Author: iMaster

Author: iMaster

Blinken Urges Democracies to Use Technology to Help Citizens
03/30/2023 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday urged democracies around the world to work together to ensure technology is used to promote democratic values and fight efforts by authoritarian regimes to use it to repress, control and divide citizens. Blinken made the comments as he led a discussion on “Advancing Democracy and Internet Freedom

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Tech Leaders Sign Letter Calling for ‘Pause’ to Artificial Intelligence 
03/30/2023 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

An open letter signed by Elon Musk, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and other prominent high-tech experts and industry leaders is calling on the artificial intelligence industry to take a six-month pause for the development of safety protocols regarding the technology. The letter — which as of early Thursday had been signed by nearly 1,400 people

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Biden Says GOP Policies Would Surrender Tech Economy to China
03/29/2023 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

President Joe Biden said Tuesday that Republicans’ ideas for cutting the budget could undermine U.S. manufacturing and help China dominate the world economy.  Speaking at a semiconductor maker in North Carolina to highlight his own policies, Biden is trying to shape public sentiment as he faces off with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., about raising

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Curbed by US Sanctions, Huawei Unveils New 4G Smartphones
03/28/2023 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

At a March 23 product launch in Shanghai, Chinese tech giant Huawei unveiled its signature P60 series of smartphones with high-end cameras and its Mate X3 series mobile phones equipped with folding screens. There were demonstrations. There were speeches. But something was missing from the Huawei offerings: 5G, which gives phones the speedy internet access

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Ford Battery Plant Using Chinese Tech Raises Alarms in Congress
03/28/2023 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Ford Motor Company’s plan to create batteries for the rapidly expanding electric vehicle (EV) market could encounter congressional speed bumps because of the carmaker’s plan to use technology created by a Chinese company with ties to the communist government. Ford executive chairman William Clay Ford Jr. announced in February that the company would spend $3.5

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Twitter Celebs Balk at Paying Elon Musk for Blue Check Mark
03/27/2023 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

William Shatner, Monica Lewinsky and other prolific Twitter commentators — some household names, others little-known journalists — could soon be losing the blue check marks that helped verify their identity on the social media platform.  They could get the marks back by paying up to $11 a month. But some longtime users, including 92-year-old Star

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Twitter: Parts of its Source Code Leaked Online
03/27/2023 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Some parts of Twitter’s source code — the fundamental computer code on which the social network runs — were leaked online, the social media company said in a legal filing on Sunday that was first reported by The New York Times.  According to the legal document, filed with the U.S. District Court of the Northern

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US House Speaker Says Lawmakers to Move Forward with TikTok Bill 
03/26/2023 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Sunday lawmakers will move forward with legislation to address national security worries about TikTok, alleging China’s government had access to the short video app’s user data. In the United States, there are growing calls to ban TikTok, owned by China-based company ByteDance, or to pass bipartisan

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Intel Co-Founder, Philanthropist Gordon Moore Dies at 94
03/25/2023 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Gordon Moore, the Intel Corp. co-founder who set the breakneck pace of progress in the digital age with a simple 1965 prediction of how quickly engineers would boost the capacity of computer chips, has died. He was 94. Moore died Friday at his home in Hawaii, according to Intel and the Gordon and Betty Moore

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Threat of US Ban Grows After TikTok Lambasted in Congress 
03/24/2023 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

A U.S. ban of Chinese-owned TikTok, the country’s most popular social media for young people, seems increasingly inevitable a day after the grilling of its CEO by Washington lawmakers from across the political divide.  But the Biden administration will have to move carefully in denying 150 million Americans their favorite platform over its links to

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TikTok CEO Tells US Lawmakers App Is Place for Free Expression
03/24/2023 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Shou Zi Chew, chief executive officer of TikTok, pushed back Thursday against calls from US lawmakers to ban the social media app, contending that the company is not connected to the Chinese Communist Party. VOA Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson has more …

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3D-Printed Rocket Falls Far Short of Orbit
03/23/2023 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

A 3D-printed rocket goes up before crashing right back down. Plus, a new spacesuit designed with women in mind, and mysterious objects streak the California-night sky. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space. …

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TikTok CEO Faces Off With Congress Over Security Fears
03/23/2023 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

U.S. lawmakers grilled the CEO of TikTok over data security and harmful content Thursday, responding skeptically during a tense committee hearing to his assurances that the hugely popular video-sharing app prioritizes user safety and should not be banned. Shou Zi Chew’s testimony came at a crucial time for the company, which has acquired 150 million

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In Kenya’s Kibera Slum, a Tech Initiative Empowers Children
03/23/2023 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

In the sprawling Nairobi slum of Kibera, Renice Owino, a young computer programmer, is passing on her knowledge to disadvantaged students. Owino is the founder and driving force behind the “Code with Kids” initiative, which has reached hundreds of children in Nairobi and other areas. Saida Swaleh visited Owino’s classroom in Nairobi and has this

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US, Albania on ‘Hunt’ for Iranian Cyber Actors
03/23/2023 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

The decision to launch a series of cyberattacks that crippled Albanian government websites and temporarily shut down government services may be backfiring on the alleged perpetrator. Albania blamed the attacks in July and September of last year on Iran, claiming the evidence pointing to Tehran was “irrefutable,” and ordered all Iranian officials out of the

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TikTok Updates Rules; CEO on Charm Offensive for US Hearing
03/21/2023 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

TikTok went on a counteroffensive Tuesday amid increasing Western pressure over cybersecurity and misinformation concerns, rolling out updated rules and standards for content as its CEO warned against a possible U.S. ban on the Chinese-owned video-sharing app.  CEO Shou Zi Chew is scheduled to appear Thursday before U.S. congressional lawmakers, who will grill him about

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Amazon Cuts 9,000 More Jobs, Bringing 2023 Total to 27,000
03/20/2023 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Amazon plans to eliminate 9,000 more jobs in the next few weeks, CEO Andy Jassy said in a memo to staff Monday.  The job cuts would mark the second largest round of layoffs in the company’s history, adding to the 18,000 employees the tech giant said it would lay off in January. The company’s workforce

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Starlink Brought Internet to Brazil’s Amazon. Criminals Love It.
03/19/2023 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Brazilian federal agents aboard three helicopters descended on an illegal mining site on Tuesday in the Amazon rainforest. They were met with gunfire, and the shooters escaped, leaving behind an increasingly familiar find for authorities: Starlink internet units. Starlink, a division of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, has almost 4,000 low-orbit satellites across the skies, connecting people

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US Experts Urge More Efforts to Thwart China’s Acquisition of US Military Technology 
03/17/2023 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

U.S. former officials and experts are urging greater efforts to thwart Chinese espionage, which many believe has enabled Beijing to develop a range of advanced weaponry on the back of stolen American technology. James Anderson, a former acting undersecretary of defense for policy, said China stole U.S. military technology for developing its J-20 fighter jet

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New Zealand to Ban TikTok on Devices Linked to Parliament
03/17/2023 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

New Zealand said on Friday it would ban TikTok on devices with access to the country’s parliamentary network due to cybersecurity concerns, becoming the latest nation to limit the use of the video-sharing app on government-related devices. Concerns have mounted globally about the potential for the Chinese government to access users’ location and contact data

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Nations Crack Down on TikTok
03/17/2023 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

The Biden administration has demanded that TikTok’s Chinese owners divest their stakes in the popular video app or face a possible U.S. ban, the company told Reuters this week. The move follows the introduction of a new U.S. legislation that would allow the White House to ban TikTok or other foreign-based technologies if they pose

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White House Voices Support for Bipartisan Push to Ban TikTok
03/17/2023 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Time may be running out in the U.S. for Chinese-owned entertainment platform TikTok, with the White House on Thursday supporting proposed legislation that would effectively ban the app over concerns about the safety of the data of the 100 million Americans who use the trendy video platform. “The bottom line is that when it comes

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