Tag: Internet

Elon Musk: tech visionary turns social media king

  SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Sometimes it feels like it’s Elon Musk’s world and we just live in it. The endlessly innovative, endlessly eccentric billionaire has struck a deal to buy Twitter — giving him control of the social media network on which the world debates, mobilizes and bickers. It is just the latest conquest for Musk, who has revolutionized the car industry, sent his own rocket to space, built the world’s biggest […]

Elon Musk reaches deal to buy Twitter for $44 bn

    NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, struck a deal Monday to buy Twitter for $44 billion, capping a saga complete with hostile takeover threats before delivering him personal control of one of the most influential social media platforms on the planet. Twitter famously served as a megaphone for former US president Donald Trump before the platform banned him, and Musk — a self-proclaimed “free-speech absolutist” — has […]

Elon Musk launches hostile takeover bid for Twitter

  by Julie Jammot with Glenn Chapman in San Francisco © Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Tesla chief Elon Musk launched a hostile takeover effort for Twitter on Thursday, insisting the platform needs to be transformed but acknowledging his $43 billion bid may fail. The proposal faces uncertainty on multiple fronts, including possible rejection and the challenge of assembling the cash, but could have wide-reaching impacts on the social media service if […]

Meta virtual money moves could include ‘Zuck Bucks’: report

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook’s parent company Meta is exploring the potential of digital money referred to internally as “Zuck Bucks” in a play on the founder’s name, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. Meta abandoned its effort to create a global cryptocurrency — first called Libra but eventually re-branded as Diem — in the face of fierce backlash by financial regulators around the world. However, founder and chief Mark Zuckerberg has spoken […]

Germany closes Russian darknet marketplace Hydra

  by Femke COLBORNE Agence France Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — German police said Tuesday they have taken down Russian-language illegal darknet marketplace Hydra, the largest such network in the world, and seized bitcoins worth 23 million euros ($25 million). Founded in 2015, Hydra sold illegal drugs but also stolen credit card data, counterfeit currency and fake identity documents, masking the identities of those involved using the Tor encryption network. The marketplace had around 17 […]

Internal bug promoted problematic content on Facebook

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Content identified as misleading or problematic were mistakenly prioritized in users’ Facebook feeds recently, thanks to a software bug that took six months to fix, according to tech site The Verge. Facebook disputed the report, which was published Thursday, saying that it “vastly overstated what this bug was because ultimately it had no meaningful, long-term impact on problematic content,” according to Joe Osborne, a spokesman for parent company Meta. […]

Hackers steal over $600 million in major crypto heist

  SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Hackers stole cryptocurrency worth over $600 million from a digital ledger used by players of the popular online game Axie Infinity, in a major digital cash heist revealed Tuesday. Interest in cyptocurrency has boomed, along with its values, but the money has also become an attractive target for tech savvy thieves. Ronin Network said the attack targeting its blockchain netted 173,600 ether and $25.5 million worth of stablecoin, […]

Russia bans Instagram and Facebook as ‘extremist’

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) – A Russian court on Monday banned Facebook and Instagram as “extremist”, part of sweeping efforts by Moscow to crack down on social media during the conflict in Ukraine. The Russian authorities have accused US tech giant Meta — the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — of tolerating “Russophobia” since President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine on February 24. Facebook and Twitter have been inaccessible in Russia since early […]

Netflix tests charging a fee to share accounts

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) – Netflix on Wednesday said it is testing charging a fee to subscribers who share their accounts with people who don’t live in their homes. The US-based steaming service has long taken a relaxed approach to users sharing passwords with family or friends, but recently saw stock dive on quarterly results that showed cooling subscriber growth. Competition in the streaming television market meanwhile has been ramping up, particularly from Disney+, […]

Meta agrees $90 million settlement in Facebook privacy suit

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook-parent Meta has agreed to pay $90 million to settle a 10-year-old lawsuit accusing it of tracking users online even after they logged off the social network, court records show. The agreement was filed Monday in a California court and if approved by a judge would put to rest one of the series of suits alleging the social media giant invaded users’ privacy. “Reaching a settlement in this case, […]

Google agrees UK competition, privacy pledge on online ads

  LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain on Friday said it had accepted changes proposed by US tech giant Google to address competition and customer privacy concerns linked to online advertising. “The commitments we have obtained from Google will promote competition, help to protect the ability of online publishers to raise money through advertising and safeguard users’ privacy,” the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) regulator said in a statement. Google separately said it would “apply […]

Chinese man jailed for setting ‘slow’ internet cables on fire

BEIJING, China (AFP) — A man in China has been sentenced to seven years in jail for setting internet equipment ablaze after becoming enraged over a slow connection, authorities have said. The man, surnamed Lan, was at an internet cafe in southern Guangxi province last June when his frustration with the connection speed spilled over. He responded by destroying a public box containing optical fibre network cables, a local court said in a statement on […]