Threads, a text-based app built by Meta to rival Twitter, is live. The app, billed as the text version of Meta’s photo-sharing platform Instagram, became available Wednesday night to users in more than 100 countries — including the U.S., Britain, Australia, Canada and Japan. Despite some early glitches, 30 million …
Meta’s New Twitter Competitor, Threads, Boasts Tens of Millions of Sign-Ups
Tens of millions of people have signed up for Meta’s new app, Threads, as it aims to challenge competitor platform Twitter. Threads launched on Wednesday in the United States and in more than 100 other countries. In a Thursday morning post on the platform, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said 30 …
Ariane 5 Blasts Off for Final Time Amid Europe’s Rocketing Challenges
Europe’s workhorse Ariane 5 rocket blasted off for a final time on Wednesday, with its farewell flight after 27 years of launches coming at a difficult time for European space efforts. Faced with soaring global competition, the continent has unexpectedly found itself without a way to independently launch heavy missions …
Meta Launches Threads App, a Challenger to Twitter
Facebook behemoth Meta officially launched Threads, its text-based rival to Twitter, on Wednesday — but its release in Europe has been delayed over data privacy concerns. Threads is the biggest challenger yet to Elon Musk-owned Twitter, which has seen a series of potential competitors emerge but not yet replace one …
Indian Court’s Dismissal of Twitter’s Petition Sparks Concerns About Free Online Speech
In India, a recent court judgement that dismissed a legal petition by Twitter challenging the federal government’s orders to block tweets and accounts is a setback for free speech, according to digital rights activists. The Karnataka High Court, which delivered its judgement last week, also imposed a fine of $ …
Twitter Chaos Leaves Door Open for Meta’s Rival App
Elon Musk spent the weekend further alienating Twitter users with more drastic changes to the social media giant, and he is facing a new challenge as tech nemesis Mark Zuckerberg prepares to launch a rival app this week. Zuckerberg’s Meta group, which owns Facebook, has listed a new app in …
LogOn: White House Expanding Affordable High-Speed Internet Access
U.S. President Joe Biden says he wants every American to have access to high-speed internet. VOA’s Julie Taboh has our story about the United States’ more than $40 billion-dollar investment to expand the service. …
Sweden Orders Four Companies to Stop Using Google Tool
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN — Sweden on Monday ordered four companies to stop using a Google tool that measures and analyzes web traffic, as doing so transfers personal data to the United States. One company was fined the equivalent of more than $1.1 million. Sweden’s privacy protection agency, the IMY, said it had examined …
In US, 5G Wireless Signals Could Disrupt Flights Starting This Weekend
Airline passengers who have endured tens of thousands of weather-related flight delays this week could face a new source of disruptions starting Saturday, when wireless providers are expected to power up new 5G systems near major airports. Aviation groups have warned for years that 5G signals could interfere with aircraft …
In AI Tussle, Twitter Restricts Number of Posts Users Can Read
Elon Musk announced Saturday that Twitter would temporarily restrict how many tweets users could read per day, in a move meant to tamp down on the use of the site’s data by artificial intelligence companies. The platform is limiting verified accounts to reading 6,000 tweets a day. Non-verified users — …
FBI Turning to Social Media to Track Traitors
If you logged onto social media over the past few months, you may have seen it – a video of the Russian Embassy on a gray, overcast day in Washington with the sounds of passing cars and buses in the background. A man’s voice asks in English, “Do you want …
Chipmaker TSMC Says Supplier Was Targeted in Cyberattack
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. said Friday that a cybersecurity incident involving one of its IT hardware suppliers has led to the leak of the vendor’s company data. “TSMC has recently been aware that one of our IT hardware suppliers experienced a cybersecurity incident that led to the leak of information …
Chinese, Russian Firms to Build Lithium Plants in Bolivia
LA PAZ, BOLIVIA – Chinese and Russian companies will invest more than $1.4 billion in the extraction of lithium in Bolivia, one of the countries with the largest reserves of the mineral used in electric car batteries, the government in La Paz said Friday. China’s Citic Guoan and Russia’s Uranium …
Meta Oversight Board Urges Cambodia Prime Minister’s Suspension from Facebook
Meta Platforms’ Oversight Board on Thursday called for the suspension of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen for six months, saying a video posted on his Facebook page had violated Meta’s rules against violent threats. The board, which is funded by Meta but operates independently, said the company erred in leaving …
‘Godfather of AI’ Urges Governments to Stop Machine Takeover
Geoffrey Hinton, one of the so-called godfathers of artificial intelligence, on Wednesday urged governments to step in and make sure that machines do not take control of society. Hinton made headlines in May when he announced he had quit Google after a decade of work to speak more freely on …
Cambodia’s Hun Sen Leaves Facebook for Telegram
PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA — Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, a devoted and very active user of Facebook — on which he has posted everything from photos of his grandchildren to threats against his political enemies — said Wednesday that he would no longer upload to the platform and would instead …
White House Expanding Affordable High-Speed Internet Access
U.S. President Joe Biden says he wants to make sure that every American has access to high-speed internet. VOA’s Julie Taboh has our story about the United States’ more than $40 billion-dollar investment to expand the service. (Videographer: Adam Greenbaum; Produced by Julie Taboh, Adam Greenbaum) …
Generative AI Might Make It Easier to Target Journalists, Researchers Say
Since the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT launched last fall, a torrent of think pieces and news reports about the ins and outs and ups and downs of generative artificial intelligence has flowed, stoking fears of a dystopian future in which robots take over the world. While much of that hype …
US Election Commission Not Acting on Deepfakes in Campaign Ads
The commission that enforces rules for U.S. elections is not regulating AI-generated deepfakes in political advertising ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Deana Mitchell has the story. …
LogOn: Robot Jellyfish Aims to Explore the Oceans
Robot makers who want to explore the oceans are looking to one of Earth’s most successful sea creatures for design inspiration. Steve Baragona reports. …
Lean Green Flying Machines Take Wing in Paris, Heralding Transport Revolution
Just a dot on the horizon at first, the bug-like and surprisingly quiet electrically-powered craft buzzes over Paris and its traffic snarls, treating its doubtless awestruck passenger to privileged vistas of the Eiffel Tower and the city’s signature zinc-grey rooftops before landing him or her with a gentle downward hover. …
Canada Opens Investigation Into Submersible Implosion
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has opened an investigation into the implosion of the Titan, the underwater sea vessel that imploded with five people onboard as it was traveling to the wreckage of the Titanic, the British ocean liner that sank in the North Atlantic in 1912 after striking …
Indian PM Modi Wraps Up Washington Trip With Appeal to Tech CEOs
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with U.S. and Indian technology executives in Washington on Friday, the final day of a state visit where he agreed to new defense and technology cooperation and addressed challenges posed by China. U.S. President Joe Biden rolled out the red carpet for Modi on …
Big Names in Fashion, Tech, Entertainment Attend DC Dinner for India’s Modi
Titans of business, fashion, entertainment and more made the guest list for Thursday’s big White House dinner in honor India’s Narendra Modi, with the likes of designer Ralph Lauren, filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan and tennis legend Billie Jean King rubbing shoulders with tech leaders from Apple, Google and Microsoft. Shyamalan …