By Anna Tong, Max A. Cherney, Christopher Bing and Stephen Nellis SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT,

Google will not have to face allegations by dozens of states that the tech giant's design of its search results page has harmed rivals, such as Yelp or Expedia, a federal judge ruled in an opinion unsealed Friday, just weeks before the closely watched antitrust case is set to go to trial.

Overwatch 2 roadmaps for Seasons 5, 6 and 7 have been teased with new Tank and Support heroes, Sombra and Roadhog reworks plus much more.

Instagram and Facebook users in the European Union may soon be able to opt out of targeted ads if they pay for a monthly subscription.

The Saudi Arabian government is betting $38 billion on the country’s potential to become the next hub for

Elon Musk on Wednesday launched his own artificial intelligence company, xAI, as he seeks to compete with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT -- a program he accuses of...

Welcome to the world of TikTok's hidden codes that unlock some really cool - but secret - emojis

Facebook and Instagram users in Europe could pay a monthly fee of at least €10 (£9) for an ad-free version of the platforms, according to reports. The charge, which follows a similar subscription fee introduced to X/Twitter, would allow parent company Meta to comply with Europe’s data privacy laws, The Wall Street Journal reported. Prices for Facebook and Instagram mobile users would be higher, at roughly €13 a month, because Meta needs to account for commissions charged by the Apple and Google app stores on in-app payments, the publication said, while adding more accounts would cost €6 each. The European Union data privacy rules pose a threat to its lucrative business model of showing personalised ads to users, meaning paid subscriptions could offset any potential losses in advertising revenue. Meta would give users the choice between continuing to use the platforms with ads or paying for the ad-free version, the WSJ said. “Meta believes in the value of free services which are supported by personalised ads,” the company said in a statement. “However, we continue to explore options to ensure we comply with evolving regulatory requirements. We have nothing further to share at this time.” The EU's top court said in July that Meta must first get consent before showing ads to users – a ruling that jeopardises the company's ability to make money by tailoring advertisements for individual users based on their online interests and digital activity. It's not clear if EU regulators will sign off on the plan or insist that the company offer cheaper versions. The newspaper said one issue regulators have is whether the proposed fees will be too expensive for most people who don't want to be targeted by ads. Additional reporting from agencies Read More Meta enters AI chatbot market with its own virtual assistant

It might sound more like the kind of idle daydream billionaires like Elon Musk would have, but could flooding the Sahara actually be the best way of tackling climate change in the future? The idea of creating a new “sea” in Africa is being discussed, and it’s not the first time that the notion of a great oasis in the Sahara has been discussed among the scientific community. As the ongoing climate crisis continues to worsen, the notion of flooding vast areas of the desert is being returned to once again [via IFL Science]. A new “sea” was first proposed following the study of the Messinian salinity crisis – which saw a dried-out area of the Mediterranean rejuvenated by the Zanclean flood, reconnecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean around 5.33 million years ago. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Given how the Mediterranean was transformed by the flood, the idea of flooding the Sahara to achieve similar results has been thrown around in the scientific community as far back as 1877, the Scottish engineer Donald McKenzie suggested flooding the El Djouf basin in Western Africa. The idea is now returning to popularity as the world looks for solutions to the climate crisis. One proposal centres on the Middle East’s Dead Sea and flooding the area using water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea Depression. A vast sea in Africa could represent a hugely innovative step towards tackling climate change and fostering a new hub of life – but even the people suggesting work such a project acknowledge just how expensive and dangerous it is. Even Y Combinator is a US startup accelerator who has described “desert flooding” as “risky, unproven, even unlikely to work”. Only time will tell whether the notion of a new sea in the Sahara coud ever work, or whether it’ll remain the stuff of dreams. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The European Union’s decision to approve Microsoft Corp.’s $69 billion plan to buy Activision Blizzard Inc. while the

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