Category Archives: Technology

Meta closes nearly 9,000 Facebook and Instagram accounts linked to Chinese ‘Spamouflage’ foreign influence campaign

Posted on by

Company says users targeted in Australia, UK, US and elsewhere by political spam network across more than 50 platforms

Meta shut down close to 9,000 Facebook and Instagram accounts, groups and pages associated with a Chinese political spam network that had targeted users in Australia and other parts of the world, the company has revealed.

Meta began investigating in 2019 and its research aligned with several research groups, including the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (Aspi), who coined the term Spamouflage.

Continue reading...

Hundreds more rapid charging points installed in UK to help drivers go electric

Posted on by

Fast charging stations that allow for longer journeys are being added in regions beyond London

Charging companies are plugging the gaps in the UK’s high-speed charger network, with hundreds added this year outside London in a shift that will help end the “range anxiety” that holds back some would-be electric car buyers.

The capital and the south-east still have far more chargers of all speeds – ranging from slow to rapid and ultra-rapid – than the rest of the country. But the presence of high-speed chargers, generally used for quick recharging on longer journeys, is increasing in other regions as electric car sales surge.

Continue reading...

Chipmaker Nvidia crushes quarterly expectations with $13.5bn in revenue

Posted on by

The company’s specialized AI chips are in great demand, boosting its value to over $1tn, a first for a chipmaker

The chipmaker Nvidia has far surpassed quarterly expectations, raking in $13.5bn in revenue – over $2bn more than the $11.2bn Wall Street analysts had predicted – amid skyrocketing demand for its computer chips that power artificial intelligence (AI) systems.

The blockbuster second quarter comes at a moment of intense hype around generative AI, a mood that Nvidia has been uniquely positioned to capture. The 30-year-old company is one of the biggest winners in the AI boom and is now valued at over $1tn, with its chips powering nearly all the world’s major artificial intelligence apps, including ChatGPT.

Continue reading...

Huawei accused of building secret microchip factories to beat US sanctions

Posted on by

US-based semiconductor association claims Chinese tech firm has acquired at least two plants and is constructing three others

Huawei has been accused by a leading association of semiconductor manufacturers of building a collection of secret chip-making facilities across China to help the technology company bypass US sanctions, according to a report.

The Chinese tech firm moved into chip production last year and was receiving an estimated $30bn (£23.7bn) in state funding from the government, the Washington-based Semiconductor Industry Association was quoted as saying by Bloomberg, adding that Huawei had acquired at least two existing plants and was building three others.

Continue reading...

Sam Bankman-Fried living off ‘bread and water’ in prison, lawyer says

Posted on by

Founder of FTX not being provided with a vegan diet and not being given Adderall needed to manage his ADHD attorney tells judge

While in federal custody, disgraced cryptocurrency entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried has been living off “bread and water” because he’s not being provided with the vegan diet he requested, his attorney told a judge Tuesday.

During a hearing, Mark Cohen, lawyer for Bankman-Fried, said that improper diet and the jail’s failure to give Bankman-Fried the Adderall he needs to manage his attention deficit hyperactive disorder, will impact his ability to participate in readying his defense case.

Continue reading...

Meta launches web version of flagging Threads app

Posted on by

‘Twitter killer’ social media platform experienced initial boom in sign-ups when it launched in July

Meta has launched a web version of its “Twitter killer” social media platform Threads that can be used without an app, as it attempts to revive itself after a recent drop in usage.

The parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp launched the microblogging site in July, widely understood as an alternative for users disillusioned with Elon Musk-owned Twitter, which has since rebranded as X.

Continue reading...

Customer data used for unwanted romantic contact, UK poll shows

Posted on by

Almost one in three people aged 18-34 have been messaged by staff after giving personal details to a business

Almost one in three people aged 18-34 have received unwanted romantic contact after giving their personal information to a business, a UK poll has shown.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has called for recipients of such texts to come forward to help the regulator gather evidence of the impact of this phenomenon.

The ICO has an online form for people who want to report an experience of unwanted contact.

Continue reading...

Cheese and chips: parmesan producers fight fakes with microtransponders

Posted on by

Counterfeits are the bane of the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium, which is now trialling tech in the rind

When is a cheese not what it seems? When it’s a fake parmesan.

Italy’s renowned parmigiano reggiano, favoured for finishing off bowls of pasta and rocket salads, is one of the most counterfeited cheeses in the world. Now its manufacturers have found a new way to hit back against the lookalikes: by adding microchips.

Continue reading...

BAE agrees to buy space technology firm Ball Aerospace for $5.6bn

Posted on by

Weapon maker’s takeover of US firm comes amid global surge in spending on military and spying technology

Britain’s biggest weapons manufacturer, BAE Systems, has agreed to buy the US space technology company Ball Aerospace for $5.6bn (£4.4bn), in one of the largest takeovers by a UK company this year.

The FTSE 100 defence company said the purchase of the Colorado-based business would help it to expand in technologies that are US defence priorities.

Continue reading...

Thursday briefing: Vice took millions from Saudi Arabia – but has its deal backfired?

Posted on by

In today’s newsletter: As the upstart media company faces bankruptcy, it has developed strong ties with the country, leaving some to question what compromises companies are willing to make to do business

• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First Edition

It’s hard to put into words the transformation that Saudi Arabia has undergone in the past six years.

Mohammed bin Salman, commonly referred to as MBS, was appointed the crown prince in 2017 and is now the de facto ruler of the kingdom. There have been notable reforms under his new regime. Women are allowed to drive; the guardian system – under which men have legal powers over women – has been relaxed; and cinemas reopened after 35 years.

Continue reading...

CEO regrets her firm took on Facebook moderation work after staff ‘traumatised’

Posted on by

Outsourcer Sama facing legal cases brought by Kenya-based employees alleging exposure to graphic content

The chief executive of a company contracted to moderate Facebook posts in east Africa has said she regretted taking on the work, after its staff said they were left traumatised by graphic content on the social media platform.

The US outsourcing firm Sama is facing a number of legal cases brought by Kenya-based employees, who alleged being exposed to graphic and traumatic content such as videos of beheadings, suicide and other material at a moderation hub.

Continue reading...

Teens much more likely to believe online conspiracy claims than adults – US study

Posted on by

Study shows that 60% of teens between ages 13-17 agreed with four or more conspiracy statements compared with 49% of adults

Teenagers are significantly more likely to believe online conspiracy theories than older generations, a new study has shown, underscoring the broad impacts of gen Z’s relationship with social media.

Findings from Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a non-profit that fights misinformation, showed that 60% of 13-17-year-old Americans surveyed agreed with four or more harmful conspiracy statements – compared with just 49% of adults. For teens who spend four or more hours a day on any single social media platform, the figure was as high as 69%.

Continue reading...

‘Are you kidding, carjacking?’: The problem with facial recognition in policing

Posted on by

When a pregnant Black woman was falsely arrested, she fought back. Here’s what happened next. Plus, the week in AI

• Don’t get TechScape delivered to your inbox? Sign up for the full article here

Porcha Woodruff was eight months pregnant when police in Detroit, Michigan came to arrest her on charges of carjacking and robbery. She was getting her two children ready for school when six police officers knocked on her door and presented her with an arrest warrant. She thought it was a prank.

“Are you kidding, carjacking? Do you see that I am eight months pregnant?” the lawsuit Woodruff filed against Detroit police reads. She sent her children upstairs to tell her fiance that “Mommy’s going to jail”.

Continue reading...

US publisher of pro-fascist books revealed as military veteran

Posted on by

Bailey Ross, reported air force reservist and former Coast Guard service member, linked to Agartha Publishing in South Dakota

The Guardian has identified a trainee nurse and reported US air force reservist called Bailey Ross as the proprietor of a white nationalist publisher in South Dakota.

Ross was also a paid-up member of a white nationalist organization that marched at Charlottesville while enlisted in the United States Coast Guard.

Continue reading...

TikTok users in UK to be left with ‘more toxic’ version of app, say campaigners

Posted on by

Activists call on tech giant to extend a change making personalised algorithm optional to comply with rules for EEA countries

TikTok users in the UK face being left with a “less safe” and “more toxic” version of the app than those in Europe after the tech giant was forced to make its personalised algorithm optional there to comply with EU rules.

From the end of August, TikTok users in 30 countries in the European Economic Area will be able to opt out of receiving personalised content recommendations, which are largely generated based on past activity. Instead, their “For You” and live feeds will include popular videos from the places they live and around the world.

Continue reading...

Saudis ask to join UK, Italy and Japan’s joint air combat programme

Posted on by

UK-backed move could help spread cost of developing fighter jet and drones, but may prove controversial

Saudi Arabia has asked the UK, Japan and Italy to be made a full partner in their joint effort to build the next generation of fighter jets, in a move backed by the British government.

Companies from the UK, Japan and Italy are working together to build a new fighter jet and other systems such as drones under the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), also known as Tempest. The programme aims to deliver the first planes by 2035, a tight turnaround.

Continue reading...

Musk says proposed Zuckerberg cage fight to be held at ‘epic location’ in Italy

Posted on by

X owner in talks with government over historic site for event – though Colosseum and Rome ruled out

Elon Musk is in talks with Italy’s government about hosting his proposed cage fight with Mark Zuckerberg at a historic site in the country, but the Colosseum has been ruled out as a venue.

The owner of X Corp and the chief executive of Facebook-owner Meta first raised the idea of a one-on-one scrap in a series of social media posts back in June. The challenge came as Zuckerberg prepared to launch Threads, a rival microblogging site to Musk’s now rebranded Twitter platform.

Continue reading...

UK considers tighter rules on investment in China after US clampdown

Posted on by

Rishi Sunak mulls whether to follow US lead in restricting funding for advanced technologies

The British government is considering tightening rules on investment in China after the US president announced new measures aimed at limiting the dollars and expertise flowing into sensitive technologies in the country.

Joe Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday that authorises the US treasury secretary to prohibit or restrict US investments in Chinese entities in three sectors: semiconductors and microelectronics; quantum information technologies; and certain artificial intelligence systems.

Continue reading...

Biden bans range of US high tech investments in China citing national security risk

Posted on by

The order – to be implemented next year – restricts investments in semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum tech and AI

Joe Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order that will narrowly prohibit certain US investments in sensitive technology in China and require government notification of funding in other tech sectors.

The long-awaited order authorises the US treasury secretary to prohibit or restrict certain US investments in Chinese entities in three sectors: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and certain artificial intelligence systems.

Continue reading...

Norway to fine Meta $98,500 a day over user privacy breach from 14 August

Posted on by

Country’s data protection regulator said firm cannot harvest user information such as physical locations for showing targeted ads

Facebook owner Meta Platforms will be fined 1m crowns ($98,500) a day over privacy breaches from 14 August, Norway’s data protection authority told Reuters on Monday, a decision that could have wider European implications.

The regulator, Datatilsynet, had said on 17 July that the company would be fined if it did not address privacy breaches the regulator had identified.

Continue reading...