Meta wants app stores to enforce age restrictions, Renault revives Twingo as budget EV
Meta has called for laws that would force app stores to get parental approval when a child downloads an app. The proposal would put app stores, like those run by Apple and Google, on the hook for implementing parental controls – rather than social media companies. Meta, owner of Instagram and Facebook, has faced criticism for how it handles teens using its platforms. The firm’s safety chief called for a “simple, industry-wide solution” to govern children’s social media use. BBC
YouTube has teamed up with music artists including John Legend and Sia to offer AI-generated versions of their singing voices as soundtracks for creator videos. The Google-owned video platform is using a music generation model created by the search company’s AI unit to produce the unique 30-second clips in a limited trial. The nine artists are: Alec Benjamin, Charlie Puth, Charli XCX, Demi Lovato, John Legend, Sia, T-Pain, Troye Sivan and Papoose. YouTube said the experiment, called Dream Track, has been opened to a small group of US creators using its Shorts feature – the platform’s answer to TikTok. Guardian
Renault will revive the Twingo as a new sub-£17,000 EV that it claims will offer “best-in-class” efficiency and serve as a key part of an expanded European line-up of seven EVs. The new city car, which will sit underneath the forthcoming Renault 5 and Renault 4, was revealed as part of a Capital Markets Day event for Renault Group’s new Ampere EV spin-off firm. Renault Group boss Luca de Meo described the new Twingo as a “silver bullet for sustainability mobility” and a key in the firm’s quest for an affordable EV. Autocar
OpenAI has temporarily stopped people from signing up to the premium version of ChatGPT, after it proved so popular the company was unable to operate it. Just over a week ago, OpenAI held a developer conference in which it announced a range of new features, including a faster version of its chatbot and access to the new GPTs feature that lets people make their own versions of ChatGPT. Many of those new tools are limited to subscribers to ChatGPT Plus, the paid-for version that also offers fewer restrictions on how much ChatGPT can be used. Now, however, OpenAI is “pausing” new sign-ups “for a bit”, its chief executive Sam Altman announced. Independent
Ministers have watered down powers to hit tech giants with massive fines for monopoly abuse after fierce lobbying from Silicon Valley. Tech companies will have now more grounds to appeal fines of up to 10pc of a company’s global turnover after amendments to competition legislation. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill (DMCC) has been due to grant tough new powers to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), including the potential blocking of takeovers. However, changes have been made to allow broader avenues of appeal. Telegraph
There is a new ‘ultra’ speed camera being installed at the side of roads across the UK that is the most advanced of its kind yet. The device can identify speeding drivers travelling in both directions, doesn’t flash when it snaps and can also catch motorists not wearing a seatbelt or handling a mobile phone at the wheel. Having received approval for use in Britain, it looks and works very differently to typical roadside cameras – which means many drivers will be blissfully unaware of what they are. Called the VECTOR-SR, it is the latest in ‘spot camera’ technology from German manufacturer Jenoptik Traffic Solutions. ThisIsMoney
