Technologies

Facebook whistleblower to testify before Congress: How to watch

Former Facebook product manager Frances Haugen has accused the company of choosing its own interests over what’s good for the public.

Former Facebook product manager Frances Haugen, the whistleblower behind a major leak of internal company documents, is set to testify before US lawmakers for the first time on Tuesday.

Haugen publicly revealed herself to be the Facebook whistleblower during an interview that the CBS television program 60 Minutes aired on Sunday. The 37-year-old gathered thousands of pages of documents and communications, some of which The Wall Street Journal used to publish a series of stories about how Facebook is aware of the harm the company’s platform can inflict, including on the mental health of teenagers.

«There were conflicts of interest between what was good for the public and what was good for Facebook. And Facebook, over and over again, chose to optimize for its own interests, like making more money,» Haugen said during the 60 Minutes interview. She worked on Facebook’s efforts to combat election interference and misinformation for nearly two years before leaving the social network in May.

Now lawmakers are trying to learn more from Haugen about what type of regulation could help keep social networks such as Facebook more accountable. The Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security is holding a hearing, titled «Protecting Kids Online: Testimony from a Facebook Whistleblower.» Tuesday’s hearing comes less than a week after Facebook’s head of safety, Antigone Davis, appeared before Congress. Facebook says The Wall Street Journal mischaracterized its research, noting that its platform also has benefits such as helping people keep in touch with family and friends. The company, which suffered a massive outage on Monday, has been plagued by numerous scandals including about data privacy.

Here’s what you need to know:

When

The hearing begins Tuesday at 10 a.m. ET / 7 a.m. PT.

Where

You can watch the hearing live on the subcommittee’s website or on CNET’s YouTube channel.

What to expect

US lawmakers will likely press the whistleblower for more details about what she learned while working for Facebook and other tech companies. Before joining Facebook, Haugen worked for Google, Yelp and Pinterest.

«Facebook’s actions make clear that we cannot trust it to police itself. We must consider stronger oversight, effective protections for children, & tools for parents, among the needed reforms,» tweeted Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat who chairs the Senate subcommittee hosting the hearing.

Lawmakers are trying to gather more information, including from companies outside of Facebook, as they weigh what type of regulation to pass.

Last week, Blumenthal, along with Democrats Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Rep. Kathy Castor of Florida, reintroduced the Kids Internet Design and Safety Act. The bill would ban features such as «likes» and follower counts for users under the age of 16 years old. The legislation also addresses other issues such as manipulative marketing and the amplification of harmful content.

Technologies

Google’s Pixel 10A Is Coming to Japan With an Exclusive Blue Edition and Special Wallpaper

This model comes with creatively designed stickers and a special look for Pixel’s 10th anniversary.

Don’t be blue: Google is releasing an Isai blue edition of the Pixel 10A to celebrate the Android phone line’s 10th anniversary, setting it apart with its own sticker set, specialized wallpaper and custom icons. But it’ll only be available in Japan.

Announced Tuesday on the Google Japan blog, the Isai blue Pixel 10A has a dark blue look and includes bonus decorations designed in collaboration with Japan’s Heralbony art company. These include an exclusive bumper case and stickers for customization.

This edition of the Pixel 10A will arrive in Japan on May 20, following the April 14 release of the Pixel 10A in its original colors of lavender, berry, fog and obsidian. The Isai blue model costs 94,900 yen, which roughly translates to $595, and includes 256GB of storage.

This makes it slightly less expensive than the US model’s 256GB edition, but it comes with a number of fun extras at no additional cost.

Google’s creation of a country-specific model for Japan may also reflect strong sales in that market. In 2023, the IDC analytics firm (via 9to5Google) reported that the Pixel 7 series accounted for 10.7% of the country’s market share, a 527% increase from 2022.

Technologies

Can’t Wait for New Emoji? Here’s How to Create Your Own on iPhone

Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhones can create custom emoji in a few easy steps.

Apple brought new emoji to all iPhones when the company released iOS 26.4 on March 24. The new emoji include «🫍» orca, «🫪» distorted face and «🫈» hairy creature — or as we might normally call it, Sasquatch. According to Emojipedia, there are 3,953 emoji with more on the way, including a pickle. But there’s no emoji for a dog wearing pajamas, a plate with burgers and fries and many other things. But if you have Genmoji on your iPhone you can create these emoji and many more.

Apple released iOS 18.2 in 2024 and the company introduced its own emoji generator, called Genmoji, to Apple Intelligence-capable iPhones at that time. The Unicode Standard, a universal character encoding standard, is responsible for creating new emoji, and approved emoji are added to all devices once a year. With Genmoji, you don’t have to wait for new emoji to appear on your iPhone each year. You can just create them as you need them.

Read on to learn how to use Genmoji on iPhone to create your own custom emoji. Just note that only iPhones with Apple Intelligence, like the iPhone 17 lineup, can use Genmoji at this time.

Note: The new emoji may not display correctly for Apple users whose devices aren’t on a 26.4 software version.

How to make custom emoji

1. Open Messages and go into a chat.
2. Tap the plus (+) button next to your text box.
3. Tap Genmoji.

You can then type a description of an emoji into the text box near the bottom of your screen and tap the check mark on your keyboard to enter that description into Genmoji. You can also tap different suggestions and themes that are right above the text box. And with iOS 26 or later, you can also combine and use emoji to create others rather than describing a new emoji or using suggestions.

Your iPhone will generate a series of new emoji for you to pick from according to your description, and you can swipe through these new emoji. When you find the one you want, tap Add in the top right corner of your screen and the new emoji will be available to use as an emoji, tapback or a sticker. Now you don’t have to wait for the Unicode Standard to propose, create and bring new emoji to devices.

For more iOS news, here’s what to know about iOS 26.4 and iOS 26.3. You can also check out our iOS 26 cheat sheet for other tips and tricks.

Technologies

Save Over 20% on This Handy 10,000-mAh Anker Nano Power Bank

Keep your devices charged on the go with this Anker Nano power bank, now down to just $46.

We’ve just spotted the Anker Nano 45-watt portable power bank for just $46 at Amazon right now. This saves you $14 — a 23% discount on its list price. Though it’s $6 more than the lowest-ever price we saw during Black Friday, it’s still a solid discount when you take the rising cost of tech accessories into account. It also matches the lowest price we’ve seen in 2026. It comes in four colors: black, green, pink and white. They’re all on sale for the same price.

This Anker Nano portable charger weighs approximately 8.2 ounces and measures a compact 3.21×1.99×1.42 inches. Despite its small size, it has a retractable cable and supports fast charging in compatible Apple, Samsung, Google Pixel and other smartphones. It also has a large 10,000-mAh capacity and a smart display so you always know how much juice is left in your power bank.

The Nano can charge an iPhone 17 to up to 50% battery in an estimated 20 minutes, and is powerful enough to charge tablets and laptops. Need to charge your devices while charging your power bank? You can do so safely thanks to pass-through charging so you’ll never have to go without battery life.

We’ve also compiled a list of the best power banks for iPhones and for Android, in case this deal isn’t quite a fit for you.

Why this deal matters

If you travel, have a long commute time or are otherwise always on the go, a portable charger can help you keep your devices fully powered. This 45-watt Anker Nano power bank is compact, includes a loop that lets you keep track of it easily and has a built-in cable so you don’t have to keep up with extra cords. Amazon’s $14 discount makes this a solid deal for anyone looking for a compact power bank.