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.

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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 ...

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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 ...

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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.

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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.

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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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Amazon packages pile up as AWS outage spawns delivery havoc

An Amazon Web Services outage wreaked havoc on the e-commerce giant's delivery operation, preventing drivers from getting routes or packages and shutting down communication between Amazon and the thousands of drivers it relies ...

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Instagram boss tells US lawmakers app 'can help' teens

Instagram's boss on Wednesday pushed a rosy view of the photo-sharing app's impact on teens in testimony to US lawmakers that was at odds with damning news reports based on the firm's own research.

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Untested, Instagram's new teen safety measures may not work

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri faces Congress Wednesday armed with a slew of new safety features meant to protect younger users on the social media platform—a response to revelations that the company knew the photo-sharing ...

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Instagram tightens teen defenses as US hearing looms

Instagram announced new protections on Tuesday for young users, a day before the photo-sharing app's CEO faces a grilling from US lawmakers on whether the platform is "toxic" for children.

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Twitter admits policy 'errors' after far-right abuse

Twitter's new picture permission policy was aimed at combating online abuse, but US activists and researchers said Friday that far-right backers have employed it to protect themselves from scrutiny and to harass opponents.

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The metaverse and its implications for our digital future

When the company formerly known as Facebook announced plans in October to change its name to Meta, the company said the move would better reflect its intention to "bring the metaverse to life and help people connect, find ...

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New Twitch tool helps battle ban evaders

Gaming platform Twitch on Tuesday introduced a tool that detects and blocks users who evade bans, a longstanding problem for victims of harassment.