By Joseph BOYLE PARIS, July 19, 2024 (AFP) – Airlines, banks, TV channels and other business across the globe were scrambling to deal with one of the biggest IT crashes in recent years on Friday, apparently caused by an update to an antivirus program. Major US air airlines initially grounded all flights over a communication issue — though American Airlines later said it had reinstated its flights. Airports across the world said check-in systems were […]
Tag: technology
Meta pauses AI plans in Europe after privacy complaints
VIENNA, June 14, 2024 (AFP) – Meta has paused plans to use personal data to train its artificial intelligence technology in Europe, Ireland’s regulator said Friday, after the social media giant was hit with privacy complaints. Last week, a Vienna-based privacy campaign group filed complaints in 11 European countries against Meta, saying the global tech giant’s planned privacy policy change would allow “unlawful” use of personal data to train an “undefined” type of current and […]
TikTok says cyberattack targeted big names including CNN
SAN FRANCISCO, June 4, 2024 (AFP) – TikTok on Tuesday said it slammed the door on a cyberattack that targeted high-profile accounts including CNN. The number of accounts compromised was “very small” and TikTok has beefed up defenses to thwart the method used by the hackers, according to a spokesperson. “We have taken measures to stop this attack and prevent it from happening in the future,” the spokesperson said in response to an AFP inquiry. […]
TikTok fails ‘disinformation test’ before EU vote, study shows
By Joseph Boyle with Anuj Chopra in Washington PARIS, June 4, 2024 (AFP) – Wildly popular social network TikTok approved adverts containing political disinformation ahead of European polls, a report showed Tuesday, flouting its own guidelines and raising questions about its ability to detect election falsehoods. International campaign group Global Witness created 16 ads targeting Irish audiences with false information about this week’s EU elections and tried to get them approved by three platforms — […]
China’s competitive car market at heart of global EV revolution
BEIJING, March 28, 2024 (AFP) – China is the biggest electric vehicle market in the world, a battle royale featuring both established carmakers as well as upstarts such as Xiaomi, which launched its first EV on Thursday. EV makers from China have made inroads into markets from Europe to Southeast Asia and Tesla’s Elon Musk described them in January as “the most competitive car companies in the world”. How big is the Chinese EV market? […]
Nissan to launch self-driving taxi service in Japan in 2027
Nissan is planning to launch a self-driving taxi service in Japan in the financial year starting April 2027, the auto giant said Wednesday. The company said it will begin trials of the commercial service in the upcoming financial year from April, using minivans in an area of Yokohama, south of Tokyo. “Local communities have been facing several mobility challenges, such as driver shortages, which are a result of an ageing population,” Nissan said in a […]
Cisco announces it is laying off thousands of workers
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 15, 2024 (AFP) – Cisco is cutting thousands of jobs as part of a restructuring plan, the computer networking giant announced Wednesday. About 5 percent of Cisco’s global workforce will be affected by the layoffs, the Silicon Valley-based company said while announcing its latest quarterly earnings figures. Cisco ended last year with nearly 85,000 employees, according to its website. Analysts say that tech layoffs could become a new normal for Silicon Valley […]
Musk’s X feeds monetization of wartime misinformation
By Daniel Funke and Anuj Chopra WASHINGTON, Feb 14, 2024 (AFP) – Influencers on X are monetizing misinformation about conflicts in the Middle East, leveraging the platform’s contentious policies that researchers say prioritize engagement over accuracy. Since Elon Musk’s turbulent 2022 acquisition of X, formerly Twitter, the site has restored thousands of once-banned accounts and introduced a paid verification system that critics say has boosted conspiracy theorists. X also rolled out an ad revenue-sharing program […]
Taiwan chip giant TSMC announces second Japan plant
TAIPEI, Feb 6, 2024 (AFP) – TSMC will build a second foundry in Japan, the semiconductor giant and its local partners announced Tuesday, weeks before its first in the country officially opens. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company — which counts Apple and Nvidia as clients — controls more than half the world’s output of silicon wafers, used in everything from smartphones to cars and missiles. In recent years, it has had to navigate geopolitical tussles between […]
At CES, tech knows if you’re sick and rocks babies
LAS VEGAS, Jan 10, 2024 (AFP) – CES, the annual high tech gadget extravaganza in Las Vegas, again delivers its wave of new inventions and cutting edge technology with artificial intelligence this year’s unavoidable buzzword. Here’s a look at some selected examples shown to the media, ahead of the official opening on Tuesday. – Mirror, mirror on the wall… – …who’s the healthiest of them all? Called “MagicMirror,” NuraLogix’s connected mirror scanned the face of […]
Meta accused of mishandling Israel-Hamas war posts
NEW YORK, Dec 19, 2023 (AFP) – Meta’s independent oversight board on Tuesday criticized the social media titan of removing posts that showed human suffering in the Middle East conflict. The board, set up by Meta in 2020 as a supreme court of sorts for the social media titan, overturned two post removal decisions, and urged the company to respond more quickly to changing circumstances in the war between Hamas and Israel. One case involved […]
Meta sued by New Mexico for child exploitation on Facebook and Instagram
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 6, 2023 (AFP) – The US state of New Mexico filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing Facebook and Instagram of being a “breeding ground” for predators who target children. The new suit comes less than two months after dozens of US states accused Facebook and Instagram owner Meta of profiting “from children’s pain,” damaging their mental health and misleading people about the safety of its platforms. In total more than 40 states are […]





