Senate Republican Leader Calls Net Neutrality Bill ‘Dead On Arrival’

U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday a Democratic bid to restore the 2015 net neutrality rules is “dead on arrival in the Senate.” The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote later on Tuesday on a Democratic plan to reinstate the Obama-era rules and overturn a December 2017 decision by the …

Capitol Hill Hearing on Online Hate Sees it Firsthand

A congressional hearing on online hate turned into a vivid demonstration of the problem Tuesday when a YouTube livestream of the proceedings was bombarded with racist and anti-Semitic comments. YouTube disabled the live chat section of the streaming video about 30 minutes into the hearing because of what it called “hateful comments.” The incident came …

EU: Facebook Changes Terms so Users Know it Sells Their Data

The European Commission says Facebook has changed the fine print in its terms of service to clearly explain that it makes money by selling access to users’ data. The social media giant modified its terms after discussions with the commission and consumer protection authorities.   European Union Consumer Commissioner Vera Jourova said Tuesday, “Now users …

Big Tech Feels the Heat as US Moves to Protect Consumer Data

Momentum is gaining in Washington for a privacy law that could sharply rein in the ability of the largest technology companies to collect and distribute people’s personal data. A national law, the first of its kind in the U.S., could allow people to see or prohibit the use of their data. Companies would need permission …

EU Says AI Must Be Accountable, Sets Ethical Guidelines

Companies working with artificial intelligence need to install accountability mechanisms to prevent its being misused, the European Commission said on Monday, under new ethical guidelines for a technology open to abuse. AI projects should be transparent, have human oversight and secure and reliable algorithms, and they must be subject to privacy and data protection rules, …

US Sounds Warning as SE Asia Countries Choose Huawei for 5G

Xu Ning from VOA Mandarin and reporter Rob Garver contributed to this report. STATE DEPARTMENT — The United States is acknowledging that many countries are not heeding warnings about the possible security risks in allowing Chinese tech giant Huawei to build the next generation of high-speech wireless networks known as 5G. The trend is particularly clear …

US Colleges Halt Work With Huawei Following Federal Charges

Some of the nation’s top research universities are cutting ties with Chinese tech giant Huawei as the company faces allegations of bank fraud and trade theft. Colleges including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University and the University of California, Berkeley, have said they will accept no new funding from the company, citing the recent …

Jeff Bezos’ Ex-Wife Cedes Control of Amazon in Divorce Deal

MacKenzie Bezos, ex-wife of Amazon.com Inc founder and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos, will give 75 percent of their stake in the company and all voting rights to the billionaire entrepreneur. MacKenzie Bezos will also relinquish all her interests in the Washington Post newspaper and rocket company Blue Origin, she said in a tweet on …

WhatsApp Business Launches on iPhones

Facebook Inc’s messaging app WhatsApp on Thursday launched its WhatsApp Business app for Apple Inc’s iOS operating system, allowing small businesses to communicate with customers through the platform. WhatsApp Business will be available for free download from the App Store in Brazil, Germany, Indonesia, India, Mexico, the U.K. and the U.S. starting Thursday and will …

In Economic Race With China, US Industries Turn to Feds

In the U.S. economic battle with China, the Chinese government is often portrayed as a kingmaker, making large investments in research and paving the way for Chinese companies to thrive. China, it turns out, is a good foil for U.S. industries as they ask the U.S. government to do more to help them compete globally. …

Facebook’s WhatsApp Allows Users to Control Who Can Add Them to Group Chats

Facebook Inc on Wednesday changed the privacy settings on its WhatsApp messaging platform, allowing users to decide who can add them to chat groups, as it tries to revamp its image after growing privacy concerns among users. WhatsApp, which has about 1.5 billion users, has been trying to find ways to stop misuse of the …

Boeing Software Under Scrutiny as Ethiopia Prepares Crash Report

Boeing anti-stall software forced down the nose of a doomed Ethiopian jet even after pilots had turned it off, sources told Reuters on Wednesday, as investigators scrutinize the role played by technology and crew in the fatal March 10 crash. A preliminary Ethiopian report into the disaster is due to be published within days and …

Tech Brings Historic Cities, Art to Life

Digital mapping technology has been around for awhile, but it’s only recently that it’s been applied to art history. University researchers are receiving grants from sources such as the Getty Foundation to build web applications for users to explore and research historic sites.  Historians increasingly are getting a new perspective on the past by connecting …

Zuckerberg: Facebook Cannot Guarantee Interference-free EU Eections

Facebook is much better than it was in 2016 at tackling election interference but cannot guarantee the site will not be used to undermine European Parliament elections in May, Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said on Tuesday. Chastened since suspected Russian operatives used Facebook and other social media to influence an election that surprisingly brought …

Dutch Security Agency Warns Against Chinese, Russian Technology

The Dutch security service advised the government Tuesday not to use technology from countries with active cyber-hacking campaigns against the Netherlands, such as China and Russia. The recommendation came as the Dutch government is weighing options for a new 5G telecommunications network in the coming years and seeks to replace its domestic emergency services network, …

Facebook, Rights Groups Hit Out at Singapore’s Fake News Bill

Singapore submitted wide-ranging fake news legislation in parliament on Monday, stoking fears from internet firms and human rights groups that it may give the government too much power and hinder freedom of speech. The law would require social media sites like Facebook to carry warnings on posts the government deems false and remove comments against …

Facebook Removes Accounts Linked to Indian Political Parties, Pakistan’s Military

Anjana Pasricha contributed to this report. ISLAMABAD – Facebook has removed hundreds of accounts and pages linked to Indian political parties or the Pakistani military for what the company described as “coordinated inauthentic behavior or spam.” The Facebook or Instagram accounts, pages or groups were detected through internal investigations into account activity in the region …