After nearly an hour of widespread global outages of Google services, most users were again able to access their Gmail, Google Drive and YouTube accounts Monday morning.   “Update — We’re back up and running! You should be able to access YouTube again and enjoy videos as normal,” YouTube tweeted once service was restored.   … continue reading -> “Google Suffers Widespread Outage of Gmail, YouTube and More”

The head of the European Union’s medical agency confirmed Friday it had been the subject of a cyberattack for the past two weeks but said it will not impact its ongoing evaluation of COVID-19 vaccines.The cyberattack was originally announced Wednesday, with the agency providing few details. During an online meeting with the European Parliament, European … continue reading -> “EU Vaccine Agency Victim of Cyberattack”

The U.S. added China’s biggest computer chipmaker SMIC to a blacklist of alleged Chinese military companies last week, a move that will further widen the gap between China’s chip technology and the rest of the world.Despite its status as the world’s factory, China has never figured out how to make advanced chips. In recent years, … continue reading -> “Can China Become Self-reliant in Semiconductors?”

Getting a COVID test can mean long lines and delayed results. Matt Dibble looks into recent breakthroughs that may have more of us performing a test at home. Camera: Matt Dibble       Producer: Matt Dibble …

The head of the European Union’s medical agency confirmed Friday it had been the subject of a cyberattack for the past two weeks but said it will not impact its ongoing evaluation of COVID-19 vaccines.The cyberattack was originally announced Wednesday, with the agency providing few details. During an online meeting with the European Parliament, European … continue reading -> “EU Vaccine Agency Victim of Cyber-attack”

Getting a COVID test can mean long lines and delayed results. Matt Dibble looks into recent breakthroughs that may have more of us performing a test at home. Camera: Matt Dibble       Producer: Matt Dibble …

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and nearly every U.S. state sued Facebook Inc. Wednesday, saying it broke antitrust law and should potentially be broken up.With the filing of the twin lawsuits, Facebook becomes the second big tech company to face a major legal challenge this fall.The FTC said in a statement that it would seek … continue reading -> “Facebook Faces US Lawsuits That Could Force Sale of Instagram, WhatsApp”

YouTube said on Wednesday it would start removing content that falsely allege widespread fraud changed the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, in a change to its more hands-off stance on videos making similar claims. The update, which applies to content uploaded from Wednesday, comes a day after “safe harbor,” a deadline set by U.S. … continue reading -> “YouTube Will Remove New Videos That Falsely Claim Fraud Changed US Election Outcome”

Prominent U.S. cybersecurity firm FireEye said Tuesday that foreign government hackers with “world-class capabilities” broke into its network and stole offensive tools it uses to probe the defenses of its thousands of customers, who include federal, state and local governments and top global corporations.The hackers “primarily sought information related to certain government customers,” FireEye CEO … continue reading -> “Cybersecurity Firm FireEye Says Was Hacked by Nation State”

Legislation to make Facebook and Google pay media organizations for news content will be introduced in the Australian parliament on Wednesday, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said Tuesday.   Frydenberg said the measure would be reviewed by a parliamentary committee after its introduction and before legislators vote on it next year.   If the measure becomes law, … continue reading -> “Australia Introducing Bill to Make Facebook and Google Pay Media Groups for Content”

U.S. glassmaker Corning has become the dominant provider of glass covers for smartphones worldwide. Deana Mitchell has the story. …

Six months ago, Apple and Google introduced a new smartphone tool designed to notify people who might have been exposed to the coronavirus, without disclosing any personal information. But for the most part, Americans haven’t been all that interested. Fewer than half of U.S. states and territories — 18 in total — have made such … continue reading -> “Despite Promise, Few in US Adopting COVID-19 Exposure Apps”

The Trump administration has chosen not to extend again an order requiring ByteDance, a Chinese company, to divest TikTok’s U.S. assets, but talks will continue over the video-sharing app’s fate, two sources briefed on the matter said.A Treasury Department representative said late Friday that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) was … continue reading -> “US Not Extending TikTok Divestiture Deadline; Talks to Continue”

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit Thursday saying social media giant Facebook was discriminating against U.S. workers and hiring cheaper foreign workers instead.Many of the temporary workers the DOJ accused Facebook of giving hiring preferences to were foreign workers with H-1B visas.H1-B visas allow U.S. companies to hire foreign workers in “specialty … continue reading -> “Federal Lawsuit Alleges Facebook Discriminates Against US Workers “

Facebook will begin removing false claims about COVID-19 vaccines from its social media platform, the company said Thursday, as part of an ongoing campaign to combat the spread of misinformation about them.“This is another way that we are applying our policy to remove misinformation about the virus that could lead to imminent physical harm,” Facebook … continue reading -> “Facebook to Start Removing Bogus Claims About COVID Vaccines”

Twitter has enacted stricter content rules, adding to its list of prohibited conduct any language that “dehumanizes people on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin.”The social media company announced the update to its policy on Wednesday.Twitter said it would remove any offending posts that users report and would also work to detect content … continue reading -> “Twitter Prohibits Dehumanizing Posts Targeting Race, Ethnicity”

The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed a $102 million contract with a Swiss start-up company to purchase a unique service: the first-ever removal of an item of space debris from orbit.   The company, ClearSpace SA, will capture part of a used rocket using what is described as a “tentacle,” and then dragging it … continue reading -> “European Space Agency Signs Deal to Remove Debris from Orbit”

It might look like chicken. It might taste like chicken. But it doesn’t come from a chicken, it comes from a lab. For chicken lovers in Singapore, this lab-grown chicken will soon be available in nugget form as the country has given the OK for San Francisco-based startup Eat Just to sell the meat. It is … continue reading -> “Singapore OKs Lab-grown Chicken”

Facebook’s oversight board has announced the first cases it’s going to examine to determine if it will overturn the social media giant’s decisions to delete content. Created in October, the board’s apparent role will be to assess cases of Facebook and Instagram users who say their content was wrongly removed. “As the Board cannot hear every appeal, … continue reading -> “Facebook Oversight Board Announces First Six Cases”

Facebook and Google are becoming “zones without human rights” in Vietnam, Amnesty International warned Tuesday, accusing the tech giants of helping to censor peaceful opposition and political freedom in the country. Amnesty warned that although they were “once the great hope for the rise of freedom of expression in the country, social media platforms are rapidly … continue reading -> “Facebook, Google ‘Zones Without Human Rights’ in Vietnam, Amnesty Says”

The government of the Solomon Islands has defended its plans to ban Facebook, insisting the move would preserve “national unity.” Ministers say the world’s largest social media platform has been “grossly abused.” But critics insist a ban is an attempt to shut down criticism of the government’s economic policies.Facebook helps connect the people of a … continue reading -> “Solomon Islands Plans to Ban Facebook to Preserve ‘National Unity’”

The government of the Solomon Islands has defended its plans to ban Facebook, insisting the move would preserve “national unity.” Ministers say the world’s largest social media platform has been “grossly abused.” But critics insist a ban is an attempt to shut down criticism of the government’s economic policies.Facebook helps connect the people of a … continue reading -> “Solomon Islands Moves to Ban Facebook Over ‘National Unity’ Fears”

China successfully launched an unmanned spacecraft to the moon Monday to land, gather soil and rock samples, and return them to Earth.  If successful, it will be the first mission by any nation to retrieve samples from the lunar surface since the 1970s, and the third nation, after the United States and Russia, to retrieve such … continue reading -> “China Launches Lunar Probe  “

China is scheduled to launch an unmanned spacecraft to the moon Monday to land, gather soil and rock samples, and return them to Earth.     If successful, it will be the first mission by any nation to retrieve samples from the lunar surface since the 1970s, and the third nation, after the United States … continue reading -> “China Set to Launch Lunar Probe”

Vietnam has threatened to shut down Facebook in the country if it does not bow to government pressure to censor more local political content on its platform, a senior official at the U.S. social media giant told Reuters.Facebook complied with a government request in April to significantly increase its censorship of “anti-state” posts for local … continue reading -> “Vietnam Tells Facebook: Yield to Censors or We’ll Shut You Down, Source Says”