US legislator joins international inquiry into disinformation on social media
An international effort to investigate disinformation through social media platforms and tech giants has gained its first US legislator as a member, adding weight to requests for US-based tech executives to appear as witnesses before the committee, according to Tech Crunch. The next meeting of the International Grand Committee on Disinformation and ‘Fake News’ is set to […]
UK privacy advocates describe “epidemic” of facial recognition, as government opens investigation
The use of facial recognition technology in Britain’s public spaces is reaching “epidemic” proportions, according to an investigation by the UK privacy group Big Brother Watch (BBW). Their findings were published a day after news that the government’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is investigating the use of facial recognition surveillance in a major new shopping development in […]
British Airways to offer VR headsets for first-class passengers
British Airways has announced plans to offer virtual reality (VR) headsets for first-class passengers on select flights between London and New York, starting immediately and continuing until the end of this year, according to The Verge. The pilot program will offer passengers conventional 2D and 3D video, as well as 360-degree movies and shows formatted specifically […]
Facebook workers are transcribing private user conversations on Messenger
Facebook has admitted to revealing audio recordings of private user conversations to hundreds of outside contractors, hired to improve the accuracy of its artificial intelligence, according to revelations first disclosed in a Tuesday report from Bloomberg. On Wednesday, the Irish Data Protection Commission, in charge of supervision of Facebook in the EU, said it was evaluating whether […]
Just Eats and Takeaway are set to merge, forming one of the world’s largest food delivery platforms
Two of Europe’s top food delivery services announced that a merger is already well underway this week. Just Eat and Takeaway.com said they are in the “advanced stages” of merging their companies, each of which has a market cap around $5 billion. Together, as one of the world’s largest food delivery companies, they’ll be able […]
Drone crashes near schoolchildren in Switzerland, postal service suspends flights
A delivery drone crashed in Switzerland in May, less than 50 meters from a group of kindergarten children, after a rope connecting its emergency parachute was severed, according a report Monday from IEEE Spectrum. The drone was transporting lab samples between hospitals as part of a collaboration between Swiss Post and Matternet, a California-based startup. The […]
Cambridge Analytica helped target UK voters ahead of the Brexit referendum, emails show
The defunct political consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica provided services for the Leave campaign ahead of the Brexit referendum, according to internal emails submitted to the British parliament. The findings directly contradict claims by Brexit groups Leave.EU and United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) that the firm did not help them target voters. The emails, between Cambridge […]
UK High Court rejects civil liberties challenge to mass surveillance powers
The UK’s High Court has rejected a challenge by a civil liberties group, arguing that the government’s mass surveillance powers represent a violation of human rights, according to The Guardian. The civil rights group Liberty had claimed that elements of the 2016 Investigatory Powers Act (IPA), called the “snooper’s charter” by critics, allow the government to “to spy […]
Twitter’s revenues rise 21%, shares jump 10%, following moves to improve the platform
Twitter saw higher than anticipated revenue growth for its second quarter, they announced Friday, thanks to an increase in users and advertisers. The social media company attributes the growth to recent changes that have improved user experience on the platform. The news boosted the company’s shares 10 percent, according to Reuters. Twitter deleted millions of spam […]
Trump promises to retaliate against France’s tech tax
US President Donald Trump has responded to France’s move to tax US tech giants, saying he will shortly announce “substantial reciprocal action,” according to The Verge. “France just put a digital tax on our great American technology companies. If anybody taxes them, it should be their home Country, the USA. We will announce a substantial reciprocal […]