Meta seems to be phasing out one of the key initiatives that helped Reels creators on Facebook and Instagram get paid. The company is “pausing” its Reels Play bonus program, Insiderreports.

The program, originally introduced in December of 2021, offered creators monthly payouts if they hit certain view counts and other metrics. The incentives, which promised that top-performing creators could earn as much as $35,000 a month, were part of a larger push by Meta to funnel money into creator monetization programs as it tried to make Reels more competitive with TikTok.

But now, Meta says it’s “evolving” the program and will “stop extending new and renewed Reels Play deals for creators on Facebook and for US creators on Instagram at this time,” according to a statement provided to Insider. The company noted that it may still offer bonuses to creators in more “targeted” ways, like if Reels enters a new market.

As Insider points out, the company is phasing out the payments as it gets ready to expand advertising on Reels, which would enable more traditional revenue sharing arrangements for creators. Tom Alison, who heads up the Facebook app at Meta, alluded to the shift earlier this week in a blog post about the company’s priorities. “We’ll continue expanding our ads on Facebook Reels tests to help more creators earn ad revenue for their Reels and grow virtual gifting via Stars on Reels,” he wrote.

Though he didn’t give a timeline for when Facebook and instagram users can expect to see these “tests” expand, the fact that the company is now putting the brakes on its bonus program suggests Reels' big ad expansion might not be far off.

The Resident Evil 4 remake is due out on March 24th, and today Capcom released a free trial for the game on PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Steam. It's dubbed Chainsaw Demo and it takes place early on in the game, as Leon is entering the Spanish village where las plagas has been spreading. There's no time limit on the demo, so have at it.

Capcom has seen plenty of success with its recent Resident Evil remakes. The studio released an updated version of RE2 in 2019, followed by a remade RE3 in 2020, both complete with overhauled mechanics and graphics. Resident Evil 4 originally came out on GameCube in 2005 and it represented a shift for the series, emphasizing action rather than puzzle-solving and atmosphere. Its over-the-shoulder perspective set the standard for action-horror games of the time, and its influence persists to this day (even in the RE2 and RE3 remakes).

The Resident Evil 4 remake is due out on March 24th for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.

There was a time when movies based on video games tried to distance themselves from their source material. "This ain't no game," bragged the poster for the 1993's live-action Super Mario Bros. film. Times have changed: The final trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie by Illumination leans hard into its origins. This is absolutely a game, it says. See? Here's a scene that looks like New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, and another one that looks just like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

If you were hoping to hear more of Chris Pratt's Mario voice, you won't find it here — but the final trailer does give viewers a clear look at the tone the movie is going for. We watch Bowser list off an army of familiar video game enemies. We watch Mario and Donkey Kong use power mushrooms and fire flowers as they run through a training course that looks like a traditional Mario level. We see Mario and Peach race through a brightly rendered Rainbow Road. It looks familiar. It looks fun. And it looks like a game, but with better graphics.

That's no surprise. According to directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, Illumination has worked closely with Nintendo to make sure the film feels right. The directors also say that Illumination has improved its lighting and rendering technology to help push Super Mario Bros. Movie to the next level "beyond anything Illumination has ever done."

As for that Mario voice? You'll finally be able to hear the full performance when the film hits theaters next month. The Super Mario Bros. Moviereleases on April 5, 2023.

Senators aren't giving up on a bill to safeguard your online data. Hawaii's Brian Schatz and 18 other senators have reintroduced the 2018-era Data Care Act to set higher standards for sensitive info. Companies will need to "reasonably secure" identifying data, including prompt customer notifications for breaches. They also can't use that data in harmful ways, and must ensure third-parties treat any shared data with the same amount of respect.

The measure gives the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) the authority to fine companies that violate the rules, including third parties. States could take their own civil actions, but the FTC could step in.

The senators largely consist of Democrats, including Big Tech critics like Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar. Independents Bernie Sanders and Angus King also back the potential legislation. The original Data Care Act had the support of 15 Democrats.

There's no guarantee the revived Act will succeed. The original bill never came to a vote after its December 2018 introduction. And while Democrats control the Senate in 2023, the Republicans lead the House. If a vote on an equivalent bill is split along partisan lines in the House, it won't reach the President's desk for approval.

The conditions may be more favorable this time around, however. President Biden has been eager to rein in Big Tech, with a particular focus on limiting the collection and use of data. Meanwhile, both major parties in Congress are increasingly concerned about data privacy and security. The Data Care Act theoretically satisfies these politicians, if just by shifting more of the responsibility to businesses.

Amazon has reportedly picked up Batman: Caped Crusader, the animated series Warner Bros. developed for HBO Max but scrapped last August to cut costs. Despite also drawing interest from Netflix, Apple and Hulu, the upcoming show will have a home on Amazon Prime.

First announced in May 2021, Batman: Caped Crusader sounds like a spiritual successor to Batman: The Animated Series, the beloved 1990s weekday afternoon staple. The upcoming show was created by executive producers JJ Abrams, Matt Reeves and Batman: The Animated Series developer Bruce Timm. In addition, celebrated comic-book writer Ed Brubaker is on the creative team for the 10-episode first season.

The Amazon sale was part of Warner Bros. Discovery’s plans to monetize content by selling it to third parties. The studio will now focus on the Batman IP as part of a 10-year DC Comics meta-story spanning film, TV, gaming and animated series. In addition, a sequel to Reeves’s 2022 film The Batman and spin-off series The Penguin on HBO Max are in the works.

“We are beyond excited to be working together to bring this character back, to tell engrossing new stories in Gotham City,” Abrams and Reeves said when Batman: Caped Crusader was announced. “The series will be thrilling, cinematic and evocative of Batman’s noir roots, while diving deeper into the psychology of these iconic characters. We cannot wait to share this new world.”

Sensitive information for members of Congress and their staff and family members has been exposed in a data breach, according to House leaders. The FBI was able to purchase leaked information from health insurance marketplace DC Health Link on the dark web, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote in a letter.

The data included the names of enrollees' spouses, dependent children, social security numbers and home addresses, according to the letter. "This breach significantly increase the risk that members, staff and their families will experience identity theft, financial crimes and physical threats — already an ongoing concern," it reads.

McCarthy and Jeffires said the FBI hadn't yet determined the size and scope of the breach, though they indicated that the impact on "House customers could be extraordinary." They noted that thousands of House members and employees from throughout the country have signed up for health insurance through DC Health Link since 2014.

“Fortunately, the individuals selling the information appear unaware of the high-level sensitivity of the confidential information in their possession, and its relation to Members of Congress,” the House leaders wrote. “This will certainly change as media reports more widely publicize the breach.”

“Currently, I do not know the size and scope of the breach, but have been informed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that account information and [personally identifiable information] of hundreds of Members and House staff were stolen,” Catherine L. Szpindor, the House of Representatives' chief administrative officer, wrote in a letter to colleagues. Reports suggest that the data also includes details on senators and their staff, but that information was seemingly limited to their names and those of family members.

DC Health Link operator DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority said it has opened an investigation. "We are in the process of notifying impacted customers and will provide identity and credit monitoring services," it told NBC News in a statement. The FBI has confirmed it's aware of the incident, while Capitol Police are assisting the agency with its investigation.

A member of a dark web forum reportedly claimed this week that they had data on 170,000 DC Health Link customers and were willing to sell the information. They later said the information had been sold.

“We’re gonna continue to work on this issue in a bipartisan way, get to the bottom of what happened, figure out the implications of what has occurred,” Jeffries said at a press conference on Thursday. “And also we’re gonna need some real reassurance as to guardrails that are put in place to prevent this type of data breach from ever happening again.”

NBC News has discovered that Pinterest's recommendation algorithms are making it easier for pedophiles to create boards full of images of underage girls. After an initial search, Pinterest will start suggesting related searches that can easily be misused. The images themselves sometimes receive sexual comments.

NBC notes that it didn't find child sexual abuse material (CSAM) during its investigation. However, the people creating the creepy boards sometimes had collections containing porn despite Pinterest's ban on that content. The social site also hasn't had direct ways to report attempts to sexualize content featuring minors. While Pinterest’s policies forbid the practice, users have had to rely on ill-fitting reporting categories (such as “nudity or pornography”) and haven’t had the option to report whole boards.

Pinterest tells Engadget that it takes this content "very seriously" and is taking multiple actions that could help. It will start rolling out a board reporting option next week, and will soon offer expanded profile reporting tools that include minor-related content. In a response to NBC, spokesperson Crystal Espinosa says the company also plans to bolster its AI moderation (it also uses human moderators) to catch some offenders automatically, and will add new age verification systems.

The revelations are significant in part because of Pinterest's aggressive stance toward moderation compared to other platforms — it's one of the few to place outright bans on misinformation. At the same time, the findings underscore shortcomings in the company's reporting tools and recommendation engine. Facebook, Instagram and TikTok all have ways to directly report content involving kids.

There's political pressure to act, too. President Biden recently called for Congress and tech giants to improve kids' online safety. The Senate's Judiciary Committee, meanwhile, held a hearing echoing those calls. Pinterest isn't in immediate danger of a regulatory crackdown (it's legal to create these collections), but it's also not guaranteed to avoid scrutiny.

Warner Bros. has reportedly delayed Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice Leagueyet again. Rocksteady’s long-awaited spinoff / sequel to the Batman: Arkham series was most recently slated to launch on May 26th; it’s now coming “later this year.”

It was allegedly delayed “to fix bugs and improve aspects of the game that were lagging behind,” although Bloomberg’s source adds that the changes “won’t overhaul many of the core gameplay that had led to the backlash” it received at a February PlayStation event. Fans’ criticisms were directed mainly toward the game’s online requirement and purchasable cosmetic items.

The multiplayer shooter stars a group of villains tasked with stopping an out-of-control Justice League, which has fallen under the spell of the supervillain Brainiac. You can switch in the middle of the action between the four playable characters: Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang and King Shark. Unlike Warner Bros.’s most recent superhero game, the lackluster Gotham Knights, the upcoming title is set in the same universe as the Batman: Arkham series, the last standard installment of which launched nearly eight years ago.

The game will mark one of the last appearances of Kevin Conroy, the celebrated voice actor who died last year at 66. He will reprise his role of Batman, who appears (but not as a playable character) in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. In addition to voicing the Dark Knight in Batman: The Animated Series, he returned to the part in Rocksteady’s Arkham Asylum, Arkham City and Arkham Knight. (Roger Craig Smith voiced Batman in Arkham Origins and Arkham Origins: Blackgate, which different developers handled under the Warner Bros. Interactive masthead.)

When it finally arrives, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will be available for PS5, Xbox Series X / S and PC.

RoboCop: Rogue City will arrive a little later than expected. During today's Nacon Connect stream, it was revealed that the latest game from Terminator: Resistance developer Teyon will now arrive in September. It was previously scheduled for sometime in June. 

The showcase included a gameplay trailer. It shows RoboCop seeking information before raiding a drug dealing operation in the basement of an arcade. There's plenty gore in this gun fight, including an exploding head, which fits in nicely with the over-the-top violence of the RoboCop movies.

Teyon didn't reveal too much about the story, but RoboCop: Rogue City will tell an original tale in which the cyborg police officer (once again played by Peter Weller) attempts to clean up the crime-ridden streets of Detroit. It's coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.

The showcase also included another look at The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, which Nacon delayed indefinitely just five weeks before it was supposed to arrive last September. There's still no firm release date for the game, which was initially slated for 2021, but it should (hopefully) land later this year.

Pilots have to worry about more than just mid-flight crashes and bad weather — they also risk a collision if they land on the taxiway instead of the runway. Thankfully, they have now have a digital safeguard. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) tellsAxios that 43 major US airports are now using ASDE-X Taxiway Arrival Prediction (ATAP), a software platform that warns air traffic controllers if an aircraft is lining up to land on a taxiway by mistake. An aviator shouldn't endanger lives on the ground simply because they're inexperienced or fatigued.

The system relies on standard radar along with other sensors. It also works regardless of aircraft size — it can flag small turboprops and large airliners. ATAP first saw use at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in 2018, and the FAA says it finished software upgrades at compatible airports last September. Some of the airports using the tech include Boston Logan, Chicago O'Hare and New York's JFK.

This is more than just a theoretical exercise. The FAA notes ATAP has caught over 50 potential taxiway landings since 2018, and there have been eight alerts so far in 2023. While accidental landings are far less common than crashes (and thus far less deadly), the software may still be helpful even if it prevents chaos from an aircraft disrupting the queue.

ATAP's rise comes as aircraft and airports increasingly rely on digital safety systems. Airbus, for instance, recently began testing a pilot assist that can automatically divert flights in emergencies, aid with taxiing and even land if the pilots are incapacitated. Full autonomy is still distant, but there may soon be many safeguards against everything from simple errors to an unconscious crew.