News

If Google's a monopoly, who is harmed by its market power?

Google has long defended itself against charges of monopoly by stressing that its products are free and that no one has to use them. And it’s avoided tough government scrutiny for years based in part on the idea that people searching the internet are not Google’s true customers. We’re its product. Advertisers are its real […]

Justice Dept. files landmark antitrust case against Google

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Tuesday sued Google for abusing its dominance in online search and advertising — the government’s most significant attempt to protect competition since its groundbreaking case against Microsoft more than 20 years ago. And it could just be an opening salvo. Other major tech companies including Apple, Amazon and […]

Intel to sell NAND business to SKorean rival for $9 billion

Intel has agreed to a $9 billion deal to sell most of its memory business to South Korea’s SK Hynix as it moves toward more diverse technologies while shedding a major Chinese factory at a time of deepening trade friction between Washington and Beijing. Intel said it will keep its “Optane” business of more advanced […]

Is Facebook really ready for the 2020 election?

Ever since Russian agents and other opportunists abused its platform in an attempt to manipulate the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Facebook has insisted — repeatedly — that it’s learned its lesson and is no longer a conduit for misinformation, voter suppression and election disruption. But it has been a long and halting journey for the […]

UK Space Agency backs medical drone delivery project

A medical drone delivery service founded by trainee doctors that aims to transport coronavirus samples, test kits and protective equipment between hospitals has won the backing of Britain’s Space Agency. The start-up project can help free up healthcare staff, avoid courier waiting times and minimize the risk of virus transmission, authorities said Saturday. Trainee doctors […]

Black scholars form effort to fight trolls, disinformation

A group of U.S. Black scholars, activists and writers has launched a new project to combat misleading information online around voting, reparations and immigration, supporters announced Friday. The newly formed National Black Cultural Information Trust seeks to counter fake social media accounts and Twitter trolls that often discourage Black voters from participating in elections or […]

Why tech giants limited the spread of NY Post story on Biden

When Facebook and Twitter moved quickly this week to limit the spread of an unverified political story published by the conservative-leaning New York Post, it led to predictable cries of censorship from the right. But it also illustrated the slippery hold even the largest tech companies have on the flow of information, particularly in the […]

Indie bookstores launch anti-Amazon 'Boxed Out' campaign

With many independent bookstore owners facing the most dire financial crisis in their lifetimes, the American Booksellers Association has teamed with an award-winning advertising agency known for “culture hacking” to dramatize the threats of the pandemic and the growing dominance of Amazon.com. On Tuesday, the trade group launched the “Boxed Out” campaign, for which a […]

Apple unveils new iPhones for faster 5G wireless networks

Apple unveiled four new iPhones equipped with technology for use with faster new 5G wireless networks, hoping that demand for higher data speeds will spark demand for new phones. That might not happen as quickly as Apple would like. In a virtual presentation Tuesday, the company announced four 5G-enabled versions of the new iPhone 12 […]

Microsoft attempts takedown of global criminal botnet

Microsoft announced legal action Monday seeking to disrupt a major cybercrime digital network that uses more than 1 million zombie computers to loot bank accounts and spread ransomware, which experts consider a major threat to the U.S. presidential election. The operation to knock offline command-and-control servers for a global botnet that uses an infrastructure known […]