It should now be easier to deduce whether Twitter has restricted the visibility of a tweet over a possible violation of the company's hateful conduct policy. Twitter has started applying a label to tweets that it believes breaks those rules, as it recently pledged to do.

When Twitter detects a tweet that may violate the policy, it will limit the reach of the post and apply a label that reads "Visibility limited: this tweet may violate Twitter's rules against hateful conduct." The company plans to expand the labels to include more types of policy violations in the coming months.

Twitter says it may limit the visibility of rulebreaking tweets by excluding them from search results, as well as from the For You and Following timelines. Such tweets may be downranked in replies and it may not be possibly to reply to them, retweet them, bookmark them or pin them to profiles.

Twitter noted that it may incorrectly label a tweet as one that violates its rules, so the authors of such tweets can effectively appeal the decision by providing feedback. However, the company said it may not acknowledge the feedback or restore the tweet's typical reach.

The company is taking a looser approach to moderation under current owner Elon Musk as it has adopted a "Freedom of Speech, not Freedom of Reach" philosophy. For instance, it quietly updated the hateful conduct policy this month to lift a ban on misgendering and deadnaming transgender people.

It's not a huge surprise that the Republican National Committee (RNC) had attack ads ready to go whenever President Joe Biden officially announced his re-election campaign. What's novel this time is that the video uses imagery generated by artificial intelligence to present the RNC's vision of what the world may look like if Biden wins again in 2024. 

The RNC told Axios it was the first time it had used a video that was made entirely with AI. The ad starts by depicting Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at an election victory party. Although there's a faint disclaimer in the top-left corner noting that the ad was "built entirely with AI imagery," there's a dead giveaway that it's not a real photo of Biden and Harris — both of the smiling, AI-generated figures have far too many teeth.

The ad goes on to depict several domestic and international incidents that the RNC suggests might happen if the Biden-Harris ticket wins again. "This morning, an emboldened China invades Taiwan," a fake news announcer says, for instance. The ad goes on to stoke fears of a financial crisis prompted by the closures of hundreds of regional banks, as well as border agents being overrun by asylum seekers and the military taking over San Francisco due to "escalating crime and the fentanyl crisis."

This particular ad doesn't stray too far from the kinds of talking points one might expect Republicans to hit in an attack ad. But the video is a sobering bellwether of what we may see more of from political campaigns in the months and years to come. It's not difficult to imagine AI-generated images depicting outright falsehoods in attack ads. 

On an earnings call with investors, General Motors CEO Mary Barra said the company plans to cease production of the Chevy Bolt EV and EUV by the end of 2023. Between them, the models account for most of GM's EV sales and the company plans to make more than 70,000 of them this year — that marks a record rate of production, according to CNBC.

However, the Bolt's battery cells are based on an older design and GM is transitioning to its Ultium system. According to Barra, GM will modify a Detroit-area plant where it makes the Chevy Bolts so it can produce the electric Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra there starting in 2024.

The Bolt's battery system has led to some serious problems for GM in the past. In 2021, GM recalled every Bolt it had ever made to that point due to a battery manufacturing defect that posed a fire risk. The company spent some $1.8 billion to resolve the issues.

Considering GM's plan to switch entirely to EVs by 2035, it makes sense to use the same battery tech across all of its models to help it ramp up the pace of production. After the Michigan plant has been retrofitted and reaches full production, GM expects that it will be able to build 600,000 electric trucks per year. The company has a production target of 2 million EVs per year between the US and China.

The timing of the move may be a slightly risky one for the company. The Bolt, which arrived in 2016, is the most affordable option for a new EV from a major automaker. Last year, GM lowered the starting price of the 2023 Bolt EV to $26,595, plus a $995 destination fee. The relative affordability has helped GM achieve three consecutive quarters of record Bolt EV and EUV deliveries, Barra said in a letter to shareholders.

GM says it delivered more than 20,000 EVs last quarter, which is a far cry from the 422,000 vehicles Tesla delivered in Q1. Although GM is now in second place in the US EV market, it has quite a way to go before it can catch up to Tesla. The Equinox EV, which is slated to arrive in the fall, is expected to start at around $30,000, which could help its prospects.

“When the Chevrolet Bolt EV launched, it was a huge technical achievement and the first affordable EV, which set in motion GM’s all-electric future,” Chevy spokesman Cody Williams told CNBC in a statement. “Chevrolet will launch several new EVs later this year based on the Ultium platform in key segments, including the Silverado EV, Blazer EV and Equinox EV. ”

Spotify has released its earnings report for the first quarter of 2023 and the headline figure is the number of users the company has. As of March 31st, 515 million people were using the audio streaming service. That's the first time Spotify has had more than half a billion users. Q1 was also Spotify's second-biggest quarter for user growth to date — its audience increased by five percent from the previous quarter and 22 percent year over year. The user base grew by 26 million, which is 15 million more than Spotify had expected. The company said it saw growth in both developed and developing markets, as well as almost every age group.

Most of that growth is based on folks who use the free, ad-supported version of the Spotify service. Premium subscriptions didn't keep pace with the overall growth, as they rose by two percent from the previous quarter and 15 percent year over year from 205 million to 210 million. Still, premium subscribers grew by 3 million more than Spotify had indicated in its guidance to investors.

Overall, Spotify posted a net operating loss of €156 million ($172 million) for the quarter. That's far more than the €6 million ($6.6 million) loss it saw in the first quarter of 2022, though it's an improvement over the €270 million ($297 million) Spotify lost the previous quarter.

While overall revenue was up by 14 percent year over year from €2.66 billion ($2.93 billion) to €3.04 billion ($3.34 billion), it dipped by four percent from the previous quarter. Revenue from paid subscribers didn't change significantly from Q4 2022, but it dropped by 27 percent on the ad-supported side from €449 million ($494 million) to €329 million ($362 million) — though revenue from free users rose by 17 percent year over year. The quarter-to-quarter drop is perhaps a result of advertisers tightening their belts somewhat, leading to lower ad spend.

Advertisers aren't the only businesses trying to rein in costs. Spotify, like many other major tech companies in recent months, has laid off a sizable proportion of its staff. In January, the company laid off six percent of workers, which equates to around 600 people based on the 9,800 that Spotify employed as of the end of 2022.

Additionally, Spotify seems to be placing a bigger focus on the core parts of its business. It recently announced plans to shut down both its live audio app, Spotify Live, and Heardle, the Wordle-style song-guessing game it bought last summer.

An appeals court has issued a ruling in the long-running antitrust tussle between Apple and Epic Games. As Bloomberg reports, the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling, which rejected most of Epic's claims that Apple violated federal competition law by prohibiting alternative app stores on its devices. The three-judge panel also upheld a part of the original ruling that was in Epic's favor.

“There is a lively and important debate about the role played in our economy and democracy by online transaction platforms with market power,” the panel wrote in the decision. “Our job as a federal court of appeals, however, is not to resolve that debate — nor could we even attempt to do so. Instead, in this decision, we faithfully applied existing precedent to the facts.”

The ruling maintains the status quo, unless further appeals move the case to a higher court. One added wrinkle is the fact that Epic may now be on the hook for Apple's legal fees, as Axios' Stephen Totillo pointed out.

“Today’s decision reaffirms Apple’s resounding victory in this case, with nine of ten claims having been decided in Apple’s favor. For the second time in two years, a federal court has ruled that Apple abides by antitrust laws at the state and federal levels," Apple told Engadget in a statement. "The App Store continues to promote competition, drive innovation, and expand opportunity, and we’re proud of its profound contributions to both users and developers around the world. We respectfully disagree with the court’s ruling on the one remaining claim under state law and are considering further review.”

In the original 2021 ruling, US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers determined that although Apple prevented users from being able to pay less for apps or in-app purchases, it wasn't running the App Store like a monopoly. Still, Rogers told Apple to let developers direct users to alternative payment systems, which would have enabled them to bypass the 15 to 30 percent cut Apple typically takes from in-app purchases.

Apple won a last-gasp delay on the implementation of those changes. However, in 2022, it started allowing the makers of certain apps to redirect users to their own websites for payments and to fully manage their accounts.

Engadget has contacted Epic for comment. The company has made similar antitrust claims in a lawsuit against Google and that case is set to go to trial in November. 

Epic kickstarted its battles against Apple and Google when it offered Fortnite mobile players a cheaper way to pay for in-game currency that bypassed the iOS and Android payment systems. Apple and Google removed Fortnite from their app stores, and Epic responded withlawsuits against both companies.

Regardless of the ultimate outcome in both cases, Apple and Google may support third-party app stores on iOS and Android anyway. Regulators in other markets have scrutinized both companies' app store practices. As a result of new European Union laws in particular, Apple is reportedly preparing to allow third-party marketplaces on the iPhone as soon as next year. If and when it does, Epic's own mobile app store is ready to go, according to CEO Tim Sweeney. Microsoft is preparing its own mobile app store too.

BeReal, Apple's iPhone app of the year for 2022, wants you to know that it's still going strong. The app sends users a notification at a different time each day, prompting them to drop everything and share photos taken with their phone's front and rear cameras simultaneously. You have a two-minute window to do this, with the idea that you'll share authentic updates from your life (you likely won't have enough time to fix your hair or find a spot with great lighting first). Your friends are notified when you post late or retake your photos.

This approach has caused some teething issues. It has led to people sharing mundane photos of their computer screens or taking out their phones simultaneously during a class, as The New York Times reported recently. Citing data from an analytics company, the publication suggested that the app's user numbers have nosedived by around 61 percent in recent months to under six million as the novelty factor waned and biggerrivals started to copy BeReal.

On its new blog, BeReal claims it actually has more than 20 million daily active users. In its inaugural post, the BeReal team notes it has been quiet as it's been busy. "But [that] means people have been guessing about what we’ve been up to and how things are going, and not always accurately," the post reads. 

BeReal

Meanwhile, BeReal has debuted a feature that could lead to an uptick in engagement and perhaps keep wavering users onboard. Bonus BeReal, which the company is testing in the UK before expanding to the rest of the world soon, allows users to post two extra snapshots per day at times of their choosing — as long as they share their regular BeReal on time.

The move could undercut the spontaneous authenticity that BeReal strives for, as it will give users a chance to pose for and edit their extra posts. However, BeReal notes that it may make changes to the feature.

Those who are perhaps a little tired of playing Ticket to Ride or Settlers of Catan at Thanksgiving will have a new way to get mad at their extended family members starting next year. That's because Call of Duty: The Board Game is on the way. Pre-orders will start this fall on Kickstarter.

Activision teamed up with board game publisher Arcane Wonders, along with Genuine Entertainment and Evolution to make the game. Call of Duty: The Board Game is said to be a fast-paced blend of combat, strategy and tactical planning. However, an announcement video that brings to mind the Marvel Studios production logo doesn't shed more light on how the game actually works.

What we do know for now is that, as you may have guessed, you and your companions will take on the guise of soldiers. You'll battle your opponents with combat skills and a variety of weapons. Arcane Wonders says there are a number of scenarios and gameplay modes to choose from, while the action takes place across several maps from the Call of Duty games.

There’s no word yet on whether you’ll be able to set off a nuclear bomb in your living room if you reach a high enough kill streak to wipe out everyone and somehow still win the game. More Call of Duty: The Board Game details will be revealed in the coming months.

WhatsApp has introduced an option called Keep in Chat, which allows users to prevent messages from vanishing in a disappearing message thread. You can long press on a message so it stays in the thread. However, the person who sent the message will be notified, and they'll ultimately decide whether to keep it in the chat. If not, the message will vanish into the ether as usual when the timer runs out.

A bookmark icon will appear next to saved messages. You can access all the ones you've saved in a Kept Messages folder, where they're organized by chat. WhatsApp says it's rolling out the feature gradually and everyone should have access within a few weeks.

On the surface, it seems like Keep in Chat undercuts the entire point of disappearing messages. However, WhatsApp suggested in a blog post that there may be times when you need to save a message (such as a voice note or someone's address) that includes important details. In any case, those who sent the message will have the option to veto saved messages and perhaps protect their privacy.

Gamers who want to post clips of a cool multikill they pulled off in Halo Infinite or something ridiculous that happened in Sea of Thieves to Twitter may need to take an extra couple of steps to share their captures. Microsoft said it had to switch off the option to upload screenshots and clips directly to Twitter from Xbox consoles as well as the Game Bar on Windows.

There are other options, though they're a little more inconvenient. You can use the Xbox mobile app to download console captures and share them to Twitter. Nintendo and PlayStation offer similar ways to share screenshots and clips. Alternatively, you can copy your Xbox captures onto a USB drive and access them from your computer.

Engadget has contacted Xbox for comment, but it seems likely that Microsoft dropped the built-in sharing option due to Twitter's decision to start charging for API access. That move is breaking functionality for all kinds of organizations, including disaster response services.

This week, Microsoft said it would soon remove Twitter integration from its social media management tool for advertisers. Twitter is said to be charging at least $42,000 per month for enterprise access to its APIs.

In a response to a tweet about Microsoft's API move, Twitter owner Elon Musk suggested that Microsoft had "illegally" used his company's data and that a lawsuit is forthcoming. "They trained illegally using Twitter data. Lawsuit time," he wrote. Musk noted in December that ChatGPT operator OpenAI, whose tech Microsoft is using to power Bing's chatbot and other AI features, "had access to Twitter database for training. I put that on pause for now."

Musk recently set up his own AI company in the hopes of taking on the likes of Google and OpenAI. As it happens, he co-founded OpenAI but later disowned the company and publicly criticized ChatGPT.

These days, there are better options to ensure WiFi signals reach every part of your home than struggling to fix a router to your ceiling. A mesh network uses multiple nodes (or points), giving you several connectivity points instead of just a single router. Google's Nest WiFi system is a solid mesh network option, and the devices are currently on sale on Amazon. A two-pack of the Nest WiFi system has dropped to $100, which is the lowest price we've seen to date. The bundle typically costs $269.

The two-pack includes a router and a point. If you'd like to have a router and two points, you're in luck, as a three-pack is also on sale. It's 50 percent off at $175. A two-pack will provide WiFi coverage over up to 3,800 square feet, while the three pack will cover as much as 5,400 square feet, Google says.

Each Nest router and point can connect to as many as 100 devices simultaneously. Each router has two Ethernet ports, while each point is a smart speaker with Google Assistant integration. Google says the system can support multiple simultaneous 4K video streams, but that will depend on the speed of your internet plan.

Those looking for a higher-end option might want to consider the Nest WiFi Pro 6E system. Two- and three-pack variants of the bundle are on sale for $250 (usually $300) and $340 (usually $400) respectively. This network will work with both older devices your current devices and those that support WiFi 6E, though it's not compatible with previous generations of Google WiFi or Nest WiFi products.

WiFi 6E offers faster speeds and lower latencies than WiFi 6 and earlier standards. Having access to a broader wireless spectrum should also reduce network congestion and possible interference from your neighbors' networks, so picking up a WiFi 6E mesh system could bolster your setup now and for years to come.

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