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Ireland's data privacy regulator is investigating Elon Musk's X. The country's Data Protection Commission (DPC) said on Friday (via Reuters) that it's opening an inquiry into the social platform's use of European users' public posts to train its Grok AI chatbot. In this case, Ireland handles EU regulation enforcement because X's European headquarters are in Dublin. The DPC said it will probe "the processing of personal data comprised in publicly-accessible posts posted on the 'X' social media platform by EU/EEA users." Under Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules, Ireland has the legal muscle to fine X up to four percent of its global revenue. "The purpose of this inquiry is to determine whether this personal data was lawfully processed in order to train the Grok LLMs," Ireland's DPC said. If this sounds familiar, the DPC took X to court in 2024, seeking an order to stop it from training Grok on EU user data without consent. That followed a platform policy change in July that let the social site use public posts to train its AI chatbot. However, Ireland's data regulator ended the legal proceedings weeks later, saying the company had agreed to permanently limit its use of EU users' personal data in Grok. The DPC hasn't specified why it now believes the company may be violating GDPR rules. The DPC's last fine against the company (then known as Twitter) was a 450,000 penalty in 2020 for failing to notify the regulator about a data breach within the 72-hour window.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/irelands-privacy-regulator-is-investigating-xs-use-of-public-data-to-train-grok-182010855.html?src=rss
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With the recent confirmation of Mark Meador as Federal Trade Commissioner, the Republicans now have a 3-0 majority at the FTC, giving President Donald Trump broad control over what was once an aggressive business regulator under former FTC chair Lina Khan. The vote fell along party lines, with all Senate Democrats voting against confirming Meador. Under normal circumstances three Republican members at the FTC is expected. Whichever party the president represents typically holds three seats, while the other party holds two. What makes the new Republican majority unusual is that Trump fired the Democrat Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter in March, something that's not supposed to happen without "good cause." The FTC, like the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is technically part of the executive branch, but exists independently of the rest of the government, with the current president adding new members as terms end or in the rare case there's good cause to remove a commissioner, like if they're found guilty of malfeasance or neglecting their duties. An executive order Trump signed in February 2025 sought to exert more control over these independent organizations in the name of "accountability." That was the primary justification for removing Bedoya and Slaughter, both of which are fighting their termination in court. Given the actions Biden's FTC took against corporate America, like suing John Deere over unfair practices and leading antitrust investigations into Meta, Amazon, Google and Apple, it makes sense business-friendly Republicans would prefer less pushback from Democrats. That doesn't make anything that's happening legal, though.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/trump-now-has-full-control-of-the-ftc-180816016.html?src=rss
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Sony just announced pricing for a number of upcoming products, including the Bravia Theater Bar 6 soundbar. This 3.1.2-channel system costs $650 for US consumers. It comes with a wireless subwoofer and is compatible with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. The soundbar includes up-mixing tech to transform stereo content to 3D sound when immersive formats arent available. Dialogue gets an upgrade here, thanks to a dedicated center speaker and an AI-powered tool called Voice Zoom 3. Sony The beefier Bravia Theater System 6 is a 5.1-channel system that costs $770. This is an all-in-one setup that comes with a soundbar, subwoofer and rear speakers. The included soundbar is not the Bar 6, despite the similar name. However, it does support both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. The subwoofer also features a slightly different design than the one that ships with the Bar 6. This system does offer stereo up-mixing to transform content into 3D audio via Sonys proprietary algorithm. The Bravia Theater Rear 8 speakers are compatible with the companys soundbars and work with its 360 Spatial Sound Mapping tech to calibrate the system to the acoustics of a specific living room. The speakers cost $450. Having the pricing here is nice, but we still dont have any official release dates. The current plan by Sony is to start selling these products later this spring.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/speakers/sony-has-priced-the-bravia-theater-bar-6-soundbar-at-650-175824102.html?src=rss
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