Being able to replicate that here is one reason why I’m digging this game so much.

You can see where your character will end up after hitting a wall or enemy to help you better plan your turn. So, for once in a video game, I’m slowing down and taking more time to actually consider the consequences of my actions before doing anything.

The tactility of slamming my character’s disc into enemies and causing a killer chain reaction helps make Flick Shot Rogues feel more active and engaging to me than many other turn-based games I’ve tried. Each runs can take up to an hour or so, but they don’t feel anything like that long.

I do wish the game did a better job of communicating the enemies’ next moves and how their attacks work. It’s not clear to me, for instance, when a yellow-disc enemy is about to teleport to the other side of a level. You’ll often get an indicator of what your foes are about to do, but not every time. That makes it a little more difficult to decide whether to attack, make a defensive move or reposition for a better angle on my next turn.

But still, I keep coming back for more. Launching a barrage of fire-inducing frogs after squeezing through a narrow gap on a bank shot is pretty fun. I’m looking forward to finding out what other characters, relics and enhancements can do.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/flick-shot-rogues-is-the-rare-turn-based-game-that-my-brain-is-gelling-with-133020834.html?src=rss