Facebook is planning a major redesign to help it compete with TikTok

Mark Zuckerberg and other Meta executives have made it clear for some time that competing with TikTok is their top priority. Now, we have additional details about how they plan to completely overhaul the Facebook app to accomplish that.The social netwo…

Disney+ will stream a live musical special from Epcot hosted by Idina Menzel

Disney+ is continuing its experiment with live events, this time with a special from one of its own theme parks. The platform will livestream Harmonious Live!, a musical special that will be hosted by Idina Menzel and performed at the Epcot theme park in Walt Disney World, reportedVariety. The live orchestra performance will feature a repertoire of songs from a number of classical Disney films, including Moana, Aladdin, Coco, The Lion King, Mulan and others.

The choice to air Harmonious Live! will no doubt please Disney fans of all ages, especially those who haven’t been back to a theme park in a while. After a nearly two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, Disney resumed live entertainment at its theme parks again this year. And unlike live shows performed at the park, fans will be able to watch re-watch Harmonious Live! on the Disney+ platform at any time they like.

Disney+ subscribers can expect even more live offerings this year. The upcoming season of Dancing with the Stars will air on the platform, likely in September 2022. Meanwhile, Harmonious Live! will air on June 21 at 6 p.m. PT/9 ET in the US and Canada. You can watch a preview below.

In-person Apple Camp creative sessions return June 20th

In-person Apple Camp creative sessions for kids have been on hold for the past two years due to the pandemic, but Apple is bringing them back now that it’s safer to get together. The company will hold in-store sessions worldwide between June 20th and August 31st, and it’s launching a new, two-hour format built for families. Staff will lead a comic book creation activity where children between the ages of 8 and 12 use an iPad Pro to draw, take photos outside and otherwise tell a tale about protecting the environment.

There are still options if you’d rather stay at home. You can download an Apple Camp “Field Guide” with 20 iPad-oriented activities for kids, such as creating a podcast, designing a maze or using code to plan an Earth-saving tool.

Apple has been gradually easing back into pre-pandemic activities at its stores. It dropped mask requirements at many US stores in February, and resumed Today at Apple instructional classes in March. While some of the company’s corporate employees are still eager to work from home, it’s clear the retail team is ready to get back to (relative) normal.

Netflix and Mo’Nique settle lawsuit over alleged discrimination

Netflix has settled a lawsuit from comedian and actor Mo’Nique that accused the company of racial and gender bias. Both parties this week moved to dismiss the suit, which was filed in 2019. “The matter has been amicably resolved,” a representative for Mo’Nique told The Hollywood Reporter.

The two sides started talks over a comedy special in 2017, but Mo’Nique claimed the company low-balled her with an opening offer of $500,000 for a one-hour show to which Netflix would own the rights. The Oscar-winning performer called for a boycott of Netflix and said the offer was discriminatory, given the eight-figure deals some other comics (such as Chris Rock and Amy Schumer) reportedly received for their Netflix specials.

Netflix walked away from the discussions after Mo’Nique’s assertions. “Once Mo’Nique engaged in protected conduct by protesting the discriminatory offer, Netflix shut down any further negotiations and refused to negotiate in good-faith consistent with its standard practices,” the suit stated. Netflix argued there were no legal grounds to support the claim that a company declining to negotiate in good faith equates to discrimination or retaliation.

However, the judge presiding over the case determined in 2020 that Mo’Nique may have had a point. “Mo’Nique plausibly alleges that, after she spoke out and called her initial offer discriminatory, Netflix retaliated against her by shutting down its standard practice of negotiating in good faith that typically results in increased monetary compensation beyond the ‘opening offer’ and denying her increased compensation as a result,” Judge Andre Birotte Jr. wrote in a ruling that rejected an attempt by Netflix to dismiss the case.

Engadget has contacted Netflix for comment.

Facebook’s advertising tools are tracking people seeking abortion services, report says

Facebook is collecting data about people who visit the websites of pregnancy crisis centers, according to a report from Reveal. The findings raise questions about how that data could be misused, and Meta’s ability to enforce its advertising rules.

In an investigation conducted with The Markup, Reveal found that hundreds of crisis pregnancy centers were using the Meta Pixel on their websites. The Meta Pixel allows companies to keep tabs on who visits their websites so they can create targeted ads on Facebook. As the report notes, so-called crisis pregnancy centers typically aren’t licensed medical establishments and are not bound by HIPAA and other privacy regulations. Instead, they are “mostly run by religiously aligned organizations whose mission is to persuade people to choose an option other than abortion.” 

Under Meta’s rules, the Meta Pixel is supposed to filter out “sensitive” health data, like much of what Reveal found was being collected. “In many cases, the information was extremely sensitive – for example, whether a person was considering abortion or looking to get a pregnancy test or emergency contraceptives,” Reveal reports. In some cases, the social network also received data about specific appointments that were requested. The report also found that third-party anti-abortion marketing companies were able to gain access to data collected by the Meta Pixel, even though their websites had not been visited.

In a statement provided to Reveal, Meta said that “It is against our policies for websites and apps to send sensitive information about people through our Business Tools,” referring to the Meta Pixel. “Our system is designed to filter out potentially sensitive data it detects, and we work to educate advertisers on how to properly set up our Business Tools.”

The issue of online platforms collecting data from people seeking abortion services has taken on a new urgency in recent weeks following a leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade. Privacy advocates have warned that the information could be used to prosecute people seeking abortions in areas where it’s been outlawed. Lawmakers have also raised concerns about the issue, calling on Apple, Google and other platforms to bar apps that collect data targeting people seeking abortion services.

NHTSA: ‘Self-driving’ cars were linked to 392 crashes in 10 months

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released its first batch of data for semi-autonomous driving technology. As The New York Timesexplains, the agency linked 392 crashes to partial self-driving and driver assistance systems in the 10 months between July 1st, 2021 and May 15th, 2022. About 70 percent of those, 273, were Tesla vehicles using Autopilot or the Full Self-Driving beta. Honda cars were tied to 90 incidents, while Subaru models were involved in 10. Other makes, including Ford, GM, VW and Toyota, had five incidents or less.

Out of the 98 crashes with injury reports, 11 resulted in serious injuries. Five of the Tesla incidents were fatal. The 130 total crashes for self-driving systems included 108 with other cars and 11 with “vulnerable” road users like cyclists and pedestrians.

The findings are a response to a Standing General Order requiring that car manufacturers and operators report crashes to the NHTSA when Level 2 or higher autonomy is active at the time of the incident. The transportation agency hopes the info will support a “more data-driven approach” to safely rolling out self-driving tech, including regulation and education.

As administration head Steven Cliff told the press, the data doesn’t offer any conclusions by itself. There are roughly 830,000 Autopilot-equipped Tesla vehicles in the US, for instance — they may dominate incident reports simply because they’re some of the most common semi-autonomous cars. Ford, GM and others have equivalents, but they’re frequently optional (Autopilot is standard on Teslas) and simply rarer on the road.

The statistics nonetheless draw attention to multiple investigations into crashes like these, including from the National Transportation Safety Board. One Tesla driver in California is also facing felony charges from state prosecutors over a deadly 2019 incident. While companies like Tesla have long argued that their driver assists are safer than exclusively human control, the NHTSA, NTSB and other bodies clearly want a better understanding of real-world safety issues before they embrace autonomous driving in earnest.

A Gran Turismo movie will arrive in 2023

Sony has confirmed a Gran Turismo movie is in the works and it’s slated to arrive sooner than many folks may have expected. Its Columbia Pictures imprint will release the film on August 11th, 2023. District 9‘s Neill Blomkamp, who is far from a stranger to the world of video games, is directing. American Sniper scribe Jason Hall wrote the screenplay.

The movie is based on a true story, as Deadline reports. It will tell the tale of a Gran Turismo player who gets a shot at becoming a professional racecar driver. For several years, players had a path to real-life motorsport through the GT Academy.

This is the latest example of Sony adapting its gaming franchises for the big and small screen. That’s become a bigger priority for the company over the last few years under its PlayStation Productions banner.

Shows based on The Last of Us and Twisted Metal have been in the works for a while, and Sony recently revealed Horizon and God of War adaptations are coming to Netflix and Amazon Prime Video respectively. The company at long last released the Uncharted movie earlier this year, while a Ghost of Tsushima movie is in the pipeline. Sony also mentioned that a Gran Turismo TV show is in development, but it’s unclear whether that’s still going ahead after the movie announcement.

OlliOlli World’s first expansion brings UFOs and cow onesies to Radlandia

Void Riders, OlliOlli World’s first story expansion, is now available to download on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and PC. The DLC adds new levels for players to explore complete with UFOs that will use their tractor beams to help you defy gravity and take your tricks to new heights. The expansion also adds new emotes, tricks and outfits, including a cow onesie, you can use to further customize your character.

Void Riders costs $10 on its own. It’s also included in the “Rad Edition” of the game and as part of the $15 Expansion Pass, which will also grant you access to the other DLC developer Roll7 plans to release later this year. If you haven’t picked up OlliOlli World yet, consider doing so. It’s one of Engadget’s favorite games of the year, thanks to its easy-to-learn but difficult-to-master gameplay and charming art style.