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Everything we know so far about Arcane season 2

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Audiences are hyped to see Netflix’s animated masterpiece Arcane continue where it left off with its second season. Based on Riot Games’ ever-popular video game, League of Legends, this award-winning streaming series became a surprise hit when it first premiered, appealing to fans of the classic game and newcomers to the franchise.

And after season 1’s shocking cliffhanger ending, fans just can’t wait for more episodes to drop on Netflix. But as everyone is forced to be patient, in the meantime, they can at least read everything that is clear about Arcane season 2 so far.

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When does Arcane season 2 release?

The first season of Arcane was announced in 2019 before premiering on Netflix in November 2021, which is when season 2 got the green light. Despite the fact that season 1 took six years to make, Riot Games CEO Nicolo Laurent did promise everyone on Twitter that it wouldn’t take as long to make the second season.

It’s safe to assume this now-popular animated show will debut at least sometime this year. Even so, the amount of hard work that goes into animating such a show makes it more likely that the second season with air in 2024.

Development stages

A man holding a magic crystal in "Arcane."

It isn’t easy to pinpoint exactly how far season 2 is toward its completion, but there is plenty of evidence that seems to prove it is almost finished. For instance, co-showrunner Christian Linke announced on Reddit that the second season’s scripts were completed back in November 2022.

And in February of this year, Linke went to Twitter to request some suggestions for music artists whose songs could be used for the show, suggesting that the studio has nearly wrapped up editing.

Where does it take place?

A beam of light shooting from a building and through the sky in "Arcane."

Season 1 took place in the neighboring cities of Piltover and Zaun. While Piltover is a bright and prosperous utopia, Zaun lies beneath this “City of Progress” in a state of perpetual darkness and poverty. The Zaunites’ oppression at the hands of their wealthy neighbors has caused both cities to be embroiled in a terrible and hateful conflict that reached its apex in the season 1 finale.

Since the majority of the series has taken place in these two cities, it seems unlikely that season 2 will step outside these territories. Nevertheless, League of Legends is renowned for its worldbuilding, as the realm of Runeterra is vast and filled with many different civilizations. Therefore, it is possible that audiences can catch a glimpse of the settlements beyond the limits of Piltover and Zaun.

What’s the story?

A female character looks ready to fight in a close up from the series Arcane on Netflix.

While Arcane depicts the battle between Piltover and Zaun, in actuality, the series revolves around the strained relationship between siblings Vi and Jinx, who have each grown up to fight on opposite sides of this conflict. And after killing her paternal figure Silco, Jinx has accepted that she is not the person she was as a child and that she has grown too far apart from his sister, Vi.

Thus, the season 1 finale ends with Jinx renouncing his identity as Powder and firing a Hextech missile at the Piltover council just as they voted to give Zaun its independence. Such an ironic twist of fate could very well ignite the war between these two cities that has been brewing for so long.  It may even intensify the conflict between the two once-close siblings to the point that they become bitter enemies akin to Rhaenyra and Alicent in House of the Dragon.

The main players

A character collage poster of the cast of Netflix's Arcane.

There aren’t many details about who will appear in the second season, but because many of the characters are at the site targeted by Jinx’s rocket, including Jayce, Viktor, and Mel, it’s anyone’s guess who will survive. Likewise, if the leaders of Piltover and Zaun don’t survive this attack, chances are that audiences will see some new characters take their place.

However, showrunners Christian Linke and Alex Yee revealed that three new Champions would be introduced in the new season. Since Piltover and Zaun will likely go to war, it would make sense for their leaders to bring in fighters to support them in their conflict. Amongst these new Champions is the Lady of Clockwork, Orianna, whose entire body is made of clockwork that’s powered by Hextech, and the Howler, Warwick, who was seen in Singed’s lab in the season 1 finale. In addition, the wind spirit Janna will appear in some capacity, likely to aid the people of Zaun as their guardian deity.

While Vander and Silco bit the dust in season 1, they will reportedly return in flashbacks to when they were still friends, and the latter will be shown when he was raising Jinx long before his death. Fans have also come to believe Vander was revived as the mutant beast Warwick following his demise, which could make for a frightening reunion for Vi and Jinx. Since the games had a wide variety of Champions, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the show brought many more of them into the war between Piltover and Zaun.

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Ottawa orders TikTok’s Canadian arm to be dissolved

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The federal government is ordering the dissolution of TikTok’s Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind the social media platform, but stopped short of ordering people to stay off the app.

Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the government’s “wind up” demand Wednesday, saying it is meant to address “risks” related to ByteDance Ltd.’s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc.

“The decision was based on the information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada’s security and intelligence community and other government partners,” he said in a statement.

The announcement added that the government is not blocking Canadians’ access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content.

However, it urged people to “adopt good cybersecurity practices and assess the possible risks of using social media platforms and applications, including how their information is likely to be protected, managed, used and shared by foreign actors, as well as to be aware of which country’s laws apply.”

Champagne’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking details about what evidence led to the government’s dissolution demand, how long ByteDance has to comply and why the app is not being banned.

A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the shutdown of its Canadian offices will mean the loss of hundreds of well-paying local jobs.

“We will challenge this order in court,” the spokesperson said.

“The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests and for businesses to thrive.”

The federal Liberals ordered a national security review of TikTok in September 2023, but it was not public knowledge until The Canadian Press reported in March that it was investigating the company.

At the time, it said the review was based on the expansion of a business, which it said constituted the establishment of a new Canadian entity. It declined to provide any further details about what expansion it was reviewing.

A government database showed a notification of new business from TikTok in June 2023. It said Network Sense Ventures Ltd. in Toronto and Vancouver would engage in “marketing, advertising, and content/creator development activities in relation to the use of the TikTok app in Canada.”

Even before the review, ByteDance and TikTok were lightning rod for privacy and safety concerns because Chinese national security laws compel organizations in the country to assist with intelligence gathering.

Such concerns led the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a bill in March designed to ban TikTok unless its China-based owner sells its stake in the business.

Champagne’s office has maintained Canada’s review was not related to the U.S. bill, which has yet to pass.

Canada’s review was carried out through the Investment Canada Act, which allows the government to investigate any foreign investment with potential to might harm national security.

While cabinet can make investors sell parts of the business or shares, Champagne has said the act doesn’t allow him to disclose details of the review.

Wednesday’s dissolution order was made in accordance with the act.

The federal government banned TikTok from its mobile devices in February 2023 following the launch of an investigation into the company by federal and provincial privacy commissioners.

— With files from Anja Karadeglija in Ottawa

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Here is how to prepare your online accounts for when you die

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LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?

It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.

Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:

Apple

The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.

For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.

You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.

Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.

Google

Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.

When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.

You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.

There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.

Facebook and Instagram

Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.

When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.

The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.

You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.

TikTok

The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.

Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.

X

It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.

Passwords

Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?

Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.

But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.

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Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.

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Google’s partnership with AI startup Anthropic faces a UK competition investigation

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LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog said Thursday it’s opening a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.

The Competition and Markets Authority said it has “sufficient information” to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition.

The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation.

“Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” the company said. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don’t demand exclusive tech rights.”

San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude.

Anthropic said it’s cooperating with the regulator and will provide “the complete picture about Google’s investment and our commercial collaboration.”

“We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” it said in a statement.

The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic’s $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft’s deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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