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Equifax reportedly close to $700 million data breach settlement

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Remember that time Equifax had a data breach and leaked an incredible amount of information — addresses, social security numbers and even driver’s licenses — on more than 143 million people in the US alone? That was revealed nearly two years ago, and tonight media reports suggest the company is closing in on a settlement with federal and state agencies including the FTC, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and state attorneys general. The New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported it could pay between $650 and $700 million, near the $690 million figure Equifax told investors it had set aside for a penalty.

According to the reports, details will be announced on Monday, and the amount could vary depending on how many people file claims. It’s not clear how much those affected could expect in compensation, but the settlement supposedly includes terms to create a fund for that purpose.

The Equifax breach came after hackers exploited a known flaw in unpatched software that its former CEO pinned on one employee instead of flawed policies. The data broker already agreed to new rules on security policies in some earlier settlements, and it remains to be seen if or how this will add additional oversight.

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‘The Dark Crystal’ Comic-Con preview goes behind the scenes

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Besides The Witcher, Netflix also highlighted its upcoming The Dark Crystal prequel series at Comic-Con. Instead of another trailer, the video posted goes behind the scenes, talking to engineers and others at Jim Henson Company who have continued the tradition more than thirty years later for this ten episode run. According to director Louis Leterrier, hopefully the audience will “forget you’re watching puppets.”

Stars like Mark Hamill and Taron Egerton showed up for the SDCC panel, where producer Lisa Henson said “This is the proudest thing that I’ve done since my siblings and myself started running the company.” The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance will premiere on Netflix August 30th.

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Netflix’s ‘The Witcher’ teaser trailer revealed at Comic-Con

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Late last year we learned that The Witcher’s TV adaptation found its Geralt in the form of Superman star Henry Cavill, and now at Comic-Con fans have their first glimpse of the live-action series coming to Netflix. The teaser trailer was unveiled at a panel discussion, where Variety reports Cavill said he campaigned “passionately” for the role and that he’s a big gamer who also did all of his own stunts.

There’s no release date on the trailer itself, but at least we have an idea of the monsters Geralt will be facing — both human and otherwise. Attendees got a look at some footage that isn’t in this clip, including the game’s notorious bathtub, among other things.

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Entity List ban is ‘the start of the US falling behind’

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Ren told Yahoo Finance that Huawei wasn’t fully prepared to be added to the entity list. Huawei executives said that smartphone sales fell up to 40 percent in the first two weeks after the ban, due to concerns about the operating system. Ren said that now, though, the company is “fully capable of shaking off its reliance on the US for core products.”

According to Yahoo Finance, Ren feels that adding Huawei to the Entity list is the US trying to “contain Huawei’s advanced technology”. From Trump’s tweets, Ren believes the president based his assumptions on the criminal charges filed in January by the Justice Department, accusing Huawei of stealing trade secrets and violating US sanctions on Iran.

Ren told the publication that he doesn’t believe the company poses a security threat to the US. “We don’t have any networks in the U.S., nor do we intend to sell our 5G products there anyway,” he said. “Trump has nothing on us, and he hopes to use Huawei as a bargaining chip, but China doesn’t seem to buy it, right?”

Exclusive: Huawei CEO says company is far ahead of US tech innovation

He went on to say that by banning Huawei, the US had more to lose, especially in terms of 5G connections. “Even if they have supercomputers and super-large-capacity connections, the U.S. might still fall behind because they don’t have super-fast connections,” Ren told Yahoo Finance. “Shutting Huawei out is the start of the U.S. falling behind.”

While the ban prevents Huawei from access to US technology, it also means American businesses might lose out on profits from the Chinese company. Jobs in the US get cut as well. During the interview, Ren confirmed the company laid off employees in the US-based R&D subsidiary it had planned to invest $600 million in called Futurewei.

In spite of all the troubles between the US and his company, though, Ren told Yahoo Finance he has faith in the American legal system in resolving the issues.

Ren has been speaking out lately about the impact of the ban on Huawei’s business, speaking recently at an event called “A Coffee with Ren.” There, he said that even though the ban cost the company $30 billion, his company would rebound in the next few years, after completing a “switchover of products”.

How the rest of this saga will play out isn’t clear, but it’s obvious Huawei isn’t backing down or shying away from a fight. The US has also been easing up on the limits imposed on the company as the country approaches a truce with China. Regardless of the outcome, this battle has at least shone a spotlight on the importance of cybersecurity in general, as well as the shaky relationship between the two superpower nations.

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Eli Roth’s studio is making five horror series for Facebook Watch

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The additional series will each be 10 episodes long, and they’ll be executive produced by Davis, as well as Kate Krantz and Darren Brandl. “Crypt is thrilled to deliver our signature monster stories to a global community on Facebook,” Davis told Deadline. “This partnership is a unique opportunity for Crypt to continue to build our brand and bring our original scary IP to Facebook Watch.”

The collaboration is fitting, given that when Crypt TV launched in 2015, it primarily shared its content on Facebook. And as Variety points out, this is one of the first Facebook Watch deals for multiple series from a single partner, as opposed to one-off show deals. There’s no indication yet when the series will arrive.

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US Netflix subscribers can finally watch Eurovision replays

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Americans didn’t have official ways to watch the Eurovision Song Contest live this year, but they’ll at least have a way to relive it. Netflix will carry the 2019 competition’s semi-finals and grand final in the US starting on July 22nd, giving you eight-plus hours of melodramatic performances, over-the-top costumes and bitter national rivalries. You’ll also have on-demand access to the 2020 contest after it airs.

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Parrot plans to retire its Mambo and Swing drones

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Drone company Parrot, maker of the Anafi 4K folding drone, is reportedly leaving the mini-drone market. Parrot has been shifting its focus away from consumer drones since 2017, but it’s been a slow transition. This week, Wirecutter confirmed that Parrot is retiring its Mambo and Swing drones, and supposedly, websites like Amazon have been slowly running out of stock.



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Bloodborne’s atmospheric score is getting a vinyl release

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Bloodborne is one of the most lauded titles of the current console generation, and a key ingredient in making FromSoftware’s game so memorable for so many is its delectably dark soundtrack. The atmospheric score by Ryan Amon, Tsukasa Saitoh, Michael Wandamacher, Yuka Kitamura and Nobuyoshi Suzuki includes nightmarish, etherial tracks and faster-paced pieces that ramp up the tension during boss battles. Bloodborne‘s soundtrack was already available to stream, but fans might be glad to learn there’s a vinyl edition on the way, four years after the game arrived.

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Netflix might pay Eddie Murphy $70 million for stand-up specials

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According to TMZ, Netflix may be willing to pay $70 million for an undisclosed number of specials. While that’s a huge figure, especially given reports about Netflix trying to be more conscientious about the original content it spends big on, that’s in line with what it paid other A-list comics. Dave Chappelle is said to have earned $60 million for a trio of specials, which Chris Rock apparently scored a $40 million deal for two of his own. Ellen DeGeneres, meanwhile, reportedly earned $20 million for her special.

Netflix has long been investing in original comedy, but it might be under a little more pressure to find hits and big names that will really move the needle. In its latest earnings report, Netflix said it had a net loss of US subscribers for the first time in years. Its user numbers still increased year-over-year, but it missed a key target. Subscribers grew by 2.7 million, though Netflix predicted around 5 million would join over the quarter.

Netflix is looking for ways to attract new subscribers and keep its existing ones without some popular third-party shows such as The Office and Friends, both of which will be departing for other streaming platforms in the not-too-distant future. It remains to be seen whether Eddie Murphy’s apparent return to stand-up will be a big enough hook for viewers.

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