Entertainment
TikTok Plans 2 More European Data Centers Amid Privacy Fears
LONDON, England — TikTok announced plans for two more European data centers on Friday, as the popular Chinese-owned video-sharing app seeks to allay growing concerns about data privacy for its Western users.
European and American authorities have chastised TikTok for allegedly collecting large amounts of user data and sending it to China.
In a blog post, the company’s general manager for European operations, Rich Waterworth, said that the company and a third-party provider are “close to finalizing a plan” for a second data center in Ireland. It announced the opening of its first center there last year.
TikTok is also in talks to open a third European data center, though a location has yet to be specified.
“In terms of local data storage, we’re looking to expand our European data storage capacity in line with the growth of our community,” Waterworth said.
Tiktok Is One Of The Most Popular Apps On The Market
Data for European TikTok users will be migrated to the new centers beginning this year, according to Waterworth.
TikTok is extremely popular among young people, but its Chinese ownership has raised concerns that Beijing may use it to collect data on Western users or to spread pro-China narratives and misinformation. ByteDance, a Chinese company that relocated its headquarters to Singapore in 2020, owns TikTok.
Last month, a top European Union official warned CEO Shou Zi Chew that the company would have to comply with the EU’s sweeping new digital rules.
The Digital Services Act requires online platforms and tech companies with 45 million or more users to take extra steps to remove illegal content and disinformation or face billions in fines.
TikTok Has 125 Million Users A Day
TikTok announced on Friday that it had 125 million monthly active users in the EU, putting it above the threshold for extra scrutiny under the new rules that will go into effect later this year.
TikTok has 150 million users, including those from non-EU countries such as the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
According to monthly user numbers released in time for a Friday deadline, Google, Twitter, Apple, Facebook, and Instagram will also face increased EU scrutiny.
According to parent company Meta, Facebook has 255 million monthly active users, while Instagram has 250 million. Twitter claims 100.9 million users, including both registered and non-registered users.
Apple stated that its iOS App Store had more than 45 million users but did not provide a specific figure. Google Search has 332 million registered users, while YouTube has 401.7 million registered users.
SOURCE – (AP)
Entertainment
Robert Downey Jr. Won’t Be Returning To The Marvel Cinematic Universe As Tony Stark
Fans of the Marvel world should not expect Robert Downey Jr. to resume his role as Tony Stark/Iron Man.
Despite claims to the contrary, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said in an interview with Vanity Fair that there are no plans to renew the character following Downey Jr.’s last appearance in 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame.”
“We are going to keep that moment and not touch that moment again,” she stated. “We all worked very hard for many years to get to that, and we would never want to magically undo it in any way.”
According to co-director Joe Russo, Downey Jr. was apprehensive about performing reshoots for “Endgame.”
Robert Downey Jr. Won’t Be Returning To The Marvel Cinematic Universe As Tony Stark
“On the last day of shooting, we’d already said tearful goodbyes.” “Emotionally, everyone had moved on,” Russo told the publication. “We promised him it would be the last time we made him do it — ever.”
His brother Anthony Russo, who co-directed “Endgame,” adds, “That was a difficult thing for him to do, to come back and pick up that line.”
“When he (Downey Jr.) did come back, we were shooting on a stage directly opposite where he auditioned for Tony Stark,” Anthony Russo, the director, stated. “So his last line as Tony Stark was shot literally a couple hundred feet from his original audition that got him the role.”
According to Feige, he had to campaign for Downey Jr. to be cast as Stark in the Marvel universe due to his previous difficulties with substance abuse, which resulted in him serving 15 months in prison.
Robert Downey Jr. Won’t Be Returning To The Marvel Cinematic Universe As Tony Stark
“It purely came down to the Marvel board being nervous at putting all of their chips in their future films on somebody who famously had those legal troubles in the past,” Feige stated. “I wasn’t very good — and still am not — at taking no for an answer. But I also don’t beat my chest to get my way. I try to think of ways to make it plain to others why we should go in a certain direction. And that’s when the concept of a screen test arose.”
Susan Downey, Downey Jr.’s wife, stated that her husband had turned down jobs similar to Stark. In 2018, Downey Jr. told Vanity Fair writer Anthony Breznican that he is his own man despite comparisons to the role.
Robert Downey Jr. Won’t Be Returning To The Marvel Cinematic Universe As Tony Stark
“I ain’t him, I’ll tell you that flat out,” Downey Jr. stated.
Downey Jr is an American actor widely known for his roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Tony Stark/Iron Man. He has also appeared in various other films, receiving critical acclaim for his performances.
He has had a successful career marked by his versatility and ability to portray a wide range of characters. His work has earned him several awards and nominations, solidifying his status as one of the most influential figures in the entertainment industry.
SOURCE – CNN
Entertainment
Wikipedia, Wrapped. Here Are 2023’S Most-Viewed Articles On The Internet’s Encyclopedia
NEW YORK – Remember what you were looking for in 2023? Wikipedia, on the other hand, has the receipts.
According to data provided Tuesday by the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit behind the free, openly edited online encyclopedia, English Wikipedia received more than 84 billion views this year. The most popular piece was on ChatGPT (the AI chatbot that appears to be everywhere these days).
OpenAI’s ChatGPT has flown into the public eye since its inception just over a year ago, as the technology makes its way into schools, health care, legislation, and even religious preaching. The chatbot has also contributed to developing arguments regarding the possible benefits and risks of generative AI, most of which are detailed on its Wikipedia page.
Here Are 2023’S Most-Viewed Articles On The Internet’s Encyclopedia
The annual list of fatalities was the second most-read article on Wikipedia in 2023, after taking the #4 and #1 rankings in 2022 and 2021, respectively. Individual entries for important figures who died this year drew much attention, notably those for Matthew Perry and Lisa Marie Presley.
Meanwhile, the highly anticipated 2023 Cricket World Cup came in third place — along with three other cricket-related entries in Wikipedia’s top 25 this year, including the Indian Premier League at #4, marking the first time cricket content has made the list since the Wikimedia Foundation began tracking in 2015.
“Barbenheimer,” Taylor Swift and others also appeared to influence our internet-reading habits in 2023. Here are this year’s top 25 English Wikipedia articles.
According to the Wikimedia Foundation, this top 25 ranking was constructed using English Wikipedia statistics as of November 28. The charity plans to update full-year figures on January 3, 2024.
The United States (33.2 billion) and the United Kingdom (9 billion), along with India (8.48 billion), Canada (3.95 billion), and Australia (2.56 billion), are the top countries that accessed English Wikipedia globally in 2023, according to Wikimedia Foundation data shared with The Associated Press.
Here Are 2023’S Most-Viewed Articles On The Internet’s Encyclopedia
1. ChatGPT: 49,490,406 pageviews
2. Deaths in 2023: 42,666,860 pageviews
3. 2023 Cricket World Cup: 38,171,653 pageviews
4. Indian Premier League: 32,012,810 pageviews
5. Oppenheimer (film): 28,348,248 pageviews
6. Cricket World Cup: 25,961,417 pageviews
7. J. Robert Oppenheimer: 25,672,469 pageviews
8. Jawan (film): 21,791,126 pageviews
9. 2023 Indian Premier League: 20,694,974 pageviews
10. Pathaan (film): 19,932,509 pageviews
11. The Last of Us (TV series): 19,791,789 pageviews
12. Taylor Swift, 19,418,385: pageviews
13. Barbie (film): 18,051,077 pageviews
14. Cristiano Ronaldo: 17,492,537 pageviews
15. Lionel Messi: 16,623,630 pageviews
16. Premier League: 16,604,669 pageviews
17. Matthew Perry: 16,454,666 pageviews
18. United States: 16,240,461 pageviews
19. Elon Musk: 14,370,395 pageviews
20. Avatar: The Way of Water: 14,303,116 pageviews
21. India: 13,850,178 pageviews
22. Lisa Marie Presley: 13,764,007 pageviews
23. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: 13,392,917 pageviews
24. Russian invasion of Ukraine: 12,798,866 pageviews
25. Andrew Tate: 12,728,616 pageviews
According to the Wikimedia Foundation, this top 25 ranking was constructed using English Wikipedia statistics as of November 28. The charity plans to update full-year figures on January 3, 2024.
The United States (33.2 billion) and the United Kingdom (9 billion), along with India (8.48 billion), Canada (3.95 billion), and Australia (2.56 billion), are the top countries that accessed English Wikipedia globally in 2023, according to Wikimedia Foundation data shared with The Associated Press.
SOURCE – (AP)
Electronics
Thousands Of People Are Waiting To Watch The GTA 6 Trailer 24 Hours Before Launch
GTA 6 ANNOUNCEMENT: Will the Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer smash viewing records? Given the huge interest even now, 24 hours before it’s scheduled to go live, it appears feasible.
Rockstar Games has released a video premiere for “Trailer 1” on YouTube, which includes a countdown to the game’s release on December 5 at 6 a.m. Pacific / 9 a.m. Eastern / 2 p.m. UK.
However, astute watchers observed the GTA 6 Trailer 1 length was released to expose a YouTube flaw. View the mobile video preview while unsubscribing from the Rockstar Games channel using the YouTube app’s search. Notice the “upcoming” tag on the bottom right; the runtime should appear over it.
There might be some spoilers ahead!
Tens Of Thousands Of People Are Already Waiting To Watch The GTA 6 Trailer
The GTA 6 Trailer 1 lasts one minute and 31 seconds. That should give you plenty of time to look at the game. We’ll even get a release date and platform information.
Surprisingly, tens of thousands have already lined up to watch Trailer 1. At the time of writing, about 24 hours before launch, 43,172 individuals were waiting to witness what could be the largest video game trailer of all time.
If you want to join in on the fun, roughly 2,000 people are watching IGN’s own GTA 6 trailer countdown and actively chatting right now.
When Rockstar announced a December release date for the GTA 6 trailer in November, it added, “We are very excited to let you know that in early December, we will release the first trailer for the next Grand Theft Auto.” We look forward to sharing these experiences with you all for many years.
“We have had the opportunity to create games we are truly passionate about thanks to the incredible support of our players worldwide — none of this would be possible without you, and we are so grateful to all of you for sharing this journey with us.”
Tens Of Thousands Of People Are Already Waiting To Watch The GTA 6 Trailer
“In 1998, Rockstar Games was founded on the idea that video games could come to be as essential to culture as any other form of entertainment, and we hope that we have created games you love in our efforts to be part of that evolution.”With anticipation at an all-time high, IGN reports that Rockstar appears to have revealed the GTA 6 Trailer 1 release date on a GTA Online T-shirt sold nearly a year ago.
GTA 6 has been rumored since the release of Grand Theft Auto 5 a little more than a decade ago. It was mentioned in passing in a 2020 Kotaku article on Rockstar’s efforts to combat crunch culture at the company, and it was confirmed in a press release in 2022, with the studio stating that development was “well underway.” Later that year, in-development footage from the game was leaked in a large breach, leading to the arrest of a British teenage hacker in connection with the crime.
Since early in 2023, when publisher Take-Two Interactive expected large financial gains in that fiscal year that would be difficult to achieve without the boost from the enormously profitable series, a release window between April 2024 and March 2025 has been speculated.
Tens Of Thousands Of People Are Already Waiting To Watch The GTA 6 Trailer
“GTA 6” is the next installment in the Grand Theft Auto series. Rockstar Games are developing it, and it is highly anticipated by gamers all around the world. The game is expected to have a large open environment, intense gameplay, and cutting-edge graphics.
While there are few specifics about the game, rumors say it will be set in a fictionalized depiction of a modern-day metropolis. “GTA 6” has garnered great enthusiasm and intrigue among fans and the gaming world as one of the most anticipated releases in the gaming industry.
SOURCE (IGN)
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