Month: January 2025

Month: January 2025

Clock ticks on US TikTok ban
01/09/2025 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

The United States Supreme Court has fast-tracked oral arguments on a challenge by the Chinese company ByteDance — the owner of TikTok — to a new law that would ban the social media platform on grounds of national security. VOA’s Steve Herman reports. …

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Meta to offer wider range of speech on platforms, CEO says
01/08/2025 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA — Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Tuesday that there would be a wider range of speech on Facebook and other Meta platforms. “We’re going to get back to our roots around free expression on Facebook and Instagram,” he said. Here are some of the key changes: Gone will be third-party fact-checkers eyeing Facebook posts

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Meta shelves fact-checking program in US, adopts X-like ‘Community Notes’ model 
01/07/2025 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Meta is ending its fact-checking program in the U.S. and replacing it with a “Community Notes” system similar to that on Elon Musk-owned X, the Facebook parent said on Tuesday.   The Community Notes model will allow users on Meta’s social media sites Facebook, Instagram and Threads to call out posts that are potentially misleading and

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Homes talk and tables walk at AI-dominated Consumer Electronics Show
01/07/2025 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

LAS VEGAS — Home appliances that do chores, cars that know your favorite cafe, and robot pets aiming to please are among artificial intelligence-infused offerings at the Consumer Electronics Show opening Tuesday. All these will compete for attention at the annual CES extravaganza in Las Vegas, as vendors behind the scenes seek ways to deal with

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British PM slams ‘lies and misinformation’ in escalating row with Musk
01/07/2025 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has criticized those, in his words, “spreading lies and misinformation,” after coming under fire from billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The ally of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump accused Starmer of failing to prosecute past cases of child sexual exploitation. As Henry Ridgwell reports, it’s the latest in a series of

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US cyber watchdog: No signs Treasury breach hit other federal agencies
01/06/2025 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

WASHINGTON — The U.S. cyber watchdog agency CISA said Monday there was “no indication” the recently reported breach at the U.S. Treasury Department had affected any other federal agency.  Late last month the U.S. Treasury reported that an unspecified number of computers had been compromised by Chinese hackers following a breach at contractor BeyondTrust, which provides

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TikTok creators in US left in limbo while awaiting decision on potential platform ban
01/06/2025 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Will TikTok in the U.S. be banned this month? That’s the pressing question keeping creators and small business owners in anxious limbo as they await a decision that could upend their livelihoods. The fate of the popular app will be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, which will hear arguments on Jan. 10 over a

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Tesla data helped police after truck explosion; experts have privacy concerns
01/05/2025 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

NEW YORK — Your car is spying on you.  That is one takeaway from the fast, detailed data that Tesla collected on the driver of one of its Cybertrucks that exploded in Las Vegas, Nevada, earlier this week. Privacy data experts say the deep dive by Elon Musk’s company was impressive but also shines a spotlight

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Apple to pay $95M to settle lawsuit accusing Siri of eavesdropping
01/04/2025 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the privacy-minded company of deploying its virtual assistant Siri to eavesdrop on people using its iPhone and other trendy devices. The proposed settlement filed Tuesday in an Oakland, California, federal court would resolve a five-year-old lawsuit revolving around allegations that Apple surreptitiously activated

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US appeals court blocks Biden administration effort to restore net neutrality rules
01/02/2025 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Washington — A U.S. appeals court ruled on Thursday the Federal Communications Commission did not have legal authority to reinstate landmark net neutrality rules. The decision is a blow to the outgoing Biden administration that had made restoring the open internet rules a priority. President Joe Biden signed a 2021 executive order encouraging the FCC to

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VOA Mandarin: What cards does China hold in US-China tech, trade battles?  
01/02/2025 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Beijing has launched a series of retaliatory actions against U.S. technological sanctions, including cutting off supplies of rare earth elements and punishing American companies operating in China. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly warned of additional tariffs on Chinese exports, and analysts believe he will further tighten technological restrictions on China. What other cards might

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VOA Mandarin: Quantum technology a key battleground in US-China competition 
01/02/2025 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Quantum computing is emerging as a revolutionary technology capable of solving complex problems that traditional computers cannot address. The U.S. leads in quantum innovation, driven by companies like Google and IBM, robust government funding and top-tier research institutions. China, however, has rapidly advanced through massive state-led investments, dominating global quantum patents and establishing specialized research

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