Mariella Moon
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Google has updated its Inappropriate Content Policy to include language that expressly prohibits advertisers from promoting websites and services that generate deepfake pornography. While the company already has strong restrictions in place for ads that feature certain types of sexual content, this update leaves no doubt that promoting "synthetic content that has been altered or generated to be sexually explicit or contain nudity" is in violation of its rules.
Any advertiser promoting sites or apps that generate deepfake porn, that show instructions on how to create deepfake porn and that endorse or compare various deepfake porn services will be suspended without warning. They will no longer be able to publish their ads on Google, as well. The company will start implementing this rule on May 30 and is giving advertisers the chance to remove any ad in violation of the new policy. As 404 Media notes, the rise of deepfake technologies has led to an increasing number of ads promoting tools that specifically target users wanting to create sexually explicit materials. Some of those tools reportedly even pretend to be wholesome services to be able to get listed on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, but it's masks off on social media where they promote their ability to generate manipulated porn.
Google has, however, already started prohibiting services that create sexually explicit deepfakes in Shopping ads. Similar to its upcoming wider policy, the company has banned Shopping ads for services that "generate, distribute, or store synthetic sexually explicit content or synthetic content containing nudity. " Those include deepfake porn tutorials and pages that advertise deepfake porn generators.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-prohibits-ads-promoting-websites-and-apps-that-generate-deepfake-porn-130059324.html?src=rssGoogle prohibits ads promoting websites and apps that generate deepfake ...
Epic Games won its antitrust lawsuit against Google in December when a federal jury found that the latter violated US antitrust laws with regards to how it runs the Play Store. A few months later, the gaming developer submitted its list of demands, which if implemented will blow the Play Store wide open. Now, Google has filed an injunction telling the court that no, it will not give Epic what it wants without a fight, because the company's asks "stray far beyond the trial record."
The remedies Epic had submitted would require the court not just to create a global regulatory regime to set prices for apps, Google wrote in the filing as seen by Engadget, but also to micromanage "a highly complex and dynamic ecosystem" used by billions of consumers and app developers around the world. If you'll recall, Epic wants Google to open up Android to third-party app stores and to make its catalog of apps available to those stores. It also wants restrictions on pre-installed apps to be outlawed and to prohibit any Google activity that incentivizes third-parties.
Google said that bowing down to all those demands would "effectively prevent [it] from competing," which in turn would negatively affect Android users and developers. Epic's proposals only benefit Epic, Google said in its filing, and will harm other developers by depriving them of control over where their app is distributed. Manufacturers will no longer be able to take advantage of the partnerships Google typically offers, while users have to deal with additional security and privacy risks.
The company also slammed Epic over the "vagueness" of its proposed injunction, which would require the repeated and ongoing intervention of the courts. Similarly, Epic's demands would apparently require the court to micromanage Google's business.
"Epic’s demands would harm the privacy, security, and overall experience of consumers, developers, and device manufacturers," Wilson White, Google's Vice President of Government Affairs & Public Policy, told Engadget in a statement. "Not only does their proposal go far beyond the scope of the recent US trial verdict — which we will be challenging — it’s also unnecessary due to the settlement we reached last year with State Attorneys General from every state and multiple territories. We will continue to vigorously defend our right to a sustainable business model that enables us to keep people safe, partner with developers to innovate and grow their businesses, and maintain a thriving Android ecosystem for everyone."
Google said that if Epic truly wants to promote competition rather than create "an unfair, court- supervised advantage for itself," then it would take cues from its settlement with the state officials that previously accused the company of abusing its dominance on Android app distribution. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney was, unsurprisingly, unhappy with that settlement, tweeting at the time: "If Google is ending its payments monopoly without imposing a Google Tax on third party transactions, we'll settle and be Google's friend in their new era. But if the settlement merely pays off the other plaintiffs while leaving the Google Tax in place, we'll fight on. Consumers only benefit if antitrust enforcement not only opens up markets, but also restores price competition."
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-says-epics-play-store-demands-are-too-much-and-too-self-serving-123023699.html?src=rssGoogle says Epic’s Play Store demands are too much and ...
Tom Clancy's XDefiant is almost upon us. Ubisoft is releasing the free-to-play first-person shooter on May 21 for the Xbox Series X|S, the PS5 and PC through Ubisoft Connect. The developer is kicking things off with the preseason version of the game, which is scheduled to last for six weeks before XDefiant's first season officially starts. Ubisoft announced the game way back in 2021, promising team-based matches with a focus on gunplay that will include elements from other games in the Tom Clancy universe.
The preseason will offer five different game modes with 14 maps, 24 weapons and five playable factions inspired by Ubisoft's other franchises. Players will need to choose their faction before the match begins and before they respawn. They must also choose their primary and secondary weapon — their options include assault rifles, submachine guns, shotguns and sniper rifles — and a grenade. To customize a weapon, they can add barrel and muzzle attachments, such as sights and grips.
Each faction will give players access to two active abilities, one passive buff and another ultra ability that they have to charge up while the match is ongoing. Libertad, one of the available factions, puts a focus on healing, while members of the Cleaners faction can use fire to burn their opponents. Echelon players can reveal enemy locations with their stealth technology, whereas Phantoms' abilities can block damage. The last faction available, DedSec, is for those who want to play as hackers.
When the first season launches, Ubisoft is adding four new factions, 12 new weapons and 12 new maps to the game. According to the Year 1 roadmap the developer shared last year, it expects to roll out four seasons with the game's first year, with each one adding more new content meant to keep players engaged, invested and more likely to come back and keep playing.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ubisofts-first-person-shooter-xdefiant-is-launching-on-may-21-074940344.html?src=rssUbisoft’s first-person shooter XDefiant is launching on May 21
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Anthropic is making its Claude AI easier to access on mobile. The company has released a Claude mobile app for iOS that any user can download for free. Similar to the mobile web version of the chatbot, the app syncs users' conversations with Claude across devices, allowing them to jump from a computer to the app (or vice versa) without losing their chat history. Users will also be able to upload files and images straight from their iPhone's gallery — or take a photo on the spot — if they need Claude to process or analyze them in real time. They'll be able to download and access the Claude app whatever plan they're using, even if they're not paying for the service.
If they do decide to pay for Claude, they now have a new option other than Pro. The new Team plan provides greater usage than the Pro tier so that members can have more conversations with the chatbot. It also enables users to process longer documents, such as research papers and contracts, thanks to its 200,000 context window. The Team plan gives users access to the Claude 3 model family, as well, which includes Opus, Sonnet and Haiku. It will cost subscribers $30 per user per month, with a minimum head count of five users per team.
Back in March, Anthropic claimed in a blog post that its Claude 3 language model had outperformed ChatGPT and Google's Gemini in several key industry benchmarks. It was better at graduate-level reasoning, multilingual math and coding (among many other metrics), the company said, showing Claude 3's benchmark results against its staunchest rivals. The most powerful Claude 3 model, the Opus, even apparently showed "near-human" abilities with rapid response rates that make it ideal for more complex and time-sensitive tasks.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/anthropic-now-has-a-claude-chatbot-app-for-ios-075930308.html?src=rssAnthropic now has a Claude chatbot app for iOS
Anthropic is making its Claude AI easier to access on mobile. The company has released a Claude mobile app for iOS that any user can download for free. Similar to the mobile web version of the chatbot, the app syncs users' conversations with Claude across devices, allowing them to jump from a computer to the app (or vice versa) without losing their chat history. Users will also be able to upload files and images straight from their iPhone's gallery — or take a photo on the spot — if they need Claude to process or analyze them in real time. They'll be able to download and access the Claude app whatever plan they're using, even if they're not paying for the service.
If they do decide to pay for Claude, they now have a new option other than Pro. The new Team plan provides greater usage than the Pro tier so that members can have more conversations with the chatbot. It also enables users to process longer documents, such as research papers and contracts, thanks to its 200,000 context window. The Team plan gives users access to the Claude 3 model family, as well, which includes Opus, Sonnet and Haiku. It will cost subscribers $30 per user per month, with a minimum head count of five users per team.
Back in March, Anthropic claimed in a blog post that its Claude 3 language model had outperformed ChatGPT and Google's Gemini in several key industry benchmarks. It was better at graduate-level reasoning, multilingual math and coding (among many other metrics), the company said, showing Claude 3's benchmark results against its staunchest rivals. The most powerful Claude 3 model, the Opus, even apparently showed "near-human" abilities with rapid response rates that make it ideal for more complex and time-sensitive tasks.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/anthropic-now-has-a-claude-chatbot-app-for-ios-075930308.html?src=rss