Associated Press

News Agency

Australia passes law to make Google, Facebook pay for news

Australia’s law forcing Google and Facebook to pay for news is ready to take effect, though the laws’ architect said it will take time for the digital giants to strike media deals. The Parliament on Thursday passed the final amendments to the so-called News Media Bargaining Code agreed between Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Facebook chief […]

Biden's trade pick vows to work more closely with allies

President Joe Biden’s pick to be the top U.S. trade envoy is promising to work with America’s allies to combat China’s aggressive trade policies, indicating a break from the Trump administration’s go-it-alone approach. In a written testimony for her confirmation hearing Thursday before the Senate Finance Committee, Katherine Tai, Biden’s choice for U.S. trade representative, […]

Tech firms say there's little doubt Russia behind major hack

Leading technology companies said Tuesday that a months long breach of corporate and government networks was so sophisticated, focused and labor-intensive that a nation had to be behind it, with all the evidence pointing to Russia. In the first congressional hearing on the breach, representatives of technology companies involved in the response described a hack […]

Amnesty International: Hackers attacking Vietnam dissidents

Amnesty International says it has found that a hacking group known as Ocean Lotus has been staging more spyware attacks on Vietnamese human rights activists in the latest blow to freedom of speech in the communist-ruled country. The human rights group said Wednesday that Amnesty Tech’s Security Lab found evidence of the hacking attempts in […]

Federal judge says California can enforce net neutrality law

A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that California can for the first time enforce its tough net neutrality law, clearing the way for the state to ban internet providers from slowing down or blocking access to websites and applications that don’t pay for premium service. Former Gov. Jerry Brown signed the bill in 2018, making […]

Unfriended no more: Facebook to lift Australia news ban

Facebook announced Tuesday that it would lift a ban on Australians viewing and sharing news on its platform after it struck a deal with the government on proposed legislation that would make digital giants pay for journalism. The social media company caused alarm with its sudden decision last week to block news on its platform […]

Huawei unveils flagship foldable smartphone for China market

Struggling under U.S. sanctions, Huawei unveiled a folding smartphone with an 8-inch (20-centimeter) -wide screen Monday to show off its tech prowess but said it will be sold only in China. The Mate X2 highlights the challenges for Huawei Technologies Ltd. after Washington cut off access to U.S. processor chips and Google services. Last year, […]

Microsoft, EU publishers seek Australia-style news payments

Microsoft is teaming up with European publishers to push for a system to make big tech platforms pay for news, raising the stakes in the brewing battle led by Australia to get Google and Facebook to pay for journalism. The Seattle tech giant and four big European Union news industry groups unveiled their plan Monday […]

China urges US to lift trade restrictions, stop interference

China’s top diplomat called Monday for new U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration to lift restrictions on trade and people-to-people contacts while ceasing what Beijing considers unwarranted interference in the areas of Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet. Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s comments at a Foreign Ministry forum on U.S.-China relations come as Beijing presses the […]

Microsoft keeps chugging as pandemic continues

As the pandemic raged through the U.S., Microsoft’s business continued chugging ahead and beat Wall Street expectations for the last three months of 2020, powered by ongoing demand for its workplace software and cloud computing services as people worked from home. The company on Tuesday reported fiscal second-quarter profit of $15.5 billion, up 33% from […]