BMW M, the famous automaker’s subsidiary in charge of high-performance vehicles, has introduced its second standalone model over 40 years after the M1 was first sold to the public. The new vehicle is a plug-in hybrid model called the Concept XM, and it’s apparently the most powerful BMW M car to ever go into series production. It will use the company’s newly developed M Hybrid drive system that combines a V8 engine with a high-performance electric motor. That will give the vehicle an all-electric range of 80km (50 miles), the capability to make 750 horsepower and to reach peak torque of 1,000 Nm (737 lb-ft).

In addition to being the second-ever pure M model, Concept XM is also the subsidiary’s first electrified vehicle in the high-performance segment. That “points the way for the future of the M brand,” the company’s announcement says, which hints at more electric-powered cars in the future. 

It will be the first car to sport BMW’s new front-end design, as well. Based on Concept XM’s images, BMW’s front ends will have split headlights and near-octagonal kidney grills between them bearing the vehicle’s logo. The company calls the vehicle’s overall design “a highly progressive and distinctive take on BMW X,” but not everyone would use those adjectives to describe it — BBC’s Top Gear sounds downright disappointed with how it looks. Inside, there’s a driver-focused cockpit, brown leather and BMW’s curved screen for its infotainment system. 

The series production version of the vehicle — the BMW XM — will start production by the end of 2022. It will be manufactured at the BMW Group Plant Spartanburg in the USA and will be available as a plug-in hybrid model only.

Source: Engadget – BMW M’s second standalone model is the Concept XM plug-in hybrid

As rumored, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has ordered Meta (Facebook) to sell Giphy, saying the deal “could harm social media users and UK advertisers.” It found that the deal would boost Meta’s already prodigious market power by limiting other platforms’ access to Giphy GIFs, “driving more traffic to Facebook owned sites — Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram.” 

The CMA said that Meta’s sites dominated social media user time to the tune of 73 percent and that it could further muscle out rivals like TikTok, Twitter and Snapchat by leveraging Giphy. It added that prior to the merger, Giphy launched “innovative advertising services” used by brands like Dunkin’ Donuts and Pepsi that it could have brought to the UK. 

“Facebook terminated Giphy’s advertising services at the time of the merger, removing an important source of potential competition,” the regulator wrote. “The CMA considers this particularly concerning given that Facebook controls nearly half of the £7 billion display advertising market in the UK.”

We disagree with this decision. We are reviewing the decision and considering all options, including appeal.

Facebook purchased Giphy in May of 2020, reportedly for $400 million, with the aim of integrating it into Instagram. A month later, the CMA launched an investigation into the deal and ruled in August that Facebook could stop rivals like TikTok and Snapchat from accessing Giphy’s GIF library. At the same time, it said the deal could remove potential UK display advertising competitors after Meta ended Giphy’s paid ad partnerships. 

Meta previously said that the CMA had no jurisdiction because Giphy has no operations in the UK, adding that Giphy’s paid services weren’t display advertising by the CMA’s definition. In October, the authority fined Meta $70 million for breaking rules related to the deal by refusing to report required information and changing its chief compliance officer twice without permission. 

The CMA said that after consulting with interested businesses and organizations, it “has concluded that its competition concerns can only be addressed by Facebook selling Giphy in its entirety to an approved buyer.” It’s not clear how this would be done, however.  

“We disagree with this decision. We are reviewing the decision and considering all options, including appeal. Both consumers and Giphy are better off with the support of our infrastructure, talent, and resource,” a Meta spokesperson told Engadget in a statement. “Together, Meta and Giphy would enhance Giphy’s product for the millions of people, businesses, developers and API partners in the UK and around the world who use Giphy every day, providing more choices for everyone.”

Source: Engadget – UK competition regulator orders Meta to sell Giphy

The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has provisionally fined the facial recognition company Clearview AI £17 million ($22.6 million) for breaching UK data protection laws. It said that Clearview allegedly failed to inform citizens that it was collecting billions of their photos, among other transgressions. It has also (again, provisionally) ordered it to stop further processing of residents’ personal data.

The regulator said that Clearview apparently failed to process people’s data “in a way that they likely expect or that is fair.” It also alleged that the company failed to have a lawful reason to collect the data, didn’t meet GDPR standards for biometric data, failed to have a process that prevents data from being retained indefinitely and failed to inform UK residents what was happening to their data.

The ICO noted that Clearview’s services were used on a free trial basis by a number of UK law enforcement agencies, “but that this trial was discontinued and Clearview AI Inc’s services are no longer being offered in the UK.”

The images in Clearview AI Inc’s database are likely to include the data of a substantial number of people from the UK and may have been gathered without people’s knowledge from publicly available information online, including social media platforms.

The UK and Australia opened up a joint investigation of Clearview AI last year. Regulators were concerned with Clearview’s practice of scraping data and gathering photos from social media site like Facebook. It sells that data to law enforcement agencies, purportedly allowing them to identify criminals or victims. However, the company’s business practices have raised numerous privacy concerns. 

Clearview AI said it was considering an appeal, according to The New York Times. “[Clearview only] provides publicly available information from the internet to law enforcement agencies,” said company lawyer Kelly Hagedorn in a statement. “My company and I have acted in the best interests of the UK and their people by assisting law enforcement in solving heinous crimes against children, seniors and other victims of unscrupulous acts,” added Clearview AI chief executive Hoan Ton-That in a separate statement.

Earlier this month, Australia’s regular issued a similar ruling, saying Clearview AI breached the privacy of residents by scraping their biometric information. The country’s regulator, the OAIC, ordered Clearview to “cease collecting facial images and biometric templates from individuals in Australia and destroy all facial images and biometric templates collected.”  

In the US, the ACLU recently sued Clearview for violating Illinois state laws. Twitter, Google and YouTube have all sent cease-and-desist letters to the company, alleging that it violates their terms of service. Facebook has also demanded that Clearview stop scraping its data. 

The fine would be the first Clearview has faced, the company told the NYT. It can still contest the ruling with the Commissioner, so the fine and enforcement “may be subject to change,” the ICO wrote. The ICO expects to make a final decision by mid-2022.

Source: Engadget – Clearview AI fined £17 million for breaching UK data protection laws

After launching into pre-season earlier this month, the mobile game Rocket League Sideswipe is rolling out to iOS and Android users around the world, 9to5Mac has reported. The side-scrolling car soccer game was unveiled earlier this year as a mobile, 2D version of Rocket League that lets you play solo or team with friends for two vs. two matches.  

Like the original, Sideswipe is all about that car soccer life, but with a 2D side-on instead of a 3D view. It uses touch controls designed to be easy to master, with advanced control mechanics available for better players. Like the original, there’s a ranking system and numerous car customization options. The game is free on mobile, with in-app purchases for Rocket Pass and cosmetics. 

As with the pre-season trailer, the official gameplay video brings a similar look and feels as the original but adapted for simpler mobile play. Logging in with an Epic Games account for online matches will let you earn extra XP across both the regular Rocket League game and Sideswipe. The game launched in pre-season in Oceania to shake out any bugs, but it’s now available to everyone on the iOS App Store and Google Play. 

Source: Engadget – ‘Rocket League Sideswipe’ rolls out globally on iOS and Android

Amazon will have to redo the union election held at its Bessemer, Alabama fulfillment center back in April. According to Politico, Lisa Henderson, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 10 Director, has ordered the e-commerce giant to hold another vote mostly due to the fact that Amazon installed a US Postal Service mailbox in front of the warehouse to collect ballots. 

The election results were 1,798 to 738, with workers voting against joining the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU). After those results came out, the RWDSU filed 23 objections, accusing the company of interfering with the elections. One of those complaints pointed out that Amazon installed the ballot box without approval from the NLRB and in view of security cameras that made workers feel they were under surveillance. The labor relations board sided with the union and found that Amazon interfered with the election by installing the mailbox and offering employees anti-union badges and signs. 

Henderson wrote in the documents ordering a new election:

“By causing the Postal Service to install a cluster mailbox unit, communicating and encouraging employees to cast their ballots using the mailbox, wrapping the mailbox with its slogan, and placing the mailbox at a location where employees could reasonably believe they were being surveilled, the Employer engaged in objectionable conduct that warrants setting aside the election.

The Employer’s flagrant disregard for the Board’s typical mail-ballot procedure compromised the authority of the Board and made a free and fair election impossible.”

Amazon, of course, criticized the NLRB’s decision. In a statement sent to The Washington Post, spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement:

“Our employees have always had the choice of whether or not to join a union, and they overwhelmingly chose not to join the RWDSU earlier this year. It’s disappointing that the NLRB has now decided that those votes shouldn’t count.”

Source: Engadget – Amazon ordered to rerun contentious Alabama union election