The European Commission, the executive wing of the European Union, has banned TikTok from devices it owns. It also asked its staff to remove the app from personal phones and tablets that are part of its mobile device service — in other words, any devices they use for work.

“This measure aims to protect the Commission against cybersecurity threats and actions which may be exploited for cyber-attacks against the corporate environment of the Commission,” the EC said in a statement. “The security developments of other social media platforms will also be kept under constant review.”

The EC has approximately 32,000 permanent and contract employees. It asked them to delete TikTok as soon as possible and by March 15th at the latest, according to the BBC. If the workers don't comply in time, they'll lose access to corporate apps, including the EC's email service and Skype for Business.

"We believe this suspension is misguided and based on fundamental misconceptions," a TikTok spokesperson told Engadget. "We are surprised that the Commission did not contact us directly nor offer any explanation — we have requested a meeting to set the record straight on how we protect the data of the 125 million people across the EU who come to TikTok every month. We're continuing to enhance our approach to data security, including by establishing three data centers in Europe to store user data locally; further reducing employee access to data; and minimizing data flows outside of Europe."

TikTok's parent company ByteDance is based in China. Officials in a number of countries have expressed concern over the Chinese government potentially using the app to access user data, as well as other security issues. 

The US government has banned the app from most of the devices it owns. Officials in manystates have enacted similar bans, while TikTok is prohibited on some college networks. There are also efforts to ban TikTok in the US entirely. In November, the EC said there were multiple ongoing investigations into TikTok's data practices.

It’s now going to be harder to land in “Facebook jail.” Meta says it’s reforming its penalty system so that people are less likely to have their accounts restricted for less serious violations of the company’s rules.

“Under the new system, we will focus on helping people understand why we have removed their content, which is shown to be more effective at preventing re-offending, rather than so quickly restricting their ability to post,” Meta explains in a blog post. “We will still apply account restrictions to persistent violators, typically beginning at the seventh violation, after we’ve given sufficient warnings and explanations to help the person understand why we removed their content.”

Previously, users could land in “Facebook jail,” which could prevent them from posting on the platform for 30 days at a time, for relatively minor infractions. Meta says that it sometimes imposed these types of penalties mistakenly due to “missed context.” For example, someone who jokingly told a friend they would “kidnap” them, or posted a friend’s address in order to invite others to an event, may have been wrongly penalized. These punishments were not just unfair for “well-intentioned” users, but in some cases actually made it more difficult for the company to identify actual bad actors.

With the new system, users may still be restricted from certain features, like posting in groups, following a strike, but will still be able to post elsewhere on the service. Longer, thirty-day restrictions will be reserved for a user’s tenth strike, though the company may impose more restrictions for “severe” rule violations. Facebook users will be able to to view their past violations and details about account restrictions in the “Account Status” seduction of the app.

Meta notes that the overhaul comes as a result of feedback from the Oversight Board, which has repeatedly criticized Meta for not providing users with information about why their posts were removed. In a statement following Meta’s new policy, the board said the changes were “a welcome step in the right direction,” but that “room for improvement remains.”

The board notes that the latest changes don’t do anything to address “severe strikes,” which can have an outsize impact on activists and journalists, especially when the company makes a mistake. The Oversight Board also said that Meta should provide users the opportunity to add context to their appeals, and that the information should be available to its moderators.

One of the game industry's better-known figures is moving on from the studio he created. Bethesda has confirmed that Tango Gameworks founder and CEO Shinji Mikami is leaving his company in the "coming months." The designer hasn't provided reasons for his departure, or said where he's going next. We've asked Bethesda and Tango for comment.

Mikami has been one of the most influential game developers in his 33-year career. He's best-known for directing and producing early Resident Evil games, but has also played a key role in other Capcom series like Devil May Cry, Dino Crisis and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. He had a brief stint at PlatinumGames, only to found Tango Gameworks in 2010. His studio has enjoyed success with the Evil Within series and Ghostwire: Tokyo. Tango's most recent project is the surprise-release rhythm brawlerHi-Fi Rush.

Tango wasn't independent for long. Bethesda had its parent company, ZeniMax, acquire Mikami's studio in October 2010 after it ran into financial trouble. Microsoft bought ZeniMax in 2021.

This doesn't necessarily mean Tango is in trouble. Mikami executive produced the company's three most recent games, and Bethesda notes he's a "supportive mentor" to younger developers. However, this still amounts to an industry legend leaving the studio that's supposed to reflect his vision.

Despite moving its corporate headquarters to Texas, Tesla now considers California its global engineering home base. Elon Musk said a Palo Alto engineering hub will be “effectively a headquarters of Tesla.” The CEO added that the company’s plant in Fremont, which it bought in 2010 from a joint venture of General Motors and Toyota Motor Corp., will increase production to over 600,000 vehicles this year.

Tesla will use a former Hewlett-Packard building in Palo Alto as its new engineering headquarters. “This is a poetic transition from the company that founded Silicon Valley to Tesla,” Musk said.

The move is an about-face from the CEO’s previous comments about the state. Musk didn’t mince words about California’s regulations and taxes when he moved Tesla’s official corporate headquarters to Texas in 2021, complaining about “overregulation, overlitigation, over-taxation.” He tweeted about California pandemic lockdowns the previous year, “Frankly, this is the final straw. Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately. If we even retain Fremont manufacturing activity at all, it will be [dependent] on how Tesla is treated in the future. Tesla is the last carmaker left in CA.”

Following news of the Inflation Reduction Act incentives, Tesla will shift its battery-production focus from Germany to the US. Musk appeared with Gavin Newsom at an event on Wednesday, where the California governor poked fun at the move: “Eat your heart out, Germany.” California, which has more electric vehicles than any other state, provided tax bonuses to Tesla on its way to growing into the EV superpower it is today; Texas has minimal regulation and taxes by comparison.

Google is bringing some new features to its Workspace apps in the coming weeks, including a fresh lick of paint. The company is updating the look and feel of Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides and Chat in the coming weeks, drawing from its Material Design 3 language to do so. Google says the updated designs will streamline the user interface and put more emphasis on the most-loved tools in each app.

There's another handy update coming to Drive in the next few weeks as part of the Smart Canvas collaboration initiative. Google will introduce a multiselect toolbar that should make it easier to share, download, move and delete more than one file at a time. Google is also adding an option to filter files by type, such as documents, videos, PDFs and .zip files, without having to search for something first. Improved file management in Drive is always welcome.

Several new features are on the way to Docs. Starting today, you'll be able to access a stopwatch directly in the app, which could come in useful if you're trying to stay hyper focused for short bursts. In the coming weeks, Docs will gain emoji reactions for comments, which can be used to emphasize or upvote a response. A calendar invite template will be available in the app soon too.

As for Sheets, you'll be able to preview a Google Maps link directly in the app starting today. Google says that could come in useful for things like logistics tracking and event planning. Something that could be even more helpful on a day-to-day basis are date shortcuts. By typing @today, @yesterday, @tomorrow and @date, you can add quickly add the relevant date to a sheet without having to look at your calendar. That feature will be generally available as of today, as is the option to add stocks, mutual funds and currencies by using the @-mention function and typing in a company's name, stock ticker or currency.

Google TV may now be easier to use when you're sitting down to watch shows with your kids. Google is adding four new pages to the interface that include a Family section, where you'll find suggested content rated PG or lower. While this isn't a completely novel concept (Netflix has a dedicated Kids profile, for example), it should help you find titles that are safe for everyone to watch. The expansion also includes an Español page that, as the name implies, recommends Spanish-language content like movies, shows and live TV.

Other changes apply more universally. The Movies and Shows tabs have been turned into pages. You'll also find a few navigation tweaks that include a quick settings button and more convenient locations for profile and search functions.

The new pages are currently available in the US. The navigation updates are rolling out worldwide as of today. All the changes will be visible on devices that support Google TV, including Google's own Chromecast hardware as well as TVs from companies like Hisense and Sony.

The revamp doesn't come as a surprise. Google is competing with other platforms where child-safe content is either already walled off or dominates, such as Disney+ and Netflix. An update like this may make Google TV more compelling to young families, and creates more consistency with Google's own YouTube Kids.

Google is bringing photo features that were once exclusive to recent Pixel phones to more devices. Magic Eraser, a tool that can easily remove unwanted people or objects from an image, debuted in 2021 on the Pixel 6. It also has a feature called camouflage, which you can use to change the color of objects to make them blend in with the rest of the image and help other elements stand out.

Starting today, Google is rolling out Magic Eraser to Pixel 5a and earlier models. The same goes for Google One. In the coming weeks, members on all plans will have access to Magic Eraser through Google Photos, even if they're on iOS. Editing features are not available on the Google Photos web app, unfortunately.

All Pixel models and Google One subscribers will also gain access to an HDR effect that can be applied to videos to boost the brightness and contrast. The feature was already available for still images. Moreover, those with older Pixel devices and a One membership will gain access to more styles (i.e., designs) in the Google Photos collage editor starting today.

It's not a massive shock that Google is bringing Magic Eraser and other Photos features to One and older Pixel devices. It often debuts new tools on its latest flagship devices before introducing them elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Google is offering One subscribers in some territories another perk. Those in the US, Canada, European Union and UK can now get free shipping on orders from the print store.

FTX co-creator Sam Bankman-Fried (aka SBF) is now dealing with four new charges over the collapse of his crypto exchange. A newly unsealed indictment in a New York federal court accuses SBF of fraudulent activity through both FTX and a linked hedge fund. The co-founder also allegedly violated federal campaign finance laws by making secret political donations using the names of two executives.

The expanded charges now include 12 counts. A source speaking to CNBC claims the additional allegations could lead to an additional 40 years in prison if SBF is convincted.

Developing...

Samsung's latest flagship smartphones haven't even been out for a week, but you can already score a solid discount on one model. The Samsung Galaxy S23+ with 256GB of storage has dropped by $140 to $860. That makes it the same price as the standard Galaxy S23 with the same storage capacity. It's worth noting that the discount only applies to the Phantom Black colorway.

At 6.6 inches, the S23+ has a larger screen than the 6.1-inch S23. It has a bigger battery too. The specs are otherwise the same, save for ultrawideband support on the S23+. The phone runs on a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy with a 3.36GHz octa-core CPU and Adreno 740 GPU. There's 8GB of RAM, WiFi 6e and Bluetooth 5.3. The S23+ lineup runs on Android 13 too.

The S23+ doesn't boast the same 200MP camera as the Galaxy S23 Ultra, but it's a worthy phone in its own right. It does have 50MP wide, 12MP ultra-wide and 10MP telephoto cameras. Although it's more of an evolution from the S22 than a revolution, the S23+ is especially worth considering if you've been hanging onto the same phone for a few years or you're looking to make the switch from iOS to Android.

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You might not hem and haw the next time you're choosing a soundtrack for a Snapchat video. Snap has introduced automatic Sounds features that help you produce clips faster. Sounds Recommendations, for instance, suggests music relevant to the augmented reality Lens you're using. Try a bread Lens and you'll see plenty of toast-related songs alongside the most popular overall tracks.

Sounds Sync, meanwhile, creates montage videos in sync to the beat of tunes in the Sounds collection. You'll need between four and 20 photos or videos, but this could help you summarize a vacation or social outing without stressing about suitably-timed songs.

Both features are available now for iOS users in the US, and are rolling out worldwide. Android users can also use Sounds Recommendations right away, but they'll have to wait until March to try Sounds Sync.

Snap isn't shy about its goals. The easier it is to create videos, the more likely you are to post on Snapchat. This is also as much about helping artists as it is users — Snap music strategy lead Manny Adler claims this is a "unique opportunity" for musicians to reach listeners who'll (hopefully) play full songs after hearing them in someone's video.

The introductions come at a good time for Snap. The company's audience is growing after a turbulent 2022, having reached 750 million monthly active Snapchat users despite laying off roughly 1,300 workers last summer. While it's still much smaller than rivals like Instagram, which had two billion monthly active users as of last fall, it's enduring competition that is frequently mimicking features. Small additions like Sounds Recommendations and Sync may help Snap maintain that growth.