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Epic Games Files Lawsuit Against Google And Samsung

• Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
• Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor

In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!

• The lawsuit alleges anti-competitive practices involving the Auto Blocker feature.
• Tim Sweeney criticized Google for misleading users about app safety.
• Samsung maintains its security features to protect users.

Epic Games, the creator of “Fortnite’’, has announced the filing of a lawsuit against Google and Samsung, accusing both companies of coordinating efforts to block competition in app distribution on Samsung devices through the default-on”Auto Blocker” feature.

According to Epic, Auto Blocker is the latest in a series of agreements where Google and Samsung have conspired to protect Google’s monopoly power.

This feature, pre-enabled on new Samsung phones, prevents users from installing apps from any source other than the Google Play Store or Samsung’s app store.

Epic claims the feature solidifies the Google Play Store as the only viable app source on Samsung devices, preventing other app stores from competing on equal terms.

This lawsuit follows Epic’s April proposal for an injunction aimed at increasing competition in Google’s Play Store by allowing third-party app stores and billing systems equal access, challenging Google’s control over Android’s app ecosystem.

Epic argues that there is no system in place for rival stores to gain “authorized” status, said The Verge. As reported by Reuters , Epic claims Samsung and Google are violating U.S. antitrust laws by restricting consumer options and stifling competition, which could lead to higher app prices.

Epic’s CEO, Tim Sweeney, criticized Google’s approach to app security, stating that it falsely portrays third-party apps as unsafe. “Google is pretending to protect users while knowing full well that Fortnite is safe, as they have previously distributed it,” Sweeney told Reuters.

BBC also notes that Google Play and Samsung have previously collaborated with Epic on Fortnite-related events, including digital skin promotions.

Meanwhile, Samsung has rejected Epic’s claims, maintaining that its security features are designed to protect users from harmful apps.

“We are committed to ensuring users’ privacy and security,” Samsung said in a statement to Reuters, arguing that users can turn off the Auto Blocker feature if they wish.

“Contrary to Epic Game’s assertions, Samsung actively fosters market competition, enhances consumer choice, and conducts its operations fairly,” a spokesperson for Samsung said in a statement reported by CNET .

Multiple news outlets have reached out to Google, but the company has not yet provided a response to the request for comment.

Photo by BoliviaInteligente on Unsplash

ByteDance to Develop New AI Model With Huawei Chips

• Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
• Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor

In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!

• Multiple anonymous sources from ByteDance told Reuters the Chinese company is developing a new AI model powered by Huawei’s AI chips
• The new model would be more powerful than the current AI model Doubao used by the company
• A spokesperson from Tiktok in the U.S. said sources are wrong and that it is not true

Chinese company ByteDance, Tiktok’s parent company, is planning on developing an AI model supported by AI chips developed by regional company Huawei Technologies.

According to a recent exclusive by Reuters, three sources familiar with the matter confirmed that ByteDance opted for this alternative as the United States makes it difficult for American companies to sell AI chips to the Chinese market with strict export rules—even though it was recently revealed that Nvidia was working on AI chips exclusively for Chinese companies .

“ByteDance’s next step in the AI race is to use Huawei’s Ascend 910B chip to train a large-language AI model,” said anonymous sources to Reuters.

According to the information shared with Reuters, ByteDance is already using the chips Ascend 910B—the company ordered 100,000 this year, but these are being delivered at a slow pace—with pre-trained AI models for tasks like making predictions. To train new AI models, high-performance AI chips and large amounts of data are required.

ByteDance’s current AI model, Doubao, is less powerful than the new one the Chinese company is allegedly developing.

However, a spokesperson from Tiktok in the United States, Michael Hughes, denied the information provided by the anonymous sources. “The entire premise here is wrong. No new model is being developed,” said Hughes to Reuters.

ByteDance has recently launched a new AI tool to generate videos from text prompts called Jimeng AI.