Facebook said it will ban groups that “represent” QAnon, the baseless conspiracy theory that paints President Donald Trump as a secret warrior against a supposed child-trafficking ring run by celebrities and “deep state” government officials. The company said Tuesday that it will remove Facebook pages, groups and Instagram accounts for “representing QAnon,” even if they don’t…
read moreA U.S. House of Representatives panel looking into abuses of market power by four of the biggest technology companies found they used “killer acquisitions” to smite rivals, charge exorbitant fees and force small businesses into “oppressive” contracts in the name of profit. The panel, an antitrust subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee, recommended that Alphabet Inc.’s Google,…
read moreEven though businesses are reopening around the world, the pandemic is still a reality. Many commercial spaces and offices are taking people’s temperatures before allowing them inside. In some industries, handheld thermometers may not be efficient enough. Thermal imaging systems allow temperatures to be taken without anyone needing to be physically close to the person…
read moreEven though businesses are reopening around the world, the pandemic is still a reality. Many commercial spaces and offices are taking people’s temperatures before allowing them inside. In some industries, handheld thermometers may not be efficient enough. Thermal imaging systems allow temperatures to be taken without anyone needing to be physically close to the person…
read moreWith tens of thousands of new coronavirus cases daily in the U.S., states are launching digital apps that alert people if they have been exposed to someone who tested positive for the virus. Virginia recently rolled out a COVID exposure app that became instantly popular with residents. Health officials are trying to determine whether such…
read moreMore than six months into the COVID-19 pandemic, a handful of U.S. states are starting to roll out apps that promise to tell people if they’ve been exposed to someone with the virus — without revealing personal information. Now with the White House struggling with a COVID-19 outbreak, the goal to figure out a way to quickly notify people has gained…
read moreNeed to pay for some groceries? No problem, just wave your palm. That could be the new mode of payment at Amazon Go stores if current trials of its new technology in Seattle, Washington, are successful. The technology, known as Amazon One, is a “free, contactless service that lets you use your palm to pay,…
read moreChinese-owned video sharing platform TikTok says it is creating a guide “to protect against misinformation” during the 2020 U.S. elections. In a blog post Tuesday, the company said its guide would connect “100 million Americans with trusted information about the elections from the National Association of Secretaries of State, BallotReady, SignVote, and more.” “Our The U.S. head…
read moreFacebook’s deletion of accounts targeting the Philippines from bases in China shows that the U.S. internet giant wants a better reputation in Southeast Asia after letting things slide in the past, say analysts who follow the case. On September 22, Facebook said it had removed 155 of its own accounts and six Instagram accounts for violating an internal…
read moreThere are all kinds of apps that rate the air quality of your home inside and outside. But one young programmer has created one that has taken off in his native Macedonia. Now it’s also expanding worldwide. VOA`s Jane Bojadzievski reports. …
read moreA federal judge on Sunday postponed a Trump administration order that would have banned the popular video sharing app TikTok from U.S. smartphone app stores around midnight. A more comprehensive ban remains scheduled for November, about a week after the presidential election. The judge, Carl Nichols of the U.S District Court for the District of Columbia, did not…
read moreLawyers for TikTok pleaded with a U.S. federal judge on Sunday to delay the Trump administration’s ban of the popular video sharing program from app stores set to take effect at the end of the day, arguing the move would infringe on First Amendment rights and do irreparable harm to the business.The 90-minute hearing came…
read moreThe U.S. government has placed new export restrictions on China’s most advanced maker of computer chips, citing an “unacceptable risk” that equipment sold to the country’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) could be used for military purposes.According to a letter Friday by the Commerce Department, American suppliers of certain technology products to SMIC will need…
read moreThe U.S. Justice Department asked a federal judge in San Francisco on Friday to allow the government to bar Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google from offering WeChat for download in U.S. app stores pending an appeal.The filing asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler to put on hold her preliminary injunction issued Saturday. That injunction…
read moreFacebook’s highly anticipated independent oversight board, a group that will be empowered to overrule the company’s leadership on issues pertaining to the platform’s content moderation decisions, plans to launch in October, just in time for the November U.S. presidential election.The board was created by Facebook after the platform was criticized for its handling of problematic…
read moreA group of Apple Inc.’s critics, including Spotify Technology SA, Match Group Inc. and “Fortnite” creator Epic Games, have joined a nonprofit group that plans to advocate for legal and regulatory action to challenge the iPhone maker’s App Store practices. Apple charges a commission of between 15% and 30% for apps that use its in-app payment…
read morePresident Donald Trump met with nine Republican state attorneys general on Wednesday to discuss the fate of a legal immunity for internet companies after the Justice Department unveiled a legislative proposal aimed at reforming the same law. Trump met with attorneys general from Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and West Virginia. Also Wednesday,…
read moreTikTok asked a U.S. judge on Wednesday to block a Trump administration order that would require Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google to remove the short video-sharing app for new downloads starting Sunday. A federal judge in San Francisco on Saturday issued a preliminary injunction blocking a similar Commerce Department order from taking effect Sunday on…
read moreThe 75th U.N. General Assembly is breaking new ground by going virtual this year due to the coronavirus. Along with that comes a whole new set of challenges and security risks. Aaron Fedor reports for VOA from New York City. …
read moreGermany’s health ministry Wednesday said its coronavirus smartphone app has been downloaded more than 18 million times and transmitted 1.2 million test results from labs to users during the first 100 days of use.Health Minister Jens Spahn told reporters in Berlin that while the “Corona Warn App” is far from perfect, it should be considered…
read moreThe 75th U.N. General Assembly is breaking new ground by going virtual this year due to the coronavirus. Along with that comes a whole new set of challenges and security risks. Aaron Fedor reports for VOA from New York City. …
read moreThe U.S. Commerce Department said Monday it is challenging a federal judge’s injunction against its order that Apple and Google remove WeChat from their U.S. app stores due to data privacy and national security concerns.The department’s original order, issued Friday, also included another Chinese-owned app, TikTok, and expressed the Trump administration’s concerns about the way…
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