Under pressure in advance of hearings on Russian election interference, Facebook is moving to increase transparency for everyone who sees and buys political advertising on its site. Executives for the social media company said Friday they will verify political ad buyers in federal elections, requiring them to reveal correct names …

The ever expanding field of consumer technology just got several dozen new specimens, showcased at the Netherlands’ first Consumer Electronics Show. None are expected to spectacularly change our lives … but at least some of them may prove to be truly useful. VOA’s George Putic reports. …

Since the 2016 U.S. presidential election nearly a year ago, there has been increasing scrutiny of how Russian-backed operatives used accounts on Facebook, Google and Twitter to try to influence its outcome. Executives from those companies appear before at least three congressional hearings starting Tuesday, facing questions from lawmakers about …

Automakers from around the world take the stage this weekend at the 45th annual Tokyo Motor Show. Designers will showcase electronic cars with advanced artificial intelligence and at least one concept car with safety features for the world around it. Arash Arabasadi reports. …

Facebook, Google and Twitter are heading to Washington to answer questions about how their services were used by Russia-based operatives to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election. In Silicon Valley, there’s concern that the scrutiny may bring new regulations, as VOA’s Michelle Quinn reports. …

Police in Hawaii will ticket people who get caught looking at digital devices while crossing a street in the state capital, Honolulu. The law, passed in July, came into effect this week, making Honolulu the first major city in the U.S. to pass such a law. The only exemption to …

Twitter is reporting a loss of $21.1 million in its third quarter, but turned in a better-than-expected profit when one-time charges and benefits are removed.   Shares of Twitter Inc. soared almost 9 percent before the opening bell Thursday.   The San Francisco company had a loss of 3 cents, …

Twitter is enacting new policies around hate, abuse and ads, but creating new rules is only half the battle – the easy half. The bigger problem is enforcement, and there the company has had some high-profile bungles recently. That includes its much-criticized suspension of actress Rose McGowan while she was …

Robert Salazar has been playing with origami, the Japanese art of paper folding, since he was 8 years old. When he sees a sheet of paper, his imagination takes over and intricate animals take shape. “Seeing the single uncut sheet, it has everything you need to create all of the origami …

Paper folding known as origami is widely considered a Japanese art form. From a single piece of paper, an animal, a flower or even a boat can take shape. Besides the fun and artistic side of origami, the art of paper folding also has applications that can take it to …

U.S. President Donald Trump Wednesday ordered the Transportation Department to launch a test program to increase the number of drones for commercial and civil use. “The program will help tackle the most significant challenges in integrating drones into the national airspace while reducing risks to public safety and security,” the …

Don’t want Amazon boxes sitting on the porch? The company hopes you’ll let a stranger inside to drop them off.   Amazon said Wednesday it will launch a service called Amazon Key next month that will let people allow the door to be unlocked when they’re not there so packages can …

Facebook is partnering with a developer to build a wind power farm in northeast Nebraska that will supply energy for the company’s planned data center. The social media giant announced last week that it has partnered with Trade Winds Energy to build the Rattlesnake Creek Wind Project in rural Dixon …

A university engineering department has developed what amounts to a Tinder app for criminals — a computer program that matches inmates with suitable prisons. The software, unique in the corrections field, has saved the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections about $3 million in its first year. It’s resulted in fewer prison …

Americans could see a lot more drones flying around their communities as the result of a Trump administration test program to increase government and commercial use of the unmanned aircraft. President Donald Trump gave the go-ahead Wednesday, signing a directive intended to increase the number and complexity of drone flights. …

Apple Inc recently allowed its suppliers to reduce the accuracy of the iPhone X’s facial recognition system to speed up production of the smartphone, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the situation. The Face ID system – among the $999 iPhone X’s most talked about features – …

A new strain of malicious software has paralyzed computers at a Ukrainian airport, the Ukrainian capital’s subway and at some independent Russian media.   The Odessa international airport in Ukraine’s south, the Kyiv subway and prominent Russian media outlets such as Interfax and Fontanka on Tuesday reported being targeted.   …

Sometime in 2014, a group of analysts walked into the office of Eugene Kaspersky, the ebullient founder of Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab, to deliver some sobering news. The analysts were in possession of a cache of files belonging to the Equation Group, an extraordinarily powerful band of hackers that …

Only about 1 in 5 politicians in the US is female, even though women make up just over half of the US population. With many saying 2018 could be “The Year of the Woman” in American politics, new tools have become available for women running for office. VOA’s Carolyn Presutti …

If you’re a city dweller, tapping into solar power can be challenging. Chances are, you live in an apartment and can’t install solar panels or get access to your roof. But community-shared solar programs are now allowing everyone to benefit from solar energy. …

Twitter Inc said on Tuesday it would add labels to election-related advertisements and say who is behind each of them, after a threat of regulation from the United States over the lack of disclosure for political spending on social media. Twitter said in a blog post the company would launch …

Human-caused space pollution can range from a hammer that floats away from a space station, to a nuclear weapons test in the atmosphere, and could damage nearby spacecraft. But one unexpected source of “pollution” helps many satellites. The special pollution protects spacecraft from “killer electrons,” in a region above the …

After a deadly earthquake in 1985, authorities in Mexico City decided they must start constructing houses that can withstand strong shakes. Government buildings, hospitals and schools are now built according to stricter rules, while architects are pushing for their application to other structures too, especially high rise apartment buildings. VOA’s …

Facebook Inc said on Monday it was testing the idea of dividing its News F eed in two, separating commercial posts from personal news in a move that could lead some businesses to increase advertising. The Facebook News Feed, the centerpiece of the world’s largest social network service, is a …

Amazon said Monday that it received 238 proposals from cities and regions in the United States, Canada and Mexico hoping to be the home of the company’s second headquarters. The online retailer kicked off its hunt for a second home base in September, promising to bring 50,000 new jobs and …