Ukropy-com-300x300

France uses tough, untested cybercrime law to target Telegram’s Durov

PARIS — When French prosecutors took aim at Telegram boss Pavel Durov, they had a trump card to wield – a tough new law with no international equivalent that criminalizes tech titans whose platforms allow illegal products or activities. The so-called LOPMI law, enacted in January 2023, has placed France at the forefront of a group …

Ukropy-com-300x300

Big Tech, calls for looser rules await new EU antitrust chief 

Brussels — Teresa Ribera will have to square up to Big Tech, banks and airlines if confirmed as Europe’s new antitrust chief, while juggling calls for looser rules to help create EU champions. Nominated Tuesday by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for the high-profile antitrust post, Ribera has been Spain’s minister for ecological transition …

Ukropy-com-300x300

AI videos of US leaders singing Chinese go viral in China

WASHINGTON — “I love you, China. My dear mother,” former U.S. President Donald Trump, standing in front of a mic at a lectern, appears to sing in perfect Mandarin. “I cry for you, and I also feel proud for you,” Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s Democratic opponent in this year’s election, appears to respond, also in …

Ukropy-com-300x300

TikTok, US face off in court over law that could lead to ban on popular platform

Ukropy-com-300x300

With expansion in India, Apple bolsters global manufacturing

Ukropy-com-300x300

Robot begins removing Fukushima nuclear plant’s melted fuel

tokyo — A long robot entered a damaged reactor at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant on Tuesday, beginning a two-week, high-stakes mission to retrieve for the first time a tiny amount of melted fuel debris from the bottom. The robot’s trip into the Unit 2 reactor is a crucial initial step for what comes next — …

Ukropy-com-300x300

Lawsuit against TikTok ban set to begin in Washington

Ukropy-com-300x300

Apple faces challenges in Chinese market against Huawei’s tri-fold phone

Taipei, Taiwan — The U.S.-China technology war is playing out in the smartphone market in China, where global rivals Apple and Huawei released new phones this week. Industry experts say Apple, which lacks home-field advantage, faces many challenges in defending its market share in the country. The biggest highlight of the iPhone 16 is its artificial …

Ukropy-com-300x300

AI not a US election gamechanger yet, officials say

Washington — When the U.S. announced the seizure of 32 internet domains tied to Russian efforts to ply American voters with disinformation ahead of November’s presidential election, prosecutors were quick to note the use of artificial intelligence, or AI. The Russian operation, known as Doppelganger, drove internet and social media users to the fake news using …

Ukropy-com-300x300

China takes lead in critical technology research after ‘switching places’ with US

SINGAPORE — An Australian think tank that tracks tech competitiveness says China is now the world leader in research on almost 90% of critical technologies. In a newly released report, the research group adds there is also a high risk of Beijing securing a monopoly on defense-related tech, including drones, satellites and collaborative robots — those …

Ukropy-com-300x300

Google, Apple lose court fights against EU, owe billions in fines, taxes

LONDON — Google lost its last bid to overturn a European Union antitrust penalty, after the bloc’s top court ruled against it Tuesday in a case that came with a whopping fine and helped jumpstart an era of intensifying scrutiny for Big Tech companies. The European Union’s top court rejected Google’s appeal against the $2.7 billion …

Ukropy-com-300x300

Zimbabwe rolls out hefty fines for poor telecommunications services

Harare, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe’s government has introduced hefty fines of up to $5,000 for poor service in the country’s telecommunications industry. In a statement Tuesday, Zimbabwe’s ICT Minister Tatenda Mavetera said the government will levy fines of between $200 and $5,000 per infringement for telecommunications companies and internet providers who fail to give reliable service. Willard …

Ukropy-com-300x300

Australia plans age limit to ban children from social media

SYDNEY — Australia will ban children from using social media with a minimum age limit as high as 16, the prime minister said Tuesday, vowing to get kids off their devices and “onto the footy fields.” Federal legislation to keep children off social media will be introduced this year, Anthony Albanese said, describing the impact of …

Ukropy-com-300x300

Google faces new antitrust trial after ruling declaring search engine a monopoly 

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — One month after a judge declared Google’s search engine an illegal monopoly, the tech giant faces another antitrust lawsuit that threatens to break up the company, this time over its advertising technology.  The Justice Department, joined by a coalition of states, and Google each made opening statements Monday to a federal judge in …

Ukropy-com-300x300

Apple embraces AI craze with newly unleashed iPhone 16 lineup

CUPERTINO, California — Apple on Monday charged into the artificial intelligence craze with a new iPhone lineup that marks the company’s latest attempt to latch onto a technology trend and transform it into a cultural phenomenon.  The four different iPhone 16 models will all come equipped with special chips needed to power a suite of AI …

Ukropy-com-300x300

Boeing’s beleaguered Starliner returns home without astronauts

WASHINGTON — Boeing’s beleaguered Starliner made its long-awaited return to Earth on Saturday without the astronauts who rode it up to the International Space Station, after NASA ruled the trip back too risky. After years of delays, Starliner launched in June for what was meant to be a roughly weeklong test mission — a final shakedown …

Ukropy-com-300x300

Boeing’s beleaguered Starliner capsule leaves space station without its astronauts

Ukropy-com-300x300

Like Brazil, the European Union also has an X problem

Brussels — Elon Musk’s woes are hardly limited to Brazil as he now risks possible EU sanctions in the coming months for allegedly breaking new content rules. Access to X has been suspended in South America’s largest country since Saturday after a long-running legal battle over disinformation ended with a judge ordering a shutdown. But Brazil …

Ukropy-com-300x300

US, Britain, EU to sign first international AI treaty 

Ukropy-com-300x300

Musk’s Starlink will comply with judge’s order to block X in Brazil

SAO PAULO, brazil — Elon Musk’s satellite-based internet service provider Starlink backtracked Tuesday and said it will comply with a Brazilian Supreme Court justice’s order to block the billionaire’s social media platform, X.  In a statement posted on X, Starlink said it will heed Justice Alexandre de Moraes’ order despite him having frozen the company’s assets. …

Ukropy-com-300x300

Clearview AI fined by Dutch agency for facial recognition database

Ukropy-com-300x300

Brazil Supreme Court panel upholds judge’s decision to block X nationwide

RIO DE JANEIRO — A Brazilian Supreme Court panel on Monday unanimously upheld the decision of one of its justices to block billionaire Elon Musk’s social media platform X nationwide, according to the court’s website. The broader support among justices undermines the effort by Musk and his supporters to cast Justice Alexandre de Moraes as an …