Exemption, seen as a climbdown, includes laptops and chips, and is likely to help firms such as Apple and Nvidia
US stock markets were expected to stage a recovery on Monday after Donald Trump excluded imports of smartphones and laptops from his tariff regime late on Friday night.
Shares in Apple and chip maker Nvidia were on course to soar after tariffs on their products imported into the US were lifted for 90 days.
Continue reading...Fifty-five years since Osaka last hosted, rocks from Mars, domestic androids and artificial hearts are part of showcase on ‘unloved’ island
As clunky as it sounds, “designing a future society for our lives” isn’t a bad ambition for the world in these troubled times. From this Sunday, organisers of the 2025 Exposition in Osaka will be hoping that appeal will put the event’s unsettled preparations in the shade for a six-month celebration of our common humanity.
The western Japan city is preparing to host its second World Expo, 55 years after the first was held in a country eager to capitalise on fading memories of the second world war as it embarked on its postwar journey to become an industrial and technological powerhouse.
Continue reading...Four senior officers say more controls needed, amid claims platforms are ‘fuelling and enabling’ crime
Senior UK police officers have called for the government to ban children under 16 from social media, amid claims the platforms are “fuelling and enabling” crime.
In the most recent development in the moral panic that has gripped the media since Netflix’s Adolescence was released, four of the most senior policing figures in the country told the Times that further controls on social media platforms were necessary for public safety, national security and young people’s mental health.
Continue reading...Tech firm has reportedly flown 600 tonnes of handsets from Indian factories as Chinese goods face huge tariffs
Apple is reportedly chartering cargo flights to ferry iPhones from its Indian manufacturing plants to the US in an attempt to beat Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The tech company has flown 600 tonnes of iPhones, or as many as 1.5m handsets, to the US from India since March after ramping up production at its plants in the country, according to Reuters.
Continue reading...Up to five sites with power-hungry supercomputers and datacentres planned to drive AI ‘moonshots’
The EU has revealed details of a €20bn (£17bn) plan to create new sites equipped with vast supercomputers in Europe to develop the next generation of artificial intelligence models, while opening the door to amending its landmark law that regulates the technology.
Publishing a strategy to turn Europe into an “AI continent”, the European Commission vice-president Henna Virkkunen said the technology was at the heart of making Europe more competitive, secure and technologically sovereign, adding: “The global race for AI is far from over.”
Continue reading...Exclusive: Algorithms allegedly being used to study data of thousands of people, in project critics say is ‘chilling and dystopian’
The UK government is developing a “murder prediction” programme which it hopes can use personal data of those known to the authorities to identify the people most likely to become killers.
Researchers are alleged to be using algorithms to analyse the information of thousands of people, including victims of crime, as they try to identify those at greatest risk of committing serious violent offences.
Continue reading...Under-16s will be barred from using the app’s Live feature unless they have parental permission
Meta is expanding its safety measures for teenagers on Instagram with a block on livestreaming, as the social media company extends its under-18 safeguards to the Facebook and Messenger platforms.
Under-16s will be barred from using Instagram’s Live feature unless they have parental permission. They will also require parental permission to turn off a feature that blurs images containing suspected nudity in their direct messages.
Continue reading...Illegal practices included use of bots to hoard tickets for attraction in Rome for resale at inflated prices
An Italian ticketing company and six tour operators have been fined almost €20m (£17m) for illegal practices that made it difficult for regular visitors to access Rome’s Colosseum at the standard cost.
Italy’s antitrust authority, AGCM, said the practices, including using software bots to hoard tickets and resell them at higher prices, made it “essentially impossible” to buy tickets online for site.
Continue reading...Transport secretary says overhaul in response to Trump tariffs supports car firms and climate goals
Labour’s changes to electric vehicle (EV) rules in response to Donald Trump’s tariffs will have a negligible impact on emissions, the transport secretary has said.
Keir Starmer has confirmed plans to boost manufacturers, including reinstating the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars.
Continue reading...California cases over AI trainers’ use of work by writers including Ta-Nehisi Coates and Michael Chabon transferred to consolidate with New York suits from John Grisham and Jonathan Franzen and more
Twelve US copyright cases against OpenAI and Microsoft have been consolidated in New York, despite most of the authors and news outlets suing the companies being opposed to centralisation.
A transfer order made by the US judicial panel on multidistrict litigation on Thursday said that centralisation will “allow a single judge to coordinate discovery, streamline pretrial proceedings, and eliminate inconsistent rulings”.
Continue reading...Dr Amy Orben says there are no ‘one-size-fits-all answers’ given importance of access to online information
A leading academic tasked by the UK government with reviewing the effects of smartphones on teenagers has suggested blanket bans are “unrealistic and potentially detrimental”.
Amy Orben, from the University of Cambridge, will lead the work on children and smartphone use that has been commissioned by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) along with a team of other academics from a number of UK universities.
Continue reading...Son of murdered academic calls on Facebook owner to ‘radically change how it moderates dangerous content’
Meta faces a $2.4bn (£1.8bn) lawsuit accusing the Facebook owner of inflaming violence in Ethiopia after the Kenyan high court said a legal case against the US tech group could go ahead.
The case brought by two Ethiopian nationals calls on Facebook to alter its algorithm to stop promoting hateful material and incitement to violence, as well as hiring more content moderators in Africa. It is also seeking a $2.4bn “restitution fund” for victims of hate and violence incited on Facebook.
Continue reading...Elliott Ingram was stunned at how a thief made off with his Ioniq 5 deploying a device to mimic the smart key – and says he should have been warned
The motor manufacturer Hyundai faces legal action over allegations it failed to warn its customers that one of its most popular models of electric cars could be stolen “effortlessly in seconds”. Elliott Ingram, an expert in digital security, was stunned when a CCTV camera installed at his home recorded a hooded thief stealing his Hyundai Ioniq 5 car in less than 20 seconds.
The thief is believed to have used a device, available online, to mimic the car’s electronic key. It is the latest in a spate of thefts involving the vehicle, and many owners now resort to a steering lock. Ingram’s car was later recovered by police, but he is terminating the lease and seeking compensation from the motor company. He says the South Korean car giant should have alerted customers to the security vulnerabilities.
Continue reading...In wake of Trump administration group chat scandal, department’s chief operating officer tells Senate there is no ban on staff using the feature
The department of home affairs secretary, Stephanie Foster, has admitted to using disappearing messages on Signal, but says she complies with record-keeping obligations, as officials face scrutiny of their use of encrypted messaging apps in the wake of the Trump administration group chat scandal.
The editor of the Atlantic, Jeff Goldberg, published a story this week saying he was accidentally added to a Signal group chat of top US officials discussing operational details on a plan to strike Yemen.
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Continue reading...The Atlantic releases more text from chat after Trump officials claimed none of it was ‘classified information’
The Atlantic magazine has published fresh messages from a group chat including top US officials where they discuss operational details of plans to bomb Yemen.
The initial revelations by the magazine and its editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, who was accidentally added to the chat on the messaging app Signal, have sparked a huge outcry in the US, with the Trump administration facing withering attacks over the disastrous leak of sensitive information.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Fellows argue Musk has violated code of conduct but council believes investigation ‘could do more harm than good’
The Royal Society has decided not to take disciplinary action against Elon Musk over his conduct, saying that to do so could cause damage to the academy and science itself.
Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO who also owns the social media platform X, was elected a fellow of the UK’s national academy of sciences in 2018, apparently in recognition of his work in the space and electric vehicle industries.
Continue reading...Experts hope the use of the headphones for mild to moderate hearing loss will reduce stigma and persuade people to test their hearing
Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 can for the first time be used as hearing aids for moderate hearing loss in Australia – but despite benefits, such as reducing social stigma and lowering costs, experts warn they are not suitable for everyone.
After approval from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) in December, Apple on Wednesday pushed out an update to AirPods Pro 2 devices in Australia allowing users to test their hearing and use the Bluetooth headphones as hearing aids for mild to moderate hearing loss. It is only TGA approved for people aged 18 and older.
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Continue reading...Head of tech giant’s consumer electronics and mobile devices division passed away at a hospital on Tuesday
South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics said on Tuesday that its co-chief executive officer Han Jong-hee has died due to cardiac arrest. Han was 63.
Han was in charge of Samsung’s consumer electronics and mobile devices division, while co-CEO Jun Young-hyun oversees the chip business of South Korea’s biggest company.
Continue reading...Labour MP and Lib Dem leader express concern social media companies could be let off hook just as benefits are cut
Keir Starmer has been warned against “appeasing” Donald Trump as he considers reducing a major tax for US tech companies while cutting disability benefits and public sector jobs.
His chancellor, Rachel Reeves, confirmed on Sunday that there were “ongoing” discussions about the UK’s £1bn-a-year digital services tax that affects companies including Meta and Amazon.
Continue reading...New poll also shows that a significant share of Americans will avoid companies that drop social-inclusion policies
One in five Americans plan to turn their backs for good on companies that have shifted their policies to align with Donald Trump’s agenda, according to a new poll for the Guardian.
As high-profile brands including Amazon, Target and Tesla grapple with economic boycotts, research by the Harris Poll indicated the backlash could have a lasting impact.
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