Technology

China targets 33 apps over misuse of private user data

Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has ordered 33 app developers to cease the practice of collecting private user data without first receiving consent from its users, under threat of penalties, the severity of which are yet to be clear. The developers, which include Baidu, Tencent, iFlytek and Sogou, have been given ten days to comply […]

Facebook's oversight board: Watchdog or distraction?

Facebook’s oversight board, which on Wednesday upheld the company’s ban of former President Donald Trump, also had some harsh words for the company. Calling Facebook’s indefinite ban of Trump a “vague, standardless penalty,” the board accused Facebook — its corporate sponsor — of seeking to “avoid its responsibilities” by asking its quasi-independent oversight group to […]

Global sports technology market to reach $41 billion by 2026

While the pandemic brought everyday life to a screeching life, sports technology continued to remarkably grow at a substantial rate.   According to a report by Grand View Research, the global sports technology market size was valued at $11.70 billion in 2020 and is expected to register a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.8 percent from 2021 to 2028.  […]

Microsoft pledges to let EU users keep data inside bloc

Microsoft is pledging to let business and public sector customers in the European Union keep cloud computing data inside the 27-nation bloc to avert concerns about U.S. government access to sensitive information. Microsoft “will go beyond our existing data storage commitments and enable you to process and store all your data in the EU,” said […]

States push back against use of facial recognition by police

Law enforcement agencies across the U.S. have used facial recognition technology to solve homicides and bust human traffickers, but concern about its accuracy and the growing pervasiveness of video surveillance is leading some state lawmakers to hit the pause button. At least seven states and nearly two dozen cities have limited government use of the […]

Google says 20% of workers will be remote, many more hybrid

Google says it expects about 20% of its workforce to still work remotely after its offices reopen this fall, while some 60% will work a hybrid schedule that includes about three days in the office and two days “wherever they work best.” The remaining 20% can change their location to a different Google office. The […]

Facebook board's Trump decision could have wider impacts

Since the day after the deadly Jan. 6 riots on the U.S. Capitol, former President Donald Trump’s social media accounts have been silent — muzzled for inciting violence using the platforms as online megaphones. On Wednesday, his fate on Facebook, the biggest social platform around, will be decided. The company’s quasi-independent Oversight Board will announce […]

Apple's 'walled garden' faces Epic attack in app store trial

Apple’s lucrative app store was alternately portrayed as a price-gouging monopoly and a hub of world-changing innovation during the preamble to a trial that may reshape the technological landscape. The contrasting portraits were drawn on Monday as lawyers for Apple and its foe, Epic Games, outlined their cases in an Oakland, California, federal court before […]

The possible rippling impact of Bill and Melinda Gates’ divorce

After a 27-year marriage, Bill and Melinda Gates have announced the end of their marital relationship. Their professional relationship as heads of the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation will, however, endure. “We have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive […]

TikTok names exec at Chinese parent ByteDance as new CEO

The hit video app TikTok said Friday that an executive at its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, will now also serve as TikTok CEO. The new CEO, Shouzi Chew, is the chief financial officer of ByteDance. He is based in Singapore, where TikTok has an office. Vanessa Pappas, based in Los Angeles, has been interim head […]