-
Meta says Trump to be allowed back on Facebook, Instagram
Social networking giant Meta announced Tuesday it would soon reinstate former president Donald Trump's accounts on Facebook and Instagram with "new guardrails," two years after he was banned over the 2021 US Capitol insurrection.... Read more
-
Hackers penetrated LAUSD computers much earlier than previously known, district probe finds
An intrusion into the computer systems of the Los Angeles school district began more than a month earlier than previously disclosed and likely exposed confidential information, including Social Security numbers, of more than 500 people who worked for district contractors, according to information filed with the state.... Read more
-
Meta says reviewing call to make adult nudity policies more inclusive
Meta was reviewing a call by its oversight board to make its policies on adult nudity more inclusive, a spokesperson said Thursday, after the tech giant removed two Instagram posts showing transgender and non-binary people with their chests bared.... Read more
-
Climate misinformation 'rocket boosters' on Musk's Twitter
Search for the word "climate" on Twitter and the first automatic recommendation isn't "climate crisis" or "climate jobs" or even "climate change" but instead "climate scam."... Read more
-
How to spot a cyberbot—five tips to keep your device safe
You may know nothing about it, but your phone—or your laptop or tablet—could be taken over by someone else who has found their way in through a back door. They could have infected your device with malware to make it a "bot" or a "zombie" and be using it—perhaps with... Read more
-
'Internet of Light' integrates illumination, communication and ministration
When it comes to efficiency and quality, light-emitting diodes (LED) are the MVP of today's lighting technology. A team of Chinese researchers are using recent LED improvements as a springboard to launch a more interconnected illumination network.... Read more
-
German watchdog raps Google over user data practices
Germany's antitrust regulator on Wednesday criticised the way Google handles users' data and threatened action against the US tech giant.... Read more
-
New laser lays groundwork for next-generation ethernet technology
Scientists from Japan have developed a new type of distributed feedback (DFB) laser and have shown that it can be used to transmit data at speeds of 200 Gb/s over a record distance of 10 kilometers. This research could help advance network technology that would allow internet data centers to... Read more
-
Automatically tuning the resource configurations for streaming data processing systems using machine learning
Data can be likened to a stream of water when a large amount of data is generated continuously. A variety of data including applications, networked devices, server log files, various online activities, and location-based data can form a continuous stream. We call such a form of data processing stream data.... Read more
-
China moves to regulate deepfake technology
New rules went into effect in China on Tuesday to regulate the use of deepfakes, the increasingly realistic digital video manipulations that have sparked disinformation fears around the globe.... Read more
-
Cyber researcher pioneers method to track groups of anomalous users
Malicious or fictitious users on internet networks have become the bane of the internet's existence. While many bemoan their increasing frequency, few have developed methods to track and expose them. A Ben-Gurion University of the Negev researcher has developed a new method to detect groups of anomalous users.... Read more
-
Second coming of once-banned conspiracy theorists after Twitter amnesty
A conspiracy theorist urging Americans to burn voting machines, an anti-Muslim activist posting a photo with a gun, a retired general who called for a coup—Elon Musk's Twitter has reinstated thousands of once-banned accounts.... Read more
-
Twitter leak exposes 235 million email addresses from hack
Personal emails linked to 235 million Twitter accounts hacked some time ago have been exposed according to Israeli security researcher Alon Gal—making millions vulnerable to having their accounts compromised or identities exposed if they have used the site anonymously to criticize oppressive governments, for instance.... Read more
-
EXPLAINER: What is the metaverse and how will it work?
The term "metaverse" is the latest buzzword to capture the tech industry's imagination—and while Facebook parent Meta is the best-known entrant into this futuristic virtual concept, it's certainly not the only one.... Read more
-
Twitter says it will relax ban on political advertising
Twitter says it will ease up on its 3-year-old ban on political advertising, the latest change by Elon Musk as he tries to pump up revenue after purchasing the social media platform last year.... Read more
-
A greener internet of things with no wires attached
Emerging forms of thin-film device technologies that rely on alternative semiconductor materials, such as printable organics, nanocarbon allotropes and metal oxides, could contribute to a more economically and environmentally sustainable internet of things (IoT), a KAUST-led international team suggests.... Read more
-
YouTube TV wins right to broadcast NFL games starting in 2023
The YouTube video platform has won the right to broadcast most NFL football games in the US next year, it announced Thursday, a major win by the Google subsidiary that underscores the growing role of streaming in sports.... Read more
-
Twitter-owner Musk seeks new CEO, but casts big shadow
Twitter boss Elon Musk is looking for a new CEO, but the winner will have to live in the shadow of the mercurial billionaire, who says the platform avoided certain ruin thanks to his leadership.... Read more
-
Delta continues path toward free Wi-Fi
Delta Air Lines is moving further along its path of offering free Wi-Fi on flights, a years-long effort of testing and gradual technology upgrades.... Read more
-
Musk says he'll be Twitter CEO until a replacement is found
Elon Musk said Tuesday that he plans on remaining as Twitter's CEO until he can find someone willing to replace him in the job.... Read more
-
Twitter users vote to oust Elon Musk as CEO
Twitter users voted on Monday to oust owner Elon Musk as chief executive in a highly unscientific poll he organized and promised to honor, just weeks after he took charge of the social media giant.... Read more
-
Musk polls Twitter users about whether he should step down
Elon Musk is asking Twitter's users to decide if he should stay in charge of the social media platform after acknowledging he made a mistake Sunday in launching new speech restrictions that banned mentions of rival social media websites.... Read more
-
Musk restores some suspended Twitter accounts of journalists
The Twitter accounts of several journalists suspended after Elon Musk accused them of endangering his family were reinstated Saturday, but some said the billionaire owner offered full use of the platform only if they deleted posts about tracking his location.... Read more
-
Youngkin executive order bans TikTok from state computers
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin banned the use of several Chinese-owned apps, including TikTok and WeChat, on state government devices and wireless networks on Friday, calling them a threat to national security.... Read more
-
Elon Musk claims he was doxxed. But what exactly is that?
When Twitter abruptly suspended the accounts of several journalists with no explanation, the platform's owner Elon Musk hinted at the possible reason: They allegedly doxxed him.... Read more
-
Twitter chaos too much? There are plenty of other options
Twitter has been engulfed in chaos since billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk took the helm, cutting the company's workforce in half, upending the platform's verification system, reinstating previously banned accounts—including those of white nationalists—and suspending journalists who've been covering him.... Read more
-
China tightens regulation of online comments
China began applying new rules governing online comments on Thursday, further threatening freedom of expression in a move authorities said was aimed at protecting national security.... Read more
-
Cleaning up social media with machine learning
Adult, or pornographic, content spam is a growing problem on social media. New research in the International Journal of Business Intelligence and Data Mining discusses how such content might be quickly detected and removed in a timely manner.... Read more
-
Student information remains at risk after massive cyberattack on Los Angeles Unified
The private data of more than 400,000 students could be at risk as federal and local investigators assess the damage wreaked by a massive cyberattack against the Los Angeles Unified School District, which overcame a complete digital shutdown to open schools on schedule Tuesday.... Read more
-
Real life, right now—photo app claims to capture authenticity
It's not all sunsets and selfie smiles—people are flocking to a new social network app that calls on users to share true glimpses of their lives rather than cherry-picked moments.... Read more
-
Google has a plan to stare down fake news on Ukrainian refugees in Europe
Alphabet Inc.'s Google is hoping an ad campaign can help prevent misinformation percolating about Ukrainian refugees who fled Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion from shaping public opinion.... Read more
-
Google's immersive Street View could be glimpse of metaverse
Fifteen years after its launch, a Google Maps feature that lets people explore faraway places as though standing right there is providing a glimpse of the metaverse being heralded as the future of the internet.... Read more
-
FBI agents monitor social media. As domestic threats rise, the question is who they're watching
On Aug. 11, Adam Bies logged into his account on Gab and started typing:... Read more
-
Unlocking the secret to private messaging apps
Whether you're sharing confidential information or swapping movie ideas with a friend, people are turning to private messaging apps that offer end-to-end encryption to protect the contents of their conversations.... Read more
-
US regulator queried Twitter on false accounts
Twitter faced scrutiny from US market regulators over how the platform calculates the number of false or spam accounts, a topic at the heart of the firm's legal battle with Elon Musk.... Read more
-
Privacy activists target Google over French 'spam' emails
Google is breaking EU law by sending users of its email service Gmail direct advertising messages, activists said in a complaint sent to French regulators on Wednesday.... Read more
-
Algorithms can prevent online abuse
Millions of children log into chat rooms every day to talk with other children. One of these "children" could well be a man pretending to be a 12-year-old girl with far more sinister intentions than having a chat about "My Little Pony" episodes.... Read more
-
Elon Musk's Twitter friendship with Indian superfan
Not many people can boast of having candid conversations about planetary conquest with Elon Musk, but for Indian software engineer Pranay Pathole, a friendly chat with the world's richest man is just a tweet away.... Read more
-
For 1st month ever, streamers rule broadcast, cable networks
This summer has been a breakthrough for streaming, with the time viewers spent watching services like Netflix and Hulu outpacing broadcast and cable television networks in July for the first month ever.... Read more
-
Assessing the toxicity of Reddit comments
New research, published in PeerJ Computer Science, which analyzes over 87 million posts and 2.205 billion comments on Reddit from more than 1.2 million unique users, examines changes in the online behavior of users who publish in multiple communities on Reddit by measuring "toxicity."... Read more
-
Facebook use plunges among US teens: survey
US teens have left Facebook in droves over the past seven years, preferring to spend time at video-sharing venues YouTube and TikTok, according to a Pew Research Center survey data out Wednesday.... Read more
-
Social media offers parents more controls. But do they help?
As concerns about social media's harmful effects on teens continue to rise, platforms from Snapchat to TikTok to Instagram are bolting on new features they say will make their services safer and more age appropriate. But the changes rarely address the elephant in the the room—the algorithms pushing endless content... Read more
-
Google outage reported by tens of thousands of users
Tens of thousands of users reported being unable to access various Google services on Monday night, according to outage monitor Downdetector.... Read more
-
Flight frenzy: Pelosi Taiwan trip swamps plane tracker
Hundreds of thousands of people tuned in to a flight tracking website Tuesday anxious to find out whether US official Nancy Pelosi was in fact going to Taiwan, in defiance of China's angry protests.... Read more
-
Google is asked to prove it's not suppressing anti-abortion search results
Republican attorneys general from 17 states are asking Alphabet Inc.'s Google to provide assurances that the search giant isn't suppressing results for crisis pregnancy centers in favor of abortion clinics.... Read more
-
Surveillance is pervasive: Yes, you are being watched, even if no one is looking for you
The U.S. has the largest number of surveillance cameras per person in the world. Cameras are omnipresent on city streets and in hotels, restaurants, malls and offices. They're also used to screen passengers for the Transportation Security Administration. And then there are smart doorbells and other home security cameras.... Read more
-
YouTube vows to remove abortion misinformation
YouTube on Thursday said it will start removing videos containing false or unsafe claims about abortion in a crackdown on misinformation about the medical procedure.... Read more
-
Celebrity deepfakes are all over TikTok. Here's why they're becoming common, and how you can spot them
One of the world's most popular social media platforms, TikTok, is now host to a steady stream of deepfake videos.... Read more
-
Failures in large networks can be prevented with local focus
We live in an increasingly connected world, a fact underscored by the swift spread of the coronavirus around the globe. Underlying this connectivity are complex networks—global air transportation, the internet, power grids, financial systems and ecological networks, to name just a few. The need to ensure the proper functioning of... Read more