Technology category, Page 4
How much is TikTok worth and who could buy it?
NEW YORK — The supremely popular TikTok could be banned on Jan. 19 under a federal law that forces the video sharing platform to divest itself from its China-based parent company, ByteDance, or shut down its U.S. operations. Several parties have expressed interest in buying the platform, but ByteDance has...
Trump adviser says president-elect exploring options to ‘preserve’ TikTok
Trump’s pick for national security adviser, Florida Rep. Mike Waltz, said in an interview on Wednesday that the president-elect is exploring options to “preserve” TikTok. Waltz made the comment when Fox News anchor Bret Baier asked him about a report from The Washington Post that said Trump was considering an...
SEC sues Elon Musk, saying he didn’t disclose Twitter ownership on time before buying it
The Securities and Exchange Commission has sued billionaire Elon Musk, saying he failed to disclose his ownership of Twitter stock in a timely manner in early 2022, before buying the social media site. As a result, the SEC alleges, Musk was able to underpay “by at least $150 million” for...
Jeff Bezos’ space company calls off debut launch of massive new rocket in final minutes of countdown
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Blue Origin called off the debut launch of its massive new rocket early Monday because of technical trouble. The 320-foot New Glenn rocket was supposed to blast off before dawn with a prototype satellite from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. But launch controllers had to...
Meta becomes latest company to eliminate DEI programs
DEI programs are ending at major companies — with the latest changes happening at Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. Meta announced the rollback of its major diversity-oriented programs in a memo Friday, citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision outlawing affirmative action in college admissions, Axios reported....
Flying taxis are on the horizon as aviation soars into a new frontier
SAN FRANCISCO — When he was still a boy making long, tedious trips between his school and his woodsy home in the mountains during the 1980s, JoeBen Bevirt began fantasizing about flying cars that could whisk him to his destination in a matter of minutes. As CEO of Joby Aviation,...
New labels will help people pick devices less at risk of hacking
WASHINGTON — The federal government is rolling out a consumer labeling system designed to help Americans pick smart devices that are less vulnerable to hacking. Under the voluntary program, called the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark Initiative, manufacturers can affix the label on their products if they meet federal cybersecurity standards....
U.S. opens another Tesla probe, latest focused on tech that remotely returns car to driver
NEW YORK — U.S. regulators have opened an investigation into 2.6 million Tesla after reports of crashes involving the use of company technology that allows drivers to remotely command their vehicle to return to them, or move to another location, using a phone app. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration...
Meta replaces fact-checking with X-style community notes
Bending to the political headwinds of the incoming Trump administration, Facebook and Instagram owner Meta is scrapping its third-party fact-checking program and replacing it with “community notes” written by users similar to the model used by Elon Musk’s social platform X. Announcing the policy shift Tuesday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said...
FCC’s net neutrality rules struck down, in another blow to Biden administration
A federal appeals court on Thursday dealt a blow to President Biden’s Federal Communications Commission, striking down the agency’s hard-fought and long-debated open internet rules. The FCC had sought to reinstate a sweeping policy established under President Obama that was designed to treat internet service as an essential public service,...
Turo-rented cars were involved in 2 deadly incidents this New Year’s. Here’s what we know
NEW YORK — Two deadly incidents on New Year’s Day — an attack being investigated as an act of terrorism in New Orleans and an explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck in Las Vegas — both involved vehicles that were rented on Turo, a peer-to-peer car sharing company. Early Wednesday, 42-year-old...
Small businesses brace themselves for potentially disruptive TikTok ban
A looming TikTok ban could affect the millions of small businesses that use the short-video social media app to help them grow their business. Desiree Hill, owner of Crown’s Corner Mechanic in Conyers, Georgia, started her business solo as a mobile mechanic. Sharing videos of her work on TikTok helped...
Rise of the iPhone, social media ‘opened up a new world’ in 21st century
Editor’s note: One-fourth of the way through this century, TribLive is looking ahead to the next 25 years, using the events of the past 25 as a road map of what possibly is to come. This installment of the occasional series looks at technology and social media. Jessica Ghilani vividly...
In 2024, artificial intelligence was all about putting AI tools to work
If 2023 was a year of wonder about artificial intelligence, 2024 was the year to try to get that wonder to do something useful without breaking the bank. There was a “shift from putting out models to actually building products,” said Arvind Narayanan, a Princeton University computer science professor and...
Elon Musk causes stir with post insulting American tech workers, supporting H-1B visas
Trump administration adviser Elon Musk angered MAGA supporters with his approval of a social media post sarcastically explaining that immigrants are needed for tech jobs because U.S. workers aren’t qualified enough. Using the X social media platform owned by Musk, an account called Autism Capital summed up the debate over...
Trump asks Supreme Court to pause law threatening TikTok ban
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump thrust himself into the high-stakes fight over the fate of TikTok in the U.S. by urging the Supreme Court to pause a law that would ban the social media platform if it isn’t sold by its Chinese parent company. Trump said the court should give...
New York state government to monitor its use of AI under a new law
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York state government agencies will have to conduct reviews and publish reports that detail how they’re using artificial intelligence software under a new law signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul. Hochul, a Democrat, signed the bill last week after it was passed by state lawmakers this year....
AI is a game changer for students with disabilities. Schools are still learning to harness it
For Makenzie Gilkison, spelling is such a struggle that a word like rhinoceros might come out as “rineanswsaurs” or sarcastic as “srkastik.” The 14-year-old from suburban Indianapolis can sound out words, but her dyslexia makes the process so draining that she often struggles with comprehension. “I just assumed I was...
Bluesky finds with growth comes growing pains — and bots
Bluesky has seen its user base soar since the U.S. presidential election, boosted by people seeking refuge from Elon Musk’s X, which they view as increasingly leaning too far to the right given its owner’s support of President-elect Donald Trump, or wanting an alternative to Meta’s Threads and its algorithms....
US proposes voluntary guidelines for self-driving vehicles in waning days of Biden administration
DETROIT — In the waning days of President Joe Biden’s administration, the government’s highway safety agency is proposing voluntary safety guidelines for self-driving vehicles. But a rule from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration putting the plan in place won’t be approved before the end of Biden’s term in January...
Tesla recalling almost 700,000 vehicles due to tire pressure monitoring system issue
Tesla is recalling almost 700,000 vehicles because of an issue with the warning light on the tire pressure monitoring system. According to a letter Thursday from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the recall includes certain 2024 Cybertruck, 2017-2025 Model 3, and 2020-2025 Model Y vehicles. The issue is that...
What does Big Tech hope to gain from warming up to Trump?
NEW YORK — In a string of visits, dinners, calls, monetary pledges and social media overtures, big tech chiefs — including Apple’s Tim Cook, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos — have joined a parade of business and world leaders in trying to improve their standing...
TikTok asks Supreme Court for an emergency order to block U.S. ban unless it’s sold
WASHINGTON — TikTok on Monday asked the Supreme Court to step in on an emergency basis to block the federal law that would ban the popular platform in the United States unless its China-based parent company agreed to sell it. Lawyers for the company and China-based ByteDance urged the justices...
Far-right influencer Nick Fuentes accused of pepper spraying woman on his doorstep
BERWYN, Ill. — Far-right influencer Nick Fuentes is due in court later this month after a woman accused him of pepper-spraying her when she showed up at his suburban Chicago home following his “Your body, my choice” post on X. According to court documents, the 57-year-old woman approached Fuentes’ home...
Is there a future for TikTok in the U.S.?
The future of the popular social media app TikTok is growing murkier. A court ruling Friday indicates TikTok will be banned next year in the United States unless it’s sold before then — which is unlikely, according to experts. Jessica Ghilani, associate professor of communication and Cyber Institute Affiliate Scholar...
