Internet news

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OpenAI to challenge Google with new search functionality

OpenAI on Thursday said it was putting its artificial intelligence engine to work in a challenge to Google's market-dominating search engine.

Internet

Google's brand ads are a 'sham,' but companies have to buy them anyway, report finds

If you use Google—and chances are you do—then you're used to seeing ads when searching online. But how do those ads get on Google search and, more importantly, who is paying for them? It's easy to assume Nike pays for ...

Internet

Meta takes down thousands of Facebook, Instagram accounts running sextortion scams from Nigeria

Meta said Wednesday that it has taken down about 63,000 Instagram accounts in Nigeria running sexual extortion scams and has removed thousands of Facebook groups and pages that were trying to organize, recruit and train new ...

Internet

US Senate to vote on kids online safety bills

The US Senate will vote on a pair of bills this week designed to protect children online which would be the first major legislation targeting the tech industry in a generation.

Internet

In U-turn, Google sticks with tracking 'cookies'

Google on Monday said it was ditching its long mooted plan to block tracking "cookies" on its Chrome browser after years of resistance from online publishers and questions from regulators.

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Conspiracy theories take off after global IT crash

From fearmongering about a looming "World War III" to false narratives linking a cabal of global elite to a cyberattack, a torrent of online conspiracy theories took off Friday after a major IT crash.

Internet

Musk's X misleads users with blue checks, EU charges

Tech billionaire Elon Musk's X platform is deceiving users with its blue checkmarks for certified accounts, and is also violating EU content rules, Brussels said Friday, in a finding that could lead to hefty fines.

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Running Twitter may be much harder than Elon Musk thinks

On Tuesday, Elon Musk said he would reverse Twitter's ban of former President Donald Trump, who was booted in January 2021 for inciting violence at the U.S. Capitol, should he succeed in acquiring the social platform for ...

Internet

Britain pushes tough tech rules under new digital watchdog

Big tech companies like Google and Facebook parent Meta would have to comply with tough British rules under a new digital watchdog aimed at giving consumers more choice online—or face the threat of big fines.

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Musk faces FTC antitrust review on Twitter alongside stock probe

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is reviewing Elon Musk's $44 billion Twitter Inc. takeover, a person familiar with the deal said, setting up a deadline in the next month for the agency to decide whether to conduct an in-depth ...

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US tech titans look to ditch passwords

Apple, Google and Microsoft said Thursday they are looking to get rid of passwords and replace them with a more secure way to access accounts or devices.

Internet

Researcher creates free comment moderation software for YouTube

As an expert in building a safer and fairer internet, Rutgers Assistant Professor Shagun Jhaver long suspected that digital content creators from minority groups suffered disproportionate online harassment. But when he heard ...

Internet

Elon Musk's big plans for Twitter: What we know so far

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has laid out some bold, if still vague, plans for transforming Twitter into a place of "maximum fun" once he buys the social media platform for $44 billion and takes it private.

Internet

Profile matching of online users across multiple social networks

It is perhaps a significant concern that internet users willingly and sometimes unwittingly share their personal and private information through online social networks without a second thought for how that information might ...