~theguardian-world | Bookmarks (75)

Industry minister says review of popular video app that is planning to expand in country has been ongoing since September 2023Canada is conducting a national security review of Chinese-owned TikTok’s proposed expansion of the popular video app in the country, the industry minister, François-Philippe Champagne, said on Friday.In a teleconference from Italy after meeting with his G7 counterparts, Champagne said the review under the...

Spokesperson says company is working to resolve issue as soon as possible and thanks customers for their patienceGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastMcDonald’s restaurants are facing an international technology outage with the fast food giant working to resolve the issue.“We are aware of a technology outage currently impacting our restaurants nationwide and are working to resolve this...

Firefighters responded to blazes set off by an ebike, an EV charging station, a garden hedger and a loose battery in a garbage truckGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastLithium-ion batteries sparked four fires in just one day in New South Wales this week, amid growing concern over the rise in battery-related blazes.One man was taken to hospital...

Ivory Coast, Liberia, Benin, Ghana and Burkina Faso among countries experiencing outages Much of west and central Africa has been left without internet service, as operators of several subsea cables reported failures.The cause of the cable failures on Thursday was not immediately clear. Continue reading...

CEO of China-based company says vote is ‘disappointing’ and that it will do all it can to protect the platformThe House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday that would require the TikTok owner ByteDance to sell the social media platform or face a total ban in the United States.The vote was a landslide, with 352 Congress members voting in favor and only 65...

A bill passed Wednesday by the House requiring TikTok owner ByteDance to sell or face a US ban is most existential threat yetThe House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday that would require TikTok owner ByteDance to sell the social media platform or face a total ban in the United States.The legislation now moves to the Senate, where its likelihood of passing is uncertain....

Analysis shows link between Copper Technologies and Jonatan Zimenkov, who was later hit with US sanctions over Ukraine invasionA cryptocurrency firm transferred digital assets worth more than $4.2m to a crypto wallet belonging to a member of an alleged Russian arms-dealing network who was later hit with US sanctions, it can be revealed.Details of the transactions involving Copper Technologies raise questions about whether UK...

University of Oxford study shows benefits and risks of technology to healthcare, but ethical issues remainBritain’s hard-pressed carers need all the help they can get. But that should not include using unregulated AI bots, according to researchers who say the AI revolution in social care needs a hard ethical edge.A pilot study by academics at the University of Oxford found some care providers had...

Publishers informed on Friday Meta would not enter new deals when current contracts expire and Facebook news tab would shut down in AprilFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastFacebook and Instagram’s parent company, Meta, has set itself on a collision course with the Albanese government after announcing it will stop...

Chong Ke, from Vancouver, under investigation after allegedly using ChatGPT to cite case law – but those cases did not existA lawyer in Canada is under fire after the artificial intelligence chatbot use she used for legal research created “fictitious” cases, in the latest episode to expose the perils of using untested technologies in the courtroom.The Vancouver lawyer Chong Ke, who now faces an...

Exclusive: Guardian investigation for podcast series Black Box reveals names connected to app that generated nonconsensual images of underage girls around the worldPrologue: the collision – podcastThe first Miriam al-Adib learned of the pictures was when she returned home from a business trip. “Mum,” said her daughter. “I want to show you something.”The girl, 14, opened her phone to show an explicit image of...

Tesla had ditched an order for 4,000 mini pies, but the X owner paid the debt after the incident received attentionElon Musk steps in after bakery jolted by cancelled Tesla orderA California bakery that claimed Tesla did not pay an order worth thousands of dollars said the outstanding bill has been settled, after billionaire Elon Musk promised to “make things good” following press coverage...

World’s biggest social media firms challenge state laws blocking them from moderating certain content or banning usersMembers of the United States supreme court expressed skepticism regarding two laws being debated in oral arguments Monday, both of which deal with how social media platforms moderate content and could have broad implications for freedom of speech online.Filed by NetChoice, an association representing the world’s largest social...

Junior minister accuses tech firm of violating country’s IT laws with ‘downright malicious’ answersA response from Google’s AI platform suggesting that some experts believe the policies of the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, polices to be “fascist” has provoked a confrontation between the company and the government.The journalist Arnab Ray last week put the question as to whether Modi was a fascist to Google’s...

Washington hopes more countries will join US, UK and Canada in signing agreement to define, identify and label such operationsA global coalition of democracies is being formed to protect their societies from disinformation campaigns by foreign governments, the US special envoy on the issue has said.James Rubin, the special envoy for non-state propaganda and disinformation efforts at the US state department’s global engagement centre...

University of Waterloo dispenser displays facial recognition message despite no prior indication it was monitoring studentsA malfunctioning vending machine at a Canadian university has inadvertently revealed that a number of them have been using facial recognition technology in secret.Earlier this month, a snack dispenser at the University of Waterloo showed an error message – Invenda.Vending.FacialRecognition.App.exe – on the screen. Continue reading...

Leaked files shows range of services offered and bought, with data harvested from targets worldwideA big leak of data from a Chinese cybersecurity firm has revealed state security agents paying tens of thousands of pounds to harvest data on targets, including foreign governments, while hackers hoover up huge amounts of information on any person or institution who might be of interest to their prospective...

CAA proposals would allow operators to fly drones at low heights beyond the line of sightDrones could be used for critical medical deliveries, as well as inspections of railways, powerlines, and roads under new proposals put forward by the UK’s air travel watchdog.The proposals, set out in a consultation published on Monday by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), would allow operators to fly...

Video platform under scrutiny over potential breach of Digital Services Act in areas such as age verificationThe EU has launched a formal investigation into whether TikTok has broken online content rules including the safeguarding of children.The European Commission said it had opened official proceedings against the Chinese-owned short video platform over potential breaches of the Digital Services Act (DSA). Continue reading...

Teaching unions say guidance includes practices already adopted and most schools already have policies in placeMinisters have confirmed plans to ban the use of mobile phones in English schools, releasing guidance for headteachers that some unions said included practices that had already been widely adopted.However, one headteacher welcomed the Department for Education (DfE) plan, saying it would help give schools the confidence to make...

Local WhatsApp group started by two mothers concerned about online safety attracts more than 4,000 membersMore than 4,000 parents have joined a group committed to barring young children from having smartphones, as concerns grow about online safety and the impact of social media on mental health.The WhatsApp group Smartphone Free Childhood was created by the former school friends Clare Fernyhough and Daisy Greenwell in...

Company to sell existing shares in ‘tender offer’ led by venture firm Thrive Capital, in similar deal as early last yearMicrosoft-backed OpenAI has completed a deal that values the artificial intelligence company at $80bn or more, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing multiple people with knowledge of the deal.The company would sell existing shares in a so-called tender offer led by venture...

Company claimed its chatbot ‘was responsible for its own actions’ when giving wrong information about bereavement fareCanada’s largest airline has been ordered to pay compensation after its chatbot gave a customer inaccurate information, misleading him into buying a full-price ticket.Air Canada came under further criticism for later attempting to distance itself from the error by claiming that the bot was “responsible for its own...

Rides to stadiums for music tours and sports events grew more than 35% in 2023 as company underwent an aggressive restructureLyft beat estimates for fourth-quarter profits on Tuesday and said it would generate positive free cashflow for the first time in 2024, as the ride-share platform reaps the benefits of heavy cost-cutting.Company shares surged nearly 60% in extended trading but erased a third of...