Tag: Internet

After stunning growth streak, Amazon ambitions seem boundless

by Julie Charpentrat Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Triumphant in online retail, cloud computing, organic groceries, and streaming television, Amazon founder and chief disruptor Jeff Bezos is turning his seemingly limitless ambition to health care. Amazon, launched as an internet bookseller nearly 24 years ago, has branched into offerings including voice-commanded speakers infused with Alexa artificial intelligence and original TV shows streamed online at its Prime subscription service. Health care now appears […]

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Qualcomm boosts bid for NXP as it fends off bid from Broadcom

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US mobile chipmaking giant Qualcomm on Tuesday raised its bid for Dutch rival NXP to an estimated $43 billion as the California-based firm moved to fend off a hostile offer from Singapore’s Broadcom. The new bid amounts to $127.50 per NXP share and aims to satisfy NXP shareholders who had expressed concern the Qualcomm bid was too low. By moving closer to a tie-up with NXP, Qualcomm could make it […]

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Play ‘fake news tycoon’ to combat misinformation

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Trolling, impersonating, demonizing: these are just some of the behaviors encouraged in a new online game launching Tuesday in which young players become “fake news tycoons” — to counter growing misinformation. Researchers at Cambridge University have teamed up with a Dutch media collective to develop an English version of the game aimed at inoculating people against the spread of so-called fake news. The exercise encourages participants, who are tasked with […]

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Honduras lawmakers debate bill seeking to curb online speech

by Noe Leiva © Agence France-Presse TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AFP) — Lawmakers in Honduras are debating a bill that wants to fine administrators of social media networks for online comments deemed offensive or promoting “hate campaigns.” The measure was introduced by a member of the ruling National Party as the country is wracked by protests claiming President Juan Orlando Hernandez won a new mandate through a rigged November election. Much of the vitriol against Hernandez and the National […]

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ESPN to launch streaming service

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Facing lower ad revenue and lagging membership, ESPN will launch in the coming months a paying streaming service, Disney CEO Bob Iger said Tuesday. ESPN Plus will be available as part of a revamped ESPN mobile app, Iger said, without providing a precise launch date. With a single app, users will be able to bypass their television provider to view some 10,000 sport events a year whose rights were […]

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Popular Line messaging app starts crypto trading spinoff

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s biggest messaging app Line said Wednesday it was launching a financial services spinoff to allow users to exchange and trade virtual currencies. Line said its new business would “provide a variety of financial services, including a place to exchange and transact virtual currencies, loans, and insurance.” The transactions will be made inside the messaging app, which already incorporates a mobile payment system. Line has a relatively small presence in the US and Europe, […]

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Senate panel to subpoena blogger, Google, Facebook over “fake news”

(Eagle News) — A subpoena will be sent to  Cocoy Dayao who is behind the blog “Silent No More.” The Senate committee on public information and mass media on Tuesday said also to be summoned were Google and Facebook. Senator Grace Poe made the announcement upon resumption of the panel’s hearings on fake news. Dayao has  criticized seven senators through his blog after they refused to sign a resolution condemning supposed extrajudicial killings in the […]

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Facebook to deliver more local news to US users

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook said Monday it has decided to deliver more local news to US users, in its latest effort to manage the flow of information on the enormously-influential social network. Earlier this month, Facebook announced it will ask its two billion users to rank their trust in news sources as part of an effort to combat the spread of misinformation. The changes come as the online giant seeks to address […]

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Take the next U-turn: US driver following GPS plunges into lake

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Technology won’t always save us. A man blindly following his GPS app has driven an SUV with two passengers on board into an icy lake in the northeastern state of Vermont, local police said. The trio — friends from out of state driving a borrowed car — escaped unharmed, local media and police in the city of Burlington said in their report of the January 12 incident. The unnamed driver […]

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British PM urges social media investors to act on abuse

DAVOS, Switzerland (AFP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May will encourage activist investors on Thursday to pressure social media firms into clamping down on fake news, hate speech and sexual harassment. “Investors can make a big difference here by ensuring trust and safety issues are being properly considered. And I urge them to do so,” she will say in a speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos. She will highlight how a group of shareholders recently demanded […]

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China: Chinese telecom company will not pose a security threat to PHL

QUEZON City, Philippines (Eagle News) — China has allayed fears the third telecommunications player that might enter the Philippines would be a national security threat. “We’ve also said many times that the Chinese government always asks (businesses) to abide by the market principles, international rules and local laws and regulations,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang said. Lu said that in return, “we hope that other countries could offer necessary and amicable conditions and environment […]

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Google ‘cloud’ grows with new undersea data cables

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Google on Tuesday said it is adding three new undersea data cables as it continues to bulk up its ability to power cloud services around the world. The US internet behemoth has spent $30 billion improving its infrastructure during the past three years and “we’re not done yet,” according to cloud platform vice president Ben Treynor Sloss. Fast, reliable internet connections have become imperative as games, social networks, television, […]

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