Triller, a would-be competitor to TikTok, is hoping to capitalize on the potential for a TikTok ban in the U.S. by pitching to creators to move their content from the popular short-form video app to its own. The company has now launched a website, SaveMyTikToks.com, which promises to back up all your TikTok videos by uploading them to Triller.The site is powered by the customer engagement platform Amplify.ai, which Trillers parent company, TrillerNet, acquired in 2021. The deal was originally focused on helping Triller creators track and monetize their content, while also helping brands and advertisers match creator content to consumers. Now, users can agree to Trillers terms and then click a Connect TikTok Account button to provide Triller (via Amplify.ai) with access to their videos, profile information, and more.After doing so, the site will ask users for their email address to alert them when their posts have been downloaded and saved. Users then have to set up a Triller account and await instructions on how to later upload their saved content. The process takes a bit more effort than the click of a button that Triller promises on the new website. The January 19 deadline for a TikTok ban is nearing, after being signed into law by President Biden in April 2024. The move then saw strong bipartisan support in the House and Senate over concerns about TikToks Chinese roots; its parent company is Beijing-based ByteDance. Lawmakers believed this presented a national security threat to U.S. citizens.However, the ban now seems less likely, given that incoming president Trump recently asked the Supreme Court to put it on pause as it would interfere with the presidents ability to manage the U.S.s foreign policy. (Trumps court filing also noted he had 14.7 million followers on TikTok, which led him to reconsider the apps importance as a unique medium for freedom of expression, including core political speech, it said.)Still, creators on TikTok have been regularly expressing concerns over how the ban will affect their ability to reach fans and, ultimately, their ability to generate revenue through creator rewards, ad revenue sharing, and brand partnerships.Currently, over 543,000 videos are tagged with the hashtag tiktokban, for example, and tiktokbanned adds over 103,000 more. (Many more videos exist, too, but use less specific tags like social media or just tiktok.) Creators have largely been advising their followers to find them on other, more established apps like Instagram or YouTube not Triller nor Lemon8, another ByteDance-owned app introduced in previous years as something of a backup plan in case of a TikTok ban.Whether Trillers pitch to creators will work, of course, remains to be seen. Many creators want to move their audiences to other platforms where theyre already active and have a following, rather than adopt a new app entirely.Triller, which IPOd in October 2024 after three failed attempts, has seen its stock decline in the weeks and months since, and is currently trading at $2.50. Its also embroiled in another lawsuit this one over failure to repay a $35.5 million promissory note. (The company settled a sizable $28 million lawsuit with Timbaland and Swizz Beatz in 2022).The company also hired an ex-TikTok exec, Sean Kim, as its CEO in December 2024 to focus on an overhaul of the app. Kim had previously served as TikToks head of product from 2019 to 2022, working on things like its For You feed, creator monetization, the developer platform, third-party integrations, and more.TikTok did not respond to a request for comment ahead of publication.

The post-pandemic years havent been especially kind to connected fitness. As bigger names like Peloton and Mirror have struggled, however, plenty of smaller firms like Tonal are still going strong. At CES 2025 on Wednesday, the Bay Area firm announced the arrival of its new strength training system, fittingly named Tonal 2.At its core, the system is the same as its predecessor, which was introduced way back in 2015: Its a wall-mounted exercise couch with built-in weight bars.There are a few aesthetic changes, including a sleeker black and chrome design, coupled with a more durable frame.The built-in camera has been upgraded, and the cables are 75% stronger, per Tonals figures.Image Credits:TonalThe system now supports up to 250 pounds of resistance, adjusting the weight accordingly based on things like workout types. If, for example, it senses fatigue in the user, it will drop the weight down and increase it when building strength. The onboard motors have also been improved to provide smoother workouts.The upgraded camera, meanwhile, analyze[s] your movement pattern and provide[s] real-time coaching cues like a personal trainerso you can train safely, improve form, and achieve better results. All of that is coupled with new HIIT (high intensity interval training) workouts.Overall, not a tremendous change after nine years, and likely not worth the upgrade for most unless, of course, your original machine has given up the ghost. Still, its nice to see a connected fitness company still going strong post-pandemic slowdown.The system is available now for $4,000.

Maxon, the software solution for 2D/3D design, motion graphics, visual effects, and other areas of visual content creation, has acquired Laubwerk, the Berlin-based CG software company that offers procedural 3D plant models. Hundreds of detailed 3D greenery and botanical assets, materials, and tools will join the Maxon creative workflow.With the Laubwerk team joining Maxon, they bring synergies that will result in even greater innovation in our products and enhanced creative possibilities for artists, said David McGavran, CEO of Maxon. Laubwerks vast library of plants and trees, some of which we already added to Maxon One as part of our long-standing partnership, is widely used by artists working in architectural visualization and visual effects. Their solutions and extensive experience will be instrumental in supporting our efforts to accelerate artists workflows by delivering ready-to-use, parametric assets to help kickstart their projects.The acquisition of Laubwerk is a natural and exciting extension of our long-standing partnership, said Philip Losch, Chief Technology and Product Officer at Maxon. Their expertise in high-quality 3D plant modeling complements our own technologies perfectly. Together, we can enhance the creative capabilities and workflows of our users around the world.The move is part of Maxon's ongoing Capsules project, which seeks to provide artists with essential assets to jumpstart creativity. Maxon One subscribers will already have access to a selection of Laubwerk's Redshift-ready trees and plants directly within the Cinema 4D Asset Browser.Laubwerk's mission has always been to create the most authentic, versatile, easy to use digital plant models, grounded in the expertise of experienced landscape architects and botanical experts, said Philip Paar, CEO and Founder of Laubwerk. Our previous collaboration with Maxon has been incredibly rewarding and our relationship has always been characterized by a shared passion for innovation and a commitment to enhancing the creative process for digital artists. Joining forces with Maxon allows us to leverage their extensive resources and reach, enabling us to elevate our offerings and continue pushing the envelope in 3D plant modeling and visualization. We look forward to the incredible new possibilities this union will bring to the industry.Following the integration with Laubwerk, a broader range of assets will become available to subscribers in the future. Further developments for existing Laubwerk customers will also be announced at a later date.Source: Maxon Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologistL'Wrenbrings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.

The upcoming season of the hit series, based on Naughty Dogs PlayStation video game franchise, will debut this April on HBO, also streaming on Max.

InterviewsVenom The Last Dance: David Lee VFX Supervisor DNEGBy Vincent Frei - 08/01/2025 With nearly two decades of experience in visual effects, David Lee has contributed his expertise to shows including Man of Steel, Avengers: Infinity War, Tenet, and Meg 2: The Trench.What was your feeling to be back in the Venom universe?Venom is a great character, and it was a lot of fun diving back into this world for The Last Dance.How was the collaboration with Director Kelly Marcel and with VFX Supervisors John Moffatt and Aharon Bourland?It was my first time working with John, and it was such a pleasure to work with him over the duration of the show. He is very much dedicated to making sure everything is of the highest quality, and working together to achieve this. Ive worked with Aharon a number of times before, and have always thoroughly enjoyed our collaborations. Kelly was also great to work with and, having been involved in the previous two films, she had an intimate relationship with these characters which was wonderful to be a part of.How did you organize the work with your VFX Producer?I worked closely with DNEG Producer, Fatemeh Khoshkhou, to divide the show into two units in London and Mumbai. We tried to keep similar sequences together so that the two teams could maintain a creative consistency and keep as many workflow efficiencies as possible.What are the sequences made by DNEG?We were responsible for the majority of the first two acts of the movie, following Eddie and Venom as they make their way to Las Vegas, plus where we see Wraith within the helicopter in the last act.Over the course of the three Venom films, how has the visual depiction of Venom evolved? What were the biggest technical or creative challenges in this progression?Venom is a fairly defined character in a creative sense within the context of these films, so we didnt need to make any large-scale changes for The Last Dance. Our model and texture work was able to be ported over in a fairly straightforward manner, however our pipeline had continued to develop over this time, so we did need to rework elements of the asset to accommodate this.We did end up making certain adjustments to try and reduce some of the challenges we had experienced in the previous films, however. For example, we made a variant for when Venom was required to be smaller in frame, allowing for more break up in the spec to avoid broad reflections becoming too overwhelming and affecting the scale.Venoms movements and interactions with his environment feel more refined and natural in this film. What advancements in technology or techniques made this possible?In comparison to the first film we predominantly used motion capture for Venoms performance in The Last Dance, whereas the first film was predominantly traditional key frame animation. Its less that new technologies made this more achievable, and more that Venoms performance in this film spoke more to mocap than a number of the sequences in the first. For example, the dancing scene in Vegas had a very naturalistic feel to it which lent itself well to motion capture.The new symbiotes introduced in this chapter bring fresh dynamics to the story. How did the design and animation of these characters differ from Venom and Carnage?Speaking for the Green Symbiote, which was the new symbiote developed by DNEG, the initial concept was to give it a distinctly different look compared to what we have seen previously with the symbiotes. Something quite striking via a translucent type appearance, which also allowed us to see aspects of the internal structure via a vascular system of sorts. We took this idea and, to avoid it looking too much like a glass statuette, we added more complexity with a rougher exterior surface. We dialled in iridescence onto the torso, which produced a lovely cyan-ish shimmer as it catches the light from external sources, as well as a subtle, almost frosted quality to the exterior. Kelly also wanted to have a different style of movement with this symbiote. The addition of a tail that split into multiple lengths allowed us to lean into a more smooth, hypnotic type of motion. Similar to a snakes movements, its calm and slow, and belies the power he could unleash if he so wanted.The Xenophage is an incredibly menacing creature. Can you walk us through the process of designing and bringing this terrifying entity to life on screen?We started development of the Xenophage early in the post-production process, knowing this would be a major new character within the Venom universe. Having been provided with an initial concept, we then took this as the base and iterated on top of it. Drawing inspiration from a variety of animals, ranging from praying mantises and crocodiles to snakes and porcupines, this evolved into something which could then be passed to our build department to mock up 3D sculpts within Zbrush. This then went through a quick rigging process so that the animation team, led by Animation Director Chris Lentz, could start motion studies within an internal mocked up sequence. Given the unusual physiology we were developing conceptually for the Xenophage, this allowed us to ensure the character would be able to keep a sense of grounded movement that felt organic and realistic. We settled on a variety of insectoid type movements to give us a staccato motion, with limbs and head movements that were almost mechanical as evident in some larger beetles and spiders. As the animation team worked through their motion tests, we fed this back into adjustments to the model itself to ensure everything worked correctly, before updating to a fully functioning rig for the final asset.What role did motion capture play in creating the nuanced performances of Venom and the new symbiotes? Did the actors influence the final design of the characters?We utilised motion capture extensively within this film, particularly for the human-esque characters Venom and the Green Symbiote, separately from the performance on the day. This allowed us to get much more natural performances faster than traditional keyframe animation. For the Green Symbiote, Stephen Graham provided a good sense of movement and pacing that definitely influenced how we approached the performance of the character. Later, when we were on the mocap stage in post, this was an invaluable reference for how Kelly and Stephen had interpreted the character and we did our utmost to keep the feel and pacing of his performance on the day.Were there any unexpected technical or creative challenges encountered during the production?There wasnt anything particularly new that was required for this project on a technical level that we hadnt already established from the first two films, so it came down to taking everything we had learnt from these prior shows, and trying to improve upon it. Standing on the shoulders of the previous films development allowed us more time to finesse looks and performance, rather than having to create the majority of the set-ups from scratch. We did, ultimately, have to recreate a certain amount of each asset due to our pipeline updating substantially between the films, but we knew where we were going which can sometimes be half the battle.Looking back on the project, what aspects of the visual effects are you most proud of?The Venom Horse transformation was really enjoyable to be involved with, and it was a lot of fun getting this to work, as was this entire sequence. It was technically quite challenging and the team really rose to the challenge. Plus its always really nice when the audience responds well to the work, as Venom has a very active fanbase who can be very vocal about what they see.How long have you worked on this show?I came onto the show a couple of months before we began shooting in May 2023 and finished in October this year, so about a year and a half.Whats the VFX shots count?DNEG worked on around 500 shots.What is your next project?Something will be happening in the New Year but, for now, Im just enjoying a slower pace and enjoying life.A big thanks for your time.WANT TO KNOW MORE?DNEG: Dedicated page about Venom: The Last Dance on DNEG website.John Moffatt and Aharon Bourland: Heres my interview of Production VFX Supervisors John Moffatt and Aharon Bourland. Vincent Frei The Art of VFX 2025

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Industrial manufacturing firm Siemens has launched its new Siemens for Startups program at the Las Vegas CES 2025 technology trade show.This new initiative supports early-stage engineering and manufacturing startups by offering venture-related services while lowering the cost of Siemens software and hardware. According to the Munich-based tech conglomerate, this offering will help young companies streamline collaboration, make new partnerships, accelerate innovations, and scale faster.The new program features three core pillars: Connect, Collaborate, and Empower. These will provide key services ranging from onboarding to the Xcelerator marketplace, venture clienting support, and key software tools. Siemens has partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to provide access to the Siemens Xcelerator ecosystem, helping foster startup growth and innovation.During CES 2025, running until January 10, Siemens is also highlighting several technology startups that are using its expertise and technology to enhance operations. This includes 3D printed furniture company Haddy, which employs additive manufacturing and robotics to produce low-cost, sustainable products on a commercial scale. The Siemens Xcelerator is supporting Haddys efforts to build a global network of micro-factories featuring CEAD Flexbot 3D printers and recycling units to reduce waste and shorten supply chains.Other startups collaborating with the Roland Busch-led company include space infrastructure developer Arkisys, manufacturing workflow software specialist Dirac, AI-powered factory management developer EthonAI, work safety firm Tended, and Instrumental, which offers a solution to detect failures in electronics manufacturing.Startups are essential to making our customers more competitive, sustainable and Resilient, commented Peter Koerte, Siemens CTO, Chief Strategy Officer, and Member of the Managing Board. By collaborating with startups, Siemens helps bring breakthrough ideas to industries faster, empowering customers to address global challenges more effectively with cutting-edge technologies, tools and solutions, he added.Siemens Xcelerator software is available through the Siemens for Startups program. Image via Siemens.Siemens for Startups unveiled at CES 2025The first pillar of the Siemens for Startups program, Connect, helps onboard partner companies to the Siemens Xcelerator marketplace. This online platform serves as a centralized hub where users can locate, purchase, and connect digital services, software, and solutions from Simens and its partners. Connect provides access to this global go-to-market channel, as well as the broader Siemens Xcelerator ecosystem.Through the Collaborate pillar, the tech giant will partner with participating startups as an early customer and co-developer. By collaborating through a venture clienting approach, Siemens will leverage its products and expertise to solve business problems without directly investing in or acquiring the startups. The company claims this relationship is symbiotic, providing Siemens access to valuable cutting-edge capabilities and services while delivering startups the revenue needed for growth.Through its final pillar, Empower, Siemens program will offer young companies access to essential software tools from Siemens Xcelerator. This support is available to startups regardless of whether they focus on product development or software development.The firm also announced that it will build on its existing partnership with AWS by linking the Simens for Startups program with AWSs Startup program. It is hoped that this combination will accelerate innovation, streamline development processes, and facilitate faster company scaling. Siemens added that the move underscores both companies commitment to fostering entrepreneurship and driving digital transformation in the industrial sector.Integrating the design, simulation, and manufacturing software solutions from the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio into AWSs cloud infrastructure and startup program will reportedly provide access to the tools startups need to seize market opportunities. Qualifying startups requiring technical and go-to-market support will also receive AWS credits, business development resources, and AWS Activate program access.Collaborating with Siemens allows us to extend the capabilities of our AWS Startup program to a new generation of innovators in the engineering and manufacturing Space, commented Jon Jones, Vice President and Global Head of Startups at AWS. By providing startups with advanced software, generative AI and cloud services, AWS and Siemens are enabling them to bring their ideas to life more quickly and boost entire industries with cutting-edge solutions.Featured image shows a graphic of a client using Siemens Xcelerator software to optimize their 3D manufacturing process. Image via Siemens. 3D printing startups target growthSiemens for Startups taps into ever-present demand within the additive manufacturing market, which continues to see the introduction of new companies looking to commercialize technology and scale operations.Earlier this month, Greg Mark and David Benhaim, the founders of industrial 3D printer manufacturer Markforged, launched their new company, Backflip, after raising $30 million in funding. The startup offers an AI 3D model generator that can convert simple text and image prompts into 3D printable parts. Its novel neural representation reportedly accelerates the design process, enabling 60x more efficient training, 10x faster inference, and a spatial resolution that is 100x greater than existing methods.Financial backing for Backflip has come from venture capital firms NEA and Andreessen Horowitz, as well as Microsoft CTO and LinkedIn Co-founder Kevin Scott, Android Founder Rich Miner, and Essential AI CEO Ashish Vaswani.Metal 3D printing startup Fluent Metal launched from stealth last year after raising $5.5 million in venture capital funding. The company was founded to develop and commercialize its drop-on-demand additive manufacturing technology. This production-scale wire-based, liquid metal printing (LMP) process reportedly produces zero material waste, making it cheaper and more sustainable than existing powder-based approaches.Who won the 2024 3D Printing Industry Awards?All the news from Formnext 2024.Subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry newsletter to keep up with the latest 3D printing news.You can also follow us on X, like our Facebook page, and subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry Youtube channel to access more exclusive content.Featured image shows Siemens software available through the Siemens for Startups program. Image via Siemens.

Fuentes de Vida; Gemela (2023)Nicole McLaughlins Mixed-Media Sculptures Celebrate Craft, Heritage, and New LifeJanuary 8, 2025ArtCraftKate MothesFrom ceramics and wool fiber, Nicole McLaughlin (previously) summons striking connections between materials, heritage, and personal experiences. She draws upon the rich traditions of historically domestic crafts to reconsider their roles today, merging ceramics and textiles into elegant, cascading wall sculptures.Drawing on artisanal trades like pottery and weaving, McLaughlin deconstructs preconceptions about form and function, emphasizing mediums, techniques, and themes through the unexpected pairing of stoneware and fiber. Her works encourage us to think critically about relationships between tenderness and strength or past and present.Cordn de Vida (2024), ceramic, tencel, indigo, wool, and cochineal, 27 x 60 x 4 inches. Courtesy of Anderson Yezerski GalleryMany of the pieces shown here are from McLaughlins ongoing Indigo Series, which explores the history of the Mayan pigment and its taps into the continuity of life cycles, history, and culture. Streams of wool fiber flow from central openings in glazed ceramic spheres, referencing the life-giving flow of water as a parallel to fertility and maternal care.McLaughlin gave birth to a daughter in early 2024, which dramatically shifted how she viewed her studio practice. The work in her most recent exhibition, String of Life at Anderson Yezerski Gallery, merges personal experiences and her Mexican cultural heritage, delving into themes of life and the transformative journey of motherhood.The transformation of organic material echoes the transformative nature of motherhood, McLaughlin said in a statement for the show. The range of colors captures an intense emotional spectrumfrom the vitality of birth to the softer, more intimate moments.For McLaughlin, cochineal carries an equivalent significance. The brilliant magenta hue emerges from carmine dye, also known as cochineal, which comes from crushing an insect of the same name. The color plays a vital role in Indigenous material culture and heritage of the Americas. Detail of Cordn de VidaFor the Aztecs and Mayans, red was symbolic of the gods, the sun, and blood, and the dye was traded throughout Central and South America for use in rituals, producing pigments for manuscripts and murals, and for dyeing cloth and feathers.During the Mayan empire, indigo was combined with clay and incense to create a pigment known as Maya blue, she says. The pigment was said to hold the healing power of water in the agricultural community.McLaughlins work is in the group exhibition OBJECTS: USA 2024 at R & Company in New York, which continues through tomorrow. The artist is currently taking a short break from the studio in anticipation of working toward a solo exhibition at Adamah Ceramics in Columbus, Ohio, which will open this fall. See more on her website, and follow updates on Instagram.Agua; Sangre de Vida. Photo by Logan Jackson, courtesy of R & CompanyLa Pequea (2024), ceramic, wool, and cochineal, 10.5 x 21 x 1.5 inches. Courtesy of Anderson Yezerski GalleryLa Marea que me Envuelve II (2023). All images courtesy of Nicole McLaughlin, shared with permissionDetail of Fuentes de Vida; GemelaDetail of De Mi Vientre (2024), ceramic, tencel, wool, and cochineal, 17.5 x 73 x 5.5 inches. Courtesy of Anderson Yezerski GalleryUntitled (2024), 10 x 10 feetDetail of La PequeaNext article

By Fox News Staff Fox News Published January 8, 2025 12:27pm EST close 'CyberGuy': The FBI's new warning about AI-driven scams that are after your cash Kurt Knutsson discusses some tips to keep you safe. Welcome to Fox News Artificial Intelligence newsletter with the latest AI technology advancements.IN TODAYS NEWSLETTER:- FBI's new warning about AI-driven scams that are after your cash- Nvidia CEO: 'The ChatGPT moment for general robotics is just around the corner'- AI detects ovarian cancer better than human experts in new study FBI building in D.C. (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)BEWARE DEEPFAKE SCAMS: The FBI is issuing a warning that criminals are increasingly using generative AI technologies, particularly deepfakes, to exploit unsuspecting individuals.This alert serves as a reminder of the growing sophistication and accessibility of these technologies and the urgent need for vigilance in protecting ourselves from potential scams.ROBOTICS ERA: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said theartificial intelligence revolution is on the verge of delivering breakthroughs in robotics at the annual Consumer Electronics Show conference in Las Vegas. AI technology is being used more and more by doctors. (iStock)HIGH-TECH HEALTH: In a new study led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, AI models do a better job of detecting ovarian cancer than human doctors.TERSE VERSE: OpenAI founder Sam Altman rang in the new year with a short missive posing questions and concerns about the future of artificial intelligence.CUSTOMIZE YOUR EMOJI: Genmoji, a clever blend of "generative AI" and "emoji," is Apple's latest addition to its Apple Intelligence suite. This feature harnesses the power of on-device artificial intelligence to generate custom emoji based on your text descriptions. Genmoji on iPhone (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)FOLLOW FOX NEWS ON SOCIAL MEDIASIGN UP FOR OUR OTHER NEWSLETTERSDOWNLOAD OUR APPSWATCH FOX NEWS ONLINEFox News GoSTREAM FOX NATIONFox NationStay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future with Fox Newshere. This article was written by Fox News staff. Related Topics

A Berlin court has raised questions over whether data from 120 million messages obtained by police hacking an encrypted phone service can continue to be lawfully used as evidence in prosecutions in Germany and other European countries.The Landgericht Berlin Regional Court has ruled that text messages intercepted by French police from the EncroChat encrypted phone network cannot be used to prosecute a suspect for alleged drugs trafficking offences in Germany.The decision, by Germanys largest criminal court, calls into question previous assumptions that under Europes mutual recognition principle, intercept evidence obtained by one member state can automatically be used as evidence in other European states.The court ruling is likely to have implications for the use of evidence obtained from future law enforcement hacking operations into encrypted communications systems, defence lawyer Christian Ldden told Computer Weekly.EncroChat is one of a series of encrypted phone and messaging services to be infiltrated by collaborating law enforcement agencies across Europe since 2020, sparking prosecutions of organised crime groups for drug trafficking and money laundering in multiple countries.French and Dutch police harvested messages from 4,600 EncroChat phone users in Germany and tens of thousands of phone users in other countries after infiltrating EncroChat servers hosted at the OVH datacentre in Roubaix, France, in a novel hacking operation in 2020.A three-year investigation by police into organised crime and drug groups using EncroChat phones led to 6,500 arrests worldwide and the seizure of nearly 900min cash and assets.The lawfulness of the use of hacked data from EncroChat and other encrypted phone networks has now been called into question following a ruling by the Berlin Regional Court.The months-long trial heard evidence from German investigators and prosecutors, and reviewed translations of evidence disclosed by the UKs National Crime Agency during criminal trials involving EncroChat in the UK.A grand chamber of the Berlin Regional Court, made up of three professional judges, a presiding judge and two lay people, found in an oral decision in December that contrary to arguments by European prosecutors, French investigators had not intercepted EncroChat data from a central server in France, but had harvested it from the handsets of EncroChat users in German territory.Read more about key EncroChat decisions in GermanyOctober 2022: Berlins Regional Court has asked the European Court of Justice to answer questions about whether the use of hacked EncroChat phone evidence complies with European law.July 2023: The European Court of Justice hears evidence on whether the collection and sharing of data intercepted by law enforcement from the EncroChat crypto phone network is compatible with European law.October 2023: Germany lawfully obtained data on German EncroChat users from France, but whether the evidence is legally admissible is a matter for national courts, says advocate general.April 2024: The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) rules that EU member states must formally notify other member states when they intercept communications in their jurisdiction, opening up the way for further legal challenges.Under German law, that meant prosecutors were obliged to seek approval from the German courts to use the French-supplied data in Germany.However, the presiding judge found that prosecutors had failed to seek judicial approval and that German courts would not have authorised the hacking operation against EncroChat under German law.The decision came after the Berlin Regional Court submitted questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) asking whether Frances sharing of hacked EncroChat messages with Germany was permitted under European law.The European court found that, under the European Invesitigation Order (EIO) Directive, France should have formally notified Germany of the interception of EncroChat phones on German soil, and given German authorities the opportunity to object to the operation within 96 hours, if they wished.The court of justice found, contrary to previous German court decisions, that the protections offered by Article 31 of the EIO Directive were designed to protect the rights not only of the country receiving evidence from another EU state but also the individual users of telecoms services intercepted by law enforcement.That contradicted earlier findings of the German supreme court that found Article 31 exists only to support the sovereignty of member states, and cannot be claimed by German citizens as a measure to protect their rights.Following the CJEUs decision, the Berlin Regional Court found in its latest ruling that the principle of mutual confidence in actions of other member states during judicial cooperation only meant Germany should recognise that Frances actions were legal under French law.The presiding judge, Kristin Klimke, found that the German court still had a duty to examine whether the French operation against EncroChat would be legal under German law. And in this case, a German court would not have approved the operation under German law because the evidence of suspicion did not meet the threshold to justify an equivalent hacking operation in Germany.The judge also found that prosecutors had not established that evidence of serious crimes could not have been obtained in a less obtrusive way than by intercepting the data of all EncroChat phone users in Germany.The principle of European cooperation is not intended to require each national law authority to adopt the same criteria for conducting state hacking operations, but is intended to enable cooperation between countries with different laws to protect the privacy and other rights of their citizens, the judge found.Although the Court of Justice of the European Union allowed German prosecutors to request EncroChat data from France, the CJEU did not go on to say that prosecutors could use the data without approval from a German court.In another legally significant decision, the judge found that the hacking operation against EncroChat was not simply a French police operation but was a joint European operation involving a number of other EU member states.France went beyond surveilling the 300 French users of EncroChat, gathering data from all EncroChat users in Europe, the judge found. France had notified its partner countries in advance of the hacking operation.However French prosecutors failed to comply with European law by failing to follow the correct procedures under EU law to inform Germany of its plans to obtain the phone data of German citizens.Frances notification should have contained details of the targets identified by phone number, IP address or email, the identity of individuals targeted, including their address, date of birth and social security numbers, as well as a description of the offence committed.The Berlin Regional Court also found that the French authorities had not disclosed their communications with German police and that no information had been supplied to the court on how the data had been intercepted raising questions over whether defendants had adequate information to challenge the validity of the data.German defence lawyer Christian Ldden, who is a member of an international group of lawyers collaborating on EncroChat and similar cases, said the court was the first to try to understand what happened before and during the EncroChat operation. The judge found that Germany, rather than simply taking data France had already obtained from EncroChat, had been informed about the hacking operation in advance and had therefore participated in the operation.At the end of the day, she said that under German and European law, the evidence is not allowed to be used in court, he added.Ldden said the decision would set a precedent for other cases heard in Germany, though courts elsewhere would make their own decisions on the admissibility of EncroChat evidence. The case is also likely to impact the use of intercept evidence in other cases in Europe, he said.Dutch defence lawyer Justus Reisinger said the Berlin courts decision could have massive implications for cases in Holland.This decision basically confirms our defence arguments in the Netherlands from the recent year. Previously, the Supreme Court rejected my arguments on this point, but along with the Berlin court, even academics are saying that an interpretation like that from the Dutch Supreme Court cant stand. So a legal landslide is quite possible and justified, he said.Bojana Franovi, a lawyer in Montengro dealing with evidence from police hacking of Sky ECC and the FBI-run Anom encrypted phone network, said the decision was likely to influence judicial decisions in her country.Italian lawyer, Daniel Fiorino, said that the Berlin court decision as an excellent result but described the legal situation in Italy as very complex.We have numerous trials still underway, he said.Everyone in the judiciary, at least in Montenegro, is very keen on what the other countries are doing and how they are dealing with those cases, she said.A final written version of the decision has yet to be published.Prosecutors are expected to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court in Germany.The Berlin Regional Court ruled that EncroChat data cannot be used in evidence in a criminal trial.Although data from EncroChat phones was obtained lawfully under French law, a German court is still required to decide whether the interception measures taken by France were permissible under German law.Under German law, the suspicion that users of EncroChat were committing crimes did not reach the threshold to justify intercepting all EncroChat communications.The principle of mutual cooperation between European member states must recognise national measures to protect citizens fundamental rights in cooperating countries.Although the European Court of Justice concluded that German prosecutors were permitted to request EncroChat data from France, that does not in itself mean prosecutors could also use the data in prosecutions.It was not established that evidence against suspects could not have been gathered by less draconian means other than by than intercepting their communications.Germanys legal role in EncroChat2017: French investigators establish that EncroChat encrypted phones were used in a number of drugs related offences.2018: French investigators copy data from an EncroChat server at the OVH datacentre in Roubaix, France. The server data reveals that over 66,000 SIM cards are registered on EncroChat. Investigators are able to decrypt 3,500 files including encrypted notes made by phone users.2018: The German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) discovers that EncroChat phones are being used in Germany in serious crimes.30 January 2020: A court in Lille, France, approves the use of a data interception device on the EncroChat server and on EncroChat handsets.2020: The German BKA and the Central Office for Combating Cyber Crime (ZIT), located at the Public Prosecutors Office in Frankfurt (GSta), begin discussions on an investigation into EncroChat.9 March 2020: The BKA and the ZIT take part in a video conference organised by Eurojust in the Hague with representatives of other countries to discuss how to exploit EncroChat data with the French and Dutch Joint Investigation Team (JIT) working on the hacking operation.13 March 2020: The BKA begins a preliminary investigation into unknown users of the EncroChat service on suspicion that EncroChat phone users were in small-scale trafficking of narcotics and organised crime.20 March 2020: The Lille court in France approves an order to redirect data streams on the EncroChat server to enable the capture of EncroChat data.27 March 2020: The BKA receives a message in English from the French and Dutch JIT through Europols Siena communications systems inviting police authorities in other countries to receive messages from EncroChat. The note asked participating countries to confirm they had been informed of the methods used to obtain data from devices in their jurisdiction. Participating countries could only use the intercept material in investigations after being granted permission by the JIT.27 March 2020: The BKA issues the approvals and confirmations requested by Europol after consulting with GSta Frankfurt.1 April 2020: The French and Dutch JIT installs Trojan Horse or implant software on an EncroChat server hosted in the OVH datacentre in Roubaix, France, which goes live. 3 April 2020: The BKA begins downloading EncroChat data supplied by France, through Europol.7 April 2020: The French investigation is expanded from an investigation into the illegal supply of encryption technology in France to include illegal trade in drugs and weapons offences.1 May 2020: The Lille court in France extends permission to continue technical measures against EncroChats infrastructure for one month.13 May 2020: The BKA writes to the French public prosecutor asking permission to make judicial decisions on the collection of location data and other investigative measures on suspects, without disclosing the French investigation into EncroChat.1 June 2020: The Lille court extends permission to continue technical measures against EncroChats infrastructure for a further four months.2 June 2020: The German public prosecutors office of Frankfurt issues a European Investigation Order formally requesting permission to use the EncroChat data obtained by France in prosecutions.13 June 2020: The Lille court approves Germanys European Investigation Order, giving consent to the use of the data by Germany for judicial investigations and prosecutions.28 June 2020: EncroChat administrators succeed in closing down the EncroChat network after having discovered the hacking operation.9 September 2020: The Public Prosecutors Office in Frankfurt issues a further European Investigation Order for additional data from the French EncroChat operation.2 July 2021: The Public Prosecutors Office in Frankfurt issues a third further European Investigation Order for additional data from the French EncroChat operation.1 July 2021: The Berlin Regional Court finds that EncroChat messages cannot be used in German criminal proceedings.5 July 2021: The Berlin Public Prosecutors Office issues a complaint seeking to overturn the Berlin Regional Courts decision and requesting the reopening of criminal proceedings against the defendant.31 August 2021: The Superior Court in Berlin rules that messages intercepted by French police from the EncroChat encrypted phone network can be used as evidence.2 March 2022: Germanys Supreme Court, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH), rules that EncroChat evidence provided by France to Germany could be used as evidence in Germany for investigating serious criminal offences.October 2022: Berlins Regional Court asks the European Court of Justice to answer questions about whether the use of hacked EncroChat phone evidence complies with European law.July 2023: The European Court of Justice hears evidence on whether the collection and sharing of data intercepted by law enforcement from the EncroChat cryptophone network is compatible with European law.October 2023: Germany lawfully obtained data on German EncroChat users from France, but whether the evidence is legally admissible is a matter for national courts, says the advocate general.April 2024: The CJEU rules that EU member states must formally notify other member states when they intercept communications in their jurisdiction, opening up the way for further legal challenges.December 2024: The Berlin Regional Court finds that EncroChat data supplied by France cannot be lawfully used as evidence in a long-running drugs trafficking case.