Tiktok under scrutiny by French privacy watchdog over data use August 11, 2020 France’s privacy watchdog has opened a preliminary investigation into Tiktok, after it received a complaint against the short-form video app in May. Tiktok is already under investigation over privacy concerns from EU and Dutch authorities. It is also the subject of an EU-wide taskforce, as it attempts to transition its European data to be overseen [...]
Nokia phone maker HMD Global bags $230m in Google-led funding round August 11, 2020 Nokia smartphone maker HMD Global today said it has secured an additional $230m (£176m) in investment following a funding round led by Google. Chip giant Qualcomm and Nokia also contributed to the round, which is the largest since the company was founded in 2016. The Finnish manufacturing firm said the investment would be used to [...]
Police use of facial recognition tech ruled unlawful by UK court August 11, 2020 The use of automatic facial recognition (AFR) technology by a UK police force has been ruled unlawful by the Court of Appeal, following a legal challenge in south Wales. The court found South Wales Police’s use of facial recognition technology breaches privacy rights, data protection laws and equality laws, bringing a long-running trial of the [...]
Softbank bounces back with $12bn profit thanks to tech boom August 11, 2020 Softbank has bounced back from a record loss earlier in the year after strong performances by its tech investments fuelled a $12bn (£9.2bn) quarterly profit. The Japanese conglomerate plunged to its worst ever annual performance in March after recording a huge $18bn loss for its flagship $100bn Vision Fund. Softbank set out plans for a [...]
The UK is falling behind in AI race, warns Microsoft August 11, 2020 The UK risks falling into an artificial intelligence skills gap, Microsoft said today, after it found most businesses in Britain use the technology less frequently and at a less advanced level. The software giant said in its annual report that projects using AI in the UK has a higher failure rate — meaning they generate [...]
Tech giants join legal challenge against Trump worker visa ban August 10, 2020 A number of tech giants have pledged their support to a legal challenge against a ban on foreign worker visas by US President Donald Trump, aimed at preserving jobs for Americans during the pandemic. Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, Netflix and Twitter were among 52 companies that signed the legal brief, which was filed in a [...]
Bezos accused of ‘wilful blindness’ over use of unlicensed music on Twitch August 10, 2020 Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has found himself under fire by the music industry for an “apparent unwillingness” to counteract use of unlicensed music on streaming platform Twitch. In a letter, seen by City A.M., non-profit organisation the Artist Rights Alliance (ARA) accused Bezos of being ignorant of copyright issues on Twitch, having submitted more than [...]
Whatsapp update to allow users to sync chats between devices August 10, 2020 Whatsapp is reportedly developing a new update that will allow users to sync chats between multiple devices at once. The Facebook-owned messaging app currently limits its service to one main device, meaning users can only be logged in on one device at a time and messages cannot be synced. Whatsapp Web also requires a phone [...]
Twitter wades into bidding war for Tiktok’s US operations August 9, 2020 Twitter is said to have expressed interest in buying Tiktok’s US operations, as the short-form video app continues to hold talks with Microsoft about a sale. However it is far from certain that Twitter would be able to outbid Microsoft, and complete a deal within the 45-day deadline set by US President Donald Trump, two [...]
Tiktok threatens legal action over Trump executive order August 7, 2020 Tiktok has said it is considering legal action after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning the app in 45 days’ time. The short-form video app said it was “shocked” by the order. It added that it would it would “pursue all remedies available” to “ensure the rule of law is not discarded”. [...]