Songs from popular artists have begun to disappear from YouTube as the platform’s deal with the performing rights organization SESAC (Society of European Stage Authors and Composers) approaches its expiration date. As reported by Variety, certain songs by Adele, Green Day, Bob Dylan, R.E.M., Burna Boy and other artists have been blocked in the US, though their entire catalogs aren’t necessarily affected. Videos that have been pulled, like Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,” now just show a black screen with the message: “This video contains content from SESAC. It is not available in your country.”
In a statement to Engadget, a YouTube spokesperson said the platform has been in talks with SESAC to renew the deal, but “despite our best efforts, we were unable to reach an equitable agreement before its expiration. We take copyright very seriously and as a result, content represented by SESAC is no longer available on YouTube in the US. We are in active conversations with SESAC and are hoping to reach a new deal as soon as possible.” According to a source that spoke to Variety, however, the deal hasn’t even expired yet — it’ll reportedly terminate sometime next week — and the move on YouTube’s part may be a negotiation tactic. SESAC has not yet released a statement.
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It was quite the week in gaming, from impossible-to-secure pre-orders of the newly announced PS5 Pro, to huge sales on major Capcom and Xbox games, to confirmation about which of your Dragon Age choices will carry over to Veilguard. As always, we covered them all, and now they’re in one spot here for you perusal.…
Sony held a State of Play showcase this week that showed off a few new games alongside updates for Astro Bot, Alan Wake 2, and others, with the biggest reveal being our first look at the sequel to Ghost of Tsushima. Meanwhile, Xbox held an event of its own at Tokyo Game Show, images of some of the amazing merch…
X only has to pay one last fine in Brazil to get its services reinstated, according to Bloomberg and CNBC. Supreme Court R has ordered the company to pay 10 million Reais, or around $1.9 million, for its non-compliance with Brazil's court order for two days. Moraes added that the company's return "depends solely on the full compliance with Brazilian legislation and the absolute observance of the court orders in respect of national sovereignty." Specifically, Moraes fined X on September 19 for restoring its services in the country for some people despite a ban on the website. The judge also fined the company after X disregarded the ban for a second time on September 23 through Starlink.
X's owner, Elon Musk, previously resisted Moraes' order to take down and freeze several accounts that were allegedly spreading disinformation on the platform. Musk saw it as censorship and opted to close its operations in the country instead of complying. In response, Moraes ordered the nation's internet providers to block the social media platform and to issue a new rule that anybody found to be accessing X through a VPN could face a daily fine of 50,000 Reais ($8,900). The court froze the Brazilian bank account of SpaceX’s Starlink internet service provider, as well. It ultimately withdrew 18.35 million Reais ($3.4 million) from Starlink's and X's account to settle previous penalties the Supreme Court had imposed on the social network.
A few days ago, however, X's lawyers reportedly filed a document in court naming the company's legal representative in Brazil, as Moraes had demanded. The website also removed the accounts the judge named in its initial directives and which he had identified as a threat to democracy, showing that it's now willing to comply with the court's orders. The New York Times reported back then that X had failed to submit all the necessary paperwork to get Brazil to lift its ban. Moraes' statement that the company can "immediately return to its activities" after it pays this fine suggests that X got that squared away, and Brazilian users may be able to access the website soon.
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The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has slapped Meta with a $101.5 million (€91 million) fine after wrapping up an investigation into a security breach in 2019, wherein the company mistakenly stored users' passwords in plain text. Meta's original announcement only talked about how it found some user passwords stored in plain text on its servers in January that year. But a month later, it updated its announcement to reveal that millions of Instagram passwords were also stored in easily readable format.
While Meta didn't say how many accounts were affected, a senior employee told Krebs on Security back then that the incident involved up to 600 million passwords. Some of the passwords had been stored in easily readable format in the company's servers since 2012. They were also reportedly searchable by over 20,000 Facebook employees, though the DPC has clarified in its decision that they were at least not made available to external parties.
The DPC found that Meta violated several GDPR rules related to the breach. It determined that the company failed to "notify the DPC of a personal data breach concerning storage of user passwords in plaintext" without undue delay and failed to "document personal data breaches concerning the storage of user passwords in plaintext." It also said that Meta violated the GDPR by not using appropriate technical measures to ensure the security of users' passwords against unauthorized processing.
"It is widely accepted that user passwords should not be stored in plaintext, considering the risks of abuse that arise from persons accessing such data. It must be borne in mind, that the passwords the subject of consideration in this case, are particularly sensitive, as they would enable access to users’ social media accounts," DPC's Deputy Commissioner, Graham Doyle, said in a statement.
The DPC has also given the company a reprimand in addition to the penalty. We may know more about what that means for Meta exactly when the commission publishes its full final decision and other related information in the future.
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Players are expressing their frustration as PS5/PS5 Pro 30th anniversary collection sold out within minutes of pre-orders going live in some regions including the U.K. Pre-orders have yet to appear in North America, but there are reports of some Canadian retailers, like Costco, offering the PS5 Pro bundle to their members right now.
PS5 Pro 30th anniversary bundle cost a pretty penny, but that didn’t stop pre-orders from selling out
In the U.K., the highly limited PS5 Pro 30th anniversary bundle cost an eye-popping £959.99, but that didn’t stop them from selling out instantly. Earlier in the morning, players lined up on PS Direct, with queues lasting as long as an hour, ensuring that many customers didn’t even get close to getting pre-orders in.
“So much for ‘No one is going to buy that thing’ huh,” one player complained. “Waited an hour and a half and didn’t get one,” wrote another.
Listings have already starting appearing on eBay, with scalpers demanding up to £5,000 for the PS5 Pro bundle. This is sure to further aggravate players who were genuinely looking to purchase one.
Folks in North America will need to line up bright and early if they want a remote chance at purchasing any of the 30th anniversary items, especially the DualSense.
Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 is a surprisingly polished EDF spin-off that is fun for newcomers and veterans of D3’s beloved alien invasion series. Now, depending on why you like the EDF series, this polish is potentially a disappointment, as the jank of past games was a large part of the charm. However, there’s enough reverence for past games, deep-cut references, and general weirdness for even the most ironic or diehard fan to get a real kick out of this voxel-styled shooter.
Despite the Minecraft-style makeover, Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 still plays faithfully like EDF games of yesteryear. Yep, you’ll be taking down hundreds of giant ants, hopping alien frogs, and other goofy enemies with a variety of weaponry. There’s a lot of content with over 100 missions and five difficulty levels to try them on, so while missions are typically short and bite-sized, there are a ton of things to do.
The other unique aspect of the World Builders games is that you get to collect a four-member team — you swap between members using the directional pad. This adds a nice variety to the gameplay, as you can use a ranger to shoot down ants from a distance and then switch to a flying character to quickly make up ground and deliver melee attacks. You’ll rescue a variety of characters in the missions, ranging from new nationality-based characters to ones based on past EDF games.
The gameplay is often where EDF games can sort of fall apart despite their inherent charm. However, World Brothers 2 is by far the most polished Earth Defense Force game I’ve ever played. Sure, the action can get repetitive sometimes, as there are only so many ways to throw a ton of ants at a player, but it generally runs well, and gameplay is chaotic yet responsive. Despite being a celebration of past entries, this winds up being a great entry point thanks to its overall level of polish and solid online co-op play that makes it easy to play with a buddy.
There are also a ton of different weapons (over 600 of them) to try out, and variety really is the spice of life in Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2. Weapons and character-specific skills (which typically clear out a bunch of enemies at once) are leveled up through use, so it pays to stick with a squad you like (although you can easily make several presets and switch between them if your current loadout struggles with a mission).
Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 Review: Final Verdict
Whether you’re a series veteran or just interested in why gamers love to shout “EDF!” repeatedly, Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 winds up being a lot of fun. It’s the most polished version of shooting giant ants that you’ll find. So, what are you waiting for, soldier? Enlist in the Earth Defense Force today.
A ton of content
Much less jank than most EDF
Fun online co-op
Can get repetitive after a while
Less jank charm
8
Disclaimer: This Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 review is based on a PS5 copy provided by the publisher. Played on version 1.005.000.
