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Social media platforms and other online services operating in the UK are facing new regulations. Ofcom, the UK's communication services regulator, has released over 40 safety measures that applicable organizations must carry out by mid-March 2025. The new guidance follows last year's passage of the Online Safety Act, which implements new protections for children and adults online. Ofcom's role includes providing compliance codes and guidance for relevant companies. Ofcom introduced new measures tackling areas such as fraud, moderation and child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Online services must take steps like nominating a senior person who is accountable for complying to its duties for illegal content, complaints and reporting. Moderating teams must be "appropriately" trained and have enough resources to quickly remove illegal content. Plus, relevant companies, such as social media platforms, should improve their algorithms to limit the spread of illegal content. The regulator's required anti-CSAM safety practices include hiding children's profiles and locations, not allowing random accounts to message children and using hash-matching and URL detection to quickly find and shut down CSAM. Ofcom consulted with the tech industry, charities and parents, among other entities. It also heard from children about their horrifying experiences of receiving predatory messages online and opinions on new regulations. "As an evidence-based regulator, every response has been carefully considered, alongside cutting-edge research and analysis, and we have strengthened some areas of the codes since our initial consultation," Ofcom stated in its release. "The result is a set of measures many of which are not currently being used by the largest and riskiest platforms that will significantly improve safety for all users, especially children." The Online Safety Act includes "organizations big and small, from large and well-resourced companies to very small 'micro-businesses.' They also apply to individuals who run an online service," Ofcom states. It gets a bit vague, though, with Ofcom adding the business must have a "significant number" of UK users or have the UK as a target market. The Act covers "user-to-user services," such as social media, online gaming and dating sites. It also impacts "search services" and online businesses that show pornographic content. Ofcom has the power to fine non-compliant sites 18 million ($22.7 million) or 10 percent of their qualifying global revenue, if a higher number. In "very serious cases" Ofcom can seek a court order to block a site's UK presence. Ofcom plans to release further guidance across the first half of 2025. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/uk-internet-watchdog-gives-social-media-companies-three-months-to-improve-safety-or-face-huge-fines-130018908.html?src=rss
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The current generation of consoles landed in roughly the same week in November 2020. At launch, the PS5 had seven new exclusive games to the Xbox Series two. Sony had a better showing too, with the likes of Demon Souls (sure, a remake) and Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Four years on, the difference between the two consoles remains. We returned to the PlayStation 5 (in its slim iteration) and the Xbox Series X to see how the two approaches have fared. If youve been paying attention, you know the conclusion: estimates put PS5 console sales around double the latest Xboxes. Microsoft had two consoles, the entry-level Series S and the powerful Series X, while Sony went for largely the same power PS5, but with a disc-less iteration. Engadget The Xbox Series X is a solid way to play Microsoft titles, popular third-party games and everything Microsoft has available on Game Pass. But if you had to choose between buying the Series X or PlayStation 5, the latter has better exclusive games, a bigger base of gamers and a better controller. (Editor: Mats opinion, there.) The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, God of War Ragnarok, Spider-Man 2, and Astro Bot have all been platform exclusives, while long-running series like Final Fantasy appear first on Sony consoles. The strongest weapon in Xboxs arsenal, Game Pass, has been neutered over time too. The Game Pass Ultimate plan also feels less, well, ultimate. The company increased the monthly price of its top plan to $20, including day-one access to new titles and a large library of games for Xbox and PC. The new $15 a month Standard plan doesnt give day-one access but does include a library of hundreds of games. Things could change, however. Sony is now drip-feeding its games to PC, diminishing the draw of console exclusives, while Microsofts game developer spending spree has to bear fruit eventually. Right? Right?! That might be a discussion for the next wave of consoles. Mat Smith Get this delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here! The biggest tech stories you missed Balatro is an almost perfect mobile port Googles NotebookLM Audio Overviews now let you call in with a question The Game Awards 2024: The 15 biggest announcements and new trailers including The Witcher 4 and Elden Ring The best stocking stuffer gifts under $50 HDMI 2.2 could make its debut at CES next month Look out for an announcement January 6. Just in time to make your mid-cycle console seem under-specced, we may see the next HDMI standard, HDMI 2.2, in a matter of weeks. According to an email from the HDMI Forum, a new HDMI specification will be announced on Monday, January 6, in Las Vegas. (Ready for all those huge expensive TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony and the rest.) Its been seven years since HDMI 2.1 arrived. The new specs will bring higher bandwidth, according to the email. But thats all we know, for now. Continue reading. A US Congressman tried (and failed) to fake his Spotify Wrapped for political gain You cant fake your love for the Boss! A curious-looking post on X from US Rep. Josh Gottheimer got the New Jersey congressman in some mild trouble. Spotted by 9to5Mac, he shared what appeared to be his Spotify Wrapped playlist for the year, with one list consisting of Springsteens classic tracks. However, it was filled with formatting mistakes. Hed faked it. He admitted to NJ Advance Media that he made a fake Spotify Wrapped list but says the tracks on each list are accurate. Gottheimer has since taken the post down and replaced it with a list of his most listened-to Springsteen tracks. Hes trying to save face because hes in a heated race for New Jersey governor and you know where Springsteen is a big deal? New Jersey. Continue reading. How to use Genmoji to make your own custom emojis You need an iPhone or iPad with Apple Intelligence. Apple Genmoji are custom emojis you can create if youve installed the iOS 18.2 or iPadOS 18.2 update. They are the emojis of your imagination, made real with help from Apple Intelligence you descrbe what emoji you want to see, like a sad cowboy or an octopus DJ. Youll need a device compatible with Apple Intelligence. That includes every iPhone 16 model, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, as well as iPad models with the M1 chip or later, and iPad mini (A17 Pro). Then, well, read on for a confusion-free guide. Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/engadget-newsletter-playstation-vs-xbox-in-2024-121559189.html?src=rss
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CD Projekt Red took us by surprise when it dropped a cinematic trailer for The Witcher 4 at The Game Awards, revealing Ciri as the new protagonist. Amidst all the excitement, some observant fans also noticed that Geralt of Rivias adopted daughter seems to sound pretty different than before, and not just in a several years have passed kind of way. In a statement to TheGamer, CD Projekt Red confirmed that Ciri has been recast. While she was previously voiced by Jo Wyatt, Ciara Berkeley has taken over the role. Ciara Berkeley was cast as Ciri for The Witcher 4 Cinematic Reveal Trailer, a spokesperson for CD Projekt Red told TheGamer, and later added that Berkeley voices Ciri in the full game too. Ciara is a talented actress who impressed us with her enthusiasm and vocal acting skills, and in this trailer we believe she truly brought Ciri to life in a way that is both faithful to the character and exciting for fans of the series. So there it is. The Game Awards brought a ton of announcements last week in addition to our first look at The Witcher 4. You can catch up on all the biggest news here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/cd-projekt-red-confirms-it-recast-ciris-voice-actor-for-the-witcher-4-001144689.html?src=rss
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