SAN FRANCISCO: The US government is trying to force Facebook Inc to break the encryption in its popular Messenger app so law enforcement may listen to a suspect’s voice conversations in a criminal probe, three people briefed on the case said, resurrecting the issue of whether companies can be compelled to alter their products to enable surveillance. The previously unreported...
ATLANTA: Facebook announced on Monday that it had removed four pages belonging to US conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for “repeatedly posting content over the past several days” that breaks its community standards. The company said it removed the pages “for glorifying violence, which violates our graphic violence policy, and using dehumanising language to describe people who are transgender, Muslims and...
ISLAMABAD: A phone app and a database of more than 50 million voters were key weapons in the successful campaign of Imran Khan in last month’s general election. How Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) used the database and the associated app represents a sea change in the antiquated way in which Pakistan’s biggest parties conduct elections, from pre-poll targeting of...
SEATTLE — More states are suing the Trump administration to dissolve a settlement it reached with a company that wants to post instructions online for making 3D-printed firearms that are hard to trace and detect. Mostly Democratic attorneys general from 19 states, plus the District of Columbia, filed an amended complaint Friday asking a judge make it illegal to share...
Fuelled by caffeine, pizza and adrenaline, sleep-deprived programmers in a marathon Saudi contest this week explored high-tech solutions to prevent a repeat of past calamities in the annual Hajj pilgrimage. In a cavernous hall in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, thousands of software professionals and students competed in the kingdom´s first-ever hackathon, a coding festival ahead of the world´s...
Online video platform YouTube announced Friday plans to launch several series in Spanish for the first time, one of which will feature Mexican movie star Gael Garcia Bernal. In addition to the show featuring the star of "Motorcycle Diaries," Google-owned YouTube is preparing two other Spanish-language series starring Colombian singer Maluma and another with Mexican actress and comedian Sofia Nino...
WASHINGTON: Creators of fake accounts and news pages on Facebook are learning from their past mistakes and making themselves harder to track and identify, posing new challenges in preventing the platform from being used for political misinformation, cybersecurity experts say. This was apparent as Facebook tried to determine who created pages it said were aimed at sowing dissension among US...
China's Huawei on Friday said it could replace Samsung as the world's top smartphone maker by late next year, just days after data showed it surpassed Apple for the number-two spot despite being essentially barred from the key US market. The chief of Huawei's consumer division, Richard Yu, made the remark at the release of business results for the first...
SILVER SPRING, Md. — Facebook stunned and angered organizers of a protest against white supremacists when it disabled their Washington event’s page this week, saying it and others had been created by “bad actors” misusing the social media platform. The company said the page — one of 32 pages or accounts it removed Tuesday from Facebook and Instagram — violated...
Apple became the first private-sector company to surpass $1 trillion in market value Thursday following its latest surge after reporting strong quarterly earnings. Shares of Apple briefly hit $207.05 in late-morning trading, before retreating somewhat. The gains came after the iPhone maker reported strong earnings late Tuesday that prompted a two-day rally in the share price. The company's stock was...
PARIS: Do you worry that you, or your children, spend too much time on social media? Facebook and Instagram on Wednesday said they want to help you take control. In a statement, the social media giants — which are both owned by Facebook — announced "new tools to help people manage their time" spent on the platforms. Among the tools are...
Google is crafting a search engine that would meet China's censorship rules, a company employee told AFP on Thursday, in a move decried by human rights activists. Google withdrew its search engine from China eight years ago due to censorship and hacking but it is now working on a project for the country codenamed 'Dragonfly', the employee said on condition...
Facebook Inc’s WhatsApp messenger service will start charging businesses for sending marketing and customer service messages, it said on Wednesday, as the social network company’s flagship brand faces slowing usage and revenue growth. The messages will be charged at a fixed rate for confirmed delivery, ranging from 0.5 cents to 9 cents per message depending on the country, WhatsApp said....
Facebook said Tuesday it shut down 32 fake pages and accounts involved in an apparent "coordinated" effort to stoke hot-button issues ahead of November midterm US elections, but could not identify the source although Russia is suspected of involvement. It said the "bad actor" accounts on the world's biggest social network and its photo-sharing site Instagram could not be tied...
WhatsApp, Facebook-owned messaging app, has introduced multi-person video and audio call feature, today. The newly-launched feature is available for both Android and iOS users and will allow them to place video /voice calls with up to four people at a time. According to the details provided by the WhatsApp, User can add participants in a group call once the first...
SEOUL - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) posted its slowest quarterly profit growth in more than a year on Tuesday as its Galaxy S9 device missed sales targets and competition heated up, casting doubt on its leadership of the smartphone market. The Apple Inc (AAPL.O) components supplier and smartphone rival said operating profit from the mobile business recorded its steepest...
PARIS: French schoolchildren will have to leave their smartphones switched off or at home as the new academic year begins in September after lawmakers voted for a ban on Monday. The ban on smartphones, tablets and other connected devices, which will apply to pupils up to the age of 14-15, fulfils a campaign promise by centrist President Emmanuel Macron while...