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Gamers Are Furious About the Censorship of NSFW Games—and They’re Fighting Back

Trade organizations across the games industry and gamers are speaking out against censorship campaigns taking place across Steam and Itch.io in an effort to help developers who have been unfairly impacted. The push against adult content is being driven by Australian conservative group Collective Shout, whose pressuring of payment processors has forced platforms to mass deindex NSFW content. In the wake of these delistings, which remove games from search, developers are scrambling to understand i

How to clear your Android phone cache (and why it greatly improved performance)

'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean? ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing. When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or

NotebookLM's latest trick turns your notes into AI video slideshows - here's how

Google's NotebookLM went viral due to its Audio Overviews feature, which creates AI-generated podcasts between two hosts based on your content. Now, Google has also made a much-anticipated leap into video. Also: ChatGPT's study mode could be your next tutor - and it's free On Tuesday, Google launched Video Overviews, a feature originally unveiled at Google I/O, that creates narrated slides from your content. The feature adds visual components to Audio Overviews, with the AI hosts creating new

Lawsuit Claims Meta Pirated Vast Numbers of Dirty Movies to "Train Its AI"

Mark Zuckerberg's Meta has been accused of pirating — we are not kidding — a whole adult bookstore's worth of dirty movies to train its artificial intelligence models. First flagged by the blog TorrentFreak, a copyright company called Strike 3 Holdings and an adult film studio called Counterlife Media have filed suit against Meta, alleging that the tech giant torrented nearly 2,400 copyrighted skin flicks. All in the name of AI research, of course. According to the suit, which was filed in Cal

Will online safety laws become the next tariff bargaining chip?

is a senior policy reporter at The Verge, covering the intersection of Silicon Valley and Capitol Hill. She spent 5 years covering tech policy at CNBC, writing about antitrust, privacy, and content moderation reform. President Donald Trump and other Republicans have railed for years against foreign regulation of US tech companies, including online safety laws. As the US fights a global tariff war, it may bring those rules under fire — just as some of them are growing teeth. Over the past weeks

The New York Times and Amazon's AI licensing deal is reportedly worth up to $25 million per year

Amazon's AI licensing deal with The New York Times is worth $20 million to $25 million per year, according to The Wall Street Journal . The two companies did not disclose the fiscal terms of the agreement back when it was announced in May . The Journal's reporting provides a rare insight into the value of a media company licensing its content for AI training. In the case of The Times, Amazon's annual payments to the publisher would amount to nearly one percent of its total revenue in 2024. In r

AT&T will give you $200 in gift cards for trying fiber internet - but time's running out

'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean? ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing. When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or

This Windows laptop is my pocket pick for best MacBook Pro alternative - and it's $800 off

'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean? ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing. When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or

VPN use soars in UK after age-verification laws go into effect

After the United Kingdom’s Online Safety Act went into effect on Friday, requiring porn platforms and other adult content sites to implement user age verification mechanisms, use of virtual private networks (VPNs) and other circumvention tools spiked in the UK over the weekend. Experts had expected the surge, given that similar trends have been visible in other countries that have implemented age check laws. But as a new wave of age check regulations debuts, open Internet advocates warn that th

YouTube is using AI to verify user age based on viewing habits

In brief: YouTube is expanding its use of AI to determine if someone is 18 years old or older in the US. The platform is using machine learning to assess user behavior and estimate a person's age based on the content they watch and search for. YouTube writes that it will use AI to determine if a signed-in user is over or under 18 based on the types of videos they search for, the categories of videos they have watched, or how long they have held an account – regardless of what birthday they put

Eufy's latest security camera has AI-powered color night vision - and no monthly fees

'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean? ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing. When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or

TikTok 'content check' tells creators if their videos will be blocked from For You pages

TikTok's "For You" recommendations have long been a source of mystery and fascination for creators on the platform. Even the most seasoned TikTok stars don't always understand why some videos go viral and some don't. And there's long been lots of speculation about the types of content that is and isn't acceptable to the app's recommendation algorithm. Now, the company is looking to give creators more transparency into its recommendations. TikTok is testing out a "content check" feature that wil

The best PDF editors in 2025: Expert tested

'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean? ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing. When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or

The best speakers for vinyl records in 2025: Expert recommended

'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean? ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing. When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or

TikTok adds new parental controls, tools for creators

TikTok announced on Wednesday that it’s releasing a slew of new features, including enhanced parental controls, additional tools for creators, and a new interactive wellbeing feature. It also publicly launched Footnotes, its fact-checking system. The social network is bringing new parental controls to Family Pairing, its feature that allows parents to link their accounts with their teen’s account to customize safety settings. Parents can now block specific accounts for their teen’s account. Blo

The Lenovo ThinkBook G6 is a powerhouse for work and school, and it's 70% off at Amazon

'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean? ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing. When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or

You can get $200 in gift cards for trying AT&T's fiber internet - but only for two more days

'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean? ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing. When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or

The 75-inch Toshiba C350 is a great budget TV, and it just dropped below $500

'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean? ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing. When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or

Your Roku TV is getting 4 useful features for free - including a new 'Surf Mode'

Maria Diaz/ZDNET If you're dealing with streaming overload and can't decide what to watch, Roku is rolling out new free features to help make your decision a little easier. Designed to help you discover new shows, these features showcase trending content, new content, and what's in theaters now. There's also a new "Surf Mode" that brings Reels and TikTok-style viewing to your TV. What's new on Roku Top trending: Roku will let you see what everyone is watching with new "Top 10 Movies" and "Top

YouTube Will Start Guessing Your Age

YouTube will no longer take your word for it when you enter your birthday. On Tuesday, the platform announced that it will be rolling out new age-estimation tools that will attempt to verify a person’s age based on a variety of indicators as part of an attempt to keep younger users from accessing more adult content and deliver “age-appropriate product experiences and protections.” According to YouTube, the age inference system, which will be used on a “small set of users in the US” in the comin

The chaos and confusion of itch.io and Steam’s abrupt adult game ban

Two of the biggest digital games stores have stopped selling thousands of titles following pressure from a coalition of anti-porn advocates and the world’s biggest payment processing companies. It’s happened before, will likely happen again, and is suppressing art, free expression, and marginalized creators. Last week, the indie gaming storefront itch.io sent out a sudden notice to the creators that use the site to sell their games, books, art, and other media; it had “deindexed” all content wi

This affordable Motorola Edge phone just got even cheaper at Best Buy

'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean? ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing. When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or

Not sure what to watch? These new Roku features could help you decide

Roku If you're dealing with streaming overload and can't decide what to watch, Roku is rolling out new free features to help make your decision a little easier. Designed to help you discover new shows, these features showcase trending content, new content, and what's in theaters now. There's also a new "Surf Mode" that brings Reels and TikTok-style viewing to your TV. What's new on Roku Top trending: Roku will let you see what everyone is watching with new "Top 10 Movies" and "Top 10 TV Shows

The chaos and confusion of Itch and Steam’s abrupt adult game ban

Two of the biggest digital games stores have stopped selling thousands of titles following pressure from a coalition of anti-porn advocates and the world’s biggest payment processing companies. It’s happened before, will likely happen again, and is suppressing art, free expression, and marginalized creators. Last week, the indie gaming storefront itch.io sent out a sudden notice to the creators that use the site to sell their games, books, art, and other media; it had “deindexed” all content wi