President Donald Trump has criticised Google for what he sees as hiding “fair media” coverage of him in its search engine results in a way that amounts to left-wing political bias and negativity. Tweeting Again The US President’s latest swipe at a tech giant accused Google of prioritising negative news stories from the "national left-wing media". He went so far as to say that his perceived promotion by Google of mainstream (left-wing) media outlets such as CNN, and the suppression of conservative political voices amounted to a dangerous action and a “very serious situation”. Prompted By Fox News Report? It [...]

Facebook has reacted quickly and taken down many accounts of Myanmar’s military leaders after a damning UN report accused them of genocide and war crimes against the Muslim Rohingya population. Removed It has been reported that, following the release of the report, Facebook removed a total of 18 user accounts, and 52 pages associated with the Myanmar military. These are thought to include the page of its commander-in-chief. All of the removed pages and accounts are thought to have had a total of almost 12 million followers. The Situation, In Brief The action by Facebook relates to the situation in [...]

An AI system for diagnosing eye disease caused by diabetes that has been approved for use in the US works autonomously and doesn’t need a doctor to interpret its results. New Way To Solve Old Problem Diabetic retinopathy, a leading cause of blindness among adults, is caused by high blood sugar levels damaging the blood vessels of the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye / the retina. The condition affects up to eight out of 10 people who have had diabetes for 10 years or more. Given the extent of the problem, Google and DeepMind are reported to [...]

Ride-hailing service Uber, which has until recently been associated with cars, has announced a shift in focus towards bikes and scooters in order to drive growth and keep people using the platform. The Challenges Uber has faced a number of challenges in recent times, some of which have been of its own making. These challenges have included: Congestion in inner-city areas (particularly in rush hour), the exact places where many of its customers use the service in large numbers to travel short distances. Uber itself has been accused by Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, of adding to city’s congestion problems. [...]

The leaking of vapours from a damaged iPad battery led to an Amsterdam shop being evacuated and 3 staff being treated for breathing problems caused by the released gas. Fire Brigade Called Although the fire brigade was called and attended, there were no reports of any actual flames / fire coming from the affected iPad. Staff had, however, initially reacted to the smoking iPad by putting it in a sand-filled fire bucket. Incidents of Similar Faults Reports online indicate that similar faults have occurred elsewhere since Apple had started its iPhone battery replacement programme e.g. as reported on the Apple [...]

Superdrug is reported to have advised online customers to change their passwords after it was targeted by hackers who claim to have stolen the details of approximately 20,000 Superdrug customers. Hundreds Compromised - Could Be More To date, Superdrug has confirmed that 386 customer accounts are known to have been compromised, but that it is still working to try to establish the exact number. It is possible, therefore, that the number could be many more. Contacted By Hackers Superdrug is reported to have been contacted by a person representing a hacking group and claiming to have hacked their systems, and [...]

It has been reported that Facebook allocates a trustworthiness score to some members to help it manage misinformation issues such as some members continually flagging / reporting stories as fake if they don’t agree with the content. Score? It is not publicly known exactly how the score is arrived at, but it has been reported recently in the Washington Posts that Facebook’s ‘Misinformation Team’ will be making use of the metric, a system that has taken a year to develop. Why? It is understood that the system, which Facebook denies amounts to a reputation score, is part of an initiative [...]

In Australia, a new draft Bill proposing ways for tech firms, software developers and others to assist security agencies and police has been given the thumbs-down by a major industry group over its ambiguity, and the potential security risks it could create. What Bill? The new “Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Bill 2018” is a Bill for an Act to amend the law relating to telecommunications, computer access warrants and search warrants, and for 'other purposes'. The bill proposes that a 'technical assistance request' may be given to a tech company e.g. a social media or chat [...]

Among the findings of a recent government report about superfast broadband in the UK are claims that superfast broadband rollout so far has led to job creation and a £12.28 benefit for firms for every £1 invested by central and local authorities. Measurable Benefits The Evaluation of the Economic Impact and Public Value of the Superfast Broadband Programme report, by The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), covering 2012 to 2016, claims that the fact that superfast broadband has now reached almost five million homes and businesses (Openeach puts the figure at 10 million) has provided noticeable, measurable and [...]