Category: Technology

Governments around the world have used the COVID-19 pandemic as their reason for expanding digital surveillance and collecting more data from their citizens, according to a report published Wednesday.The annual FILE - People wearing face masks to protect against the coronavirus use their smartphones to enter their personal data before being allowed to enter a pedestrian shopping street in Beijing, May 16, 2020.The report again singled out China for specific criticism as the world’s worst abuser of internet freedom, but Beijing also found new methods of digital surveillance in the pandemic.The report noted that Chinese authorities combined low- and high-tech tools not only to manage the outbreak of the coronavirus, but also to deter internet users from sharing information from independent sources and challenging the official narrative.The report concluded “the…

Apple unveiled four new iPhones equipped with technology for use with faster new 5G wireless networks, hoping that demand for higher data speeds will spark demand for new phones. That might not happen as quickly as Apple would like. In a virtual presentation Tuesday, the company announced four 5G-enabled versions of the new iPhone 12 ranging in price from almost $700 to roughly $1,100. Apple also announced a new, less expensive version of its HomePod smart speaker. Smartphone sales have been slowing for years as their technology has matured. That has meant far fewer gotta-have-it innovations that can drive demand and, at least until recently, increasingly pricey phones. Add to that pandemic-related economic crisis, and consumers have tended to eke as much life as possible out of their existing phones.…

As coronavirus infections surged in Malaysia this year, a wave of hate speech and misinformation aimed at Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar began appearing on Facebook.   Alarmed rights groups reported the material to Facebook. But six months later, many posts targeting the Rohingya in Malaysia remain on the platform, including pages such as "Anti Rohingya Club" and "Foreigners Mar Malaysia's Image," although those two pages were removed after Reuters flagged them to Facebook recently.   Comments still online in one private group with nearly 100,000 members included "Hope they all die, this cursed pig ethnic group."   Facebook acknowledged in 2018 that its platform was used to incite violence against the Rohingya in Myanmar, and last year spent more than $3.7 billion on safety and security on its platform. But the surge of anti-Rohingya comment in Malaysia shows how…

A mobile app launched last week in China that many there hoped would allow access to long banned Western social media sites abruptly disappeared from Chinese app stores a day after its unveiling.Tuber, an Andriod app backed by Chinese cyber security software giant Qihoo 360, first appeared to be officially available last Friday. It offered Chinese citizens limited access to websites such as YouTube, Facebook and Google, and it facilitated some 5 million downloads following its debut.Yet a day later, the Tuber app disappeared from mobile app stores, including one run by Huawei Technologies Co. A search for the app’s website yielded no results when VOA checked Monday. It’s unclear whether the government ordered the takedown of the app.Experts told VOA that such ventures are sometimes designed to create the…

Microsoft announced legal action Monday seeking to disrupt a major cybercrime digital network that uses more than 1 million zombie computers to loot bank accounts and spread ransomware, which experts consider a major threat to the U.S. presidential election. The operation to knock offline command-and-control servers for a global botnet that uses an infrastructure known as Trickbot to infect computers with malware was initiated with an order that Microsoft obtained in Virginia federal court on Oct. 6.  Microsoft argued that the crime network is abusing its trademark. "It is very hard to tell how effective it will be, but we are confident it will have a very long-lasting effect," said Jean-Ian Boutin, head of threat research at ESET, one of several cybersecurity firms that partnered with Microsoft to map the command-and-control servers. "We're sure that they are…

Facebook announced Monday that it is updating its hate speech policy and will ban all posts that deny or distort the Jewish Holocaust.Today we're updating our hate speech policy to ban Holocaust denial. We've long taken down posts that praise hate...Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Monday, October 12, 2020“We've long taken down posts that praise hate crimes or mass murder, including the Holocaust,” Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post. Zuckerberg said that with rising anti-Semitism, the company was expanding its policy to prohibit such content. He added, “If people search for the Holocaust on Facebook, we’ll start directing you to authoritative sources to get accurate information.”The announcement follows a #NoDenyingIt campaign by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.The non-profit Anti-Defamation League said on Facebook that it…

Mounted on rooftops, utility poles and streetlights throughout China since last year are hundreds of thousands of high-tech wireless towers for 5G, a powerful sign of the country's ambition to lead in new technology. Yet many of them are operational for only half the day.China Unicom, one of three telecommunication operators, announced in August that its Luoyang branch in Henan province would automatically switch its 5G transmitter stations to sleep mode from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. because there were few people using them. The other two carriers quickly followed suit and since then have rolled out the same policies in other cities across the country."Shutting down base stations is not a manual shutdown, but an automatic adjustment made at a certain time,” Wang Xiaochu, chairman of China Unicom, said…

Twitter Inc. said Friday that it would remove tweets calling for people to interfere with the U.S. election process or implementation of election results, including through violence, as the company also announced more restrictions to slow the spread of misinformation.Twitter said in a blog post that, from next week, users will get a prompt pointing them to credible information before they can retweet content that has been labeled as misleading.It said it would add more warnings and restrictions on tweets with misleading information labels from U.S. political figures like candidates and campaigns, as well as U.S.-based accounts with more than 100,000 followers or that get "significant engagement."Twitter, which recently told Reuters it was testing how to make its labeling more obvious and direct, said people will have to tap through…

Pakistan has blocked online short-video sharing platform TikTok on the grounds of "immoral/indecent" content for viewing in the majority-Muslim nation.The state regulator said Friday that it had repeatedly instructed the platform to tighten its content monitoring to block access to the "unlawful" material."However, the application failed to fully comply with the instructions, therefore, directions were issued for blocking of TikTok application in the country," said the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, PTA.The regulator defended the decision, saying the PTA, in a formal warning, had given "considerable time" to the online platform to respond and comply with the instructions.FILE - A man opens social media app TikTok on his cellphone, in Islamabad, Pakistan, July 21, 2020."TikTok has been informed that the authority is open for engagement and will review its decision subject to…

Tech giants Google and Oracle are clashing at the Supreme Court in a copyright dispute that's worth billions and important to the future of software development. The case before the justices Wednesday has to do with Google's creation of the Android operating system now used on the vast majority of smartphones worldwide. Google says that to create Android, which was released in 2007, it wrote millions of lines of new computer code. But it also used 11,330 lines of code and an organization that's part of Oracle's Java platform.   Google has defended its actions, saying what it did is long-settled, common practice in the industry, a practice that has been good for technical progress. But Oracle says Google "committed an egregious act of plagiarism" and sued, seeking more than…

Facebook said it will ban groups that "represent" QAnon, the baseless conspiracy theory that paints President Donald Trump as a secret warrior against a supposed child-trafficking ring run by celebrities and "deep state" government officials. The company said Tuesday that it will remove Facebook pages, groups and Instagram accounts for "representing QAnon," even if they don’t promote violence. The social network said it will consider a variety of factors to decide if a group meets its criteria for a ban, including its name, the biography or "about" section of the page, and discussions within the page, group or Instagram account. Mentions of QAnon in a group focused on a different subject won't necessarily lead to a ban, Facebook said. Less than two months ago, Facebook said it would stop promoting the group and…

A U.S. House of Representatives panel looking into abuses of market power by four of the biggest technology companies found they used "killer acquisitions" to smite rivals, charge exorbitant fees and force small businesses into "oppressive" contracts in the name of profit. The panel, an antitrust subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee, recommended that Alphabet Inc.'s Google, Apple Inc., Amazon.com and Facebook should not both control and compete in related business activities but stopped short of saying they should be broken up. The scathing 449-page report describes dozens of instances where the companies misused their power, revealing corporate cultures apparently bent on doing what they could to maintain dominance over large portions of the internet. "To put it simply, companies that once were scrappy, underdog startups that challenged the status quo have become the…

Even though businesses are reopening around the world, the pandemic is still a reality. Many commercial spaces and offices are taking people’s temperatures before allowing them inside.  In some industries, handheld thermometers may not be efficient enough. Thermal imaging systems allow temperatures to be taken without anyone needing to be physically close to the person being evaluated.  The demand for these types of devices is skyrocketing globally. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has the details.Videographers: Michael Eckels, Elizabeth Lee  Video editor: Elizabeth Lee ...

Even though businesses are reopening around the world, the pandemic is still a reality. Many commercial spaces and offices are taking people’s temperatures before allowing them inside.  In some industries, handheld thermometers may not be efficient enough. Thermal imaging systems allow temperatures to be taken without anyone needing to be physically close to the person being evaluated.  The demand for these types of devices is skyrocketing globally. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has the details.Videographers: Michael Eckels, Elizabeth Lee  Video editor: Elizabeth Lee ...

More than six months into the COVID-19 pandemic, a handful of U.S. states are starting to roll out apps that promise to tell people if they’ve been exposed to someone with the virus — without revealing personal information.  Now with the White House struggling with a COVID-19 outbreak, the goal to figure out a way to quickly notify people has gained more urgency.  The arrival of these apps in the U.S. comes as communities are opening in fits and starts. The hope is that by using technology to notify people they’ve been exposed to the virus, the apps will enhance the ability of local health officials to stem the spread of COVID-19.It’s an idea being tested — in real time.  But will the apps make a difference?“We don't know yet,” said Jeffrey Kahn, director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. “That's…

With tens of thousands of new coronavirus cases daily in the U.S., states are launching digital apps that alert people if they have been exposed to someone who tested positive for the virus. Virginia recently rolled out a COVID exposure app that became instantly popular with residents. Health officials are trying to determine whether such apps will work to help slow virus transmission. VOA’s Julie Taboh has more.Producers: Julie Taboh, Adam Greenbaum. Videographers: Adam Greenbaum, VPM, Skype, VDH. ...

Israel is struggling against a virulent second wave of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, with thousands of new cases diagnosed every day. A key element in the fight to contain the pandemic is contact tracing. In Israel, this is conducted by the Internal Security Service, the Shin Bet, using methods originally designed for counterterrorism. Linda Gradstein reports from Jerusalem.Camera: Ricki Rosen Produced: Barry Unger  ...

Need to pay for some groceries? No problem, just wave your palm. That could be the new mode of payment at Amazon Go stores if current trials of its new technology in Seattle, Washington, are successful.   The technology, known as Amazon One, is a “free, contactless service that lets you use your palm to pay, enter or identify yourself,” according to its website. The product, which is undergoing trials at two Go stores in Seattle, will allow customers to enter their credit card details and cell phone number and scan their palm or palms for distinct details such as “surface area, lines and ridges as well as subcutaneous features such as vein patterns” on a biometric device. The individual palm details are then used to create a customer’s unique palm signature, and Amazon is…

Chinese-owned video sharing platform TikTok says it is creating a guide "to protect against misinformation" during the 2020 U.S. elections. In a blog post Tuesday, the company said its guide would connect "100 million Americans with trusted information about the elections from the National Association of Secretaries of State, BallotReady, SignVote, and more." "Our The U.S. head office of TikTok is seen in Culver City, California, Sept. 15, 2020.TikTok, which is especially popular with younger people, is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company. TikTok has sought to alleviate U.S. concerns over privacy issues by forming a partnership with two U.S. companies, Oracle and WalMart. The deal has not been finalized, and there have been conflicting statements among the parties about how much of the new venture each company would own.  The Trump administration…

A U.S. federal judge has temporarily halted a Trump administration order to ban the popular video app TikTok from U.S. app stores. The ban was due to go into effect at the end of the day Sunday by order of the U.S. Commerce Department, the latest move targeting what administration officials have said are security concerns with Chinese companies. The judge gave lawyers for TikTok and the administration until Wednesday to meet and propose a schedule for further proceedings in the case.  TikTok lawyers argued at a Sunday hearing that banning the app would infringe on the free speech rights of its users, while also bringing irreparable harm to the company’s business. “We will continue defending our rights for the benefit of our community and employees,” the company said in a statement welcoming the judge’s decision. The U.S. head office of TikTok is…

Facebook’s deletion of accounts targeting the Philippines from bases in China shows that the U.S. internet giant wants a better reputation in Southeast Asia after letting things slide in the past, say analysts who follow the case. On September 22, Facebook said it had removed 155 of its own accounts and six Instagram accounts for violating an internal policy against “foreign or government interference which is coordinated inauthentic behavior on behalf of a foreign or government entity.” The accounts originated in China and focused “primarily on the Philippines and Southeast Asia more broadly” as well as on the United States, Facebook says. Facebook’s move will endear it to Filipinos, who use the service so fervently that it has become a de facto official homepage for businesses and government agencies but who also worry that…

There are all kinds of apps that rate the air quality of your home inside and outside. But one young programmer has created one that has taken off in his native Macedonia. Now it’s also expanding worldwide. VOA`s Jane Bojadzievski reports. ...

A federal judge on Sunday postponed a Trump administration order that would have banned the popular video sharing app TikTok from U.S. smartphone app stores around midnight. A more comprehensive ban remains scheduled for November, about a week after the presidential election. The judge, Carl Nichols of the U.S District Court for the District of Columbia, did not agree to postpone the later ban. The ruling followed an emergency hearing Sunday morning in which lawyers for TikTok argued that the administration's app-store ban would infringe on First Amendment rights and do irreparable harm to the business. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump declared that TikTok was a threat to national security and that it must either sell its U.S. operations to American companies or be barred from the country. TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, is scrambling to firm up a…

Lawyers for TikTok pleaded with a U.S. federal judge on Sunday to delay the Trump administration's ban of the popular video sharing program from app stores set to take effect at the end of the day, arguing the move would infringe on First Amendment rights and do irreparable harm to the business.The 90-minute hearing came after President Donald Trump declared this summer that TikTok was a threat to national security and that it either sold its U.S. operations to U.S. companies or the app would be barred from the country.TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, is scrambling to firm up a deal tentatively struck a week ago in which it would partner with tech company Oracle and retailer Walmart and that would get the blessing of the Chinese and American…

The U.S. government has placed new export restrictions on China's most advanced maker of computer chips, citing an “unacceptable risk” that equipment sold to the country’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) could be used for military purposes.According to a letter Friday by the Commerce Department, American suppliers of certain technology products to SMIC will need to apply for individual licenses before they can export to the Chinese company.The U.S. has cut off China's telecom giant Huawei from essential supplies of semiconductors since September 15. As the requirement takes effect, SMIC becomes the second leading Chinese technology company to face U.S. trade sanctions.When asked for comment, the Chinese chipmaker told Reuters it had not received any official notice of the restrictions from Washington and said it had no ties with the…

The U.S. Justice Department asked a federal judge in San Francisco on Friday to allow the government to bar Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google from offering WeChat for download in U.S. app stores pending an appeal.The filing asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler to put on hold her preliminary injunction issued Saturday. That injunction blocked the U.S. Commerce Department order that was set to take effect late September 20 and that would also bar other U.S. transactions with Tencent Holding's WeChat, potentially making the app unusable in the United States.Beeler responded late Friday by setting a hearing for October 15 on the motion but said she could potentially hold it on "a tighter time period."The Justice Department filing said Beeler's order was in error and "permits the continued, unfettered…

Facebook's highly anticipated independent oversight board, a group that will be empowered to overrule the company's leadership on issues pertaining to the platform's content moderation decisions, plans to launch in October, just in time for the November U.S. presidential election.The board was created by Facebook after the platform was criticized for its handling of problematic content, most recently a backlash over its decision to take no action in response to posts from U.S. President Donald Trump containing misinformation about mail-in voting and inflammatory language directed toward the Black Lives Matter anti-racism protests that erupted over the summer.Other platforms that contain user-generated content, such as Twitter, have taken measures to combat misinformation online, including attaching fact-checking warning labels to posts.Facebook has not yet announced whether the board will hear cases related…

A group of Apple Inc.'s critics, including Spotify Technology SA, Match Group Inc. and "Fortnite" creator Epic Games, have joined a nonprofit group that plans to advocate for legal and regulatory action to challenge the iPhone maker's App Store practices. Apple charges a commission of between 15% and 30% for apps that use its in-app payment system and sets out extensive rules for apps in its App Store, which is the only way Apple allows consumers to download native apps to devices such as the iPhone. Those practices have drawn criticism and formal legal complaints from some developers. FILE - Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks during an announcement of new products at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, Calif., June 4, 2018.The Coalition for App Fairness, structured as a nonprofit…