Russian Lawmakers Approve Harsher Rules for Foreign Tech Firms Without Offices, Personal Data Transfer

Russian Lawmakers Approve Harsher Rules for Foreign Tech Firms Without Offices, Personal Data Transfer

Russian lawmakers on Tuesday approved a bill providing for stricter penalties for foreign internet companies that fail to open an office in Russia, including fines. Moscow has long sought to exert greater control over technology firms, and disputes over content and data have intensified since it sent armed forces into…

Digital Markets Act, Digital Services Act Passed as EU Moves to Rein in Big Tech; Enforcement Concerns Remain

Digital Markets Act, Digital Services Act Passed as EU Moves to Rein in Big Tech; Enforcement Concerns Remain

EU lawmakers gave the thumbs up on Tuesday to landmark rules to rein in the power of tech giants such as Google, Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft, but enforcing them could be an issue due to regulators’ limited resources. In addition to the rules known as the Digital Markets Act…

Facebook Owner Meta Will Reportedly Lower Engineering Hiring Target for 2022 to Around 6,000-7,000

Facebook Owner Meta Will Reportedly Lower Engineering Hiring Target for 2022 to Around 6,000-7,000

Facebook parent Meta Platforms has reportedly reduced its target for hiring engineers in 2022 to around 6,000-7,000, down from an initial plan to hire about 10,000 new engineers. According to Reuters, the statement comes Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, who cited the figure during a weekly employee Q&A session on…

Netflix Says It’s ‘Actively’ Working on Ad-Supported Subscription Model

Netflix Says It’s ‘Actively’ Working on Ad-Supported Subscription Model

Netflix is ‘actively’ working on building its cheaper, ad-supported deal, the company’s French team said on Tuesday, but added there was no clear timeline. It was revealed last month that the streaming platform was planning to introduce a new cheaper subscription model by the end of the year that would break…

US Tech Industry Fears Handing Over Data on Abortion to State Government After Verdict in Roe vs Wade Trail

US Tech Industry Fears Handing Over Data on Abortion to State Government After Verdict in Roe vs Wade Trail

The technology industry in the United States is bracing for the uncomfortable possibility of having to hand over pregnancy-related data to law enforcement, in the wake of the US Supreme Court’s decision on Friday to overturn the Roe vs Wade precedent that for decades guaranteed a woman’s constitutional right to…

YouTube Music Rolls Out Support for Android 12’s Media Recommendations Feature: Report

YouTube Music Rolls Out Support for Android 12’s Media Recommendations Feature: Report

YouTube Music has reportedly started rolling out support for Android 12 media recommendations feature that shows the recent albums and playlists, enabling users to directly start music playback. The new update will show users three recently played tracks in the compact card, while opening quick settings will show six songs,…

Microsoft to Cease Use of Facial Recognition Tool Known for Identifying Emotion

Microsoft to Cease Use of Facial Recognition Tool Known for Identifying Emotion

Microsoft on Tuesday said it would stop selling technology that guesses someone’s emotion based on a facial image and would no longer provide unfettered access to facial recognition technology. The actions reflect efforts by leading cloud providers to rein in sensitive technologies on their own as lawmakers in the United…

Ștefania Mărăcineanu Honoured With Google Doodle Celebrating the Romanian Physicist’s 140th Birthday

Ștefania Mărăcineanu Honoured With Google Doodle Celebrating the Romanian Physicist’s 140th Birthday

Ștefania Mărăcineanu, a Romanian physicist, has been honoured on her 140th birthday with a Google doodle. Ștefania was born in 1882 in Bucharest, Romania, and went on to become one of the pioneers in the discovery and research of radioactivity. Mărăcineanu’s PhD thesis was on polonium, an element that physicist…

Microsoft Defender Online Security App Launched for Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows

Microsoft Defender Online Security App Launched for Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows

Microsoft on Thursday announced the availability of new Microsoft Defender app for Microsoft 365 subscribers. Users across Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows devices with Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscriptions will be able to access the online security app now. The Defender app works as a central hub for managing…