News

Despite seizing power, Taliban is still banned from Facebook

The Taliban’s content will remain banned on Facebook, the company confirmed to Sky News on Tuesday, as the group is considered a dangerous terrorist organization under the site’s policies. The Taliban seized power over Afghanistan nearly 20 years after the U.S. war with the country ended. However, the organization is listed under a Specially Designated […]

US agencies scrub websites to protect Afghans left behind

Multiple federal agencies that operated in Afghanistan and worked with Afghan citizens have been hastily purging their websites, removing articles and photos that could endanger the Afghan civilians who interacted with them and now fear retribution from the Taliban. The online scrubbing campaign appeared to begin late last week when it became clear that the […]

Fed's Powell: There's no returning to pre-pandemic economy

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Tuesday that the U.S. economy has been permanently changed by the COVID pandemic and it is important that the central bank adapt to those changes. “We’re not simply going back to the economy that we had before the pandemic,” Powell said at a Fed virtual town hall for educators […]

BES sues Huawei over data theft and backdoors in Pakistan

Business Efficiency Solutions (BES), a U.S. cloud software company has filed a lawsuit against Chinese telecom vendor Huawei, citing allegations of data theft and installing a backdoor that acts as an open-ended gateway of sensitive data on Pakistan’s citizens and the country’s national security.  According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the lawsuit claims that in 2015, Huawei contacted BES asking for a collaboration in creating a duplicate of the Lahore network in […]

Indian politician back on Twitter following controversial post

Rahul Gandhi, leader of India’s largest opposition party is back on Twitter.   After being blocked from the social networking site for sharing a photo of himself with the parents of a girl who was allegedly raped and murdered in New Delhi, Twitter decided to reinstate Gandhi and his political community within their digital sphere.  Gandhi’s tweet — which has been shared around by […]

Twitter is changing their look after complaints flooded the platform

Twitter is learning a hard lesson on the importance of accessibility. After releasing on Wednesday new designs that were meant to make the platform more accessible, the micro-blogging website said it was “listening and iterating” its design based on feedback from users.  No one said change was easy, but for Twitter users, the adjustments felt like they’ve been listening to construction work […]

Boeing astronaut capsule grounded for months by valve issue

Boeing’s astronaut capsule is grounded for months and possibly even until next year because of a vexing valve problem. Boeing and NASA officials said Friday that the Starliner capsule will be removed from the top of its rocket and returned to its Kennedy Space Center hangar for more extensive repairs. Starliner was poised to blast […]

China’s 5-year plan stiffens Big Tech regulations

The Chinese government revealed on Wednesday a five-year plan sketching the state’s scheme to strengthen its regulation grasp on much of its economy. The documentation, referencing Chairman Mao, came as a follow-up to Beijing’s recent regulations wave targeting the nation’s various industries and sectors. Beijing’s plan clarifies that additional rules will be endorsed to empower […]

Zambia kills off the internet amid presidential elections

For authoritarianism to survive, it must learn to adapt.   While governments have been utilizing the latest tech to communicate with their people and understand their sentiment, the same tools are being used in a pervasive, yet subtle manner, in a bid to enforce repression among the public and remain in power.  An example of this could be seen as WhatsApp and other social media platforms are now being blocked in Zambia […]

Canadian justice lawyer says Huawei CFO was dishonest

The dishonesty of a senior executive for Chinese communications giant Huawei Technologies put a bank at risk of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran, a Canadian justice department lawyer told an extradition hearing Thursday. Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei’s founder and the company’s chief financial officer, at Vancouver’s airport in late 2018. The […]