The Biden administration’s announcement earlier this month that it would ban the transfer of advanced U.S. semiconductor technology to China continues to reverberate through global markets. The ruling by the Department of Commerce affects not only U.S. firms that sell to China but any company whose products contain American semiconductor …
your ad hereDoorbell Cameras: Deterring Criminals, as Residents Become ‘Cops on the Beat’
More and more, people are installing video doorbells and surveillance cameras in and around their homes to protect against unwanted intruders. But while many consumers feel the devices provide some peace of mind, some observers are concerned that they trigger personal biases toward those captured on camera. VOA’s Julie Taboh …
your ad hereSomething New Under the Sun: Floating Solar Panels
Who said there is nothing new under the sun? One of the hottest innovations for the non-polluting generation of electricity is floating photo-voltaics, or FPV, which involves anchoring solar panels in bodies of water, especially lakes, reservoirs and seas. Some projects in Asia incorporate thousands of panels to generate hundreds …
your ad hereSecretary Blinken Promotes Tech Diplomacy in Silicon Valley
Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Silicon Valley this week comes as the Biden administration is promoting more investment in technology but also enacting more restrictions on selling technology to businesses in China. Michelle Quinn reports. …
your ad hereMusk Says SpaceX Will Keep Funding Starlink for Ukraine
Elon Musk said Saturday his rocket company, SpaceX, would continue to fund its Starlink internet service in Ukraine, citing the need for “good deeds,” a day after he said it could no longer afford to do so. Musk tweeted: “the hell with it … even though starlink is still losing …
your ad hereIndian Village Disconnects With ‘Daily Digital Detox’ Initiative
In a remote village in India, a siren can be heard from the local temple every night at 7 p.m. — signaling the commencement of a daily “digital detox.” For the next 90 minutes, the population of 3,000 in Sangli district’s Mohityanche Vadgaon lays aside all the electronic gadgets in …
your ad hereExperts: Cyberattacks on US Airport Websites Highlight Ongoing Threats
Cybersecurity experts say that the October 10 attack on at least 14 U.S. airport websites, including those in Los Angeles and Chicago, appears to be the work of the Russian hacking group Killnet. As Mike O’Sullivan reports, the disruptions were a minor inconvenience for airline passengers, but experts say they …
your ad hereSome Airport Websites Go Offline; Cause Being Investigated
The websites for some major U.S. airports went down early Monday in an apparent coordinated denial-of-service attack, although officials said flights were not affected. The attacks followed a call by a shadowy group of pro-Russian hackers that calls itself Killnet for coordinated denial-of-service attacks on the targets. The group published …
your ad hereChina Lashes Out at Latest US Export Controls on Chips
China Saturday criticized the latest U.S. decision to tighten export controls that would make it harder for China to obtain and manufacture advanced computing chips, calling it a violation of international economic and trade rules that will “isolate and backfire” on the U.S. “Out of the need to maintain its …
your ad hereBiden Order Promises EU Citizens Better Data Privacy
U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order Friday designed to allay European concerns that U.S. intelligence agencies are illegally spying on them. It promises strengthened safeguards against data collection abuses and creates a forum for legal challenges. The order builds on a preliminary agreement Biden announced in March with …
your ad hereUS Aims to Hobble China’s Chip Industry With Sweeping New Export Rules
The Biden administration on Friday published a sweeping set of export controls, including a measure to cut China off from certain semiconductor chips made anywhere in the world with U.S. tools, vastly expanding its reach in its bid to slow Beijing’s technological and military advances. The rules, some of which …
your ad hereA Musk Retweet: Tesla CEO Says He’ll Pay $44 Billion to Buy Twitter
The tumultuous saga of Elon Musk’s on-again, off-again purchase of Twitter took a turn toward a conclusion Tuesday after the mercurial Tesla CEO proposed to buy the company at the originally agreed-on price of $44 billion. Musk made the proposal in a letter to Twitter that the company disclosed in …
your ad hereGoogle Discontinues Translate Service in Mainland China
Google has ended its Google Translate service in mainland China, citing “low usage” of one of its flagship products by mainland China users. The move surprised users, who said they first noticed not being able to access the function over the weekend. “The Google Translate mobile app was also discontinued …
your ad hereUS Supreme Court Will Hear Social Media Terrorism Lawsuits
The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it will hear two cases seeking to hold social media companies financially responsible for terrorist attacks. Relatives of people killed in terrorist attacks in France and Turkey had sued Google, Twitter and Facebook. They accused the companies of helping terrorists spread their message and …
your ad hereFBI Joins Australian Hunt for Data Hackers
Australia has asked the American FBI to help catch computer hackers responsible for one of Australia’s biggest data breaches. Personal details, including home addresses, driver license and passport numbers, of more than 10 million customers of the Singapore-owned telecom giant Optus were stolen. A massive amount of personal information about …
your ad hereNations Must Work Together to Fight Online Fraud, UN Official Says
A top U.N. official last week said the syndicates running Asia’s massive online fraud industry will rotate operations among lawless areas of Southeast Asia unless governments cooperate to bring them down, after Cambodia said it was cracking down on cybercrime compounds. The networks have swindled hundreds of millions of dollars, …
your ad hereRohingya Seek Reparations from Facebook for Role in Massacre
With roosters crowing in the background as he speaks from the crowded refugee camp in Bangladesh that’s been his home since 2017, Maung Sawyeddollah, 21, describes what happened when violent hate speech and disinformation targeting the Rohingya minority in Myanmar began to spread on Facebook. “We were good with most …
your ad hereOregon Town Hosts 1st Wind-Solar-Battery ‘Hybrid’ Plant
A renewable energy plant being commissioned in Oregon on Wednesday that combines solar power, wind power and massive batteries to store the energy generated there is the first utility-scale plant of its kind in North America. The project, which will generate enough electricity to power a small city at maximum …
your ad hereCounter-drone Technology Stopping Malicious Drones from Doing Harm
As military and civilian drones become increasingly popular, there are growing concerns about the threats some of them may pose over places like airports, prisons, and electrical grids. VOA’s Julie Taboh reports on a company that has developed counter-drone technology that can identify and mitigate threats from malicious drones. VIdeographer: …
your ad hereMeta Disables Russian Propaganda Network Targeting Europe
A sprawling disinformation network originating in Russia sought to use hundreds of fake social media accounts and dozens of sham news websites to spread Kremlin talking points about the invasion of Ukraine, Meta revealed Tuesday. The company, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said it identified and disabled the operation before …
your ad hereMusk Faces Deposition With Twitter Ahead of October Trial
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is scheduled to spend the next few days with lawyers for Twitter, answering questions ahead of an October trial that will determine whether he must carry through with his $44 billion agreement to acquire the social platform after attempting to back out of the deal. The …
your ad hereVOA Interview: Anne Neuberger
With Russian President Vladimir Putin accelerating war efforts and threatening to use nuclear weapons, White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara spoke with Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology at the Biden administration’s National Security Council, on the possibility of increased cyber warfare on Ukraine and …
your ad hereExperts Warn US Is Falling Behind China in Key Technologies
At a gathering of current and former U.S. officials and private-sector executives Friday in Washington, concern was rampant that the United States has fallen behind China in the development of several key technologies, and that it faces an uncertain future in which other countries could challenge its historic dominance in …
your ad herePrivacy Threatened as More Governments Use Spyware to Monitor Their People
A U.N. report warns the right to privacy is under siege as an increasing number of governments are using spyware to keep tabs on their people. The U.N. human rights office said urgent steps are needed to address the spread of spyware. It noted many governments are using modern digital …
your ad hereYouTube, Meta Will Expand Policies, Research to Fight Online Extremism
Major tech companies on Thursday committed to taking fresh steps to combat online extremism by removing more violent content and promoting media literacy with young users, as part of a White House summit on fighting hate-fueled violence. Platforms such as Alphabet’s YouTube and Meta’s Facebook have come under fire for …
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