Month: September 2020

Month: September 2020

Amazon Launches Trial of Pay-by-Palm Device
09/29/2020 iLines,iNews,iTechnology iMaster

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,

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TikTok Launches US Election Guide
09/29/2020 iLines,iNews,iTechnology iMaster

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

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Why Facebook Suddenly Closed 155 Accounts Targeting the Philippines
09/28/2020 iLines,iNews,iTechnology iMaster

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

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Local Developer Creates Air Monitoring App
09/28/2020 iLines,iNews,iTechnology iMaster

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. …

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US Judge Halts Government Ban on TikTok
09/28/2020 iLines,iNews,iTechnology iMaster

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

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TikTok Fate in the Balance as Judge Weighs App Store Ban
09/27/2020 iLines,iNews,iTechnology iMaster

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

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US Imposes Curbs on Exports by China’s Top Chipmaker SMIC
09/26/2020 iLines,iNews,iTechnology iMaster

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

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Justice Department Asks Judge to Allow US to Bar WeChat from US App Stores
09/26/2020 iLines,iNews,iTechnology iMaster

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

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Apple Critics Form Coalition to Challenge App Store Fees
09/26/2020 iLines,iNews,iTechnology iMaster

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

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Long-awaited Facebook Oversight Board to Launch in October
09/25/2020 iLines,iNews,iTechnology iMaster

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

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US Justice Department Proposes Changes to Internet Platforms’ Immunity
09/24/2020 iLines,iNews,iTechnology iMaster

President Donald Trump met with nine Republican state attorneys general on Wednesday to discuss the fate of a legal immunity for internet companies after the Justice Department unveiled a legislative proposal aimed at reforming the same law. Trump met with attorneys general from Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and West Virginia. Also Wednesday,

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TikTok Asks Judge to Block US From Barring App for Download
09/23/2020 iLines,iNews,iTechnology iMaster

TikTok asked a U.S. judge on Wednesday to block a Trump administration order that would require Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google to remove the short video-sharing app for new downloads starting Sunday. A federal judge in San Francisco on Saturday issued a preliminary injunction blocking a similar Commerce Department order from taking effect Sunday on

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75th UNGA Virtual Format Creates Cybersecurity Challenges
09/23/2020 iLines,iNews,iTechnology iMaster

The 75th U.N. General Assembly is breaking new ground by going virtual this year due to the coronavirus. Along with that comes a whole new set of challenges and security risks. Aaron Fedor reports for VOA from New York City. …

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German Coronavirus App Transmits 1.2 million Test Results in First 100 Days, Officials Say
09/23/2020 iLines,iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Germany’s health ministry Wednesday said its coronavirus smartphone app has been downloaded more than 18 million times and transmitted 1.2 million test results from labs to users during the first 100 days of use.Health Minister Jens Spahn told reporters in Berlin that while the “Corona Warn App” is far from perfect, it should be considered

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75th UNGA Move Online Creating Cybersecurity Challenges
09/23/2020 iLines,iNews,iTechnology iMaster

The 75th U.N. General Assembly is breaking new ground by going virtual this year due to the coronavirus. Along with that comes a whole new set of challenges and security risks. Aaron Fedor reports for VOA from New York City. …

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What Fight Over TikTok Portends for Tech
09/21/2020 iLines,iNews,iTechnology iMaster

The battle between China and the U.S. over the fate of video sharing app TikTok raises questions for the tech industry worldwide. What might the struggle over TikTok portend for global companies? Michelle Quinn reports.Producer: Matt Dibble  …

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US Challenges Injunction Against WeChat App Store Bans
09/21/2020 iLines,iNews,iTechnology iMaster

The U.S. Commerce Department said Monday it is challenging a federal judge’s injunction against its order that Apple and Google remove WeChat from their U.S. app stores due to data privacy and national security concerns.The department’s original order, issued Friday, also included another Chinese-owned app, TikTok, and expressed the Trump administration’s concerns about the way

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US Judge Blocks Order to Remove WeChat From App Stores 
09/20/2020 iLines,iNews,iTechnology iMaster

A U.S. judge early Sunday blocked the Commerce Department from requiring Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google to remove Chinese-owned messaging app WeChat for downloads by late Sunday.   U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in San Francisco said in an order that WeChat users who filed a lawsuit “have shown serious questions going to the merits of

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Newspaper: Facebook Tells Irish Court That Probe Threatens Its EU Operations
09/20/2020 iLines,iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Facebook has told Ireland’s High Court it cannot see how its services could operate in the European Union if regulators freeze its data transfer mechanism, the Sunday Business Post reported, citing court documents seen by the paper.The U.S. social media giant last week said that the Irish Data Protection Commission, its lead EU regulator, had

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Robert W. Gore, Inventor of Gore-Tex Fabric, Dead at 83 
09/20/2020 iLines,iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Robert W. Gore, whose invention of what created the breathable-yet-waterproof fabric known as Gore-Tex revolutionized outdoor wear and helped spawn uses in numerous other fields, has died. He was 83.Gore, who was president of W. L. Gore & Associates for almost 25 years and company chairman for 30 years, died on Thursday following a prolonged

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Tech Glitches Abound as a New US School Year Gets Underway with Remote Instruction
09/19/2020 iLines,iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Across America, a new school year has begun. For many, that means remote, online instruction day after day.  Deana Mitchell checks in on how students and parents are coping with education in the COVID era. …

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Trump Administration Announces Bans of TikTok, WeChat
09/19/2020 iLines,iNews,iTechnology iMaster

The Trump administration issued a sweeping ban Friday that will begin barring downloads and use of the Chinese-owned mobile apps WeChat and TikTok from U.S. app stores as of midnight Sunday. The announcement is the latest escalation in America’s tech fight with China.Officials from the U.S. Commerce Department cited national security and data privacy concerns

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