You'll likely have to keep using Peacock if you want to stream Premier League games. As Bloombergnotes, NBCUniversal has signed a six-year deal keeping it as the Premier League's official US broadcast partner. The arrangement gives NBC Sports access to all 380 matches each season until 2028. The pact also gives NBC sole rights for Spanish language coverage.

The two didn't say how this would affect Peacock's coverage. However, the Premier League highlighted Peacock as a platform that could reach "every home" with internet access. NBC Sports became the Premier League's American partner in 2013 and will have its existing agreement until May 2022.

There's a real chance Peacock will continue streaming many (though not all) of those games. Bloomberg pointed out that Premier League matches have been one of the few reliable sources of viewers for the fledgling service — the renewed deal could keep them watching and out of the hands of rivals like ESPN, which made a bid for Premier League rights. This could also drive free Peacock users to the Premium tiers currently needed to watch the league's games online.

The extension won't thrill you if you were looking for more ways to stream the exploits of Chelsea, Liverpool and other top-flight teams. However, it at least provides some consistency if you were already a Peacock user or happy to watch on Comcast's various other platforms.

The US Department of Justice has charged two Iranian hackers for their involvement in a disinformation campaign that targeted American voters ahead of the 2020 presidential election. In October of last year, Seyyed Kazemi and Sajjad Kashian allegedly sent threatening emails to Democratic voters in Florida in which they threatened to physically hurt them if they did not vote for former President Donald Trump. When the incident first happened, the US Director of National Intelligence held a press conference to warn voters of the emails.

Additionally, Kazemi and Kashian allegedly attempted to break into 11 state voter registration and information websites. In one instance, the DOJ alleges they successfully downloaded the information of more than 100,000 state voters. They may have also carried out a disinformation campaign on Facebook that saw them contact, among other individuals, Republican senators and members of Congress. They claimed they were volunteers with Proud Boys and said they had evidence the Democratic Party planned to exploit security vulnerabilities in election systems to edit mail-in ballots.

Kazemi and Kashian’s efforts to sway the election culminated on November 4th when they allegedly attempted to hack the network of a US media company. They were unsuccessful because the FBI had warned the firm in time.

“This indictment details how two Iran-based actors waged a targeted, coordinated campaign to erode confidence in the integrity of the U.S. electoral system and to sow discord among Americans,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the DOJ’s National Security Division in a statement. “The allegations illustrate how foreign disinformation campaigns operate and seek to influence the American public.”

US officials told The Washington Post they believe the two hackers are currently in Iran, suggesting they may not face authorities anytime soon. The DOJ also didn’t directly link their actions to the Iranian government.

Meta's efforts to encourage healthy teen usage habits aren't enough for some state officials. The New York Timesreports a coalition of state attorneys general has launched an investigation into Instagram's effects on teens. California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee and Vermont are concerned Meta might be offering and promoting Instagram to the younger crowd while knowing the potentials for mental and physical harm. If so, the social media giant might violate states' consumer protection laws.

The investigators are most worried about Meta's techniques to boost the "frequency and duration" of interactions at the expense of teens. Leaked internal research showed that Instagram hurt a significant percentage of teens, particularly girls, resulting in issues ranging from depression to self-harm.

A Meta spokesperson told Engadget the accusations were "false" and showed a "deep misunderstanding" of the situation. You can read the full statement below. It previously shared research data and claimed the leak misrepresented its work,providing "context" suggesting that certain information couldn't be used to reach conclusions about average behavior or links to mental and physical harm.

Meta has taken some steps to address worries, including encouragements to take breaks and "pausing" work on Instagram Kids. There's also no certainty the probe will lead to more substantive action. Nonetheless, the company is under much more pressure to safeguard teens — it could face legal repercussions if the states don't feel it has done enough.

These accusations are false and demonstrate a deep misunderstanding of the facts. While challenges in protecting young people online impact the entire industry, we’ve led the industry in combating bullying and supporting people struggling with suicidal thoughts, self-injury, and eating disorders. We continue to build new features to help people who might be dealing with negative social comparisons or body image issues, including our new 'Take a Break' feature and ways to nudge them towards other types of content if they're stuck on one topic. We continue to develop parental supervision controls and are exploring ways to provide even more age-appropriate experiences for teens by default.

Last week, Twitter’s “premium” subscription service made its debut in the United States. Twitter Blue is a $3 monthly subscription that buys subscribers access to additional features, like an undo button and ad-free news articles.

For now, Twitter Blue comes with a fairly limited set of extra features designed for the people who spend the most time on the service. According to Twitter’s Sara Beukpour, this group includes “verified longtime Twitter users” as well as “news lovers” and other “super tweeters.” In other words: the 25 percent of Twitter’s user base who send 97 percent of all tweets.

“I actually bet many of them are you,” Beykpour said during a briefing with a group of tech reporters last week. Of course I signed up immediately.

And after a little more than a week with Twitter Blue, I’m not sure it’s worth $3 a month for most people. The features are mostly useful, but it’s frustrating that not everything works the same way across Twitter’s app and website. But there are undoubtedly useful features, and I am intrigued by what might come next for “premium Twitter.” For now, though, here’s a look at what $3 buys you.

‘Undo’ tweets

Of all the features in Twitter Blue, the “undo” button has gotten the most hype. Twitter will likely never give us an actual edit button, so this is probably the closest we’ll ever get. And if you’re prone to typos or tweeting-and-then-instantly-regretting, this feature alone might be worth the subscription. I say might because the “undo” can also be incredibly confusing, and doesn’t always work as you expect.

It’s supposed to work pretty much like Gmail’s “undo send” feature. After you hit “send,” you’ll have a few seconds when you can see the tweet you just wrote, but it hasn’t actually been published. If you change your mind for whatever reason, you can hit “undo,” which takes you back to the tweet in the compose screen. Twitter gives you the ability to set how long this window is — it can range from 5 seconds to a full 60 seconds — and you can always opt to send it before the window runs out with an extra click.

Screenshot / Twitter

But undoing a tweet doesn’t always work the same way across Twitter’s app and website. On Twitter’s app, you can use the “undo” feature for almost any type of tweet: original tweets (tweets sent from the main compose window), replies, threads, quote tweets and polls. Essentially, you can “undo” almost anything you tweet, anywhere in the app. But that’s not the case on twitter.com, where the undo function only works with original tweets and replies, but not with quote tweets or threads. Unless you exclusively tweet from your phone, this means you have to remember which tweets are editable undoable and which aren't. A typo-ridden tweet can be undone, but an ill-advised quote tweet cannot.

There’s also the fact that it can take several steps to actually undo a tweet. In Twitter’s app, the default setting is that the first thing you see after you mash the tweet button is your tweet and an “undo” button. This gives you plenty of time to give it another read, even if you have a relatively short undo “window.” But on Twitter’s website, you can only undo by looking for a “view tweet” dialog at the bottom of the page and then navigating to the page with your tweet and the undo button. 

Sometimes, "view tweet" doesn't appear at all, and the only way to access the "undo" is to navigate to your profile and look for the pending tweet on your timeline. Not only is this a confusing extra step, but it also makes it harder to take advantage of the undo button at all. Is it still useful to have? I guess, but the unpredictability of it kind of gave me more anxiety than just not having it at all.

Reader mode and bookmark folders

The reader mode is probably the most underrated feature of Twitter Blue, and the one I’d argue would be most useful for all the site’s users, not just those willing to pay. It converts long threads into a much more readable stream of text, much like a browser’s reader view would. I hate those intrusive (and ethically dubious) third-party thread apps that “unroll” tweets into separate websites, but there’s a reason why those services are so popular: lengthy threads are difficult to read. Twitter’s service was never designed for essay-length tweet storms, and long threads are often cut off. Reader mode is a simple solution that is so effective I can’t believe it took them this long to make.

Screenshot / Twitter

It’s even better when paired with another new feature: bookmark folders. Now, when I come across an impossibly long tweetstorm I want to come back to later, I simply add it to my “to read” folder and keep scrolling. Except, again, bookmark folders are for now only supported in Twitter’s app. Head over to twitter.com and all your bookmarks are still a mess.

Ad-free news and ‘top articles’

My favorite Twitter Blue feature — and a large part of the reason why I will likely continue handing over $3 each month for it — is the “top articles” feature. The feature shows you a list of all the most-shared news articles by people in your Twitter network over the last 24 hours. If that sounds at all familiar, it’s because the feature is Twitter’s nod to Nuzzel, a once independent news app that also created feeds of articles based on what was being shared by people you follow on Twitter. But the original app was shut down when Twitter acquired Scroll, the news startup that had previously bought Nuzzel.

And while “Top Articles'' doesn't have all the functionality Nuzzel once did, it’s enough to scratch the itch for former fans of the app (a group that seems to be almost entirely made up of journalists as far as I can tell). But even if you never used Nuzzel, Top Articles is useful. It gives you a quick digest of what the people you follow are reading and tweeting about. Or, you know, you can just use it to figure out who is the main character of the day.

Screenshot / Twitter

Twitter’s acquisition of Scroll also powers another significant part of Twitter Blue: ad-free news articles. Scroll (and now Twitter) formed partnerships with hundreds of news outlets in order to offer ad-free browsing in exchange for a portion of users’ subscription fees. Now, Twitter lets subscribers view how much their own browsing has directed to those publishers. It’s an intriguing concept, and one that won Scroll a lot of praise before it was bought by Twitter.

It’s also the aspect of Twitter Blue I’m most curious to watch. As it stands now, it can feel a little disjointed. While stripping out ads is nice, it doesn’t include access to paywalled content, so it can be jarring to see an “ad-free with Twitter Blue” banner only to hit a paywall. However, Twitter has hinted that it may one day pursue more ways to access paywalled content — and a message in the app says paywall access isn’t included “right now” — so there’s good reason to hope that may one day change.

Early access to new features and customization

Twitter has gotten much more public with the features it experiments with in recent years. The company at one point had a separate beta version of the app it used to try out new tweaks. That app is no longer available, but the “labs” feature of Twitter Blue feels in some ways like its successor. The company plans to make some experimental features available to Twitter Blue subscribers first, before deciding whether they should become full-fledged features available to more people.

For now, there are only two features that fall into this bucket: the ability to pin specific chats to the top of your DM inbox, and the ability to upload videos of up to 10 minutes (these longer videos are not entirely new, but accounts had to be approved by Twitter in order to have access to the feature). I appreciate having the option to do both, though I haven’t used either feature and I suspect most others won’t either.

Screenshot / Twitter

Finally, Twitter Blue also gives you the ability to make small tweaks to the look and feel of the Twitter app. For example, you can change the app icon or set a new color theme (the “theme” only changes small elements like the color of the tweet composer and the dot that appears when you have a new notification). You can also opt to rearrange the shortcuts in the bottom of the app’s navigation bar, which is kind of cool (especially if you want to, say, banish the Spaces Tab). But, again, these are small details that I can’t imagine most people bothering to change.

Is it worth it?

Whether or not you think all that is worth three bucks a month largely depends on how much you use Twitter (and how willing you are to pay for apps). While I don’t think it makes sense for most people, I think it’s pretty compelling for anyone who depends on Twitter for their job or otherwise falls into that extra-dedicated “super tweeter” category.

And while Twitter hasn’t offered any details around how many subscribers have signed up, the app has made about $180,000 since it first started offering Twitter Blue this summer, according to data provided by analytics firm Sensor Tower. That’s not much money for Twitter, but it does suggest there is a not-totally-insignificant number of people willing to try it out (and the service is still only available in four countries).

At a broader level, Twitter Blue raises important questions about how the company will prioritize new features. While the company has maintained that there will always be a free version of Twitter, it’s not difficult to imagine that the most exciting and useful updates could end up being locked behind a subscription. Twitter spent much of the last decade not really creating any meaningful new features at all, so it still stings a little to see the company add the kinds of features longtime users have long hoped for, only to restrict them to those willing to pay.

Phil Spencer is reportedly reassessing Xbox's relationship with Activision Blizzard following new bombshell reports about the company and CEO Bobby Kotick. Spencer, who runs Microsoft's Xbox division, reportedly told employees in an email that he's “evaluating all aspects of our relationship with Activision Blizzard and making ongoing proactive adjustments,” in the wake of an investigation by The Wall Street Journal.

In the memo, which was obtained by Bloomberg, Spencer said he and other leaders at Xbox are “disturbed and deeply troubled by the horrific events and actions” that reportedly took place at Activision Blizzard. "This type of behavior has no place in our industry,” Spencer wrote.

Kotick is said to have known about instances of sexual misconduct at the company for years without reporting them to the board. He has also been accused of mistreating women on numerous occasions.

Spencer has joined Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan in expressing deep concern about the situation. In an internal memo, which also leaked earlier this week, Ryan wrote that he was "disheartened and frankly stunned to read” The Journal's report. He also criticized Activision's response to the allegations. Earlier this week, the company told Engadget that the report presented a “misleading view of Activision Blizzard and our CEO.”

More than 900 Activision Blizzard employees and contractors have now signed a petition demanding Kotick's removal. A shareholder group has also urged the board to remove Kotick and for the board's two longest-serving directors to retire by the end of the year. In addition, Polygon and Eurogamer both called for Kotick's resignation. Strongly worded statements from leaders at Microsoft and Sony, two of Activision Blizzard's most important business partners, will further crank up the pressure.

Engadget has contacted Activision Blizzard for comment.

Facebook might soon help you manage the overly chatty people in your social stream. The Meta brand is testing News Feed controls that let you raise or lower the volume of content you see from friends, groups, Pages and relevant topics. If a relative posts far too often while a favorite group hardly shows up at all, you can balance their appearances in your preferences.

Already available controls for favorites, reconnecting, snoozing and unfollowing should also be easier to find. Facebook's test is initially available to only a "small percentage" of users, but it should expand over the weeks ahead. The company is giving advertisers options to exclude their ads from broad topics like "News and Politics," "Crime and Tragedy" and "Debated Social Issues."

The timing is appropriate, although it might not satisfy critics. Whistleblower Frances Haugen and supporting politicians have blasted Facebook's algorithimic feeds for promoting engagement over healthy social media habits. Likewise, Meta just recently limited ad targeting for sensitive topics across its products. These latest moves put some of the power back in the hands of users and marketers, but don't offer as much control as some would like. 

In late October, FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel proposed expanding the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) to accept text messages via the 988 three-digit dialing code — akin to 911 — to "better support at-risk communities in crisis, including youth and individuals with disabilities." On Thursday, the full four-member board voted in favor of enacting the proposal which will take effect by July 16, 2022. 

Suicide was the second leading cause of death in the United States for ages 10 - 35 in 2019 (10th overall), per the NIMH. Nearly 45,000 people died by suicide in 2020, disproportionately impacting young people, black people, LGBTQ+ people, Veterans peoples, and disabled people. 

"Today’s action requires covered text providers to support text messaging to 988 by routing text messages sent to 988 to the Lifeline’s 10-digit number, 1-800-273-8255 (TALK)," Thursday's announcement stated. "The rules establish a process that will require covered text providers to support transmitting messages to 988 in additional text messaging formats that the Lifeline is capable of receiving."

Until next July rolls around, if you're struggling and need someone to listen, please, call 1-800-273-8255 (TALK) or webchat the Lifeline. 

More than 800 Activision Blizzard employees and contractors have signed a petition calling for CEO Bobby Kotick to be removed as CEO. Workers walked out in protest earlier this week, following a report published by The Wall Street Journal, which alleged that Kotick knew about sexual misconduct claims at the company and neglected to inform the board of directors. The report also notes that Kotick has been accused of mistreating women on numerous occasions.

"We, the undersigned, no longer have confidence in the leadership of Bobby Kotick as the CEO of Activision Blizzard," the petition reads. "The information that has come to light about his behaviors and practices in the running of our companies runs counter to the culture and integrity we require of our leadership—and directly conflicts with the initiatives started by our peers."

The signees asked for Kotick to step down and for shareholders to choose a new CEO without his influence. The petition notes that Kotick "owns a substantial portion of the voting rights of the shareholders." When employee advocacy group A Better ABK shared the petition on Twitter, it said more than 500 workers had signed it. Hundreds more added their names within a couple of hours. 

Among the claims in the report are one that Kotick was the person who wrote an email sent to employees by executive vice president of corporate affairs Frances Townsend after California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit against Activision Blizzard in July. "A recently filed lawsuit presented a distorted and untrue picture of our company, including factually incorrect, old and out of context stories — some from more than a decade ago," the memo read. Hundreds of Blizzard employees slammed the message and demanded "immediate corrections" from company leaders.

The report also shed some light on the departure of Jen Oneal, who was named as a co-lead of Blizzard in August but announced three months later that she was leaving her position. In a September email to the company's legal team, Oneal (who is Asian-American and gay) is said to have written that she had been "tokenized, marginalized, and discriminated against" and that she was paid less than Blizzard co-lead Mike Ybarra. IGN later reported that Ybarra and Oneal asked management for equal compensation, but Oneal said they were only offered equivalent offers after she tendered her resignation.

Following The Journal's report, the Activision Blizzard board publicly gave its backing to Kotick. However, the backlash is intensifying. Before the petition, Polygon and Eurogamer called for him to resign in editorials. A group of activist shareholders, who hold around 0.6 percent of stock and have long criticized Kotick, demanded that he step down.

On top of that, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan told his employees that he was “disheartened and frankly stunned to read” The Journal's report. “We outreached to Activision immediately after the article was published to express our deep concern and to ask how they plan to address the claims made in the article,” Ryan wrote in the email, which was leaked. “We do not believe their statements of response properly address the situation.”

This week's report and ensuing pressure on Kotick follows a torrid few months for leaders at Activision Blizzard. After DFEH filed its lawsuit, it emerged that the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the company. Activision Blizzard is also facing a class action lawsuit from shareholders, who claim it violated securities laws. In addition, workers and the Communication Workers of America filed an unfair labor practice complaint against the company. 

When asked for comment, Activision Blizzard directed Engadget to the statement the board of directors made on Tuesday. "The goals we have set for ourselves are both critical and ambitious," it said. "The Board remains confident in Bobby Kotick's leadership, commitment and ability to achieve these goals.”

Meta and Microsoft aren’t the only companies with ambitions for the metaverse. On Thursday, Nike announced a partnership with Roblox to offer a free virtual playspace called Nikeland. In its current iteration, Nikeland includes minigames such as tag, dodgeball and the floor is lava that players can check out with their friends. Mobile integration allows you to use your phone to translate real-life movement into the game. In that way, you can do things like long jumps and fast sprints. Naturally, there’s also a digital showroom where players can get Nike swag for their avatar.

According to CNBC, that’s only the start of what the brand has planned for the space. In the future, it could host competitions tied to global sporting events. For instance, it could host soccer games when the 2022 World Cup kicks off in Dakar. The showroom could also one day tease future product releases and allow users to co-create items.

It’s no surprise to see Nike partner with Roblox on a metaverse play. With more than 200 million estimated monthly active users, it’s one of the most popular games among kids and teenagers. By offering a free space where those young people can interact with the brand, Nike creates an avenue for them to become its customers in the real world.

Following not one but two teases, Subaru has finally shared more information on its first EV, the Solterra, after the AWD crossover made an appearance at the 2021 LA Auto Show. As expected, the Solterra shares many similarities with Toyota’s upcoming bZ4X crossover. That should come as no surprise since the two automakers jointly developed the e-TNGA powertrain at the heart of both electric vehicles.

Subaru’s crossover features a 71.4 kWh lithium battery that the automaker estimates will provide 220 miles of range on a single charge. Subaru says it’s possible to charge the Solterra’s power cell from dead to 80 percent in under an hour with a DC fast charger. The dual motors can output 215 horsepower and 248 lb.-ft of torque.

Subaru

The Solterra will come with Subaru’s symmetrical all-wheel-drive system and X-Mode feature. The latter offers better traction in off-road conditions. Inside the cabin, there’s a 12.3-inch touchscreen display that works with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The Solterra will also mark the debut of a couple of new safety technologies for Subaru. First, there’s a 360-degree “Surround-View” camera the company says allows for better situational awareness. Second, there’s a feature called Safe Exit Assist that will warn your passengers if a vehicle is approaching as they’re about to exit the car.

Subaru will start selling the 2023 Solterra sometime in mid-2022. The automaker has yet to announce final pricing for the crossover, but it’s expected to start somewhere in the $39,000 range.