Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, is set to testify before a Senate panel in December. He'll appear at a series of hearings on online protections for kids that a consumer protection subcommittee is holding during the week of December 6th.
“He’s the top guy at Instagram, and the whole nation is asking about why Instagram and other tech platforms have created so much danger and damage by driving toxic content to children with these immensely powerful algorithms,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who is chair of the subcommittee, told The New York Times.
Mosseri will testify in the wake of revelations by whistleblower Frances Haugen, a former Facebook product manager. Haugen told a panel last month that research conducted by Facebook determined “engagement-based ranking on Instagram can lead children from very innocuous topics like healthy recipes… to anorexia-promoting content over a very short period of time.” The previous month, Antigone Davis, the global head of safety for Instagram parent company Meta, downplayed recent reports based on internal Facebook documents, which indicated that Instagram can negatively affect the mental health of teenagers and young girls.
After Davis testified, Blumenthal wrote to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, asking either him or Mosseri to testify. Blumenthal suggested in his letter to Zuckerberg that the company “provided false or inaccurate testimony to me regarding attempts to internally conceal its research.”
This will mark the first time Mosseri has testified before Congress. Blumenthal plans to ask Mosseri to commit to making Instagram's ranking and recommendation algorithms transparent, partly so experts can look into if and how the platform promotes potentially harmful content. The senator noted that Snap, TikTok and YouTube leaders made similar commitments after they testified at a prior hearing. Blumenthal also said he will ask Mosseri about Instagram's recommendation systems and how they may lead children "into dangerous rabbit holes."
A group of state attorneys general are also investigating how Instagram impacts teenagers. Meta Global Affairs VP Nick Clegg recently announced that Instagram will encourage teens to "take a break" from the app and try to divert them away from harmful content.
It may not be Black Friday for another two days, but CD Projekt’s GOG storefront is offering steep discounts on a variety of PC games through the end of the weekend. If there’s a theme to the sale, it’s all about CRPGs. Expect to see titles like Divinity: Original Sinand Divinity 2 as much as 65 percent off.
One of the highlights of the sale sees Horizon Zero Dawndiscounted by 50 percent to $23.74. The Complete Edition includes the excellent Frozen Wilds DLC that expands the story and adds an entirely new open-world area for players to explore. If you’ve been waiting to pick up Horizon on PC, now is a good time to do so since Guerrilla patched many of the performance issues that hampered the game at launch. We’ll note here Horizon is also 50 percent off on Steam if you would rather buy the game through Valve’s storefront.
You can also get 50 percent off on both Disco Elysium and Cyberpunk 2077. If we had to pick a favorite among that pair, it would be Disco Elysium. It’s one of the best RPGs to come out in recent memory and has a lot to say about a variety of topics. If the fact it involved a lot of reading made you hesitant to try it before, The Final Cut release adds full voice acting to the game. At just under $32, we’d say even Cyberpunk is worth it.
GOG has also discounted the entire Focus Home Interactive catalog by up to 80 percent. In that way, you can get some less-known gems like A Plague Tale: Innocence and Vampyr for as low as $9.89. They’re not the most polished games, but if you’re looking for something different and with some character, they’re worth checking out.
Don't panic that Star Trek: Discovery vanished from Netflix in many countries right before season 4 arrived — you might have a stopgap solution, depending on where you live. ViacomCBS has revealed that Discovery's latest season will be available on the company's free Pluto TV service in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the UK starting November 26th. New episodes will be available each Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 9PM local time. There will be a simulcast on the Star Trek channel in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
If you'd rather have more permanent copies, people in France, Germany, Russia, South Korea and the UK can also buy the fourth season from "participating digital platforms" starting on the 26th. If Paramount+ is already available in a country, such as Australia, many Latin American countries and Scandinavian nations, you'll have to sign up but can get 50 percent off the first three months with the code STARTREK.
This still leaves former Netflix viewers a step behind their Paramount+ counterparts, but they at least won't have to wait until 2022 to follow Michael Burnham's latest exploits. And ViacomCBS wins regardless — this might spike Pluto TV membership, even if only some users stick around once Paramount+ is available in their regions.
The US is taking extra steps to prevent China's military from claiming quantum computing dominance. The Commerce Department has added eight technology producers to its Entity List to prevent them from supporting the Chinese military's quantum computing efforts. Officials are concerned the entities could feed "emerging" US tech that could aid with breaking encryption, producing 'unbreakable' encryption and developing anti-stealth or anti-submarine systems.
The list focuses on a mix of companies and researchers, including QuantumCTek and the Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale. The US also added three affiliates of Corad Technology Limited, a Chinese firm on the list since 2019, although it wasn't clear that quantum computing was involved — it was also accused of backing Iran's military and space programs as well as North Korea "front companies."
The broader Entity List update included 27 organizations and people, including 13 in Pakistan accused of backing the country's "unsafeguarded" nuclear or ballistic missile programs.
This is unlikely to put a stop to China's military uses of quantum computing when the country may need to research and develop much of the technology in-house. The expanded blocklist might slow things down, however, by limiting China's access to American processors and other equipment that could fast-track development. Consider this a stumbling block that gives the US a better chance of taking or maintaining the lead.
It seems big changes are coming to Fortnitesoon. Chapter 2, which started all the way back in October 2019, will wrap up with a one-time-only in-game event called The End at 4PM ET on December 4th.
"With The Convergence complete, The Cube Queen prepares her endgame for the Island and nothing will ever be the same," Epic Games wrote in a blog post. "Grab your weapons and fight the ultimate destroyer of all reality."
The Chapter 1-closing event was also named The End and it blew up the original island in spectacular fashion. Fortnite was offline for a few days before Chapter 2 started with an entirely new map. Among other updates, Epic also brought in a fresh user interface and new mechanics in Chapter 2. Given that the publisher says players will battle The Cube Queen "in one last stand for the fate of the Island" and that nothing will seemingly be the same, it seems likely more major changes are coming to the battle royale in the near future.
If you have any Bars or Battle Stars, use them before the end of the season, since they won't carry over to Chapter 3. Starting on November 30th, character services and exotic item trades will be discounted in Bargain Bin Week. Fortnite will automatically redeem unused Battle Stars for the earliest available rewards. If you have any remaining quests you want to complete, now might be the time to do that.
Squads of up to 16 players will be able to experience The End together. The event playlist will open at 3:30PM, so it's probably worth joining early to secure a spot. Meanwhile, since Epic is ending the season a day earlier than planned, everyone who logs into Fortnite before it wraps up will receive a 225,000 XP bonus. Those who take part in the event will unlock a special Loading Screen and Wrap too.
Aside from the weeks leading up to the big game, the Black Friday shopping period is arguably the best time of year to buy a new TV. Whether you're looking for your first OLED set or a budget-friendly smart TV, you'll find many options at cheaper-than-usual prices at Amazon, Best Buy and other retailers. TVs from LG, Sony, Samsung, TCL and others have been discounted this year — and it's worth noting that while we highlight certain sizes here, you'll likely find that if one size is on sale, other sizes in the same lineup will also be discounted. And if you're not looking to upgrade your TV, there's a bunch of other home theater equipment on sale right now too, including streaming devices, soundbars and more. Here are the best TV deals, along with the best home theater sales, we could find for Black Friday.
55-inch LG C1 OLED
LG
LG's mid-tier C1 OLED smart TV has been discounted to $1,300. It runs on the company's α9 Gen 4 AI processor 4K and supports Game Optimizer, Dolby Vision IQ, Dolby Atmos and voice commands with Alexa and the Google Assistant.
The LG G1 OLED smart TV has been discounted to $1,700. Part of the "gallery" series, it uses OLED evo panel technology to get better brightness and clearer whites than standard OLED displays. It also runs on LG's a9 Gen4 AI Processor 4K and supports features like G-SYNC, FreeSync, OLED Motion Pro and voice commands via Alexa and the Google Assistant.
LG's A1 OLED TV is on sale for $1,100. The A1 series is the most affordable of the company's newest OLED sets, making these sets good options for anyone looking to upgrade to OLED while on a tight budget.
Sony's premium Bravia XR A80J OLED set is on sale for $1,400. It includes most of the company's best TV technology, including the Cognitive Processor XR, HDMI 2.1 support, 4K upscaling, XR Motion Clarity and improved sound with Acoustic Surface Audio+ and built-in subwoofers.
Sony's Bravia A9S OLED smart TV is down to $1,200, or $300 off its normal price. It runs on the company's Processor X1 Ultimate and supports HDR and Dolby Vision, Acoustic Surface Audio, X-Motion Clarity technology, AirPlay 2 and more.
Sony's X950H LED smart TV is on sale for $1,020, which is 15 percent off. While not an OLED set, this TV has local dimming LED backlighting along with the Android TV operating system, Google Assistant and Alexa support, Game Mode and AirPlay 2 and HomeKit compatibility.
Samsung's The Frame is on sale for $1,000. This is the TV to get if you'd prefer to look at something more interesting than a black box when not actually watching a TV show or movie. Its art mode lets you select images to display on the screen whenever you want, and it also supports 4K AI upscaling and truer colors using Quantum Dot technology.
Samsung's massive 85-inch QN90A Neo QLED smart TV is $700 off right now, bringing it down to $3,300. It has Quantum HDR 32X for vibrant, vivid colors, mini LEDs for improved contrast and Object Tracking Sound+ for more immersive audio.
Vizio's 55-inch H1 OLED TV is $300 off right now, bringing it down to $1,000. This is a solid price for a mid-sized OLED set that supports Dolby Vision HDR, Vizio's IQ Ultra processor, 120Hz gaming with VRR and built-in AirPlay and Chromecast technology.
Vizio's 75-inch P-Series 4K TV is $400 off, bringing it down to $1,600. This set supports full array local dimming, a peak brightness of 1,200 nits, Dolby Vision HDR, Quantum Color, AirPlay 2 and more.
The Roku Streambar is down to $80 right now, or $50 off its normal price. It's a compact soundbar that will upgrade any living room relying on an old TV with weak audio. We gave it a score of 86 for its solid audio quality, Dolby Audio support and built-in 4K streaming technology.
Vizio's Elevate soundbar is on sale for $800, or $300 off its normal price. While not an all-time low, it's the best price we've seen on the device in months. It has multiple speakers inside the main portion that rotate upward whenever you're playing Dolby Atmos or DTS:X content. Plus, the whole system has 18 speakers, including a wireless subwoofer and two satellite surround speakers that you can position anywhere in the room.
The Chromecast with Google TV has dropped to $40, which is $10 cheaper than usual. We gave the device a score of 86 for its 4K HDR streaming capabilities, Dolby Vision and Atmos support plus its much needed and very handy new remote.
The new Fire TV Stick 4K Max has dropped to $35. This has all of the features of the standard Fire TV Stick 4K plus support for WiFi 6 and picture-in-picture live view.
Amazon's Fire TV Stick 4K is on sale for $25 right now. It's one of the easiest ways to get 4K streaming TV into your TV, plus it supports Dolby Audio and Alexa voice commands.
The Fire TV Stick Lite has dropped to $18. It provides 1080p streaming, access to services like Netflix and Prime Video and can stream music from services like Spotify and Pandora.
The new Roku Streaming Stick 4K is on sale for $30, or $20 off its normal price. It builds upon the technology in the Streaming Stick+, supporting 4K HDR10+ content, Dolby Vision, long-range WiFi, voice search and TV controls with the included remote.
NVIDIA's Shield TV has dropped to $129, or roughly $20 cheaper than usual. This is one of the more powerful streaming devices available today thanks to its Tegra X1+ processor, support for Dolby Vision HDR, Dolby Atmos, Chromecast 4K and AI-powered 4K upscaling.
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Apple said it would keep notifying victims in its fight against state-sponsored spyware, and now it's clear just what happens if you're one of those targets. MacRumorsnotes that Apple has detailed how it alerts users when it believes they've been targeted by state-sponsored attackers. You'll get both email and iMessage notifications to the addresses and phone numbers associated with your Apple ID. If you visit appleid.apple.com, you'll also see a prominent "threat notification" message indicating what happened and when.
The company stressed these notifications will never ask you to click links, download content or share login details like passwords and verification codes. It instead asked users to visit the Apple ID website to verify warnings. Apple also pointed users to a Consumer Reports list of emergency resources if you don't get the notification but are still reasonably confident you're under attack, whether from state actors or harassers.
These kinds of notifications aren't new. Google, for instance, has been notifying potential victims for years. Apple's explanation is relevant in light of worries about spyware from NSO Group and others, however, and may be crucial if you're an activist, journalist or other critic who could easily face attacks from oppressive governments.
Music creation and collaboration platform Splice is offering new users a discount for Black Friday. If you sign up for a year-long Sounds+, Creator or Creator+ plan between November 24th and 30th, you'll save $20. During that time, a year of Sounds+ access will cost $80, the annual Creator plan will drop to $180 and a 12-month Creator+ subscription will be $280.
We recommended the Creator plan in our holiday gift guide. The entry-level Sounds+ plan might offer enough for hobbyists, with 100 credits for royalty-free samples each month. Creator subscribers get twice as many credits, along with access to Splice's Astra soft synth, the Beatmaker drum machine and music production lessons and tutorials. The Creator+ plan is almost the same as Creator, but with 500 sample credits instead of 200.
Those aren't enormous discounts, admittedly, and you do have to commit to a year-long subscription. Still, if you've been on the fence about leaping into Splice, this might be a good time.
You don't have to settle for pre-made WhatsApp stickers (or use a third-party tool) if you're sitting at your computer. The Vergereports WhatsApp has introduced a custom sticker creator for its web client and, within a week, desktop apps. Choose to attach a sticker and you can upload a custom image for editing. You can add emoji or text, crop pictures, cut out backgrounds and even slap existing WhatsApp stickers on top.
This tool won't help much if you mostly chat on mobile, where apps already exist to produce WhatsApp stickers. It might help if you frequently message people from your desk, though, and it could be particularly useful if you're either a digital artist (and likely have creative tools on your computer) or prefer to edit images with a mouse instead of your fingers.
As the Chromebook market has matured, a bunch of higher-end models have come out. Samsung's original Galaxy Chromebook was one of them, but the company realized that paying $1,000 for a Chrome OS machine was a hard sell for most. Enter the Galaxy Chromebook 2, Samsung's correction and a much better laptop with an easier-to-stomach starting price of $449. But now you can get the Galaxy Chromebook 2 for $50 less, or $399, which is a record low. That's for the base model with a Celeron processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, but the Core i3 model is also on sale for $549 — $50 more than it's lowest price, but still a decent deal.
Samsung prioritized the right things when developing the Galaxy Chromebook 2. The design is much the same as the original, with a relatively light 2.2-pound frame, a premium build and a fiery red color. The company ditched the lovely yet taxing 4K display from the previous version and opted for a 1080p QLED touchscreen which remains nicer than panels on most other Chromebooks. While the 4K display did a number on the original laptop's battery life, this QLED display isn't as bad. We managed to get about 12 hours of use on a single charge, and while we wish the battery life was a tad longer, it should get you through a work day.
The Galaxy Chromebook 2 has a convertible design, too, so you can use it in tablet mode or prop it up so it acts as a small TV for video streaming. It doesn't come with a stylus like some of Samsung's other laptops, but any Universal Stylus Initiative pen will work with it. If you're eyeing the Galaxy Chromebook 2 as a secondary or travel device, the base model with a Celeron processor may provide all the power you need. But hardcore Chrome OS fans who want to use this machine as their daily driver won't regret shelling out a bit more money for the Core i3 version.
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
