As the deadly coronavirus continues to rage across the U.S. and around the world, people are turning to COVID-19-related apps to figure out their day-to-day risks. VOA’s Julie Taboh has more. Producers: Julie Taboh, Adam Greenbaum …

Would you give up nearly a decade of your life looking at your cellphone?Calculated by today’s usage, the average person spends a little over 76,500 hours – or 8.74 years – on a smartphone over a lifetime, according to a FILE – Marilu Rodriguez checks a news website on her smartphone before boarding a train … continue reading -> “Millennial Life: Eat, Sleep, Work, Screens”

Twitter is launching tweets that disappear in 24 hours called “Fleets” globally, echoing social media sites like Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram that already have disappearing posts.The company says the ephemeral tweets, which it calls “fleets” because of their fleeting nature, are designed to allay the concerns of new users who might be turned off by … continue reading -> “Twitter Launches Disappearing Tweets That Vanish in a Day”

Facing charges of censorship, the CEOs of Twitter and Facebook appeared before a hearing of U.S. lawmakers Tuesday to defend actions taken during the recent U.S. elections. Tina Trinh reports.Produced by: Matt Dibble    …

The Trump administration granted ByteDance a 15-day extension of a divestiture order that had directed the Chinese company to sell its TikTok short video-sharing app by Thursday.TikTok first disclosed the extension earlier in a court filing, saying it now has until Nov. 27 to reach an agreement. Under pressure from the U.S. government, ByteDance has … continue reading -> “Bytedance Gets 15-day Extension on US Order to Divest TikTok”

With Twitter and Facebook blocking and labeling more social media posts, some American conservatives are flocking to alternatives like Parler, which says it won’t censor speech. Matt Dibble reports. …

When Twitter started blocking President Donald Trump’s postings claiming widespread voter fraud, some cheered. Others started looking for the social media exits.   They found a new option at Parler.   Fed up with what they see as an anti-conservative bias by managers of the major social media platforms, Trump supporters are telling their followers … continue reading -> “Parler: A New Social Media Hangout for Conservatives to Vent, Plan”

Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg told an all-staff meeting Thursday that former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon had not violated enough of the company’s policies to justify his suspension, according to a recording heard by Reuters.   “We have specific rules around how many times you need to violate certain policies before we will … continue reading -> “Zuckerberg Says Bannon Has Not Violated Enough Policies for Suspension”

For years, the European Union has been leading the fight to impose a global tax on technology multinationals. After years of resistance by the Trump administration, the Europeans now hope the incoming Biden administration will be willing to compromise – or face a possible digital tax.Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple: four companies dubbed as GAFA … continue reading -> “Under Biden, Europe Hopes for Compromise in US Digital Tax Debate”

The U.S. Treasury Department and China-based ByteDance say they are focused on resolving a battle over U.S. security concerns that prompted President Donald Trump to order the company to divest its popular TikTok app by Thursday.Trump signed an Aug. 14 order setting a 90-day deadline as he alleged that if the app remains under the … continue reading -> “TikTok Faces Deadline for Divesting US Operations”

The U.S. Treasury Department said on Wednesday it wants a resolution of national security risks it has raised over ByteDance’s 2017 acquisition on Musical.ly, which it then merged into the TikTok video-sharing app. The statement came a day after China-based ByteDance filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington challenging a Trump administration … continue reading -> “US Treasury Seeks ‘Resolution’ With ByteDance on Security Concerns”

As election misinformation raged online, Facebook Inc. said on Wednesday its post-election ban on political ads would likely last another month, raising concerns from campaigns and groups eager to reach voters for key Georgia Senate races in January.   The ban, one of Facebook’s measures to combat misinformation and other abuses on its site, was … continue reading -> “Facebook Extends Ban on US Political Ads for Another Month”

ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of video-sharing app TikTok, filed a petition late Tuesday with a U.S. Appeals Court challenging a Trump administration order set to take effect Thursday requiring it to divest TikTok. President Donald Trump in an Aug. 14 order directed ByteDance to divest the app within 90 days, which falls on Thursday. “Facing continual … continue reading -> “ByteDance Challenges Trump’s TikTok Divestiture Order”

European Union regulators have filed antitrust charges against Amazon, accusing the e-commerce giant of using data to gain an unfair advantage over merchants using its platform. The EU’s executive commission, the bloc’s top antitrust enforcer, said Tuesday that the charges have been sent to the company. The commission said it takes issue with Amazon’s systematic … continue reading -> “EU Files Antitrust Charges Against Amazon Over Use of Data”

Twitter says it could strip President Donald Trump’s account of certain privileges when projected election winner Joe Biden takes office on January 20.   Trump’s recent tweets alleging voter fraud in the November 3 election have been tagged by Twitter, with notices that say for example, “This claim about voter fraud is disputed.”   Ordinarily, … continue reading -> “Twitter Could Strip Trump of Certain Privileges Post-Presidency”

Richard Branson’s Virgin Hyperloop has completed the world’s first passenger ride on a super high-speed levitating pod system, the company said on Sunday, a key safety test for technology it hopes will transform human and cargo transportation. Virgin Hyperloop executives Josh Giegel, its Chief Technology Officer, and Sara Luchian, Director of Passenger Experience, reached speeds of up to 107 miles per hour (172 … continue reading -> “Virgin Hyperloop Hosts First Human Ride on New Transport System”

With election-related emotions running high in the U.S., Twitter, Facebook and other internet firms are trying different ways to address misinformation on their sites. Michelle Quinn reports. Producer: Matt Dibble …

With the result of the U.S. presidential race still uncertain Wednesday, Twitter and Facebook took new steps to flag potentially misleading election-related comments by prominent Republicans and Democrats alike.By Wednesday midday, Twitter had limited the ability of President Donald Trump to share four tweets by attaching labels directing readers to information about the election and … continue reading -> “Twitter, Facebook Flag Misleading Comments About US Election”

With the result of the U.S. presidential race still uncertain Wednesday, Twitter and Facebook took new steps to flag potentially misleading election-related comments by prominent Republicans and Democrats alike.By Wednesday midday, Twitter had limited the ability of President Donald Trump to share four tweets by attaching labels directing readers to information about the election and … continue reading -> “Social Media Firms Limit Speech About US Election”

A U.S. judge said Wednesday he was uncertain if he had a legal basis to bar the U.S. Commerce Department from imposing restrictions on video-sharing app TikTok after a Pennsylvania judge already had blocked the government’s plan Friday.Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd, the owner of TikTok, argues that the previous ruling could still be overturned on appeal.U.S. … continue reading -> “US Judge Unsure If He Has Grounds to Issue New TikTok Injunction”

As U.S. voters wait to hear who the next president will be, Twitter, Facebook, Google and other internet firms will be busy doing something else: Monitoring their sites and deciding if and when to stop the spread of misinformation. After the 2016 U.S. election, in which internet firms were criticized for allowing foreign-sponsored actors to use … continue reading -> “Twitter, Facebook, Google Ready to Combat Election Day Misinformation”

Social media companies have made a lot of changes ahead of the U.S. election to stop the spread of misinformation. Will it be enough? VOA’s Michelle Quinn reports.Camera: Deana Mitchell, Matt Dibble                 Produced by: Matt Dibble …

Social media giant Twitter said Monday it will put warning labels on tweets from U.S. election candidates that claim victory ahead of official results.  In a blog post Monday, the company said an election win must be “authoritatively called” before tweets without warning labels will be allowed by candidates or campaigns.  To determine election results, … continue reading -> “Twitter to Label Tweets with Premature Election Claims”

Some New Yorkers are finding unique ways to get together even when they can’t be in the same space. Evgeny Maslov has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.Camera: Michael Eckels     …

Cyber criminals could soon unleash a wave of ransomware attacks targeting U.S. hospitals and health care providers, according to a statement released by three federal agencies, including the FBI.In the statement, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) warned they … continue reading -> “Hackers Could Unleash Ransomware Attacks on US Health System, US Officials Warn”