Reuters: Technology News

Facebook takes down Trump ads over 'organized hate' policy

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 15:15:02 -0400

Facebook Inc said on Thursday it took down posts and ads run by the re-election campaign of U.S. President Donald Trump for violating its policy against organized hate.

Semiconductor manufacturers reach deal to supply U.S. defense chips

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 14:26:41 -0400

Globalfoundries and SkyWater Technology have reached a deal to supply semiconductor chips to the U.S. defense industry and work on new technology, the companies said on Thursday, as the industry moves toward more U.S. manufacturing.

U.S. House panel hears from Facebook, Google, Twitter on election security

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 14:20:41 -0400

Top officials from Facebook, Google and Twitter were grilled by U.S. lawmakers on Thursday at a virtual hearing on foreign influence and election security ahead of the Nov. 3 presidential contest.

UK ditches homegrown COVID-19 tracing app to use Google-Apple model

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 14:05:08 -0400

Britain will switch to the Apple and Google model for its COVID-19 test-and-trace app, ditching an attempt to develop an app by itself after the homegrown system did not work well enough on Apple's iPhone, the government said on Thursday.

Robinhood trading app back online after major outage

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 13:58:51 -0400

Robinhood Markets Inc, the fintech startup credited with helping popularize trading with millennials, said on Thursday it resolved an issue that had caused a "major outage" on its platform earlier in the day.

Exclusive: Massive spying on users of Google's Chrome shows new security weakness

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 13:48:28 -0400

A newly discovered spyware effort attacked users through 32 million downloads of extensions to Google's market-leading Chrome web browser, researchers at Awake Security told Reuters, highlighting the tech industry's failure to protect browsers as they are used more for email, payroll and other sensitive functions.

France's top court rejects core of law targeting online hate speech

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 12:54:36 -0400

France's top court rejected most of a draft law that would have compelled social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter to remove any hateful content within 24 hours, it said on Thursday.

No date for release of test-and-trace app in UK, minister says

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 12:40:10 -0400

Britain's health minister declined on Thursday to set a date for when a smartphone app to help trace people who have been in contact with a person infected with the new coronavirus would be rolled out.

Facebook sues individuals for offering to extract data, gather likes

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 12:18:18 -0400

Facebook Inc said on Thursday it filed lawsuits against individuals in Europe and the United States for abusing its platforms to offer automated tools for scraping users' personal data and gathering likes.

Kenya video-conference platform elbows its way into crowded field

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 11:58:21 -0400

Tiny Kenyan start-up Gumzo is a minnow on the booming teleconferencing scene but its creators hope the platform will help companies spend more of their cash in Africa rather than on foreign technology companies.

Amazon and Valentino file joint lawsuit over shoe counterfeiting

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 11:41:54 -0400

Italian luxury brand Valentino and Internet giant Amazon have filed a joint lawsuit against New York-based Kaitlyn Pan Group for allegedly counterfeiting Valentino shoes and offering them for sale online.

DC superheroes coming to your headphones as Spotify signs podcast deal

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 10:44:36 -0400

Podcasts featuring Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman will soon stream on Spotify as the Swedish music streaming company has signed a deal with AT&T Inc's Warner Bros and DC Entertainment.

Russia lifts ban on Telegram messaging app after failing to block it

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 09:54:15 -0400

Russia on Thursday lifted a ban on the Telegram messaging app that had failed to stop the widely-used programme operating despite being in force for more than two years.

Europe threatens digital taxes without global deal, after U.S. quits talks

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 09:37:23 -0400

The European Union said on Thursday it could impose taxes on digital giants such as Google , Amazon and Facebook even without a global agreement by the year-end, after Washington quit talks and stoked fears of a new trade war.

Germany wants to rescue talks with U.S. on digital services tax

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 09:35:00 -0400

Germany wants to rescue talks with the United States on how to tax big digital firms such as Google , Amazon and Facebook , the finance ministry said on Thursday after Washington pulled out of the negotiations.

Shunning international tax talks could trigger trade war: OECD

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 09:30:34 -0400

Failure to work towards an international deal on taxing big digital companies could trigger a dangerous trade war, the OECD said on Thursday, urging countries to remain engaged in talks after Washington announced it was pulling out of them for now.

Reliance says Saudi's PIF to invest $1.49 billion in Jio

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 08:58:57 -0400

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) will buy a 2.32% stake in Reliance Industries' digital unit Jio Platforms for 113.67 billion rupees ($1.49 billion), the Indian conglomerate said on Thursday.

Thai central bank to develop payment system prototype for business using digital currency

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 07:46:20 -0400

Thailand's central bank unveiled on Thursday plans to build a prototype of a payment system for businesses using central bank digital currency (CBDC), or traditional money but in digital form being developed by monetary authorities around the world.

Italy wants a global agreement on digital tax by end of 2020: Economy Minister

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 07:33:26 -0400

Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri said on Thursday Italy was still committed to a shared global deal on a tax on digital services, after the United States decided to quit global talks on how to tax sector giants.

U.S.-China tech war bigger risk than coronavirus, EU chamber chief says

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 06:55:54 -0400

The coronavirus has disrupted supply chains and demand across the global economy, but it is the prospect of Europe becoming a casualty in the U.S.-China tech war that keeps the president of the European Chamber in China "awake at night".