Sarah Wynn-Williams, the former Facebook policy director behind a best-selling memoir about her time at the company, will testify at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing next week. The testimony will be Wynn-Williams first public remarks since Meta initiated emergency arbitration proceedings in an attempt to prevent her from promoting the book.
Wynn-Williams upcoming appearance at Congress was confirmed by Senator Josh Hawley, who said in a statement that she would testify about allegations that Facebook cooperated with the Communist regime in China to build censorship tools, punish dissidents, and make American users data available for Chinese use.
Big News Facebook whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams will testify NEXT WEEK in public, under oath, before my judiciary subcommittee re: her explosive evidence of Facebooks cooperation with the Communist regime in China, including FBs plans to build censorship tools, punish Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) April 2, 2025
In her book, Careless People, Wynn-Williams recounts Meta executives interactions with world leaders and government officials as Facebooks influence expanded globally in the early 2010s. Her account has resurfaced information about Facebooks attempts to operate in China, and revealed new details about its overtures to Chinese government officials.
We do not operate our services in China today. It is no secret we were once interested in doing so as part of Facebooks effort to connect the world, Meta spokesperson Dani Lever said in a statement. This was widely reported beginning a decade ago. We ultimately opted not to go through with the ideas we'd explored, which Mark Zuckerberg announced in 2019."
Prior to her books publication, Wynn-Williams also filed whistleblower complaints with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice about alleged misconduct at the company. While the precise details of those complaints havent been made public, next weeks hearing will be a significant opportunity for her to speak publicly about what she witnessed.
The hearing, titled, A Time for Truth: Oversight of Metas Foreign Relations and Representations to the United States Congress, is scheduled for April 9, at 2:30pm ET.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/careless-people-author-sarah-wynn-williams-will-testify-at-a-senate-hearing-next-week-172509027.html?src=rss
Googles Pixel Buds Pro 2 earbuds are on sale via Amazon for just $179. This is a record-low price, as they normally cost $229. This deal is available for multiple colorways, including black, pink, beige and green.
These little cuties easily made our list of the best wireless earbuds. We admired the comfortable and secure fit and the addition of the Tensor chip to handle audio and ANC processing. They also offer a hands-free way to initiate Gemini AI.
However, the main reason we recommend these earbuds is that they sound great. They provide a good low-end, which is tough to do with earbuds, and crunchy highs. Google says it redesigned the entire audio system and it shows. We called out the noticeable improvement over the original Pixel Buds Pro earbuds in our official review.
There are plenty of nifty features to set these earbuds apart from the competition. They can detect conversations and automatically adjust audio accordingly. Find My Device support is also included. They offer spatial audio with certain apps. The buds get around eight hours of use per charge, but 30 hours when considering the included charging case.
There are only two downsides here. The Pixel Buds Pro 2 earbuds are incredibly small, which is cool, that means making adjustments on their equally tiny touch panels can be difficult. Also, the original asking price of $229 is certainly high. This sale alleviates that particular issue.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/googles-pixel-buds-pro-2-are-back-on-sale-for-an-all-time-low-price-164743950.html?src=rss
TikTok will reportedly face a fine of over 500 million ($553 million) for transferring Europeans' private data to China. Bloomberg said on Thursday that Ireland's data protection commission, which regulates TikTok owner ByteDance's EU operations, could dish out the penalty before the end of April.
The fine results from a four-year investigation of TikTok's data handling practices. The probe reportedly concluded that ByteDance broke Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) laws by transferring private user data to China to be accessed by engineers. The country is known for its widespread, high-tech surveillance.
"TikTok tells us that EU data is transferred to the U.S. and not to China, however we have understood that there is possibility that maintenance and AI engineers in China may be accessing data," former Irish Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon said in March 2021 when the probe began.
Ireland is taking the lead because, under the GDPR, the country where a company's European operations are located oversees compliance and enforcement. ByteDance's European headquarters are in Dublin. Bloomberg says the decision date and amount of the fine aren't yet finalized and could still change.
Of course, this isn't even ByteDance's biggest drama unfolding this week. The fate of TikTok's US operations hangs in the balance as it approaches an April 5 deadline to find a buyer or face a ban in America. The list of likely outcomes ranges from finding a buyer (Amazon has even thrown its hat in the ring) to its US investors rolling over their stakes into a new independent global company or the deadline passing with another deadline extension.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/tiktok-reportedly-faces-a-%E2%82%AC500-million-fine-for-sending-private-user-data-to-china-162214079.html?src=rss
Engineers at Northwestern University have developed the worlds smallest pacemaker. Its so small, as a matter of fact, that it fits inside the tip of a syringe. This means that its injectable, so patients could potentially avoid a painful surgery.
It safely dissolves into the bloodstream after a time, so its a temporary solution. Its designed for folks who need heart help on a short-term basis, like newborn babies with congenital defects. However, it can work with hearts of all sizes.
Its also powered by light, which is pretty darned cool. The pacemaker is paired with a wireless wearable device that mounts to a patients chest. When that small device detects an irregular heartbeat, it shines a light that activates the pacemaker. These light pulses can penetrate a patients skin, bones and muscles.
Even though the pacemaker is tiny, measuring one millimeter in thickness, it still delivers as much stimulation as a full-sized unit. The engineers published their findings in Nature and noted that the device works with both animal and human hearts. The team also reiterated that pediatric care is the primary use case here.
About one percent of children are born with congenital heart defects, said Northwestern experimental cardiologist Igor Efimov, who co-led the study. The good news is that these children only need temporary pacing after a surgery. In about seven days or so, most patients hearts will self-repair. But those seven days are absolutely critical. Now, we can place this tiny pacemaker on a childs heart and stimulate it with a soft, gentle, wearable device. And no additional surgery is necessary to remove it.
The development of this medical device was co-led by John Rogers, which is a familiar name in biomedical circles. Rogers has been behind a number of astounding innovations throughout the years. Hes advanced technology that could eventually give us invisibility cloaks and health-tracking tattoos. He also built a thumbnail-sized UV sensor and a circuit that dissolves in the body. That last one eventually led to this innovative pacemaker.
Rogers imagines a world in which physicians inject a number of these pacemakers simultaneously, to enable sophisticated synchronization. This could help terminate arrhythmias, as different parts of the heart could be paced at unique rhythms.
Because its so small, this pacemaker can be integrated with almost any kind of implantable device, Rogers said. Here, the tiny pacemakers can be activated as necessary to address complications that can occur during a patients recovery process.
This versatility could eventually open up a diverse array of medical possibilities. The tech could be used to help nerves heal, treat wounds and block pain.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/the-worlds-smallest-pacemaker-is-injectable-and-powered-by-light-153302491.html?src=rss
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What do modern speakers need? Good sound quality? As little distortion as possible? Longevity? Well, yes. Plus, according to Bang & Olufsen, marble plinths. Bang & Olufsen is debuting a partnership with Italian marble and granite company Antolini at Milan Design Week. The Beosound Balance Natura speaker features a sculptural base from Antolini that the audio company says elevates the device to its optimal height. Apparently, the plinth isn't just there for aesthetic it's a functional audio element.
Let's face it, though: You wouldn't buy a speaker with a marble stand unless you wanted that marble pedestal. And that is why they're making the model available with various Antolini stones. You can get it with natural quartz, as well as with petrified wood and fossilized wood, if you're looking for something with earthy colors. The options have different translucency and color depth, but one common feature is the anodized aluminum ring that serves as the transition between the plinth and the bottom of the speaker.
In addition to the Natura version of the Beosound Balance speaker, Bang & Olufsen is also presenting a Beovision Theatre 55-inch TV and a pair of Beolab 28 speakers customized with Antolini's Amazon quartite at Milan Design Week. All the products it's showcasing during the event are made to order with prices available upon request, which says all you need to know about its price range, especially since the basic Beosound Balance isn't cheap to begin with and will set you back $3,300.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/speakers/bang--olufsens-new-beosound-balance-speaker-model-comes-with-a-marble-plinth-131555070.html?src=rss
The original Switch started a revolution when it combined the portability of handhelds with the ability to play games on your TV at home like a traditional console. But with the Switch 2, even though it's physically bigger, it feels like a sleeker, faster and more refined take on its predecessor to the point that Nintendo should have called it the Super Switch (which apparently almost happened). And after getting a chance to try it out, I'm sold on its abilities, even with its significantly higher starting price of $450.
Design and display: No OLED, no problem
The Switch 2 has the same basic shape and layout as the original, including its signature detachable Joy-Con. But it looks more polished all around, thanks to tapered edges and slimmer bezels. Nintendo also increased the size of its joystick caps and the face buttons on the left controller, though the latter still doesn't feel quite like a traditional D-pad.
Sam Rutherford for Engadget
That said, the biggest upgrade is its larger 7.9-inch 1080p LCD display, which now supports a 120Hz refresh rate with VRR and high dynamic range. Frankly, it's super bright and very colorful to the point where I don't really miss having an OLED screen. Now there's a fair bit of grumbling that Nintendo, despite the existence of the OLED Switch, didn't opt for a similar panel type on the Switch 2. But if you remember, that model didn't support HDR, so it's not like we're looking at a downgrade in display quality, though the super deep blacks you get from OLED screens would have been nice.
Also, the Switch 2 feels like it defies its dimensions because even though its display is larger than the 6.2-inch version on the base Switch, it doesn't feel that much bigger. It's only half an inch taller (4.5 inches) and a little over an inch wider (9.4 vs 10.7 inches). And while its weight has also increased to 1.18 pounds with its Joy-Con attached (up from 0.88 pounds), it never felt too heavy.
Sam Rutherford for Engadget
Elsewhere, there are a ton of quality-of-life upgrades, including a second USB-C port (though the one on the bottom is the only one that can do video out), a built-in mic and support for microSD Express cards. That last one is a big deal, because even though the cards are more expensive, they're also significantly faster than your standard fare and they should be a major boon to download speeds and load times. I admit the lack of analog shoulder buttons is a small downer, though Nintendo says it made that choice because analog buttons would introduce a tiny bit of input lag and it wanted to go with the more responsive solution.
Joy-Con features: Expanded detachables
During its livestream, Nintendo spent a lot of time talking about the C button on the right Joy-Con, which feels like a first-party solution that looks to recreate everything people like about Discord. But at Nintendo's hands-on experience, there weren't any chances to test out the console's new social features, so I wasn't able to dive deeper into that.
Sam Rutherford for Engadget
That's ok, though, because I think the Joy-Con's new magnetic mounting system is the hidden star. Not only is there a larger button around back for popping them off, they now detach simply when you pull them left or right. There's no need to slide anything up or down first. Granted, this sounds like a small change, but it makes the whole process so much simpler and the Joy-con seem to be more securely attached as well.
Then there's the Joy-Con's ability to function as a mouse (for both the left and right controllers). I thought it was pretty gimmicky, until I played Metroid Prime 4: Beyond where I suddenly found myself favoring the mouse mode over standard gamepad controls. Everything feels a bit more precise and if you're a fan of shooters on PC, it's definitely worth trying out. The obvious limitation is that while you can use the Joy-Con on your leg, you really ought to have some sort of flat surface like a table, which may not be an option if your favorite place to game is on the couch.
Performance: Nintendo's move to next-gen tech
Sam Rutherford for Engadget
Nintendo has kept relatively quiet regarding the Switch 2's processor and memory. But the company has said the system does support DLSS and hardware-based ray tracing. Now those features might not get used in every game, but it does seem to make it way easier for third-party developers to port their titles over to the company's upcoming console. When I played the new Switch 2 versions of Street Fighter 6, Cyberpunk 2077 and Civilization 7, they all ran really smooth. And without doing a straight-up side-by-side comparison next to a proper gaming PC, it was really hard to tell if the Switch 2 was cutting corners graphically, if it was even doing it at all. The only hiccup I noticed was rather long loading times in Civ, which isn't exactly uncommon for a Sid Meier game.
The flipside to this is if you told me that some of Nintendo's new first-party games like Donkey Kong Bananza and Mario Kart World were actally being run on an original Switch, I wouldn't have blinked. In some ways, Nintendo's ability to wring every last bit of performance out of its hardware and its habit of eschewing hyperrealism in favor of more stylized graphics has almost put a ceiling on the company's ability to really show off its chops. But when you pay attention, you'll really appreciate how delightfully satiny Mario Kart looks when it's running at 120 fps.
I still have questions about what's going on inside the Switch 2's new dock and how it's leveraging its increased performance to deliver 4K resolutions when connected to a TV. I also think it's a travesty that Nintendo is charging money for the Switch 2 Welcome Tour. It's barely a game, but it is a genuinely useful way to introduce the console's features to new owners and it really should be pre-installed on every system for free. It also remains to be seen how the Switch 2's battery life holds up. Nintendo says it has a larger power pack than the original Switch, but it also has increased performance and a larger screen, while the company claims runtimes may vary between two and six and half hours depending on the title.
But all told, the Switch 2 is exactly what you want from a successor to Nintendo's legendary hybrid console. Aside from the price, that is, because in addition to the console starting at $450, almost all of its standard accessories cost more than before, too. From the Pro Controller, which now goes for $80 ($10 more than for the original Switch) or additional pairs of Joy-Con that cost $90 (another $10 hike). And that's before you factor in the cost of games like Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza that start at $80 and $70 as digital downloads (or $90 and $80 if you want physical carts).
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-switch-2-hands-on-no-oled-no-problem-130002712.html?src=rss
Mario Kart 8 and its Deluxe update have been around so long it's easy to forget that the game actually predates the Switch and can trace its origins way back to the Wii U. But every good run must come to an end, and with the forthcoming arrival of the Switch 2 on June 5, Mario Kart World is looking like the ideal launch partner.
Now there hasn't really ever been a bad Mario Kart game, but World feels like Nintendo has jammed nitrous into every corner and crevice. Even during my demo session where not all the characters were unlocked, I got the sense that its roster is massive. All the big names are there like Peach and Yoshi, but you also have baby versions of many of them alongside Toadette, Pauline, Nabbit and so much more. This feeling extends to a range of vehicles too, which includes standard karts in addition to stuff like jet skis and scooters.
Sam Rutherford for Engadget
But more importantly, the world feels huge. Not only can you freely roam around tracks as they seamlessly connect from one to another, there are also little details like weather effects and day/night shifts that make things feel more alive. And there's also a seemingly huge range of tracks to choose from, organized into several Grand Prix circuits.
The most fun I had, though, was when I got a chance to play the Knockout Tour mode, which is like Mario Kart meets F-Zero 99. In this setting, you have 24 people in a single race that progresses across multiple tracks. Every few laps, the last four places get eliminated, so it's your job to dodge shells and use every last mushroom boost, shortcut and power slide to stay at the front of the pack. It's a non-stop frenzy that just keeps going and, though I don't have the same reaction speed I did when I was younger, this old-head still got first place. And even after a win, I just wanted more. (For the record, Nintendo's photography policy required me to have a person in the frame, so a friendly staff member stood in my place, but here's my receipt.)
Sam Rutherford for Engadget
I also need to call out that Mario Kart World has a 120 fps mode and it's damn good. Racing has never looked this smooth on any Nintendo console and this game might be the best first-party showcase of the Switch 2's upgraded display and performance.
That said, the best part is that I'm sure I missed some features because I didn't even have a chance to try out the outfit customization Nintendo teased in World's trailer. And I was so focused on winning that I didn't fully explore the expanded list of tricks like grinding on rails and hopping off vertical walls.
Granted, it's a bummer that Nintendo has raised the price of many Switch 2 games, particularly with Mario Kart World coming in at $80 for a digital copy or $90 for a physical cart. But that can be largely avoided by purchasing the Switch 2 bundle that comes with the game, which effectively brings its price back down to $50. So if you are planning on getting a Switch 2 at launch, opting for this combo feels like a no-brainer.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/mario-kart-world-hands-on-the-perfect-launch-game-for-the-switch-2-130003924.html?src=rss
