Category: Business

Australia says Facebook and Google will soon have to pay news outlets for their content.  Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced Monday that the government’s watchdog group, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, will unveil a mandatory code of conduct by July that will address the disparity between…

A senior cybersecurity official with the FBI said on Thursday that foreign government hackers have broken into companies conducting research into treatments for COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus.FBI Deputy Assistant Director Tonya Ugoretz told participants in an online panel discussion hosted by…

A mobile alert created in South Africa is putting information about coronavirus into the hands of millions. Praekelt.org has gone global ... raising awareness about COVID-19. VOA's Salem Solomon has the story. ...

Like so many other workers around the world affected by a COVID-19 lockdown, the team of scientists that operates the U.S. space agency (NASA) probe Curiosity — currently on the surface of Mars — has been forced to do its work from home. Since March 20, the team, normally…

When COVID-19 hit Washington, D.C., and health officials said people had to stay 2 meters apart, Broad Branch Market owner Tracy Stannard knew it meant an end to business as usual.Customers had been packing the store to stock up."We realized that it was getting a…

At a time when human contact is considered a health hazard, robots may be more useful than ever. From helping with the shopping to keeping healthcare workers safe, the COVID-19 pandemic could be the moment for robots to shine. VOA's Steve Baragona has more. ...

U.S. lawmakers and rights groups are raising concerns about privacy protections and civil liberties as health authorities study China, South Korea and other nations for insights into deploying big data in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.  So far, the United States has made limited use of available data to fight the outbreak. Instead of using cell…

The internet is playing a special role in the coronavirus pandemic, allowing billions of people sheltered at home to communicate. A global event is underway online to seek creative ways to deal with the crisis. Mike O’Sullivan has more on the Hack the Crisis movement…

With billions locked down at home by COVID-19, the internet is a lifeline, allowing people to work, study and share ideas online.It also presents opportunities, say the organizers of the Global Hack, a virtual gathering of hundreds of thousands of people in 50 nations taking place Thursday through Saturday, April…

Apple and Google on Friday launched a major joint effort to leverage smartphone technology to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.New software the companies plan to add to phones would make it easier to use Bluetooth wireless technology to track down people who may have been infected…

As countries scramble to control the coronavirus pandemic with stay-at-home orders, millions of people around the world have turned to the internet to work, study and stay informed. Monday, global internet volume was up more than 40% since the beginning of the year, according to FILE…

U.S. military and government employees continue to use the popular videoconferencing application Zoom for official business, despite FBI warnings about privacy and security issues, an action experts fear is increasing the risk of government data breaches.  Zoom has seen a surge in activity during the coronavirus pandemic as office…

U.S. military and government employees continue to use the popular videoconferencing application Zoom for official business, despite FBI warnings about privacy and security issues, an action experts fear is increasing the risk of government data breaches.  Zoom has seen a surge in activity during the coronavirus pandemic as office…

Just as the coronavirus outbreak has boxed in society, it’s also squeezed high-flying tech companies reliant on people’s freedom to move around and get together.Since the beginning of March, for instance, Uber shares have lost a quarter of their value. Rival Lyft is down 28…

In the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, one sign that social distancing measures may be working is that people's temperatures — a symptom of the virus — are dropping in some cities in the U.S., according to a smart thermometer company. The data could give…

Habbo Hotel, a hit online networking game more than a decade ago, is drawing back hundreds of thousand of players as locked-down millennials look to rediscover a childhood favorite, its Finnish maker said.   "Our traffic has tripled over the past month. The exact user number growth…

Taiwan's cabinet has told government agencies to stop using Zoom Video Communications Inc's conferencing app, the latest blow to the company as it battles criticism of its booming platform over privacy and security.Zoom's daily users ballooned to more than 200 million in March, as coronavirus-induced…

Ceri Weber had just begun to defend her dissertation when the chaos began: Echoes and voices interrupted her. Someone parroted her words. Then Britney Spears music came on, and someone told Weber to shut up. Someone threatened to rape her. Hackers had targeted the meeting on…

As the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to overwhelm doctors and hospitals throughout the country, medical technology firms and health centers are trying to gain “situational awareness” — giving doctors what they need to know about the sick patients filling emergency rooms.For doctors and staff, “it’s really…

With social distancing now the mantra to keep the coronavirus from spreading further, more American consumers are turning to online delivery apps to get their food and household products. Yet as VOA's Mariama Diallo reports, not everyone can avoid going to stores and if you…

Twitter said Thursday it has removed thousands of accounts in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Honduras, Indonesia and Serbia that allegedly took direction from governments or pushed pro-government content.A network of accounts associated with Saudi Arabia and operating out of multiple countries including KSA, Egypt and UAE,…

Google on Thursday said it is pumping $6.5 million into fact-checkers and nonprofits as it ramps up its the battle against coronavirus misinformation.   Fact-checking organizations, which often operate on relatively small budgets, are seeing a surge in demand for their work as mistaken or maliciously false…

A California hydrogen fuel cell company is now repairing and updating old ventilators, answering a challenge by the state to address a shortage of the life-saving equipment needed to help coronavirus patients breathe. Bloom Energy manufacturing director Joe Tavi told the Associated Press news agency state…

Huawei's chairman warned Tuesday that more U.S. moves to increase pressure on the Chinese tech giant might trigger retaliation by Beijing that could damage its worldwide industry.  Huawei Technologies Ltd., which makes smartphones and network equipment, reported that its 2019 sales rose by double digits…

Spain will delay a planned auction of 5G spectrum due to the coronavirus outbreak, the government said on Monday.   As part of a Europe-wide drive to speed up the roll out of fast Internet and broaden coverage, Spain had been due to free up…

In Madrid only a few weeks ago, thousands of demonstrators took part in a women’s march, defiant or unaware of calls for social distancing to stop what then appeared to be the distant threat of coronavirus. Now, Spain is one of the biggest battlegrounds in…

On the streets of Barcelona, a few lone shoppers and dog walkers, their faces obscured by masks, are the only signs of life in this once-vibrant city — but online it's a different story.   In Spain, as in the rest of the world, increasing numbers of…

Jeff Kao is a ProPublica reporter who FILE - In this Feb. 16, 2020, photo, a policeman stands guard at Tiananmen Gate following the coronavirus outbreak, in Beijing.Twitter continued, “Based on our intensive investigations, we have reliable evidence to support that this is a coordinated…