Category: Business

A hands-off approach to moderating content at Elon Musk's Twitter could clash with ambitious new laws in Europe meant to protect users from disinformation, hate speech and other harmful material.  Musk, who describes himself as a "free speech absolutist," pledged to buy Twitter for $44 billion this week, with European Union officials and digital campaigners quick to say that any focus on free speech to the detriment of online safety would not fly after the 27-nation bloc solidified its status as a global leader in the effort to rein in the power of tech giants. "If his approach will be 'just stop moderating it,' he will likely find himself in a lot of legal trouble in the EU," said Jan Penfrat, senior policy adviser at digital rights group EDRi. Musk…

Elon Musk's request to scrap a settlement with securities regulators over 2018 tweets claiming he had the funding to take Tesla private was denied by a federal judge in New York. Judge Lewis Liman on Wednesday also denied a motion to nullify subpoenas of Musk seeking information about possible violations of his settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Musk had asked the court to throw out the settlement, which required that his tweets be approved by a Tesla attorney. The SEC is investigating whether the Tesla CEO violated the settlement with tweets last November asking Twitter followers if he should sell 10% of his Tesla stock. The whole dispute stems from an October 2018 agreement with the SEC in which Musk and Tesla each agreed to pay $20 million…

California-based Google wants to get a bigger share of Africa's growing online population, which is expected to top 800 million by 2030.    The internet search giant announced this month it is setting up its first product development center on the continent, to be based in Kenya's capital, Nairobi. It is scheduled to open next year and will employ more than 100 people.  Charles Murito, head of government affairs and public policy for sub-Saharan Africa at Google, said the investment will create many opportunities within Africa's tech sector.    "The product development center is going to be one that works to create transformative products and services for people right here on the continent, as well as creating a product for the rest of the world," he said. "So the announcement…

Many of the technological advances in lithium ion batteries that now power many electric vehicles began in a laboratory just outside Chicago’s city limits decades ago.  VOA’s Kane Farabaugh reports on new innovations at Argonne National Laboratory preparing for the next-generation needs of drivers. Camera: Kane Farabaugh, Mike Burke    Produced by: Kane Farabaugh    ...

Sensor-packed robots are changing how movies and commercials are made. Deana Mitchell has the story. ...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $44 billion deal to buy Twitter Monday met mixed reactions as observers speculated how digital speech on the service might change under his leadership.  Musk, a prolific Twitter user who has criticized Twitter's management in tweets, said in the press release Monday announcing the deal that "Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated."    Musk’s takeover of Twitter was applauded by some U.S. conservatives who have alleged that internet firms — including Twitter — promote a liberal political agenda and suppress conservative voices.  Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, tweeted that it’s "amazing to watch the Left panic at the prospect of free speech on Twitter."      But others expressed concern that Musk’s takeover would mean less…

Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal told employees Monday that he is uncertain of the direction the company will go after Tesla CEO Elon Musk takes over.     Musk reached an agreement Monday to buy Twitter for $44 billion, promising to make the platform more supportive of free speech. The move has raised questions about how far Twitter will go to relax restrictions on users' speech and led critics to fear new policies would make it easier for people to spread disinformation and hate speech.  Agrawal answered employee questions Monday in a town hall that was heard by Reuters.     The news agency reported that Agrawal told employees, "Once the deal closes, we don't know which direction the platform will go." The CEO was answering a question about whether former President Donald…

The board of Twitter is negotiating with Tesla CEO Elon Musk over his bid to buy the social media giant.  Media reports Monday said the two sides are close to reaching a deal.   Musk recently announced that he wants to buy the platform and later unveiled a financing package to back the acquisition.   The Reuters news agency reported that Musk’s final offer is $43 billion in cash, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter. The New York Times reported that Twitter and Musk spoke into the early hours Monday and were discussing contingency plans if an agreement were to be signed and then fall apart. Twitter shares were up more than 5% in trading Monday afternoon.   Musk is the world's richest person according to Forbes magazine with…

According to papers filed with U.S. securities regulators, billionaire Elon Musk appears ready to continue his bid to take over Twitter, this time via a tender offer that would bypass the company's board and offer to buy stock directly from shareholders.  Twitter's board of directors last week voted unanimously to use a tactic called a "poison pill" to fend off Musk's attempt to acquire the company.  The papers show Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has secured $46.5 billion in financing for the offer of $54.20 per share.  Twitter "is committed to conducting a careful, comprehensive and deliberate review to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interest of the Company and all Twitter stockholders," the company said in a statement Thursday.  The news only…

A group of Tesla shareholders suing CEO Elon Musk over some 2018 tweets about taking the company private is asking a federal judge to order Musk to stop commenting on the case.  Lawyers for stockholders of the Austin, Texas-based company also say in court documents that the judge in the case has ruled that Musk's tweets about having "funding secured" to take Tesla private were false, and that his comments also violate a 2018 court settlement with U.S. securities regulators in which Musk and Tesla each agreed to pay $20 million fines.  Musk, during an interview April 14 at the TED 2022 conference, said he had the funding to take Tesla private in 2018. He called the Securities and Exchange Commission a profane name and said he only settled because…

A classified satellite for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office was launched into space from California on Sunday.  The NROL-85 satellite lifted off at 6:13 a.m. local time from Vandenberg Space Force Base aboard a two-stage SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.  It was the first mission by the NRO to reuse a SpaceX rocket booster, Vandenberg said in a statement.  The Falcon's first stage flew back and landed at the seaside base northwest of Los Angeles.  The NRO only described the NROL-85 satellite as a "critical national security payload."  Its launch was one of three awarded by the Air Force to SpaceX in 2019 for a combined fixed price of $297 million.  The NRO is the government agency in charge of developing, building, launching and maintaining U.S. satellites that provide intelligence data…

Russia is clamping down on news and the internet. Overseas media organizations and activists are finding new ways in. ...

Even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, U.S. officials warned about cyberattacks originating in Russia against critical American infrastructure. Now, U.S. security agencies are increasingly cracking down on the networks used by cybercriminals, including for ransomware attacks. Dino Jahic has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.  ...

Twitter's board of directors on Friday voted unanimously to use a tactic called a "poison pill" to fend off Elon Musk's attempt to take over the company. In such a defensive tactic, all Twitter shareholders except Musk could buy more shares at a discount. This would dilute the world's richest person's stake in the company and prevent him from recruiting a majority of shareholders supporting his move. If Musk's ownership in Twitter grows to 15% or more, the poison pill would go into effect. Musk, who earlier this week was revealed as the company's largest individual shareholder, with 9.2% of the shares, later offered more than $43 billion, or $54.20 a share, to purchase the entire company. Musk's offer would provide a substantial premium over Twitter's current stock price of…

Hours after announcing his $43 billion hostile takeover bid for Twitter, business magnate Elon Musk laid out some of his goals for the social media giant, including an edit button that would let users amend ill-considered tweets. Musk made the comments on the concluding day of the annual TED Conference in Vancouver. In a question-and-answer session, he said Twitter is the global town square and an important and inclusive area for free speech. He said he has enough assets to cover the $43 billion purchase himself but did not divulge details of how he expects to finance the attempted takeover. If necessary, he said, he has a “Plan B” for acquiring the company. Musk said if successful, he will make Twitter’s algorithms open source, introduce an edit button for people…

Businessman Elon Musk has offered to buy Twitter, saying the social media giant “needs to be transformed as a private company.” "I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy," Musk said in the filing. "However, since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company." The founder of Tesla and SpaceX is already Twitter’s largest shareholder, owning more than 9% of the company. A regulatory filing showed he offered $54.20 per share to buy the rest. That price would value the company at about $43…

Russian users of Netflix NFLX.O have launched a class action lawsuit against the streaming giant for leaving the Russian market, demanding 60 million roubles ($726,000) in compensation, the RIA news agency reported on Wednesday.  Netflix Inc said in March that it suspended its service in Russia and had temporarily stopped all future projects and acquisitions in the country as it assessed the impact of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. "Today, a law firm representing the interests of Netflix users filed a class action lawsuit against the American Netflix service with the Khamovnichesky District Court of Moscow," RIA cited law firm Chernyshov, Lukoyanov & Partners as saying.  "The reason for the lawsuit was a violation of Russian users’ rights due to Netflix’s unilateral refusal to provide services in Russia."  Netflix did not…

A former energy executive in California who took part in $1 billion solar power fraud that bilked Warren Buffett's company and many others was sentenced Tuesday to six years in federal prison and ordered to pay $624 million in restitution. Robert A. Karmann, 55, of Clayton was the chief financial officer for DC Solar, a company based in Benicia in the San Francisco Bay Area that sold mobile solar generator units mounted on trailers. The company marketed the generators between 2011 and 2018 as being able to provide emergency power for cellphone companies or to provide lighting at sporting and other events. But the company executives started telling investors they could benefit from federal tax credits by buying the generators and leasing them back to DC Solar, which would then…

Elon Musk's huge Twitter investment took a new twist Tuesday with the filing of a lawsuit alleging that the colorful billionaire illegally delayed disclosing his stake in the social media company so he could buy more shares at lower prices. The complaint in New York federal court accuses Musk of violating a regulatory deadline to reveal he had accumulated a stake of at least 5%. Instead, according to the complaint, Musk didn't disclose his position in Twitter until he'd almost doubled his stake to more than 9%. The lawsuit alleges that the strategy hurt less-wealthy investors who sold shares in the San Francisco company in the nearly two weeks before Musk acknowledged holding a major stake. Musk's regulatory filings show that he bought a little more than 620,000 shares at…

The world of nonfungible tokens, or NFTs is getting a boost from companies and celebrities, who are making the digital products. But the nascent technology comes with risks. Tina Trinh reports. ...

Twitter Inc’s biggest shareholder, Elon Musk, has decided not to join its board, Chief Executive Parag Agrawal said late on Sunday.  Musk, who calls himself a free-speech absolutist and has been critical of Twitter, disclosed a 9.1% stake on April 4 and said he plans to bring about significant improvements at the social media platform.  His appointment to the board was to become effective on Saturday and would have prevented him from being a beneficial owner of more than 14.9% of common stock.  But “Elon shared that same morning that he will no longer be joining the board,” Agrawal said in a note on Twitter. “I believe this is for the best. We have and will always value input from our shareholders whether they are on our Board or not.…

Chinese e-commerce company JD.com said Thursday that its founder Richard Liu has left his position as CEO, the latest Chinese billionaire founder to step aside amid increased government scrutiny of the country’s technology industry. Liu will hand over the reins to JD.com’s president Xu Lei, according to a company statement. Liu will remain as the chairman of the board and continue to focus on JD.com’s “long-term strategies, mentoring younger management, and contributing to the revitalization of rural areas,” the statement said. “I’ll devote more of my time to JD’s long-term strategies and future drivers as we continue to work on the most challenging yet valuable things,” Liu said. Liu is the latest in a string of Chinese technology company founders who have stepped down from leadership positions in recent years.…

Twitter said on Tuesday it will begin testing a new edit feature in the coming months, surprising its users on the same day it said Tesla boss Elon Musk would join the social media company's board.  Jay Sullivan, Twitter's head of consumer products, said in a tweet the company had been working since last year on building an edit option, "the most requested Twitter feature for many years."  The news, first teased by Twitter on April Fools’ Day, comes as the company faces a broader change in direction with Musk becoming its largest shareholder and joining the board after questioning the social media platform's commitment to free speech.   Musk began polling Twitter users about an edit button after disclosing his 9.2% stake in the company on Monday. As of…

A day after it was revealed he owned the largest stake in Twitter, slightly more than 9% of shares, Elon Musk has joined the company’s board of directors. The Tesla and SpaceX founder will be on the board until at least 2024, according to a regulatory filing. As a stipulation of his board membership, Musk won’t be allowed to own more than 14.9% of Twitter shares while on the board and for three months following a departure from the board. After the announcement, Musk tweeted, “Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!” “I’m excited to share that we’re appointing @elonmusk to our board!” tweeted Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal. “Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to…

In the U.S., some restaurants and medical supply stores are turning to drones to deliver food, medicine, and other essential goods to people’s homes. VOA’s Julie Taboh has more. ...

The Kremlin’s clampdown on news of the war in Ukraine has hackers and volunteers from around the world are sending messages directly to Russian citizens' phones to keep them informed. Matt Dibble has the story. ...

China has connected a high-speed, multimillion-dollar, 15,000-kilometer undersea cable to Kenya, as Beijing advances what's been dubbed its "digital silk road," and Africa seeks the infrastructure it badly needs for better internet connectivity.   Chinese giant Huawei is a shareholder in the $425-million PEACE cable, which stands for "Pakistan and East Africa Connecting Europe." It stretches from Asia to Africa and then into France, where it terminates.  It reached the coastal city of Mombasa on Tuesday, with the CEO of local partner company Telekom Kenya, Mugo Kibati, saying the cable would help meet the sharp rise in demand for internet services on a continent where internet adoption has trailed the rest of the world, but which is home to a growing, young and increasingly digital population.    "This ultra-high-capacity cable…

Up to 40% of food in the U.S. is discarded. But as VOA’s Julie Taboh reports, a company in the Netherlands has come up with technology that can help reduce food waste in industrial kitchens. Camera: Tina Trinh, Orbisk;          Produced by Julie Taboh, Adam Greenbaum ...