China’s foreign minister announced Tuesday the start of a global data security initiative, outlining principles that should be followed in areas ranging from personal information to espionage.Wang Yi announced the initiative in a video as part of conference on international cooperation. The initiative comes as the U.S. continues to put pressure on China’s largest technology … continue reading -> “China Launches Data Security Initiative”

Many robots are being developed and used these days to maximize speed so factories can efficiently make more products.  One robot developed at the Georgia Institute of Technology is celebrated for how slow it is.  It’s called a SlothBot and visitors can see it working at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.  VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has the … continue reading -> “Robot Sloths Beat Humans In Race to Save Endangered Plants”

Facebook Inc on Friday removed the pages of U.S. right-wing group Patriot Prayer and its founder Joey Gibson, a company spokesman told Reuters.Patriot Prayer has hosted dozens of pro-gun, pro-Trump rallies. Attendees have repeatedly clashed with left-wing groups around Portland, Oregon, where one group supporter was killed this week.The victim, 39-year-old Aaron Danielson, was walking … continue reading -> “Facebook Removes Pages of Right-wing Group Patriot Prayer After Portland Unrest”

Twitter confirmed on Thursday that an account of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal website was hacked with a series of tweets asking its followers to donate to a relief fund through cryptocurrency. The incident comes after several Twitter accounts of prominent personalities were hacked in July. Twitter said it was aware of the activity … continue reading -> “Twitter Confirms Indian PM Modi’s Personal Website Account Hacked”

Facebook Inc said on Thursday it would stop accepting new political ads in the week before the U.S. presidential election in November, bowing to concern that its loose approach to free speech could once again be exploited to interfere with the vote.   The world’s biggest social network also said it was creating a label … continue reading -> “Facebook to Halt New Political Ads Week Before US Election”

Pakistan has blocked access to five dating apps for their delivery of “immoral/indecent content” in the majority-Muslim nation. The state regulator, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, PTA, identified the platforms as Tinder, Grindr, Tagged, Skout and SayHi.”PTA issued notices to the above-mentioned platforms for the purpose of removing dating services and to moderate livestreaming content in accordance with … continue reading -> “Pakistan Blocks 5 Dating Apps Over ‘Immoral Content’”

Facebook said Tuesday that it removed a small network of accounts and pages linked to Russia’s Internet Research Agency, the “troll factory” that has used social media accounts to sow political discord in the U.S. since the 2016 presidential election.  Twitter also suspended five related accounts. The company said the tweets from these Russia-linked accounts “were low quality and spammy” and … continue reading -> “Facebook, Twitter Suspend Russian Network Ahead of Election”

Getting an Amazon package delivered from the sky is closer to becoming a reality.The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it had granted Amazon approval to deliver packages by drones.Amazon said that the approval is an “important step,” but added that it is still testing and flying the drones. It did not say when it expected … continue reading -> “Amazon Wins FAA Approval to Deliver Packages by Drone”

After years of planning, China now dominates the world’s production of new generation batteries that are key to transitioning away from fossil fuels. These new batteries are essential for electric vehicles and most portable consumer electronics such as cell phones and laptops.  By 2040, energy analysts estimate over half of all passenger vehicles sold worldwide could be electric, according to 2019 report by Bloomberg … continue reading -> “How China Dominates Global Battery Supply Chain”

Facebook Inc said it would block news publishers and people in Australia from sharing news on Facebook and Instagram if a proposal to force the U.S. tech giant to pay local media outlets for content becomes law. The Australian government said in July it would require tech giants Facebook and Alphabet Inc’s Google to pay for … continue reading -> “Facebook Says Will Stop News Sharing in Australia if New Regulations Become Law”

Forty percent of Americans back President Donald Trump’s threat to ban videosharing app TikTok if it is not sold to a U.S. buyer, according to a Reuters/Ipsos national poll, suggesting that many support the effort to separate the social media upstart from its Chinese parent.The poll published Monday, which surveyed 1,349 adult respondents across the … continue reading -> “Poll Shows 40 Percent of Americans Back Trump Executive Order on TikTok”

China’s new rules around tech exports mean ByteDance’s sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations could need Beijing’s approval, a Chinese trade expert told state media, a requirement that would complicate the forced and politically charged divestment.ByteDance has been ordered by President Donald Trump to divest short video app TikTok — which is challenging the order — … continue reading -> “China’s New Tech Export Controls Could Give Beijing a Say in TikTok Sale”

Facebook made a mistake in not removing a militia group’s page earlier this week that called for armed civilians to enter Kenosha, Wisconsin, amid violent protests after police shot Jacob Blake, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said.The page for the “Kenosha Guard” violated Facebook’s policies and had been flagged by “a bunch of people,” Zuckerberg said in … continue reading -> “Zuckerberg says Facebook Erred in Not Removing Militia Post”

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s neuroscience startup Neuralink on Friday unveiled a pig named Gertrude that has had a coin-sized computer chip in her brain for two months, showing off an early step toward the goal of curing human diseases with the same type of implant.Co-founded by Tesla Inc and SpaceX CEO Musk in 2016, San … continue reading -> “Musk’s Neuralink Puts Computer Chips in Animal Brains”

The head of TikTok resigned Wednesday as tensions mount between the Chinese-owned video platform and the White House, which contends TikTok is a security risk in the U.S.   Chief Executive Officer Kevin Mayer announced his resignation days after the company filed a lawsuit challenging a U.S. government crackdown on the company over claims the … continue reading -> “TikTok CEO Resigns as Tensions Mount With White House”

Tax officials in Africa estimate that government revenues will drop between 10 and 30 percent in 2020 as a result of the economic fallout stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. But while businesses in the hospitality, construction and retail sectors have suffered, digital companies have boomed as more people stay home and conduct their activities online.This … continue reading -> “Africa Looks to Tax Tech Giants as Economic Fallout From COVID Bites”

U.S. forces are taking an aggressive approach in cyberspace ahead of November’s presidential election, aiming to wipe out threats from foreign countries and other actors before they have a chance to disrupt voting or other critical, election-related systems. “Cyber Command needs to do more than prepare for a crisis in the future; it must compete with … continue reading -> “US Cyber Forces Go Hunting for Election Trouble”

While most parents are stressed about kids and remote online learning, some experts say expect more of that in the future, and that that may be a good thing. Deana Mitchell reports. Camera, Producer: Deana Mitchell …

While most parents are stressed about kids and remote online learning, some experts say expect more of that in the future, and that that may be a good thing. Deana Mitchell reports. Camera, Producer: Deana Mitchell …

Videoconferencing platform Zoom experienced worldwide outages Monday morning, coinciding with the first day of remote classes for many schools and universities. On its status page, Zoom reported partial outages for its website, meetings and webinars. By Monday afternoon, all systems were reported as operational. Downdetector recorded a spike in issue reports, mostly from North America and western … continue reading -> “Zoom Suffers Worldwide Outages”

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who died in 2011, was a tough act to follow. But Tim Cook seems to be doing so well at it that his eventual successor may also have big shoes to fill. Initially seen as a mere caretaker for the iconic franchise that Jobs built before his 2011 death, Cook has … continue reading -> “Apple CEO Tim Cook is Fulfilling Another Steve Jobs Vision”

Some U.S.-based users of WeChat are suing President Donald Trump in a bid to block an executive order that they say would effectively bar access in the U.S. to the hugely popular Chinese messaging app.The complaint, filed Friday in San Francisco, is being brought by the nonprofit U.S. WeChat Users Alliance and several people who … continue reading -> “US WeChat Users sue Trump Over Order Banning Messaging App”

Video app TikTok said Saturday it will challenge in court a Trump administration crackdown on the popular Chinese-owned platform, which Washington accuses of being a national security threat.As tensions soar between the world’s two biggest economies, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on August 6 giving Americans 45 days to stop doing business with … continue reading -> “TikTok says It’ll Sue Over Trump Crackdown”

Facebook’s India chief said Friday the social media giant denounces hate and bigotry in the wake of a controversy sparked by a media report alleging it failed to remove hate-speech posted by members linked to the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party over fears of damaging its business in the country.      “We’ve made … continue reading -> “Facebook in India Embroiled in Political Hate Speech Controversy”

President Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to allow him to block critics from his personal Twitter account. The administration said in a high-court filing Thursday that Trump’s @realdonaldtrump account with more than 85 million followers is his personal property and blocking people from it is akin to elected officials who refuse to allow their … continue reading -> “Trump Wants Supreme Court OK to Block Critics on His Personal Twitter”