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  • UK watchdog targets Google’s search monopoly – Tech Digest

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    The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has moved to break Google’s “vice-like grip” on the search market with a sweeping new package of regulations.

    Google’s dominance acts as a critical gateway for millions of UK citizens and over 200,000 businesses, who spent more than £10 billion on Google search advertising last year alone.

    Targeting the tech giant’s 90% market share, the proposed measures represent the first major intervention under the UK’s new digital markets competition regime.

    Sarah Cardell, Chief Executive of the CMA, described the proposals as “an important milestone,” stating that these “targeted and proportionate actions would give UK businesses and consumers more choice and control.”

    A primary focus of the crackdown is “AI Overviews.” The CMA aims to ensure content publishers, specifically news organizations, have more transparency over how their work is used to train AI models.

    Under the proposed rules, publishers could opt out of having their content power Google’s AI features. The regulator also insists that Google must ensure all publisher content is “properly attributed” in AI-generated results.

    Further measures include a legal requirement for “choice screens” on Android mobile devices and the Chrome browser, designed to make switching to rival search engines effortless. Additionally, Google will be forced to prove that its ranking algorithms are fair and transparent, particularly regarding its own services.

    The CMA is currently consulting on these requirements, with a deadline for feedback set for February 25, 2026. If implemented, the rules could fundamentally reshape the digital economy in the UK, providing what Cardell calls a “fairer deal for content publishers” and unlocking “greater opportunities for innovation across the UK tech sector.”

    The consumer association Which? has welcomed the move but urged the regulator to accelerate its efforts. Says Rocio Concha, Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy:

    “Google holds a vice-like grip over the search engine market, which shuts out other businesses and reduces choice and pushes up costs for consumers.

    “These proposed requirements are needed to make sure businesses and consumers get a fair deal from Google. Wider availability of better choice screens are a necessary first step to opening up the market for other search tools.

    “However, time is of the essence and the CMA has already fallen behind its timetable for change.It must move swiftly and the government must stand firmly behind the regulator.”


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    Chris Price

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  • Online marketplaces flooded with misleading ‘faux-zempic’ weight-loss supplements, Which? warns – Tech Digest

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    Online marketplaces and high-street health retailers are being flooded with weight-loss supplements making misleading claims.

    That’s according to a major investigation by the consumer association Which? which has warned that these products are flouting strict advertising rules.

    Which?’s researchers found bogus claims on popular platforms, including Amazon, eBay, and Temu. Well-known high street retailers including Holland & Barrett and Superdrug were also identified in the report.

    Current UK laws state that companies cannot make health claims about a product without evidence. Any specific claim must be listed on an approved official health register.

    However, Which? found that many brands are making outlandish promises with very little enforcement.

    One supplement on eBay claimed that raspberry fruit extract helps the body burn fat at a higher rate. In reality, such claims have been repeatedly rejected due to a lack of evidence.

    The investigation discovered that some major retailers use website categories like “fat burners” to sell basic vitamins. Holland & Barrett listed Acai Berry tablets in its fat burner section despite no weight-loss ingredients being present.

    Superdrug included a cinnamon supplement under appetite suppressants even though the product made no such claim. This practice can mislead shoppers into buying items they believe will help them lose weight.

    Even more concerning were products claiming to target specific body parts or mimic medical jabs. One supplement on Temu promised to shred stomach fat fast. Another on Amazon claimed users would lose centimetres from their waistlines in just four weeks.

    Rules set by the Advertising Standards Authority prohibit brands from predicting how much weight someone will lose or where they will lose it from.

    Products are also forbidden from claiming they are as effective as prescription weight-loss medication. Which? found a listing on eBay for a pill that suggested it was just as effective as prescription options.

    This creates a dangerous confusion for consumers seeking medical results from unregulated supplements. Following the report, more than 50 misleading listings were taken down by the retailers involved.

    Says Sue Davies, Which? Head of Consumer Policy:

    “It’s really worrying that online marketplaces and popular health retailers are promoting misleading health supplements.

    “Not only does this make it impossible for shoppers to trust the claims they see online, but it also means people could be wasting their hard-earned cash on products that just don’t live up to the claims.

    “Better oversight of the industry is desperately needed so the government and regulators can crack down on these misleading listings and ensure that any sellers who break the rules are properly held to account.”

    Right of replies

    A government spokesperson said: 

    “Food labels must be easy to understand, accurate and honest.

    “Any claims about the health benefits or nutritional value of supplements need to be backed by science and officially approved by authorities.

    “Companies that break these rules may be subject to enforcement action by local authorities.”

    An Amazon spokesperson said:

    “We require all products offered in our store to comply with applicable laws, regulations and Amazon policies.

    “We develop innovative tools to prevent unsafe products from being listed. We continuously monitor our store, and we take action to maintain a safe selection for our customers, including removing noncompliant products and outreach to sellers, manufacturers, and government agencies for additional information, when appropriate.

    “We have removed the highlighted products in question.”

    An ASA spokesperson said: 

    “Our rules are clear that ads mustn’t make unauthorised health, medical or weight-loss claims. In particular, ads can’t claim or imply that a food supplement can provide effects associated with prescription-only weight loss medicines.

    “We recognise that these kinds of ads can target potentially vulnerable people who may be concerned about their weight or health. We’ve been using our AI-powered Active Ad Monitoring system to proactively monitor supplement ads.

    “This has enabled us to identify and ban a number of ads that have broken our rules, including several ads for ‘faux-zempic’ supplements that misleadingly claimed to produce effects similar to prescription-only weight-loss medicines.”

    A spokesperson for Coolkin said: 

    “Our products are certified before they are put on the shelves. There is no problem.”

    An eBay spokesperson said: 

    “Consumer safety is a top priority for eBay. We have reviewed the listings identified by Which? and have removed all items that are against eBay policy.

    “We use enforcement measures to help prevent unsafe items from being listed on eBay. These include seller compliance audits, block-filter algorithms, AI-supported monitoring by in-house specialists, and close partnerships with regulators. These measures help prevent millions of potentially unsafe items from being listed each year.”

    Holland and Barrett said: 

    “We are committed to providing high-quality, science-backed products that reflect the latest guidance. Product categorisation is intended to support customers to navigate our website, and we regularly carry out detailed reviews led by our science and regulatory teams to ensure this is consistent and helpful.

    “Following our latest review, the H&B Acai Berry tablets now sit within our Superfood category.”

    An Internal Youth spokesperson said:

    “We have passed on your points to our marketing department who will be addressing each concern and actioning anything deemed inappropriate on our product listing immediately.”

    Lynda Scammell, head of borderline products at the Medicines Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said: 

    “If a product offered as a food supplement contains medicinal ingredients or makes medicinal claims to treat or prevent disease, it will be considered a medicine and regulated under medicines law.’

    “Any weight loss product which is presented in a way that is typical of authorised medicines, or which has a product name which is similar to the name of a prescription medicine to the extent that it may cause confusion in the mind of the average UK citizen is not permitted.”

    A Pharmaslim spokesperson said: 

    “The product is manufactured in the UK in a licensed facility and is a food supplement, not a medicinal product. We do not make medical or therapeutic claims for it. For completeness, the listing you are referring to is not currently active, as the product is out of stock. We are reviewing the points you raise regarding product naming and marketing presentation.”

    A spokesperson for Superdrug said: 

    “Our customers’ health and wellbeing is always a priority. Superdrug Marketplace is a curated platform where third-party sellers must adhere to strict listing guidelines, including alignment with UK health authority recommendations. We do not intend to make unjustified health claims, and any categorisation on our website is designed to help customers navigate products rather than imply specific health outcomes.

    “Upon being made aware of Which?’s findings, we have paused all retailing of the highlighted product. We have also reviewed the category in question, and will take further action where necessary to ensure our content remains compliant and clear for customers.”

    A Temu spokesperson said: 

    “After receiving the inquiry, we immediately removed the products listed in the report pending further review and are working with the sellers involved to rectify their descriptions.

    “Temu maintains strict requirements for dietary supplements, requiring documentation such as HACCP certification and composition reports.

    “Following ASA’s advice on food supplements, Temu has been enforcing and will further enhance its review process. We are also providing additional compliance training to remind sellers of their obligations to meet the required regulatory standards.”

    Formula Max and Pslalae did not respond to Which?’s requests for comment.

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    Chris Price

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  • cut pumped pure

    cut pumped pure

    Decimation (from Latin decimatio ‘removal of a tenth) was a form of military discipline in which every tenth man in a group was executed by members of his cohort. The discipline was used by senior commanders in the Roman army to punish units or large groups guilty of capital offences, such as cowardice, mutiny, desertion, and insubordination, and for pacification of rebellious legions. The procedure was an attempt to balance the need to punish serious offences with the realities of managing a large group of offenders.

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  • Mercedes Varnado picks which Sailor Scout would make the best professional wrestler

    Mercedes Varnado picks which Sailor Scout would make the best professional wrestler

    Wrestling is a huge part of Mercedes Varnado’s career, having gained notoriety as Sasha Banks for the WWE before crossing over as Mercedes Moné for the AEW. But her fans may not realize she is also a huge Sailor Moon fan. The professional wrestler, who recently jumped to acting for The Mandalorian, has a deep appreciation of the classic magical girl fantasy anime based on Naoko Takeuchi’s 1992 manga. Fans of both wrestling and anime know she donned a Sailor Moon-inspired outfit during the 2022 Royal Rumble. So it’s no surprise that she’s openly campaigned to play Sailor Jupiter in a live-action adaptation of Sailor Moon, if that ever happens.

    Polygon caught up with Varnado during this year’s Crunchyroll Anime Awards, so naturally we had to ask: Given her love of the anime, which sailor scout does she think would make the best professional wrestler?

    “I would say Sailor Mercury,” Varnado told Polygon. “She’s such a badass; she has such a good attitude. I feel like Usagi would always be a little late to the ring, she would probably slip during her matches a little bit.”

    Image: Toei Animation

    Introduced in the eighth episode of Sailor Moon season 1, Sailor Mercury is the first Sailor Guardian that Usagi discovers and the first to join her cause fighting the forces of the nefarious Queen Beryl. Mercury’s true identity is Ami Mizuno, a shy bookworm with an abnormally high I.Q. who is known for her talent for mathematics and computers. Though initially timid, Ami goes on to become the chief strategist of the Sailor Scouts and has a positive, resilient attitude whenever faced with a challenge.

    The 1992 Sailor Moon anime would go on to run for a total of five seasons. The series’ combination of tokusatsu-inspired action and romantic melodrama is credited with revolutionizing the genre of Magical Girl anime, with the combined popularity of the anime’s assorted home releases and films contributing to the comic’s status as one of the best-selling Japanese manga of its time. In 2014, Sailor Moon was later adapted into another anime series called Sailor Moon Crystal, in commemoration of the series’ 20th anniversary. Sailor Moon Crystal is a reboot of the original anime that more closely follows the story of Usagi Tsukino and co. as it was told in Naoko Takeuchi’s original manga.

    Aside from the series’ popularity, however, Sailor Moon has had a major impact on fans (particularly girls) who grew up watching the anime, and that includes Varnado herself. “I still go back and watch Sailor Moon to get my life lessons, to get my energy,” Varnado told Polygon. “So she still inspires me to this day.”

    Sailor Moon is available to stream on Hulu. Sailor Moon Crystal is available to stream on Crunchyroll.

    Toussaint Egan

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  • Delisted

    Delisted

    Sony has delisted Helldivers 2 in more than 170 countries that don’t have dedicated regions in PSN, which was the main argument against the change. These countries no longer have the ability to buy the game or activate a retail key.
    Steam is refunding the game even with more than 100hrs of playtime.

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  • Joys of retrogaming

    Joys of retrogaming

    My atari’s av-cable was beyond ******

    Joys of retrogaming. My atari's av-cable was beyond Bought a cheap multimeter and a new scart Went through every cable and pin to figure out which is which Same

    Bought a cheap multimeter and a new scart

    Joys of retrogaming. My atari's av-cable was beyond Bought a cheap multimeter and a new scart Went through every cable and pin to figure out which is which Same

    Went through every cable and pin to figure out which is which

    Joys of retrogaming. My atari's av-cable was beyond Bought a cheap multimeter and a new scart Went through every cable and pin to figure out which is which Same

    Same for scart. Added connectors

    Joys of retrogaming. My atari's av-cable was beyond Bought a cheap multimeter and a new scart Went through every cable and pin to figure out which is which Same

    Prayed to OSHA that I don’t cause a fire

    Joys of retrogaming. My atari's av-cable was beyond Bought a cheap multimeter and a new scart Went through every cable and pin to figure out which is which Same

    Success! Instead of paying some chump for a new cable I managed to spend even more money and repaired the old one myself

    There’ gotta be someone who gets off to this stuff.

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  • The Awards Season Awards: Which Oscars Campaigns Worked (and Didn’t)

    The Awards Season Awards: Which Oscars Campaigns Worked (and Didn’t)

    Matt is joined by The New Yorker’s Michael Schulman to parse through the endless campaigns from the 2024 Oscar season and give out their own awards for the best, worst, and everything in between. Some of the awards include Best Campaign Narrative, Biggest Campaign Misfire, Best Stunt, Best Overall Campaign, and Who Won Awards Season.

    For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, What I’m Hearing …, click here.‌

    Email us your thoughts! thetown@spotify.com

    Host: Matt Belloni
    Guest: Michael Schulman
    ‌Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez
    ‌Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

    Subscribe: Spotify

    Matthew Belloni

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  • FTC Wants to Block the $24.6 Billion Deal Which Would Combine Jewel and Mariano’s

    FTC Wants to Block the $24.6 Billion Deal Which Would Combine Jewel and Mariano’s

    Update: Added statement from Albertsons

    The $24.6 billion deal between Albertsons, the parent company of Jewel; and Kroger, the parent company of Mariano’s now faces an objection from the federal government. On Monday, the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit to block Kroger’s proposed acquisition of Albertsons, claiming grocery workers would make lower wages while customers would pay higher prices.

    Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul was among seven state chief legal officers (and Washington, D.C.’s) who signed the FTC’s lawsuit. The deal, called the largest in American grocery store history, would create a company of 5,000 stores. Kroger, which operates stores in 36 states, claims it needs scale to compete with non-unionized stores like Amazon and Walmart.

    “The proposed merger between Albertsons and Kroger would greatly reduce competition in the grocery market while leading to fewer choices for consumers and increased grocery prices at a time many families are struggling to keep up,” Raoul said in a news release. “Corporate profits and shareholder payouts should not come at the expense of consumers.”

    A month after the deal was announced in November 2022, Raoul teamed up with attorneys general from California and D.C. on a lawsuit to halt a $4 million payout to Albertsons stakeholders before the FTC could complete its review. As reported by the Associated Press, the deal would create a new entity that would control about 13 percent of America’s grocery market while Walmart controls 22 percent, according to J.P. Morgan.

    For Chicagoans, the future of Jewel and Mariano’s remains at stake. As Kroger would be buying Albertsons, the smart money is that Jewel, a retailer that’s been around since 1899, with 183 stores in the area, would be converted with the stock looking more like Mariano’s, a brand that’s been around since 2010 with 44 stores in Illinois. However, there’s no indication if the newly formed company would retain either the 125-year-old brand or the 14-year-old brand.

    Kroger and Albertsons have offered to divest “select other assets to C&S Wholesale Grocers, which today operates just 23 supermarkets and a single retail pharmacy,” according to the FTC. That’s 413 stores, but that won’t satisfy the FTC: “The proposal completely ignores many affected regional and local markets where Kroger and Albertsons compete today,” the commission responded.

    The FTC’s lawsuit isn’t surprising as the feds followed lawsuits filed in January on the state levels in Oregon and Colorado. New York private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management holds a 26 percent stake in Albertsons.

    “Kroger’s acquisition of Albertsons would lead to additional grocery price hikes for everyday goods, further exacerbating the financial strain consumers across the country face today,” Henry Liu, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition said in a news release. “Essential grocery store workers would also suffer under this deal, facing the threat of their wages dwindling, benefits diminishing, and their working conditions deteriorating.”

    On the afternoon of Tuesday, February 28, an Albertsons rep reached out with this statement:

    Albertsons Cos. merging with Kroger will expand competition, lower prices, increase associate wages, protect union jobs, and enhance customers’ shopping experience. If the Federal Trade Commission is successful in blocking this merger, it would be hurting customers and helping strengthen larger, multi-channel retailers such as Amazon, Walmart and Costco – the very companies the FTC claims to be reining in – by allowing them to continue increasing their growing dominance of the grocery industry. In contrast, Albertsons Cos.’ merger with Kroger will ensure our neighborhood supermarkets can better compete with these mega retailers, all while benefitting our customers, associates, and communities. We are disappointed that the FTC continues to use the same outdated view of the U.S. grocery industry it used 20 years ago, and we look forward to presenting our arguments in Court.

    Ashok Selvam

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  • Why is Cyberpunk 2077’s metro so slow? An investigation

    Why is Cyberpunk 2077’s metro so slow? An investigation

    CD Projekt Red fulfilled a five-year promise last week when it added a fully functional metro system to Cyberpunk 2077. While the feature does wonders to make Night City feel more alive, I was surprised to learn just how little California’s public transportation infrastructure has improved in the game’s alternate-reality future.

    Cyberpunk 2077 now includes five Night City Area Rapid Transit (NCART) rail lines servicing 19 stations. Every stop still functions as a fast travel point, but players can also use them to hop onto the subway and relocate, in real time, to other parts of the city. As movement is restricted while on the train, this is a mostly visual experience, providing folks with a new perspective on the sprawling mega-city as well as limited opportunities to chat with their fellow riders.

    During one trip, I noticed a screen indicating the train’s speed was consistently hovering around 43 mph, which felt awfully slow for futuristic transportation. The average speeds of modern-day heavy-rail systems in the United States range from the high teens to the mid-30s, but they’re capable of reaching much higher maximums. And that’s not even accounting for more developed public transportation in Japan and China, whose magnetic levitation (maglev) bullet trains zoom through major cities at hundreds of miles per hour.

    What the heck.
    Image: CD Projekt Red

    This fits with what the first Cyberpunk rulebook had to say about then-future transportation in 1988:

    Surprise, surprise. Contrary to expectations, the year 2000 has not yielded any staggering new developments in transportation. Years of economic strife and civil unrest have discouraged research into new ways to travel—in fact, the very act of travel has become very restricted. Expect the world of 2013 to be much like the 20th century—a network of crowded freeways, packed trains, and swarming airports.

    A subsequent expansion, Welcome to Night City, indicates light-rail maglev trains with ground speeds of 200 mph existed in the eponymous metropolis as far back as 2013, the year the first Cyberpunk adventures were set. Every book since makes some mention maglev trains as a staple of Night City travel, and 2005’s Cyberpunk V3.0 even noted an improvement in their top speed to 300 mph despite the apparent destruction of the intercontinental maglev line during the Fourth Corporate War (which took place from 2021 to 2025 in-universe) between the world’s ruling megacorps.

    (And just to cover my ass, 1990’s updated Cyberpunk 2020 rulebook makes it clear that NCART and the light-rail maglev trains are one and the same.)

    It’s here that Cyberpunk 2077 does something clever by expanding the consequences of this conflict. Rather than only putting rail travel between continents in flux, the game describes the Fourth Corporate War as debilitating the entire maglev system, as explained by the following database entry:

    Maglev trains cruised at high speeds via tunnels and on the surface thanks to the advent of electrodynamic suspension technology, allowing fast and comfortable travel from Night City to other cities, including Kansas City, St. Louis, Atlanta and Washington D.C. Unfortunately, this new era of transportation didn’t last long. The social unrest and armed conflict of the 4th Corporate War brought with it an economic crisis that soon crippled the entire system. Currently inoperational, the abandoned Maglev tunnels are used by the homeless and various gangs.

    The destruction of the maglev system and the slow NCART speeds exhibited in-game lead me to assume the local government was forced to revert to pre-2013 tech to ensure NCART remained operational, a massive downgrade from the bullet trains that once transported residents through Night City and beyond.

    Various futuristic passengers wait patiently in a subway train.

    Hurry up and wait.
    Image: CD Projekt Red

    While researching this situation, I couldn’t help but see darkly hilarious parallels between the difficulties facing the fictional California depicted in Cyberpunk 2077 and the actual state in which I live.

    Despite being one of the largest (both in terms of land and population) and richest states in the union, California has long struggled with plans to build public transportation on par with the bullet trains of eastern Asia. A lot of that is due to politics, as even ostensibly supportive legislators are wary of spending the billions of dollars necessary to complete the project. And let’s face it: Americans are just way too devoted to their cars.

    All that said, there’s one very simple explanation for Night City metro’s relatively low speed: The developers didn’t want NCART rides to happen in the blink of an eye. What good would the long-awaited subway experience be if players didn’t actually, you know, experience it?

    A trip taken at 300 mph wouldn’t provide any time to people watch Night City’s eccentric residents or take in the view of skyscrapers surrounding the bay outside the train’s windows. The entire point of the subway system — and a big part of why folks clamored for its inclusion all these years — is to give players new opportunities to role-play and experience the visual splendor of Cyberpunk 2077’s setting and its over-the-top aesthetics.

    I find it hard to fault CD Projekt Red for playing a little loose with established Cyberpunk history if it makes for a better game in the end.

    Ian Walker

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  • circle

    circle

    An ant mill is an observed phenomenon in which a group of army ants are separated from the main foraging party, lose the pheromone track and begin to follow one another, forming a continuously rotating circle, commonly known as a “death spiral” because the ants might eventually die of exhaustion.

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