France votes to fine social media companies that fail to remove hate speech
French legislators voted Thursday to impose a hefty fine on social media companies that fail to remove hate speech from their platform, according to The Verge. The measure was approved by the lower house of the French Parliament, and will need the support of the upper chamber to become law. It would allow companies like Facebook […]
EU votes against Wi-Fi for connected cars, opening door to 5G
European Union member states voted Thursday against an effort to mandate the use of Wi-Fi for internet connected cars, according to Reuters. The move clears a path to use 5G for vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, which allows cars to send information to nearby vehicles and infrastructure. It’s a key step toward fully autonomous driving as well as […]
UK regulators call for ban on financial products linked to cryptocurrency
UK financial regulators are proposing a ban on financial instruments linked to cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, saying they’re “ill-suited” for small investors due to their “extreme volatility” and other risks, The Guardian reported Wednesday. The ban would prohibit trading platforms from selling, marketing, or distributing derivatives and other instruments linked to “unregulated transferable cryptoassets” such as bitcoin. The ban […]
Google to connect Africa to Europe with state-of-the-art undersea internet cable
Google has unveiled plans to build a powerful new undersea internet cable from Europe to Africa, according to Business Insider. Set to be completed by 2021, the company’s “Equiano” cable will offer 20 times the network capacity of the most powerful cable currently in use for Africa. It will use state-of-the-art infrastructure to bring high-speed, and […]
Italy fines Facebook €1 million over Cambridge Analytica violations
Italy has issued a €1 million fine against Facebook for violations of its online privacy laws with last year’s Cambridge Analytica revelations, according to Tech Crunch. In March of 2018, it was revealed that personal data had been collected from 87 million Facebook users, mostly without their permission or knowledge, by the political consulting firm Cambridge […]
New Google Maps feature will help users avoid overcrowded public transit
Google has unveiled a new feature that will allow users of its Maps app to avoid crowded trains and buses during rush hour, available in 18 cities and towns in the UK, according to The Telegraph. The feature will be available on iOS and Android in nearly 200 cities worldwide, with about one quarter of those locations in […]
EU to investigate Broadcom for antitrust violations
The European Commission has opened an antitrust investigation into leading US chipmaker Broadcom, saying they’ve used exclusivity agreements and other measures to suppress competition, according to The Verge. The commission has also put interim measures in place banning exclusivity agreements during the investigation, “to avoid any risk of serious and irreparable harm to competition,” the commission’s competition […]
Automation could eliminate hundreds of thousands of UK jobs by 2030
Robots could eliminate as many as 20 million manufacturing jobs by 2030, according to a new report from analytics firm Oxford Economics. Despite this risk, it notes that automation will ultimately fuel economic growth and create new jobs, and calls on governments to help workers adapt to these economic shifts. The analysis also forecasts that […]
Facebook says its platform wasn’t used to manipulate the Brexit vote
Facebook’s head of global affairs said Monday there is “absolutely no evidence” that the social network was manipulated by outside interests to affect the outcome of Britain’s Brexit referendum. Nick Clegg, who is also a former deputy UK prime minister, said two extensive data analyses had shown no interference in the months ahead of the […]
How Tech Giants Use Social Media Against You
In late April, news broke that Amazon, Facebook, Google, Apple, and Microsoft had collectively spent half a billion dollars trying to convince the U.S. Government that it’s okay for them to exploit our data and not pay taxes. Facebook and Google spent most of their lobbying money on privacy issues, whereas Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft […]