News

AI panel urges US to boost tech skills amid China's rise

An artificial intelligence commission led by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is urging the U.S. to boost its AI skills to counter China, including by pursuing “AI-enabled” weapons – something that Google itself has shied away from on ethical grounds. Schmidt and current executives from Google, Microsoft, Oracle and Amazon are among the 15 members […]

Some GOP state lawmakers help spread COVID-19 misinformation

Many Republican lawmakers have criticized governors’ emergency restrictions since the start of the coronavirus outbreak. Now that most legislatures are back in session, a new type of pushback is taking root: misinformation. In their own comments or by inviting skeptics to testify at legislative hearings, some GOP state lawmakers are using their platform to promote […]

Twitter to let users charge followers to see premium posts

Twitter is branching out from advertising to find more ways to make money — both for itself and for its most prolific users, whether those are businesses, celebrities or regular people. In an investor presentation Thursday, the social media company announced a new feature called “Super Follows,” which will let users charge for extra, exclusive […]

India introduces new rules to regulate online content

India on Thursday rolled out new regulations for social media companies and digital streaming websites to make them more accountable for the online content shared on their platforms, giving the government more power to police it. The Information Technology Ministry said the new regulations would require social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to swiftly […]

Digital exchange Coinbase takes a step toward going public

Coinbase has filed papers with U.S. regulators to become a publicly traded company as digital currencies continue to march toward mainstream acceptance. The digital currency exchange is seeking a direct listing, which would allow company insiders and early investors to convert their stakes in Coinbase into publicly traded stock. In a Thursday filing with the […]

Biden orders a review of US supply chains for vital goods

President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday intended to boost manufacturing jobs by strengthening U.S. supply chains for advanced batteries, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals and semiconductors. The United States has become increasingly reliant on imports of these goods — a potential national security and economic risk that the Biden administration hopes to address with the […]

Facebook bans all Myanmar military-linked accounts and ads

Social media giant Facebook announced Thursday it was banning all accounts linked to Myanmar’s military as well as ads from military-controlled companies in the wake of the army’s seizure of power on Feb. 1. It said in a statement that it was treating the post-coup situation in Myanmar as an “emergency,” explaining that the ban […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]