EU threatens to act over Meta blocking rival AI chatbots from WhatsApp

The EU has threatened to take action against the social media company Meta, arguing it has blocked rival chatbots from using its WhatsApp messaging platform.The European Commission said on Monday that WhatsApp Business – which is designed to be used by businesses to interact with customers – appears to be in breach of EU antitrust rules.An upgrade to the messaging platform last October means the only AI assistant available to use on WhatsApp is Meta AI, the agent developed by the US tech group, which also owns Facebook and Instagram.The European Commission said Meta was the dominant player for messaging in the EU market and was “abusing” this position by “refusing access to WhatsApp to other businesses”.That position may cause “serious and irreparable harm on the market”, the commission added

Logitech MX Master 4 review: the best work mouse you can buy

Logitech’s latest productivity power-house updates one of the greatest mice of all time with smoother materials, a repair-friendly design and a haptic motor for phone-like vibrations on your desktop.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.The MX Master 4 is the latest evolution in a line of pioneering mice that dates back more than 20 years and has long been the mouse to beat for everything but hardcore PC gaming

‘It felt hypocritical’: child internet safety campaign accused of censoring teenagers’ speeches

An internet safety campaign backed by US tech companies has been accused of censoring two teenagers they invited to speak out about the biggest issues facing children online.Childnet, a UK charity part-funded by companies including Snap, Roblox and Meta, edited out warnings from Lewis Swire and Saamya Ghai that social media addiction was an “imminent threat to our future” and obsessive scrolling was making people “sick”, according to a record of edits seen by the Guardian.Swire, then 17, from Edinburgh, and Ghai, then 14, from Buckinghamshire, had been asked to speak at an event to mark Safer Internet Day in 2024 in London in front of representatives from government, charities and tech companies.The tech-backed charity also edited out references to children feeling unable to stop using TikTok and Snap, social media exacerbating a “devastating epidemic” of isolation, and a passage questioning why people would want to spend years of their lives “scrolling TikTok and binge-watching Netflix”, the edits show.The 2026 iteration of the Childnet-run event takes place on Tuesday with more than 2,800 schools and colleges listed as supporters

‘I fell into it’: ex-criminal hackers urge Manchester pupils to use web skills for good

Cybercriminals, the shadowy online figures often depicted in Hollywood movies as hooded villains capable of wiping millions of pounds off the value of businesses at a keystroke, are not usually known for their candour.But in a sixth-form college in Manchester this week, two former hackers gave the young people gathered an honest appraisal of what living a life of internet crime really looks like.The teenagers in the room are listening intently, but the day-to-day internecine disputes they hear about is not the stuff of screenplays.“It’s just people getting into these online dramas and they’re swatting and doxing each other and getting people to throw bricks through their windows,” one of the hackers says.If the language sounds unfamiliar, it should – “swatting” and “doxing” involve people outing each other online by posting their genuine identities – but their message is clear: though cybercrime may seem alluring, the reality is anything but

Battle of the chatbots: Anthropic and OpenAI go head-to-head over ads in their AI products

The Seahawks and the Patriots aren’t the only ones gearing up for a fight.AI rivals Anthropic and OpenAI have launched a war of ads trying to court corporate America during one of the biggest entertainment nights of the year.Ahead of the Super Bowl, Anthropic has launched a series of ads going hard at its rival.For the scrawny 23-year-old who wants a six-pack, a ripped older man who is supposed to depict a chatbot suggests insoles that “help short kings stand tall” because “confidence isn’t just built in the gym”. And for the man trying to improve communication with his mom: his therapist prescribes “a mature dating site that connects sensitive cubs with roaring cougars” in case he can’t fix that relationship

Why has Elon Musk merged his rocket company with his AI startup?

The acquisition of xAI by SpaceX is a typical Elon Musk deal: big numbers backed by big ambition.As well as extending “the light of consciousness to the stars”, as Musk described it, the transaction creates a business worth $1.25tn (£920bn) by combining Musk’s rocket company with his artificial intelligence startup. It values SpaceX at $1tn and xAI at $250bn, with a stock market flotation expected in June to time with Musk’s birthday and a planetary alignment.However, there are questions over the deal, such as whether it is good for SpaceX’s non-Musk shareholders and whether the technological premise behind it can succeed