Big Tech’s outsized influence draws state-level pushback
New York state Sen. Michael Gianaris was ecstatic when Amazon named Long Island City in 2018 as a front-runner for its new headquarters, a...
‘Treating us like robots’: Amazon workers seek union
BESSEMER, Ala. (AP) — Linda Burns was excited at first to land a job at the Amazon warehouse outside Birmingham, Alabama. The former nursing...
China erasing H&M from internet amid Xinjiang backlash
HONG KONG (AP) — H&M disappeared from the internet in China as the government raised pressure on shoe and clothing brands and announced sanctions...
General says attacks by foreign hackers are ‘clarion call’
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Cyber Command conducted more than two dozen operations aimed at thwarting interference in last November's presidential election, the general...
Lawmakers press Big Tech CEOs on speech responsibility
WASHINGTON (AP) — The CEOs of tech giants Facebook, Twitter and Google faced a grilling in Congress Thursday as lawmakers tried to draw them...
The Latest: Twitter grilled about blocking a NY Post article
WASHINGTON (AP) — The latest news from a House committee questioning the CEOs of Facebook, Google and Twitter. All times local.
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EXPLAINER: California’s net neutrality law springs to life
More than three years ago, Trump-era regulators killed federal net neutrality regulations designed to prevent AT&T, Comcast, Verizon and other major internet providers from...
Italy: Teen in hijab aims to be ‘Afro-influencer’ on TikTok
MILAN (AP) — In Milan’s chic Victor Emmanuel II Gallery, a spacious mall that would be jammed with shoppers were it not for the...
Judge rejects ex-CIA worker’s try to dismiss hacking charges
NEW YORK (AP) — A former CIA employee cannot get espionage charges against him dismissed on the grounds that there weren’t enough Hispanic or...
Facebook finds Chinese hacking operation targeting Uyghurs
Hackers in China used fake Facebook accounts and impostor websites to try to break into the computers and smartphones of Uyghur Muslims, the social...
Betting sites offer software blocks for compulsive gamblers
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Some sports betting companies are offering tools that allow compulsive gamblers to block themselves from most online sites.
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Intel announces Arizona expansion as chipmaker seeks footing
CHANDLER, Ariz. (AP) — Intel announced Tuesday it will build two new factories in Arizona and outsource more of its production as a new...
Stock trading app company Robinhood files plan to go public
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Stock trading app company Robinhood said Tuesday that it has submitted a confidential plan to go public later this year.
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Parler network founder claims GOP donor, others defamed him
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The developer of the conservative social network Parler is alleging he was defamed and improperly ousted by a prominent Republican...
Amazon brings back former executive to run cloud business
NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon said Tuesday that it’s bringing back a former executive to run its cloud-computing unit, which has become the online...
Report: Extremist groups thrive on Facebook despite bans
A new outside report found that Facebook has allowed groups — many tied to QAnon, boogaloo and militia movements — to glorify violence during...
California bill aims to jumpstart ‘microstamps’ on handguns
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Gun control advocates are making a new attempt to force the gun industry to comply with California's unique law requiring...
Auto industry braces for more chip shortages after fire
NEW YORK (AP) — A fire at a plant owned by Japanese chipmaker Renesas could deepen the ongoing global semiconductor shortage that has especially...
UK unveils plan for smaller, more high-tech armed forces
LONDON (AP) — Britain plans to cut the size of its army and boost spending on drones, robots and a new “cyber force” under...
Cyber attack tied to China boosts development bank’s chief
MIAMI (AP) — The cyberattack crested just as finance officials from across Latin America were descending on Washington to commemorate the 60th anniversary of...
Tool created to aid cleanup from Microsoft hack in broad use
WASHINGTON (AP) — A tool designed to help businesses protect themselves from further compromises after a global hack of Microsoft email server software has...
Twitter to establish legal entity in Turkey, comply with law
ISTANBUL (AP) — Twitter has announced it will establish a legal entity in Turkey in order to continue operating in the country, which passed...
Russian man pleads guilty in Nevada to plot to extort Tesla
RENO, Nev. (AP) — A Russian man has pleaded guilty in the U.S. to offering a Tesla employee $1 million to cripple the electric...
Facebook working on Instagram for kids under 13
MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) — Facebook says it is working on a version of its Instagram app for kids under 13, who are technically...
US charges Swiss ‘hacktivist’ for data theft and leaks
The Justice Department has charged a Swiss hacker with computer intrusion and identity theft, just over a week after the hacker embarrassed a U.S....
Twitter says it suspended Rep. Taylor Greene by mistake
WASHINGTON (AP) — Twitter briefly suspended the account of U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Friday, but later said the move was a mistake.
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‘We’re owed a March’: Hoop fans flock to bet on NCAA tourney
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Jonathan Price was all set: He got tickets to the Elite Eight round of the NCAA basketball tournament at...
Manhattan courthouses adapt to COVID so trials can return
NEW YORK (AP) — The two big, busy federal courthouses in Manhattan took the adage that justice delayed is justice denied to heart when...
Facebook grows in Oregon with data center, fiber-optic cable
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Facebook is growing its footprint in Oregon, announcing Thursday that it will expand its data center in Prineville — already...
Finland IDs hackers linked to parliament spying attack
HELSINKI (AP) — Finland’s domestic security agency said Thursday that the cybergroup APT31, which is generally linked to the Chinese government, was likely behind...
China summons technology firms over voice software security
HONG KONG (AP) — Chinese authorities summoned 11 companies including Alibaba and Tencent for talks regarding the security of voice software, as Beijing steps...
Australian police boss suggests app to prove sexual consent
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A senior Australian policeman suggested on Thursday a phone app be developed to document sexual consent in a bid to...
EXPLAINER: How Uber UK case could foreshadow gig work revamp
By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer
Founder of Chinese e-commerce firm Pinduoduo departs
HONG KONG (AP) — Colin Huang, founder of the Chinese e-commerce firm Pinduoduo, stepped down as chairman Wednesday just as the company’s annual user...
Pre-embryos made in lab could spur research, ethics debates
WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first time, scientists have used human cells to make structures that mimic the earliest stages of development, which they...
Polish state websites hacked and used to spread false info
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Two Polish government websites were hacked Wednesday and used briefly to spread false information about a non-existent radioactive threat, in...
Uber to give UK drivers minimum wage, pension, holiday pay
LONDON (AP) — Uber is giving its U.K. drivers the minimum wage, pensions and holiday pay, following a recent court ruling that said they...
Florida teen sentenced in hack of celebrity Twitter accounts
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida teenager was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison for his role in hacking the Twitter accounts of...
Utah campaign against porn marches on with phone filter plan
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Conservative lawmakers in Utah have fired another salvo in their longtime campaign against online porn with a new requirement...
Google gets into sleep surveillance with new Nest Hub screen
SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) — Google's next internet-connected home device will test whether consumers trust the company enough to let it snoop on their...
Russia threatens to block Twitter in a month
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities said Tuesday they would block Twitter in a month if it doesn't take steps to remove banned content, a...
Ford partners with U-M on robotics research, new building
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Digit marches on two legs across the floor of the University of Michigan’s Ford Motor Co. Robotics Building, while...
Nokia to cut up to 10,000 jobs to ramp up R&D in 5G race
HELSINKI (AP) — Wireless network maker Nokia says it is planning to cut up to 10,000 jobs, or over 10% of its staff, to...
Encrypted messaging app Signal blocked in China
HONG KONG (AP) — Encrypted messaging app Signal appears to have been blocked in mainland China, the latest foreign social media service to cease...
China state TV raps Kohler, BMW for using facial recognition
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese state TV has criticized bathroom fixtures brand Kohler and automaker BMW for the use of facial recognition technology on visitors...
News Corp strikes Facebook pay deal for Australian news
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — News Corp and Facebook have reached pay deals for news in Australia three weeks after the government passed laws that...
Facebook to label vaccine posts to combat COVID-19 misinfo
LONDON (AP) — Facebook is adding informational labels to posts about vaccines as it expands efforts to counter COVID-19-related misinformation flourishing on its platforms....
Where to stream the best picture Oscar nominees
Normally, Academy Award nominations mean an Oscar bump in box office. This year, streaming services and digital rental platforms may get a bounce.
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Swiss police raid over hack on U.S. security-camera company
GENEVA (AP) — Swiss authorities on Monday confirmed a police raid at the home of a Swiss software engineer who took credit for helping...
Chimpanzees at Czech zoo get screen time amid virus lockdown
PRAGUE (AP) — A zoo in the Czech Republic is trying out a new way for its bored chimpanzees to monkey around during the...
Stripe continues cash haul, now valued at $95 billion
The online payment company Stripe continues to attract investors, raising $600 million in funding to reach a whopping company valuation of $95 billion.
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Oman blocks Clubhouse, app used for free debates in Mideast
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Oman has cut off access to the buzzy new audio chat app Clubhouse, the country’s telecommunications regulator confirmed...
‘Big burden’ for schools trying to give kids internet access
When the coronavirus pandemic shut down schools, educators had to figure out how to get kids online. Fast.
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EXPLAINER: What’s this craze for ‘NFTs’ all about, anyway?
LONDON (AP) — A digital art piece, tweaked using cryptocurrency technology to make it one-of-a-kind, sold at auction this week for nearly $70 million....
Japan Post, Rakuten tie-up in digital delivery, cashless pay
TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s postal system is investing 150 billion yen ($1.4 billion) in an 8% stake in the e-commerce venture Rakuten to strengthen...
AP study: Nearly 90% of esports scholarships going to men
Colleges and universities rushing to invest in the booming arena of varsity esports are overwhelmingly committing opportunities and scholarships to male players, according to...
Despite hacks, US not seeking widened domestic surveillance
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is not planning to step up government surveillance of the U.S. internet even as state-backed foreign hackers and...
Auto industry urges emissions deal weaker than Obama’s
WASHINGTON (AP) — A coalition of automakers has told the Biden administration it would agree to raise mileage standards to reduce tailpipe emissions but...
Germany bans ‘water vitalizer’ over radio interference
BERLIN (AP) — German authorities on Friday banned the sale and use of a New Age ‘water vitalizer’ device amid concerns that it is...
Netflix tests out a possible password-sharing crackdown
NEW YORK (AP) — Netflix is testing a way to crack down on password sharing.
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Memo banning Afghan girls singing prompts #IAmMySong protest
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A memo from Afghanistan's education ministry banning girls 12 years old and older from singing at school functions has been...
German IT safety chief: act on Exchange hack or go offline
BERLIN (AP) — The head of Germany's cybersecurity agency warned IT system administrators Friday to swiftly patch known holes in Microsoft Exchange servers or...
‘It’s exhausting.’ A year of distance learning wears thin
AMERICUS, Ga. (AP) — At first, many schools announced it would last only a couple weeks. A year later, the unplanned experiment with distance...
Tape that: Dutch inventor of audio cassette dies at age 94
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Lou Ottens, the Dutch inventor of the cassette tape, the medium of choice for millions of bedroom mix tapes,...
China regulator fines 12 firms over anti-monopoly law
HONG KONG (AP) — China’s market regulator said Friday that it fined a dozen companies, including games company Tencent Holdings and Chinese search engine...
Korea’s LG to invest $4.5 billion in its US battery business
NEW YORK (AP) — LG Energy Solution says it will invest more than $4.5 billion in its U.S. battery production business by 2025 as...
Iran cracks down on contentious pop music video with arrests
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian authorities have arrested multiple music producers connected to a California-based Iranian pop singer, his management company and...
Molson Coors says cyberattack impacting brewing operations
Molson Coors Beverage Co. said Thursday it has been hit by a cyberattack that disrupted its brewing operations and shipments.
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Digital art by Beeple sells for $69.4 million amid NFT boom
LONDON (AP) — Christie's says it has auctioned off a digital collage by an artist named Beeple for nearly $70 million, in an unprecedented...
With ‘big one’ coming, quake alert system launches in Oregon
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — People in Oregon will be better prepared for earthquakes — particularly important in the Pacific Northwest because experts say “the...
Pakistani court bans China’s TikTok over profanity claims
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan's media regulatory agency on Thursday again blocked the Chinese video service TikTok after two lawyers approached a court in the...
Coupang, the Amazon of South Korea, makes its debut on NYSE
The biggest IPO in years is rolling out Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange where Coupang, the South Korean equivalent of Amazon in...
Gig economy shifts: Spain makes delivery riders employees
MADRID (AP) — The Spanish government on Thursday announced legislation that classifies food delivery riders as employees of the digital platforms they work for,...
Fire at French cloud computing firm disrupts websites
PARIS (AP) — Numerous companies and websites in France suffered outages and disruptions to services after a fire swept through a cloud computing provider's...
Myanmar’s searing smartphone images flood a watching world
The images ricochet across the planet, as so many do in this dizzying era of film it, upload it, tell it to the world:...
Security camera hack exposes hospitals, workplaces, schools
Hackers aiming to call attention to the dangers of mass surveillance say they were able to peer into hospitals, schools, factories, jails and corporate...
Facebook moves to dismiss federal, state antitrust suits
Facebook has asked a court to dismiss state and federal antitrust lawsuits that accuse it of abusing its market power in social networking to...
Texas AG says probe to continue despite Twitter lawsuit
DALLAS (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Wednesday that a lawsuit by Twitter won't deter his office from investigating the content moderation...
Russia slows down Twitter, part of social media clampdown
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities said Wednesday they are slowing down the speed of uploading photos and videos to Twitter over its failure to...
FireEye CEO: Reckless Microsoft hack unusual for China
RESTON, Va. (AP) — Cyber sleuths have already blamed China for a hack that exposed tens of thousands of servers running Microsoft's Exchange email...
Greenpeace protests ECB’s loans for carbon-heavy industries
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Greenpeace activists landed on the roof of a European Central Bank building Wednesday to drop a banner protesting the financial...
Facial recognition company sued by California activists
ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — Civil liberties activists are suing a company that provides facial recognition services to law enforcement agencies and private companies around...
Emails: FBI was looking for gold at Pennsylvania dig site
Go for the gold? The U.S. government went for it.
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Facebook calls on Albanian parties to be transparent in ads
TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Facebook said Monday that Albanian political parties should be transparent on how they finance their political advertising on its pages...
Meme fav GameStop jumps again as retailer eyes digital shift
NEW YORK (AP) — GameStop took a step toward a more digital future Monday, naming an activist investor to lead company efforts to push...
GOP pushes bills to allow social media ‘censorship’ lawsuits
Republican state lawmakers are pushing for social media giants to face costly lawsuits for policing content on their websites, taking aim at a federal...
From vote to virus, misinformation campaign targets Latinos
WASHINGTON (AP) — Tom Perez was a guest on a Spanish-language talk radio show in Las Vegas last year when a caller launched into...
At Dubai airport, travelers’ eyes become their passports
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Dubai’s airport, the world’s busiest for international travel, can already feel surreal, with its cavernous duty-free stores, artificial...
Queen stresses importance of friends, family during pandemic
LONDON (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II highlighted the importance of staying in touch with friends and families during the coronavirus pandemic in a message...
Casting a wide intrusion net: Dozens burned with single hack
BOSTON (AP) — The SolarWinds hacking campaign blamed on Russian spies and the “grave threat” it poses to U.S. national security are widely known....
Drones vs hungry moths: Dutch use hi-tech to protect crops
MONSTER, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch cress grower Rob Baan has enlisted high-tech helpers to tackle a pest in his greenhouses: palm-sized drones seek and...
Antivirus software creator charged with cheating investors
NEW YORK (AP) — Antivirus software entrepreneur John McAfee was indicted on fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges alleging that he and cohorts made...
Airline IT provider hacked, frequent flyer data breached
BOSTON (AP) — The hack of a company that manages ticket-processing and frequent-flier data for major global airlines — including Star Alliance and OneWorld...
YouTube cancels Myanmar military-run channels, pulls videos
BANGKOK (AP) — YouTube has removed five channels run by Myanmar’s military for violating its community guidelines and terms of service.
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Audit finds major gaps in US bio weapons detection system
WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. program created after the 2003 anthrax attacks to help detect biological weapons provided protection in less than half the...
Report: Russian hackers exploit Lithuanian infrastructure
VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Hacker groups linked to Russian intelligence conducted cyber-attacks against top Lithuanian officials and decision-makers last year and used the Baltic...
Amazon opens first UK checkout-free grocery store in London
LONDON (AP) — Amazon has opened a cashier-free supermarket in London, its first bricks and mortar expansion outside the U.S. as the company bets...
Will Paramount+ be a mountain or a molehill in streaming?
NEW YORK (AP) — Paramount+ debuts Thursday as the latest — and last — streaming option from a major media company, this time from...
UK competition watchdog investigates Apple’s App Store
LONDON (AP) — U.K. authorities have launched an investigation into Apple's App Store over concerns it has a dominant role that stifles competition and...
Thailand probes Facebook’s removal of army-linked accounts
BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha says he has assigned the Royal Thai Army to investigate after Facebook Inc. removed 185 accounts...