-
Italy says ChatGPT breached privacy rules
Italian authorities have accused OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, of breaching EU data protection law, giving the US firm 30 days to respond.... Read more
-
How to protect your data privacy: Expert provides steps you can take and explains why you can't go it alone
Perfect safety is no more possible online than it is when driving on a crowded road with strangers or walking alone through a city at night. Like roads and cities, the internet's dangers arise from choices society has made. To enjoy the freedom of cars comes with the risk of... Read more
-
Computer scientists invent simple method to speed cache sifting
Computer scientists have invented a highly effective—yet incredibly simple—algorithm to decide which items to toss from a web cache to make room for new ones. Known as SIEVE, the new open-source algorithm holds the potential to transform the management of web traffic on a large scale.... Read more
-
Fake Biden robocall to New Hampshire voters highlights how easy it is to make deepfakes
An unknown number of New Hampshire voters received a phone call on Jan. 21, 2024, from what sounded like President Joe Biden. A recording contains Biden's voice urging voters inclined to support Biden and the Democratic Party not to participate in New Hampshire's Jan. 23 GOP primary election.... Read more
-
New research addresses predicting and controlling bad actor AI activity in a year of global elections
More than 50 countries are set to hold national elections this year and analysts have long sounded the alarm on the threat of bad actors using artificial intelligence (AI) to disseminate and amplify disinformation during the election season across the globe.... Read more
-
Researchers propose a Web 3.0 streaming architecture and marketplace
Web 3.0 is an internet paradigm that is based around blockchain technology, an advanced database mechanism. Compared to Web 2.0, the current internet paradigm, Web 3.0 provides some added advantages, such as transparency and decentralized control structures. This is because Web 3.0 is designed to work over trustless and permissionless... Read more
-
Faulty machine translations litter the web
Near the end of the last century, Bill Gates saw the prospect of unifying citizens of nearly 200 countries, speaking more than 7,000 languages, coming together in common dialogue through the suddenly burgeoning web community.... Read more
-
OpenAI bans bot impersonating US presidential candidate
ChatGPT creator OpenAI removed a bot impersonating a longshot US presidential candidate's voice, enforcing limits on how political campaigns can use its AI capabilities.... Read more
-
Researchers propose new scheme for Internet of Things that uses fog computing
Researchers from RUDN University have proposed a new scheme for the Internet of Things network. It uses flying drones that process data instead of cloud data centers, which speeds up the network. The results were published in Drones.... Read more
-
YouTube's MrBeast posts video on Musk's X
YouTube sensation MrBeast posted a full video on Elon Musk's X for the first time this week, giving the struggling social media platform a boost.... Read more
-
Microsoft expands Office AI Copilot to consumers, smaller companies
Microsoft Corp. is opening up its artificial intelligence assistant to consumers and making the corporate version available to smaller companies as it tries to increase the number of paying customers for the new services.... Read more
-
OpenAI to launch anti-disinformation tools for 2024 elections
ChatGPT maker OpenAI has said it will introduce tools to combat disinformation ahead of the dozens of elections this year in countries that are home to half the world's population.... Read more
-
Data brokers know everything about you—what the FTC case against ad tech giant Kochava reveals
Kochava, the self-proclaimed industry leader in mobile app data analytics, is locked in a legal battle with the Federal Trade Commission in a case that could lead to big changes in the global data marketplace and in Congress' approach to artificial intelligence and data privacy.... Read more
-
Canada should not fall behind on implementing safety measures for children online, says researcher
Recent legislation about age verification for adult content sites has sparked an interesting scenario in the Canadian parliament. On Dec. 13, Bill S-210, An Act to restrict young persons' online access to sexually explicit material, passed the second reading in the House of Commons with a vote of 189 to... Read more
-
AI-powered misinformation is the world's biggest short-term threat, Davos report says
False and misleading information supercharged with cutting-edge artificial intelligence that threatens to erode democracy and polarize society is the top immediate risk to the global economy, the World Economic Forum said in a report Wednesday.... Read more
-
Meta toughens content curbs for teens on Instagram, Facebook
Meta on Tuesday said it was tightening up content restrictions for teens on Instagram and Facebook as it faces increased scrutiny that its platforms are harmful for young people.... Read more
-
Researchers are developing AI to make the internet more accessible
In an effort to make the internet more accessible for people with disabilities, researchers at The Ohio State University have begun developing an artificial intelligence agent that could complete complex tasks on any website using simple language commands.... Read more
-
Social media companies made $11 billion in US ad revenue from minors, Harvard study finds
Social media companies collectively made over $11 billion in U.S. advertising revenue from minors last year, according to a study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health published on Wednesday.... Read more
-
US-Canada military center 'tracks' Santa for 68th year
The joint US-Canadian military monitoring agency has continued its decades-long Christmas tradition of tracking Santa's whereabouts, helping children around the globe find out when his reindeer-powered, present-filled sleigh is coming to town.... Read more
-
China drafts new rules proposing restrictions on online gaming
China released draft guidelines Friday aimed at curbing excessive spending on online gaming in the latest move by the ruling Communist Party to keep control of the virtual economy.... Read more
-
X users report global outage: monitoring site
Tens of thousands of global users of X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday reported problems using the Elon Musk-owned social network.... Read more
-
FTC proposes strengthening children's online privacy rules to address tracking, push notifications
The Federal Trade Commission is proposing sweeping changes to a decades-old law that regulates how online companies can track and advertise to children, including turning off targeted ads to kids under 13 by default and limiting push notifications.... Read more
-
Researchers mold model for more nimble networks
Roughly three decades since the dawn of the World Wide Web, the process by which data pings around the internet and to our devices has, by design, remained largely unchanged.... Read more
-
Fraud is a problem so big we need to start teaching children how to spot it in schools
Have you or someone you know been a victim of fraud? If so, that's not unusual.... Read more
-
EU toughens rules on three major porn platforms
The European Union on Wednesday added three pornographic websites to its list of online platforms that are large enough to come under tougher safety regulation.... Read more
-
EU launches 'illegal content' probe into Elon Musk's X
The EU announced "formal infringement proceedings" against Elon Musk's platform X on Monday, under a law designed to combat disinformation and hate after identifying suspect posts related to Hamas's October 7 attack in Israel.... Read more
-
What is Storm-1152, alleged top creator of fake Microsoft accounts?
Microsoft has seized the websites of a Vietnam-based group it alleges sold millions of fake accounts to cybercriminals who used them for ransomware attacks, identity theft and other scams around the world.... Read more
-
Why federal efforts to protect schools from cybersecurity threats fall short
In August 2023, the White House announced a plan to bolster cybersecurity in K-12 schools—and with good reason. Between 2018 and mid-September 2023, there were 386 recorded cyberattacks in the U.S. education sector and cost those schools $35.1 billion. K-12 schools were the primary target.... Read more
-
OpenAI to pay Axel Springer to use journalism in ChatGPT
Axel Springer said Wednesday it was partnering up with the maker of ChatGPT, OpenAI, which will pay the German media group to include its journalism in responses generated by the chatbot.... Read more
-
Pew survey: YouTube tops teens' social-media diet, with roughly a sixth using it almost constantly
Teen usage of social media hasn't dropped much, despite rising concerns about its effects on the mental health of adolescents, a survey from the Pew Research Institute found.... Read more
-
Fungi and flatworms: Scientists want more diverse nature emojis
Too many cats, not enough crustaceans: The current emoji catalog doesn't accurately represent the breadth of biodiversity seen in nature—and that hurts conservation efforts, according to scientists.... Read more
-
What did you Google in 2023? 'Barbie,' Israel-Hamas war are among the year's top internet searches
Your Google search history for 2023 has arrived.... Read more
-
Meta makes end-to-end encryption a default on Facebook Messenger
Meta is rolling out end-to-end encryption for calls and messages across its Facebook and Messenger platforms, the company announced Thursday.... Read more
-
Google launches Gemini, upping the stakes in the global AI race
Google took its next leap in artificial intelligence Wednesday with the launch of project Gemini, an AI model trained to behave in human-like ways that's likely to intensify the debate about the technology's potential promise and perils.... Read more
-
Wikipedia, wrapped. Here are 2023's most-viewed articles on the internet's encyclopedia
Remember what you searched for in 2023? Well, Wikipedia has the receipts.... Read more
-
Are we witnessing the death of the password?
Once considered a near iron-clad weapon of defense against cyber criminals, the password has begun to fall from grace.... Read more
-
Rise of the web's 'pay for privacy' model
Users of Facebook and Instagram in Europe can now pay to opt out of the onerous data sharing obligations imposed by parent company Meta, which sells the data to advertising clients.... Read more
-
Researchers discover hidden structure in networks like Twitter
Researchers at the University of Sydney have discovered new structural relationships in complex networks, such as X (formerly Twitter) and political blogs, that could help explain the digital flow of information.... Read more
-
A graphical diagnostics tool for high-speed railway internet connectivity
As the high-speed railway network in China extends beyond 40,000 kilometers, maintaining seamless internet connectivity for passengers is becoming increasingly challenging. The demand for consistent and reliable online access is particularly crucial for travelers who spend extended hours on trains, relying on the expectation of undisturbed work, study, or entertainment.... Read more
-
Google will start deleting 'inactive' accounts in December. Here's what you need to know
Have a Google account you haven't used in a while? If you want to keep it from disappearing, you should sign in before the end of the week.... Read more
-
Researcher: Most of us have no idea what the padlock icon on our internet browser is, and it's putting us at risk
Do you know what the padlock symbol in your internet browser's address bar means? If not, you're not alone. New research by my colleagues and I shows that only 5% of UK adults understand the padlock's significance. This is a threat to our online safety.... Read more
-
Forgiveness or punishment? Australia's proposed 'safe harbor' laws send mixed messages on cyber security
Should companies experiencing cyber attacks be forgiven if they cooperate with the government to stop such attacks? That's the idea the federal government is considering with its possible "safe harbor" laws.... Read more
-
New cyber policy to harden defenses against our 'fastest growing threat'
The Albanese government's cyber security policy aims to make Australian citizens, businesses and government agencies harder targets as they face what minister Clare O'Neil describes as "the fastest growing threat that we face as a nation."... Read more
-
Australia targets tech giants with 'harmful content' standards
Australia's internet watchdog wants to force technology giants to crack down on deepfake child abuse material and "pro-terror content" under new, industry-wide protocols being developed in the country.... Read more
-
Q&A: Expert discusses how new research can help protect private data
With so much of our lives being stored online and in digital databases, it's reassuring to know there are researchers out there like Borzoo Bonakdarpour of Michigan State University.... Read more
-
How Europe is leading the world in the push to regulate AI
Lawmakers in Europe signed off Wednesday on the world's first set of comprehensive rules for artificial intelligence, clearing a key hurdle as authorities across the globe race to rein in AI.... Read more
-
Microsoft's media literacy program aims to empower internet users and combat online misinformation
People are hungry for accurate and reliable information online and may just need help to find it, according to a new media literacy project launched by Microsoft.... Read more
-
Google launches News Showcase in US this summer
More than 150 publishers in the United States have joined Google's News Showcase program, a platform where news companies are paid for content by the search engine juggernaut.... Read more
-
Instagram 'most important platform' for child sex abuse networks: report
Instagram is the main platform used by pedophile networks to promote and sell content showing child sexual abuse, according to a report by Stanford University and the Wall Street Journal.... Read more
-
Is it real or made by AI? Europe wants a label for that as it fights disinformation
The European Union is pushing online platforms like Google and Meta to step up the fight against false information by adding labels to text, photos and other content generated by artificial intelligence, a top official said Monday.... Read more