Technology

U.N. chief worried by power of social media companies

NEW YORK, Jan 28 (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday he is "particularly worried" about the power of social media companies and that a regulatory framework should…

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Microsoft earnings rise as pandemic boosts cloud computing, Xbox sales

Jan 26 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp on Tuesday reported its Azure cloud computing services grew 50%, the second quarter of acceleration in a business that had begun to slow as the global…

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Twitter says White House Twitter accounts will be transferred to Biden admin

Twitter Inc on Thursday said it will transfer institutional White House Twitter accounts to Biden administration when the U.S. President-elect swears in on January 20. Twitter said it will facilitate…

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Facebook to close off Irish holding companies

Facebook is closing off its holding companies based in Ireland through which it channeled billions of profits, saving millions in taxes in the US, the UK and hundreds of other…

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Millions of smartphone users to lose WhatsApp access from 1st January

Millions of smartphone users will end up without WhatsApp as from 1st January, the UK Independent revealed this morning. Users might find it hard to send their New Year wishes…

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Europe plots catch-up in global 5G race to drive COVID-19 recovery

2021 could be a do-or-die year for Europe's efforts to catch up with China and the United States in rolling out super-fast fifth-generation (5G) telecoms networks. The mission to introduce the technology, which ultimately…

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Instagram’s redesign shifts toward shopping – here’s how that can be harmful

Recently, when I opened Instagram, I noticed that the usual spot for checking notifications is now a Shop tab. The Instagram blog post announcing the redesign said that the change…

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Facebook warns on changes to messaging services in Europe

Facebook announced that starting today, the data privacy and security protections in the 2002 Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive (ePrivacy Directive) will apply to more communications services across the EU. The laws…

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WhatsApp to bring voice and video calls to desktop next year

(Reuters) - Facebook Inc’s WhatsApp will introduce voice and video calling feature to the messaging app’s desktop version next year, a company spokesperson told Reuters. The move to facilitate calls…

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Google accused of colluding with Facebook in online ad market – FT

Financial Times - A group of 10 Republican-led US states has opened a new front in US antitrust actions against Google, charging the internet group with abusing its monopoly over…

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Facebook to move UK users to California terms, avoiding EU privacy rules

Facebook Inc will shift all its users in the United Kingdom into user agreements with the corporate headquarters in California, moving them out of their current relationship with Facebook's Irish…

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Italy authorises Abu Dhabi fund to invest in TIM’s grid – sources

The Italian government has given Abu Dhabi's biggest sovereign fund a conditional green light to invest in Telecom Italia's (TIM) last-mile network, three sources close to the matter told Reuters…

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Pornhub pulls videos from unverified users after allegations of illegal content

Dec 14 (Reuters) - Pornhub said on Monday it had pulled content uploaded by unverified users from its platform, days after Mastercard and Visa halted payments on the sex videos…

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EU sets out search ranking guidelines for Google, Microsoft, platforms

BRUSSELS, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Alphabet unit Google, Microsoft and other tech giants will have to be more transparent in how they rank online search results, under European Commission guidelines…

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Opinion – Regulate AI only where required

An open letter to Pope Francis, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, Sundar Pichai, Technology Leaders, Legislators and AI Academics by Joshua Ellul, Chairperson of Malta Digital Innovation Authority;…

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Vatican seeks explanations from Instagram after Brazilian model gets ‘papal’ like

The Vatican said it was seeking explanations from Instagram after Pope Francis’s official account liked a photo of a scantily dressed Brazilian model. The Guardian reports that it was unclear when the…

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YouTube to add link on COVID-19 vaccines to combat misinformation

Alphabet Inc's YouTube announced it is adding a link to provide information on the development of COVID-19 vaccines to the coronavirus panel on its site, expanding its efforts to combat…

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‘More power than traditional media’: Facebook, Twitter policies attacked

Republican senators on Tuesday attacked the chief executives of Facebook and Twitter for effectively censoring President Trump and allies during the U.S. election while Democrats bemoaned the spread of misinformation…

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Twitter to launch disappearing ‘tweets’

Twitter Inc said on Tuesday it was globally launching tweets that disappear after 24 hours, similar to the stories feature that is popular on Snapchat and Facebook's photo-sharing app Instagram.…

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Apple puts Taiwanese supplier Pegatron on probation over student workers

Apple said on Monday it has put its Taiwanese supplier Pegatron on probation after finding that the company violated Apple's supplier code of conduct by asking student employees to work…

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Facebook launches dating service in Europe

Facebook Inc said it is launching its dating service in 32 European countries after the rollout was delayed earlier this year due to regulatory concerns. The social media company had…

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Major Twitter outage affects users around the world

Twitter Inc said its social networking site was down for many users due to "some trouble" with its internal systems. People in countries including the US and UK were unable…

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Facebook shuts NZ party’s page before polls over COVID-19 misinformation

Facebook shut down the page of a fringe New Zealand political party on Thursday, days before a general election, for sharing what the company called misinformation about the novel coronavirus…

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YouTube bans coronavirus vaccine misinformation

Alphabet Inc's YouTube announced it would remove videos from YouTube containing misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, expanding its current rules against falsehoods and conspiracy theories about the pandemic. The video platform…

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Facebook to ban adverts discouraging vaccination

Facebook Inc will start banning ads that explicitly discourage people from getting vaccinated, the world's largest social media company said on Tuesday, as it also announced a new flu vaccine…

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Apple launches iPhone 12

Apple launched four versions of the iPhone 12 with faster 5G connectivity, starting at $699, which the Cupertino, California company hopes will spur a wave of upgrades and keep its…

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Facebook to ban content that denies or distorts the Holocaust

Facebook Inc said on Monday it was updating its hate speech policy to ban any content that denies or distorts the Holocaust. The move comes two years after Facebook Chief…

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Facebook and Twitter censor and warn about Trump’s posts about Covid-19

U.S. President Donald Trump played down the COVID-19 pandemic again, comparing it to the flu in a tweet on Tuesday, and Twitter Inc responded by putting a warning label on…

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Abuse and harassment drives girls off social media

Online abuse and harassment are driving girls to quit social media platforms, according to a new global poll. The study said more than 58% of girls had experienced some form of…

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GO Ventures Part of €41 million Investment in Apple and Samsung Partner Servify

GO Ventures has just added an investment in the device lifecycle management platform Servify to its portfolio, taking part in the Series C financing round for the five-year-old start-up that…

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Google to pay $1 billion globally to news publishers

Google plans to pay $1 billion to publishers globally for their news over the next three years, its CEO said on Thursday, a step that could help it win over a…

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Bing, smaller firms, win Google’s Android search auction in Europe

Microsoft's Bing, PrivacyWall and Info.com were among the search engines that won a quarterly auction by Alphabet's Google to show up as search options on new Android devices in 31…

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Intralot signs cloud platform deal with Microsoft

Greek gaming and lotteries operator and supplier Intralot has partnered Microsoft to deploy the technology giant's cloud platform as it looks to enhance its digital capabilities. The Microsoft Azure cloud platform…

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Advertisers agree deal with social media on steps to curb harmful content

Facebook, YouTube and Twitter have agreed with big advertisers on first steps to curb harmful content online, following boycotts of social media platforms that advertisers had accused of tolerating hate…

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Microsoft make biggest gaming acquisition ever

Xbox maker Microsoft Corp announced it would acquire ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion in cash, its biggest gaming acquisition ever as it seeks to strengthen its video game offerings in…

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EU Commission sets out new ambitious mission to lead on supercomputing

The Commission is pushing forward new legislation to maintain and advance Europe's leading role in supercomputing and quantum computing. It will support research and innovation activities for new supercomputing technologies,…

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TikTok asks US judge to block Trump’s ban

Popular video-sharing app TikTok has asked a U.S. judge to block the Trump administration from enforcing a ban on the Chinese social media network, according to court documents filed late…

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TikTok to be banned in the US from Sunday

TikTok will be banned in the US from Sunday, according to a new report. Users in the country will be stopped from downloading the video app as well as WeChat, Reuters…

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Instagram stopped working

Instagram has stopped working amid what appears to be a major server outage. The Independent (UK) reports that the app appeared to load as normal – but attempting to get…

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Reports Macquarie to table bid for Enel stake in Italy’s Open Fiber by Thursday

Macquarie is set to submit a binding offer for all or part of the 50% stake held by utility Enel in Italian broadband network operator Open Fiber, a source familiar…

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Apple rolls out Apple One, bundling all its subscriptions, and new products

Apple Inc rolled out a new virtual fitness service and a bundle of all its subscriptions, Apple One, focusing a holiday season product launch on services that are the backbone…

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Microsoft prepares to launch of Xbox cloud gaming service

Microsoft will on Tuesday launch its Xbox cloud gaming service priced at $1 for new users' first month, in a major drive to attract casual gamers with the promise of…

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MasMovil launches 5G services trial in Spain

Telecoms group MasMovil launched a trial of next-generation 5G Internet services in 15 Spanish cities on Wednesday, hot on the heels of rivals Telefonica and Orange. Operators across the world…

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Facebook, Google, Twitter urged by EU to do more against fake news

Two years after agreeing to a self-regulatory code of practice to tackle disinformation, Facebook, Alphabet's Google, Twitter and other tech rivals must try harder to be more effective, the European…

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UPDATED: Microsoft reveals Russian state hackers suspected in targeting Biden campaign firm

Microsoft Corp recently alerted one of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s main election campaign advisory firms that it had been targeted by suspected Russian state-backed hackers, according to three people…

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Apple to launch new products on Sept. 15th

Apple Inc on Tuesday invited media to a "special event" it is streaming on Sept. 15, with high anticipation that the iPhone maker will launch new versions of its core…

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Microsoft Research releases Expressive Pixels, A New Visual Communication Platform

Microsoft has launched a new Windows 10 app, “Expressive Pixels” focused on animated visualizations on Microsoft Store today. The new platform gives developers access to tools they need to create…

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Wiki Loves Monuments 2020 in Malta launched

The fifth edition of Wiki Loves Monuments, the Guinness World Record holder for the largest photography competition, is taking place again in Malta this year. The competition brings together photographers from…

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Cartoon – The real digital divide

First published in The Charlotte Observer, U.S., September 1, 2020 | By Kevin Siers Via POLITICO

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Twitter confirms account of India PM Modi’s personal website hacked

Twitter confirmed on Thursday that an account of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's personal website was hacked with a series of tweets asking its followers to donate to a relief…

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Zoom forecasts sales surge as video conferencing becomes a daily routine

Zoom Video Communications Inc raised its annual revenue forecast by more than 30% after comfortably beating quarterly estimates as it converts more of its huge free user base to paid…

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Facebook threatens to block sharing of news if Australia moves ahead with controversial law

Facebook is using its platforms to target users in Australia telling them that they will not be able to share any local or international use should the country's Government go ahead…

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TikTok influencers say ‘everybody is going to take a big hit’

In a luxury mansion in the Hollywood Hills, young TikTok influencers bounced around on a bright sunny morning this week trying out new ideas for zany short form videos that…

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Global communications platform backed by Malta-based EBO

EBO.ai and Vonage joined forces to develop a multi-channel conversational solution that brings EBO’s Virtual Agent to the world’s biggest messaging app, WhatsApp, for the first time. The collaboration means…

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Walmart to join Microsoft in TikTok’s acquisition bid

Walmart Inc said it was joining Microsoft in a bid for social media company TikTok's U.S. assets, revealing its plans hours after the social media company's chief executive, Kevin Mayer,…

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GO subsidiary in Cyprus is first foreign registered company to issue and list bonds locally

Cablenet Communications Systems plc, a subsidiary in which GO holds a 60.26% share, is the first foreign registered company to have issued €40 million worth of bonds locally which were…

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Universal Filmed Entertainment Group and Microsoft Azure announce partnership to accelerate live-action and animation productions

Universal Filmed Entertainment Group and Microsoft Corp. announced a strategic partnership to cloud-optimize live-action and animation productions. The partnership aims to empower the creative community with cloud-based production workflows that…

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