Now, Google has reportedly offered to restrict the use of Fitbit data for Google ads and tighten the monitoring of that process, Reuters says. The company also formalized its commitment to supporting other wearable manufacturers on Android and allowing Fitbit users to choose third party services through APIs, Google said in a statement. Those third parties will have access to Fitbit users’ data, as long as those users consent.

Those are relatively minor concessions, but this isn’t quite a done deal. EU officials will now collect feedback from competitors and consumers before accepting Google’s concessions. There’s a chance that Google will have to meet additional demands. Either way, the Commission will decide on the deal by December 23rd.

Meanwhile, in the US, Google will have to appease both the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ). The company is also facing a broader review of competition. The DOJ is preparing an antitrust case against the company, and a dozen states are expected to join that DOJ lawsuit.

SuperAwesome built a platform called Kids Web Services (KWS), a “parental consent management toolkit” that helps developers incorporate child-safe services, including advertising and monetization. KWS is GDPR compliant and has been certified through the KidSafe and other safe harbor programs. It’s used by over 300 companies including Nike, Disney, Hasbro and Lego, according to the company’s About page.

To use the platform, parents must provide identification and give a child permission to use the service. The tech could work with any of Epic’s games, including Fortnite, but Epic told VentureBeat that its main goal is to enable SuperAwesome’s platform for developers that use the Unreal game engine.

On top of that, the two companies plan to build a wide range of child-friendly services. “The internet was never designed for kids so we started SuperAwesome to make it as easy as possible to enable safe, privacy-driven digital experiences for children everywhere,” said SuperAwesome CEO Dylan Collins.

Apple has purchased Scout FM, an app that makes it easy to find podcasts tailored to your tastes, according to Bloomberg. Rather than just letting you choose individual podcasts, Scout FM curates them based on your listening history. Much like YouTube or TikTok, its AI algorithms adjust to your preferences over time, removing things you tend to skip.

Apple confirmed the acquisition, which reportedly happened earlier this year. The app used to be available on iOS (including CarPlay), Android and Alexa, but Apple shut it down on all platforms shortly after the deal was made.

NVIDIA declined to comment to Engadget. We’ve also asked SoftBank and ARM for comment.

If a deal goes through, it could represents one of the largest semiconductor buyouts in history. It potentially gives NVIDIA an edge across a wide range of computing devices, ranging from mobile chips to the most powerful supercomputers. For SoftBank, it would prop up sagging stocks and help the Japanese tech giant refocus.

However, this is also assuming any deal clears regulatory hurdles. NVIDIA clearly wouldn’t be a neutral owner. It might face stiff opposition from officials concerned that it might withhold technology from rival chipmakers or otherwise give itself an unfair advantage. It could effectively dictate the futures of companies that design ARM-based chips, like Apple and Samsung, and both the government and competitors would likely want reassurances that ARM’s owner will play fair.

TikTok’s list of suitors is extending significantly beyond Microsoft. Wall Street Journal sources say Twitter has held “preliminary talks” about a possible union with TikTok’s US business. It’s still very early, and might not move forward, but Twitter reportedly believes it has an advantage over bidders like Microsoft due to its size. It thinks it wouldn’t face as much antitrust scrutiny if it clinched a deal, according to the tipsters.

Twitter’s size could also be a drawback, however. TikTok’s US business alone could be worth tens of billions of dollars, and that would be a serious obstacle when Twitter’s entire market capitalization is $29 billion. It would likely need to draw on help from investors and take on a large amount of debt. And while it has been relatively successful in recent years, it suffered a loss of more than $1.2 billion in its latest quarter. The company might not be in a position to buy a behemoth like TikTok.

Website access is still available after an indefinite extension, although embedded material no longer appears to be an option. Third-party apps using Dark Sky’s data have until the end of 2021 to transition to other services.

This isn’t the end for hyperlocal weather on Android. Accuweather and other titles can fill the gap. However, it is one less major choice — and you’ll eventually need to move to Apple devices if you’re determined to use Dark Sky for your rain and snow alerts.

An Apple spokesperson didn’t confirm the acquisition outright, only giving the publication a standard response:

“Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.”

The tech giant did snap up a few smaller companies over the past months. Back in January, it purchased Seattle-based AI startup, Xnor.ai, which developed a way to operate AI on devices rather than in the cloud. It also purchased virtual reality startup NextVR, which is known for its partnerships with sports entities, such as the NBA.

Thanks to a report from The Wall Street Journal, we knew this was coming. Now it’s official: SiriusXM is buying podcast platform Stitcher from the E.W. Scripps Company for $325 million. That’s considerably more than the $4.5 million Scripps spent to acquire it from Deezer in 2016 (Deezer owned Stitcher for less than two years), even if you combine it with the $55 million purchase of Midroll Media that Scripps made the year before and combined with Stitcher. For that investment, SiriusXM gets a popular destination for publishers, creators and advertisers with both production and distribution capabilities. Plus the acquisition adds original podcasts to SiriusXM’s lineup of sports, talk radio and music streaming.

The podcast wars that have heated up over the last several months and content is king. So are exclusives. The Stitcher-produced slate includes Freakonomics Radio, How Did This Get Made?, SuperSoul Sunday from The Oprah Winfrey Network, Office Ladies, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, Literally! with Rob Lowe, LeVar Burton Reads, Comedy Bang! Bang!, and WTF with Marc Maron. SiriusXM doesn’t mention making any shows exclusive to its platforms — except for the ad-free, early access and bonus content listeners who splurge for a Stitcher Premium subscription get for $5 a month. And don’t worry, it sounds like the free option for accessing all of the shows isn’t going anywhere.

Postmates pioneered food delivery in 2011, but is a distant fourth in the US market to DoorDash, GrubHub and Uber’s own Eats services. Together, however, Uber Eats and Postmates will be second in the market after DoorDash, which still holds a large lead.

uber is buying postmates. as a part-time courier who works for both, this is bad news. while both are staunch anti-worker companies, fewer and bigger players means even less worker leverage against platform capitalists. with dwindling options, we’ll be exploited even more harshly

— wilfred chan (@wilfredchan) July 6, 2020

Both Uber and Postmates are cash-negative operations, with Uber alone having lost $2.9 billion in Q1 2020 because of the COVID-19 crisis. Food delivery companies, which rely on non-full-time “gig workers,” are hard to tell apart from a consumer perspective other than pricing. As such, bigger fish are swallowing smaller ones in order to control costs and pricing — to the potential detriment of restaurants, users and, particularly, workers.

“As a part-time courier who works for both [Postmates and Uber Eats] this is bad news,” wrote journalist and gig worker Wilfred Chan on Twitter. “While both are staunch anti-worker companies, fewer and bigger players means even less worker leverage against platform capitalists. With dwindling options, we’ll be exploited even more harshly.”

Apple purchased one of the best weather apps in the business this spring, and unfortunately that meant Dark Sky pulled its Android app. If you haven’t already installed it, it’s gone from the Google Play Store, and the company initially informed subscribers they would lose access as of July 1st.

However, there is one last reprieve, as it’s extending service on Android until August 1st. That gives you another month to find a different weather app — we have some suggestions — or, switch platforms. Dark Sky’s hook has been its accurate “hyperlocal” weather data that could inform users just before it rained or snowed, and even if you switch apps, any that rely on its API will lose access at the end of 2021.