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Google logo on mobile device

After Mark Zuckerberg's big announcement that Meta will no longer fact check, Google is also sending a message to the European Union: The search giant is opting out of a new EU law that requires fact checks.

While tech companies might feel emboldened now to make such policy decisions in an attempt to curry favor with President-elect Donald Trump, it's a little different in Google's case — the company has never quite provided fact-checking of its search products or videos on YouTube, which it owns. So, at least as of now, Google isn't rolling back anything, it's just not committing to go any further.

A letter from Google’s global affairs president Kent Walker to Renate Nikolay, the European Commission’s content and technology czar, was obtained by Axios and lays out Google's rejection of the EU’s Code of Practice on Disinformation.

The code would require that Google develop fact-checking capabilities into its search engine ranking and YouTube algorithms. 

Signing on to these rules was voluntary as the disinformation code isn't legally binding. However, many social media platforms including Google, Meta, and even Twitter — before Elon Musk's acquisition — previously signed onto the code. As The Verge points out, even prior to the sudden policy changes at Meta, the European Fact-Checking Standards Network found that many of the online platforms that voluntarily signed on were "reneging on their commitments."

The code was created before the EU's official content moderation law, the Digital Services Act or DSA, went into effect in 2022. The DSA is legally binding so it will be interesting to see if any of the disinformation code gets implemented under the DSA and what Big Tech companies would do about it when that happens.

Google's letter to the European Commission states that the company would "pull out of all fact-checking commitments in the Code before it becomes a DSA Code of Conduct."



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John Turturro and Zach Cherry in

Severance fan theorists, step aside. Severance star Zach Cherry, who plays Dylan G., has a theory of his own.

As The Severance Podcast with Ben Stiller & Adam Scott dives into Season 2 of Apple TV+'s acclaimed workplace thriller, Stiller and Scott have started a segment where Cherry — whom Stiller and Scott jokingly describe as "a clairvoyant" — shares his theories about what will happen in the show's next episodes.

Stiller jokingly clarified: "These predictions are what Zach thinks, based on, really, probably only having read his sides and his scenes."

"He doesn't like reading other people's lines," Scott added.

For his theory about what will happen in Season 2, episode 2, Cherry dove deep into the mystery of Gemma/Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman) and Cold Harbor.

"Next time on Severance," Cherry began. "Ms. Casey is trapped in the number four. And then when Mark finishes Cold Harbor, she moves up to number five. But she doesn't want to get to number seven, because obviously seven ate nine, and that's some scary stuff."

He's done it; he's cracked Severance's entire mystery box wide open!

But that's not all. Cherry also came up with a creative solution for Mr. Milchick's (Tramell Tillman) biggest problem — namely, that his computer screen still says, "Hello, Ms. Cobel" instead of his own name.

"I think Milchick is going to to change his name to Ms. Cobel, so then he doesn't have to feel sad about his computer login screen," Cherry said. "Maybe they'll send him two paychecks by accident."

Needless to say, Stiller and Scott are less than impressed by Cherry's theories, with Stiller even calling out his "seven ate nine" moment as a "second-grader joke." I don't know, maybe Cherry really is onto something, and Stiller and Scott are just trying to throw viewers off the scent.

Severance Season 2 is now streaming on Apple TV+, with a new episode every Friday. You can follow along with The Severance Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Audacy, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts.



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the garmin venu 3s in an ivory colorway on a pixelated blue background

SAVE $100: The Garmin Venu 3S smartwatch (41mm, Ivory) is on sale at Amazon for $349.99, down from the normal price of $449.99. That's a 22% discount that matches the lowest price we've ever spotted at Amazon.


Gamin Venu 3S (41mm, Ivory)
$349.99 at Amazon
$449.99 Save $100.00

If you're just getting back into the swing of the work/life schedule after the holidays, you might still be considering resolutions for 2025. It's never too late to set some goals for this week or month to get a few more steps in each day. If you're looking for some accountability when it comes to healthy habits, check out this deal at Amazon on a reliable fitness tracker.

As of Jan. 16, the Garmin Venu 3S smartwatch (41mm, Ivory) is on sale for $349.99 at Amazon, down from the list price of $449.99. That's a 22% discount that takes $100 off. The sale price also matches the lowest we've seen at Amazon.

A long-time leader in the world of smartwatches, Garmin brings all of the brand's highlights to the Venu 3S. You'll be able to choose from over 30 preloaded GPS and indoor sports activities. You'll get continuous on-wrist heart rate monitoring and respiratory rates, too.

Unlike many smartwatches designed for tracking fitness, the Garmin Venu 3S can get up to 10 days of battery life when in smartwatch mode. For comparison, Mashable Tech Editor Kimberly Gedeon found both the Apple Watch SE and Apple Watch Series 9 got a bit over one day of battery life per charge.

With a bright OLED touchscreen display, the Garmin Venu 3S uses a 1.2-inch display, helping you navigate and view stats on your wrist. Garmin also gives users a daily Body Battery score, helping you get better insights into days when you can go all out on a workout compared to days you should try to get a nap in. The Garmin also helps with tracking sleep, giving you a readout of total sleep time, sleep stages, and personalized coaching into how to improve sleep.

When it comes to preloaded workout options, the Garmin includes both indoor and outdoor options, pool swimming, and activities for those who use a wheelchair. You can also follow along with animated workouts for yoga, HIIT, and strength training directly on your watch face. For those who have aspirations of a 5K, 10K, or half-marathon, get free training plans developed by expert coaches.

When paired with an Android or iOS smartphone, your Garmin can give on-wrist notifications of text messages, incoming phone calls, and calendar reminders. You can also respond to texts on the Garmin Venu 3S thanks to the on-watch keyboard.

If you're in the market for a smartwatch that excels in tracking fitness, today's low price on the Garmin Venu 3S is a perfect option. It comes with great fitness functions backed with the reliability of a Garmin device. Plus, the soft gold and ivory colorway gives this tracker a sleek and sophisticated look.



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Beats Solo 4 on orange background

SAVE $100: As of Jan. 16, get the Beats Solo 4 Minecraft Edition headphones at Target for $99.99, down from their usual price of $199.99. That's a 50% discount.


Beats Solo 4 Minecraft Edition
$99.99 at Amazon
$199.99 Save $100.00

Looking for a new pair of headphones? Love gaming? It's time to high-tail it on over to Target to take advantage of this deal.

As of Jan. 16, you can get the Beats Solo 4 Minecraft Edition headphones at Target for $99.99. That's $100 off their normal price of $199.99 and a 50% discount.

These are the latest model of the Beats Solo range, newly refreshed this year with a battery life of up to 50 hours that can be quick-charged in just 10 minutes. But more importantly, if you're a Minecraft fan, this version of the popular Beats headphone features special Minecraft graphics, with a black frame and lime green Creeper imagery all over. It's a very cool look for Minecraft fans young or old.

Beyond aesthetics, the headphones also feature personalized Spatial Audio with head tracking for 3D surround sound and a more immersive listening experience. They also just sound fantastic, no matter what kind of music or content you're listening to.

For $99.99, you really can't go wrong here. Snatch them up before this deal disappears.



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Three screenshots of a Substack live stream, showing the process of starting a live conversation.

Broadening out from its text-only beginnings and just days before millions may lose access to their beloved video app TikTok, Substack has announced it's adding a sitewide live streaming option for all users.

The new video tool is an expansion of an earlier "bestseller"-only feature, which offered platform-based live streaming options to its top contributors, referred to as "publishers." Now, any contributor with at least 10 free subscribers can go live. Once the live stream is over, publishers will be sent an audio recording of the live stream and AI-generated clips to share on their pages, the platform writes.

Substack — one of the most popular personal publishing and newsletter platforms with more than 35 million active subscriptions — has been overhauling its offerings after a subscriber-hitting content moderation fiasco revealed the platform was hosting numerous alt-right and neo-Nazi blogs. This came only a few months after Substack found itself at the center of a public feud with X CEO Elon Musk, who accused the platform of downloading Twitter data outside of its API terms and then blocked external Substack links from appearing on the site. Substack later introduced Notes, a scrolling recommendations feed that some noted looked similar to the social media platform it was feuding with.

Over the last year, the website announced it would be adding a chat function to connect writers directly to their subscribers, and later added a paywall feature that allowed publishers to cordon off conversation access to paid followers only. A few months later, Substack brought integrated video options to the subscriber chat function, enabling writers (now, more like creators) to send pre-recorded clips directly to readers. In the fall, the platform announced an even wider video offering with a test run of its live stream tools.

Many online are seeking out new video-based platforms as the countdown to a total TikTok shutdown nears zero, and, seeking to capitalize on the same popularity that's skyrocketed TikTok's users over its eight years, social platforms have pivoted to more integrated video features.



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President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk pose for a photo during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2024 in New York City.

Are you in hell or just billionaire row at Donald Trump's 2024 inauguration? Impossible to tell.

Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, and annoying fanboys' Elon Musk will all be attending Trump's Monday inauguration, an official told NBC News. They'll all be seated together on the platform alongside some of the president-elect's cabinet members.

Musk, who will lead the new "Department of Government Efficiency" alongside Vivek Ramaswamy, said on his platform, X, that he's "honored" to be attending. Bezos and Zuckerberg have yet to make any public statements.

This shouldn't come as a complete surprise. Tech execs have long relied on politicians to move their policies forward, and, while their relationship has been contentious with Trump, they pledged a significant amount of money in support of his administration. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund, as did Meta and Amazon. Google CEO Sundar Pichai met with Trump and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said he was "turning the page" with the president elect. Famously, Musk has been simping over the president-elect for months.

Beyond monetary donations, Musk endorsed Trump for president in July. Zuckerberg aligned his content moderation policies to a more Republican take, along with lifting hate speech prohibitions, getting rid of DEI initiatives, removing tampons from men's bathrooms in Meta offices, and deleting trans and nonbinary themes on its Messenger app. Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post, decided the newspaper wouldn't endorse a presidential candidate, despite the opinion staff members who wanted to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris.

They're kissing the ring.

"It's just a recognition that there's not much to be gained in outspoken opposition, but perhaps there is something to be gained by being very clear about your support and hope that Trump does well," Margaret O'Mara, a Silicon Valley historian at the University of Washington, told NPR of the industry's take on Trump.

We don't know exactly why Michelle Obama has decided to skip, but if she saw that guest list, I have a hunch.



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Sony soundbar on orange and purple abstract background

SAVE $100: As of Jan. 14, get the Sony HT-A3000 Soundbar for $499.99 at Best Buy, down from its usual price of $599.99. That's a discount of 21%.


Sony HT-A3000 Soundbar on white background
Credit: Best Buy
Sony HT-A3000 Soundbar
$499.99 at Best Buy
$599.99 Save $100.00

If you're the type of person who loves kicking back at home and checking out a movie, you probably appreciate great sound, too. But if you're relying on your TV's speakers, it's probably high time you upgraded. An easy way to do that is to grab a soundbar —and you can grab a decent one that does a great job for $100 off today only at Best Buy.

As of Jan. 14, you can get the Sony HT-A3000 soundbar for just $499.99, down from its usual price of $599.99. That's a discount of $100 and 21% off. It's only available today for this price, however, so pounce if you want to claim yours.

This soundbar brings the bass with two subwoofers, as well as three front speakers and a center channel to give your living room more immersive sound. It's compatible with Dolby Atmos and also offers 360-degree spatial sound mapping that can automatically adjust to your room depending on the sound levels it detects. You can stream content to it or hook it up to your TV for great sound that you can control by way of Alexa or your Google Assistant as well.

If you're looking for an easy way to make your home entertainment sound richer and you don't want to go to the trouble of adding tons of speakers to the room, this is the way to do it. Just act quickly before it's no longer available at this price, because it's a limited Best Buy deal.



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