Technology | The Guardian

Independent publishers Schwartz Media, Private Media and Solstice Media sign deals with the tech giantFacebook has returned news to Australian users after an eight day blackout and standoff with the federal government.Last week, the social media giant stripped all news from its platform for more than 13 million users and inadvertently blocked information and government pages, including health and emergency services. Continue reading...

It was meant to provide theatres with a lifeline during Covid. But livestreaming is now giving them extraordinary reach. Can it be sustained – and could it turn out to be a new existential threat?As Christmas season dawned at the end of last year, two American critics had a crash course in that most British of theatre traditions, pantomime, dropping in remotely to eight shows for the New York Times. “I felt like an ethnographer studying a foreign culture’s strange ceremonies,” wrote one, while the other enjoyed the peppering of Covid-related jokes, including the insertion of “fiiiiiive toilet rolls” into The 12 Days of Christmas.The song featured in Oh Yes We Are!, Perth theatre’s four-scene mini-panto intended for small groups in a promenade performance, after the first lockdown made its Cinderella, on a conventional stage, impossible. But just as rehearsals were due to begin, new restrictions forced it online. Continue reading...

Jeremy Fleming’s comments come as agency endeavours to placate critics of bulk surveillance activitiesGCHQ’s director has said artificial intelligence software could have a profound impact on the way it operates, from spotting otherwise missed clues to thwart terror plots to better identifying the sources of fake news and computer viruses.Jeremy Fleming’s remarks came as the spy agency prepared to publish a rare paper on Thursday defending its use of machine-learning technology to placate critics concerned about its bulk surveillance activities. Continue reading...

Communications chief defends reversed ban, saying it is unfair to force tech firms to pay for news contentFacebook “erred on the side of over-enforcement” in removing links to hundreds of non-media organisations in Australia, Nick Clegg has admitted, in a blogpost defending the social media company’s short-lived news ban there.The former UK deputy prime minister, now Facebook’s vice-president of global affairs and communications, said the tech firm had been “forced into [the] position” of blocking content designated as news after the Australian government refused to back down over plans to require it to negotiate with news publishers for payment for content. Continue reading...

True scope of the breach, which affected 100 companies and several federal agencies, is still unknownTech executives revealed that a historic cybersecurity breach that affected about 100 US companies and nine federal agencies was larger and more sophisticated than previously known.The revelations came during a hearing of the US Senate’s select committee on intelligence on Tuesday on last year’s hack of SolarWinds, a Texas-based software company. Using SolarWinds and Microsoft programs, hackers believed to be working for Russia were able to infiltrate the companies and government agencies. Servers run by Amazon were also used in the cyber-attack, but that company declined to send representatives to the hearing. Continue reading...

The video game giant renews its commitment to VR and says launch date will be some time after 2021Sony has announced a next-generation VR headset for its PlayStation 5 console, launching some time after 2021. The original PlayStation VR headset was released for the PlayStation 4 in October 2016. Though less powerful than the PC-powered Oculus Rift and HTC Vive VR headsets that arrived the same year, it was easier to use and proved popular with players, selling 5m by the end of 2020.Sony supported the technology with a quirky selection of games from its studios, including Moss, an adventure game about a tiny mouse, and AstroBot Rescue Mission, a cute and innovative platformer featuring the tiny white robots that have become PlayStation mascots. Tetris Effect, a critically acclaimed, psychedelic VR version of the classic block-stacking puzzle game, also debuted on PSVR. Continue reading...

The developer’s BlizzCon virtual convention announced the return of classic games including World of Warcraft – and looked ahead to future releasesIn a normal year, Blizzard’s annual fan convention would have involved tens of thousands of cosplayers, esports pros, players and developers meeting and mingling in Anaheim, California. But, thanks to Covid, the video game developer was forced to postpone 2020’s convention and instead celebrate its 30th year with a virtual convention last weekend.Given this significant anniversary, it makes sense that many of the announcements were targeted at nostalgic fans. Three of Blizzard’s older titles (Lost Vikings, Rock & Roll Racing and Blackthorne) have been bundled together in the Blizzard Arcade Collection. World of Warcraft Classic, which takes players back to the venerable MMO’s earliest days, will get a recreation of its first expansion, Burning Crusade. And 2000’s beloved dungeon crawler Diablo II will be getting an HD remaster, releasing this year on to consoles, PC and Nintendo Switch as Diablo II Resurrected. Continue reading...

Workers in Bessemer, Alabama, are pushing for a union – and experts say if they triumph, it could pave the way to organizing fulfillment centers in other statesDarryl Richardson was delighted when he landed a job as a “picker” at the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama. “I thought, ‘Wow, I’m going to work for Amazon, work for the richest man around,” he said. “I thought it would be a nice facility that would treat you right.” Continue reading...

Lawyers acting for claimants say firm’s statement after last week’s supreme court ruling is misleadingUber has been accused of trying to deter drivers from seeking compensation for missed holiday and minimum wage payments after a landmark court ruling.The taxi-hailing app may have to pay out more than £100m to more than 10,000 drivers involved in cases linked to a UK supreme court ruling on Friday that they must be classified as workers. Uber has previously argued that its 60,000 UK drivers are self-employed independent contractors with no right to holiday pay, a company pension or the national minimum wage. Continue reading...

Describing cancer | Fatberg weight | Word wheel | Lockdown sceptics | ZoomWith many years’ experience as a specialist oncology nurse, I have always felt strongly that it is not appropriate to describe a cancer experience with words associated with war (combat, battle, fight). Who has a choice with cancer? But what words should we use instead? Grace Dent described it well for me (British grief centres mainly around the making of sandwiches, 19 February). “Covid monster” and “ghoulish cousin, cancer” seems much more fitting – thank you.

Firm sets 15 May deadline to agree to new terms but will let notifications continue for short time afterwardsAfter an abortive attempt to change its privacy policy led to millions of users signing up for competing services, WhatsApp has said it will try for a second time to roll out the update in mid-May.In an effort to smooth the transition, WhatsApp will for the first time allow limited access to its services for users who do not agree to the new terms of service. From 15 May, those users will no longer be able to send or read messages but will continue to be able to receive calls and notifications for a “short time”. Continue reading...

Oliver Dowden expected to meet US firm as Downing Street says UK will ‘defend free speech and journalism’The UK government is “obviously concerned” at the repercussions of Facebook’s shutdown of large numbers of news and public information resources in Australia, Downing Street has said, confirming that the culture secretary will meet the US company this week.Oliver Dowden is “expecting to meet Facebook this week”, Boris Johnson’s spokesperson said, adding that the date had yet to be confirmed. Continue reading...

A tongue-in-cheek game called Electric Zine Maker saved me from pandemic burnout – and gave me a new communityWhen I sit down to play games, I am always more drawn to peaceful, low-pressure environments than high-pace adventure. I like those where I get to make a difference but not necessarily through violence. I spend time on my lush island in Animal Crossing and am rewarded for the aesthetically appealing organisation of my furniture. In the stylised windows of Super Mario Maker, I own the very tools that composed some of the defining games of all time and can do whatever I want with them. The play is in the making.Creation games aren’t new; they go way back to the original SimCity and beyond. But in autumn 2019, during a period of intense, life-altering burnout, I came across Nathalie Lawhead’s Electric Zine Maker and it redefined what I thought I knew about play, creation and the art that can emerge from video game interfaces. Zine Maker is a clever, accessible tool in the disguise of a joyful toy. I had become sick from overwork and had resigned myself to transitioning careers, leaving writing fiction entirely to move into a more practical realm. I was convinced that the connection between the part of my brain that makes art and the part that produces joy was fried forever. But this game sparked it again. Continue reading...

Free app allowing access to 30,000 stations proves hit for audiences stuck at homeEver fancied listening to some pop music from Prague? Rock from Russia, or talk from Taiwan? With the pandemic limiting travel abroad, an online app has ignited the imagination of millions, allowing them to experience new sounds and travel the globe by radio.The free app, Radio Garden, which carries tens of thousands of radio stations broadcasting live 24 hours a day, has seen a huge spike in popularity during the Covid crisis. Its founders say in the past 30 days they had 15 million users, a 750% increase on the visitors they normally get in a month. Continue reading...

House of Lords has embraced Covid-safe representation more than Commons, but many MPs support changeWhen the House of Lords began holding virtual proceedings during the first lockdown last spring, there was a spate of videos popular on social media showing peers struggling with mute buttons or interrupted by computerised voices. But, 10 months on, it could be the upper house that has the last laugh.While the Commons and the Lords now hold so-called hybrid sittings, where members can participate in the chamber or by video link, it is the Lords – with an average age of 70 – that has seemingly embraced the modern era more thoroughly. Continue reading...

Technology that speeded the development of Covid vaccines has potential to transform the pharmaceutical industryThe hunt for new medicines has often been more like a game of roulette than high-end science. But now the pharmaceutical sector is on the cusp of a transformation, as it delves into cutting-edge technology to come up with new treatments for diseases such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and Alzheimer’s.Artificial intelligence (AI) is set to improve the industry’s success rates and speed up drug discovery, potentially saving it billions of dollars, a recent survey by the analytics firm GlobalData has found. AI topped a list of technologies seen as having the greatest impact on the sector this year. Almost 100 partnerships have been struck between AI specialists and large pharma companies for drug discovery since 2015. Continue reading...

Multi-year agreement is one of more than 50 the tech giant has made with Australian media companiesGuardian Australia is the latest media company to strike a deal with Google to feature its journalism in the News Showcase product just days out from the Senate debating the federal government’s news media code.The multi-year commercial agreement was finalised after weeks of negotiation between Google and the Guardian’s leadership in Australia, as well as editorial and commercial staff in London. Continue reading...

Executive Simon Milner apologised after Facebook banned access to health accounts before coronavirus vaccine rollout

News remains blocked as satirical websites are reinstated and Qanon and anti-vaxxers continue to be unaffectedFacebook may wait up to a week before unblocking some of the pages of hundreds of non-media organisations caught up in its news ban, while anti-vaccination content and misinformation continues to run rampant on the social media platform.Content designated as news was blocked on Facebook in Australia on Thursday morning in response to the federal government’s news media code, which would require the tech giant to negotiate with news publishers for payment for content. Continue reading...

Politicians and news providers in UK and US condemn site after blocking access to media contentPoliticians, news providers and civil society groups in the UK and US have rounded on Facebook and said the company’s decision to block all media content on its platform in Australia should hasten moves to bring its powers under control.In a step condemned as “an attempt to bully a democracy” and “threatening to bring an entire country to its knees”, Facebook stopped its 18 million Australian users from viewing or sharing news stories overnight in an escalating row over whether it should have to pay media companies for its content. It said the new rules “ignore the realities” of its relationship with news publishers. Continue reading...

From hairdryers to ovens, we would like to hear about your gadgets and devices that are still workingAs we spend more time at home than ever, some of us have looked to upgrade our home appliances – but for others, there has been no need.From ovens and fridges that have outlived their owners, to hairdryers passed from one generation to the next, we want to hear about your gadgets and devices which haven’t given up the ghost, despite many years of use. Continue reading...

Drivers say working conditions remain poor after voters approved measure exempting Uber and other apps from labor lawsWeeks after Proposition 22 went into effect in California and exempted some major tech firms from fully complying with labor laws, workers for rideshare and delivery apps in the state claim poor working conditions have persisted and pay has decreased.Drivers and labor groups opposed Prop 22, saying it would allow companies to sidestep their obligations to provide benefits and standard minimum wages to their workers even as they make billions of dollars. But the measure passed at the ballot box. Continue reading...

The PM says the social media giant’s move to block news on its platform in Australia will harden the resolve of his government• Emily Bell: Even for a company that specialises in PR disasters, Facebook has excelled with its Australian blackout

Facebook has made good on its threat to ban Australians from seeing or posting news content on its site in response to the federal government’s proposed news media code. As of Thursday morning, news publishers were unable to post content on pages, while articles were also blocked from being shared. In implementing its new ban, the social media giant also blocked a number of government departments, charities and its own page. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg lambasted the company, saying the social media giant's 'actions were unnecessary, they were heavy-handed, and they will damage its reputation here in Australia'

Company says it has made decision ‘with a heavy heart’ in response to proposed media bargaining code

Lawsuit claims ‘disregard for health and safety requirements’ and retaliation against employees who raised alarmsNew York is suing Amazon, claiming the company failed to provide workers with a safe environment at two warehouses in the state as Covid-19 infections surged nationwide.The suit from Letitia James, New York’s attorney general, landed just days after Amazon pre-emptively sued to block the suit over its coronavirus safety protocols and the firing of one of its employees who objected to working conditions. Continue reading...

Options for couples with different skin tones and a bearded man or woman also part of iOS 14.5More than 200 new emojis will arrive on iPhones with the release of the next operating system update, including a vaccine-ready syringe, a flaming heart and a vast array of options for couples with different skin tones.The emojis will arrive as part of iOS 14.5, expected to hit iPhones within the next month. The changes, collated from beta versions by Jeremy Burge, the founder and “Chief Emoji Officer” of Emojipedia, are a mixture of all-new creations, modifications to existing emojis, and a few updates unique to Apple’s platform. Continue reading...

US congressman Tom Emmer appeared to be floating upside down on screen during a virtual congressional committee hearing, shifting the mood of the meeting. Emmer's peculiar on-screen appearance prompted chairwoman Maxine Waters to ask if he was ok while other lawmakers commented 'at least he's not a cat' referring to the viral video of a lawyer who was unable to turn off a kitten filter during a virtual meeting. Continue reading...

Chinese company turns to UK high court in attempt to stop extradition of Meng Wanzhou from Canada to the USHuawei’s battle to prevent the extradition of its chief financial officer from Canada to the US will open a new front at the British high court on Friday when the Chinese telecoms giant seeks an application to access records from inside HSBC in a bid to prove that she did not mislead the bank.The future of Meng Wanzhou has become a major three-way point of diplomatic and legal tension between China, Canada and the US since she was arrested at Vancouver airport in December 2018. Continue reading...

Workers in Dublin office claim US company used NDAs to try to stop them talking to Leo VaradkarFacebook has been accused of using nondisclosure agreements to try to build a “wall of secrecy” and prevent its moderators from discussing working conditions with Leo Varadkar, the Irish tánaiste (deputy PM).The moderators claim that Facebook warned them they could not break a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) they had signed with the company during discussions with Varadkar, and warned them that any discussion of their work outside the office would be treated as a disciplinary offence. Continue reading...

Google failure to update more than 80 apps to comply with Apple’s ‘nutrition label’ requirement means users are being told apps are out of dateGoogle’s privacy standoff with Apple has lasted so long that even the company’s own apps are complaining about it.Since early December, Apple has required any iOS app to include a privacy “nutrition label”, listing all the ways the app uses personal data. Continue reading...

The Game of Throne actors will take on the roles of Ellie and Joel in HBO’s adaptation of the blockbuster video gameGame of Thrones actors Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal – who also stars in Disney’s Star Wars spinoff The Mandalorian – have been cast in HBO’s television adaptation of blockbusting video game series The Last of Us. They will take on the roles of Ellie and Joel in the forthcoming drama.The Hollywood Reporter broke news of the adaptation last March, and since then speculation over the casting has been rife. Fans on social media initially favoured Booksmart star Kaitlyn Dever for the role of Ellie, and the actor expressed interest. Meanwhile, True Detective’s Mahershala Ali was rumoured to have been approached for the role of Joel. Continue reading...

This mumblecore drama about a man’s obsession with an online sex worker is uncomfortably funny and semi-insightfulIn a 2016 Vanity Fair article, Nancy Jo Sales wrote about prostitution going mainstream, describing a new economy of young people selling their bodies to pay off student loans or just to get by in the tough economic climate. On the same theme, Ben Hozie makes his feature debut with this semi-insightful, uncomfortably funny indie drama about a man who becomes obsessed with an online sex worker. It’s a film with a slackerish mumblecore vibe, and Hozie is refreshingly grown up about sex. But it’s hard to see how his film adds much to the conversation about intimacy in the internet age.It’s set in the self-consciously hip New York art scene where Jack (Peter Vack) calls himself a professional gambler; though watching him max out his credit cards playing internet blackjack it’s obvious that he’s hooked. His other addiction is cam-girls – women who perform sex acts in front of a webcam for money. Jack spends a fortune tipping his favourite, dominatrix Scarlet (Julia Fox); she calls him her slave and in a funny-excruciating scene virtually stubs her cigarette out on his tongue. Continue reading...

Most workers for San Francisco’s biggest private employer will come into an office just one to three days a weekSalesforce has become the latest tech company in San Francisco to signal a transition away from in-person work, declaring the “9-to-5 workday is dead”.The city’s largest private employer announced on Tuesday it would permanently allow many employees to work from home, even after it becomes safe to return to offices following the Covid-19 pandemic. Continue reading...

‘My first picture of Nyome Nicholas-Williams was removed by Instagram. This one was taken as a celebration after it agreed to change its policies’When I noticed the model and activist Nyome Nicholas-Williams on social media early last summer, I felt hugely appreciative of how confident she was in her images. She was celebrating who she was. I base a lot of my work around photographing women and trying to encourage self-acceptance, which is motivated by my own low confidence. I lived through the 90s and 00s heyday of gossip mags and size zero. So when I saw Nyome, who is confident in front of the camera and boldly herself as a plus-size black woman – a marginalised and censored group of people – I reached out because I really wanted to capture her.She came to visit me in Cambridge in July, when we were recently out of the first lockdown. I shoot only with natural light, in a barn that is open to the elements along one side. I hang my backdrops in there, and the light enters from one direction only, like in studio photos. I prefer it because it creates the most beautiful, diffused light, with depth and a soft feel to it. I would never have thought it possible to create photos like this – you don’t need a big fancy studio! Shooting out of a glorified shed is an ice-breaker, too. I have to move the bikes to one side and we’re looking out into the garden with the dogs running about, which makes everyone relax and that has an impact on the photo. Continue reading...

Deal would have shifted video app’s US assets into new entity to prevent total ban on useOracle and Walmart’s plan to buy TikTok’s US operations has reportedly been pushed back indefinitely, as the US president, Joe Biden, reviews the previous administration’s efforts to address potential security risks posed by Chinese tech companies.The administration of the former president Donald Trump had cited national security concerns in its targeting of TikTok, arguing the personal data of US users could be obtained by China’s government. TikTok denies the allegation. Continue reading...

Nintendo Switch; Nintendo

Soo Youn is considering giving up the apps. She speaks to those who have already taken the plunge – with liberating resultsMy memory and recall are alarmingly good – borderline photographic. But when I used Instagram, I found it would short-circuit my recall in an alarming way. I’d be describing something mid-sentence and I’d just stop speaking, unable to finish. So I rarely use it.

After 4,500 folds the screen is pristine, the device is useful and the wow factor hasn’t worn offAre phones that unfold into tablets really the future of mobiles? And is flexible screen technology really ready for prime time? I spent four months with the £1,800 Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 to find out.The second iteration of Samsung’s smartphone that unfolds into a tablet was impressive on first inspection, reinventing what it meant to be a premium, cutting-edge device. Continue reading...

Genetic testing company with 10 million customers’ data has ‘huge cybersecurity implications’The genetic testing company 23andMe will go public through a partnership with a firm backed by the billionaire Richard Branson, in a deal that has raised fresh privacy questions about the information of millions of customers.Launched in 2006, 23andMe sells tests to determine consumers’ genetic ancestry and risk of developing certain illnesses, using saliva samples sent in by mail. Continue reading...

A lawyer showed up to virtual court in the 394th district of Texas with a kitten filter turned on, the cat moving its lips and eyes, as Rod Ponton said he and his assistant were attempting to remove the filter during the court case.The judge later posted the snipped and wrote: ‘If a child used your computer before you join a virtual hearing, check the Zoom video options to be sure filters are off. This kitten just made a formal announcement on a case in the 394th’ Continue reading...

Hackers claim to have copied source code for a number of CD Projekt’s biggest gamesThe company behind troubled gaming blockbuster Cyberpunk 2077 has been hit by a ransomware attack, it has said.In a post to its Twitter feed on Tuesday, CD Projekt, the Polish developers, shared the ransom note left by the hackers, who claimed to have copied the source code for a number of the studio’s biggest games including Cyberpunk and The Witcher 3, as well as encrypted the servers themselves. Continue reading...

Company will remove posts with false claims and groups with repeated violations will be shut downFacebook has banned misinformation about all vaccines following years of harmful, unfounded health claims proliferating on its platform.As part of its policy on Covid-19-related misinformation, Facebook will now remove posts with false claims about all vaccines, the company announced in a blogpost on Monday. Continue reading...

Instagram posts of homely scenes are striking a chord with users taking a renewed interest in their outdoor environmentAt a time when domesticity and what’s inside the home makes up the majority of what most people encounter in their daily lives, the still life is having a resurgence on social media – from influencers sharing their own photographs of satsumas and candles, to posting 18th-century paintings of shells and corals.The still-life hashtag has more than six million Instagram posts. Lucy Williams, an influencer with more than 490,000 followers, has been posting shots of lamps and lemons throughout lockdown. Fashion industry insider Ben Cobb recently shared an 18th-century still life by French painter Anne Vallayer-Coster on his feed, while interior designer Luke Edward Hall has been posting shots of just-opening narcissi against books. Continue reading...

Escape that Groundhog day feeling by trying out our creative tips on cooking, crafting, ‘camping’, and chucking stuff at DadChristmas, Easter, Bonfire Night and Halloween – the events that usually punctuate our year – haven’t felt sufficient in the pandemic, so in my family we’ve gone all out for occasions that would usually pass us by. Cultural appropriation maybe, but it has livened up Groundhog Day dinner times. We had a Diwali party in November, taking advice from an Indian friend on how to do it right, and cooked pakoras, wore new(ish) clothes, played games and covered the kitchen with fairy lights. For Burns Night my four-year-old helped make frozen cranachan, we ate haggis, played a bagpipe Spotify playlist and recited poems, including a welcome address penned by my seven-year-old, whose lines included: “I don’t know why but my dad is wearing a skirt …” (In lieu of a kilt, a peach silk number had to suffice.) Continue reading...

PC, Nintendo Switch; Skeleton Crew Studio/Devolver Digital

Facebook has said it will no longer algorithmically recommend political groups to users, but experts warn that isn’t enoughMark Zuckerberg, the Facebook CEO, announced last week the platform will no longer algorithmically recommend political groups to users in an attempt to “turn down the temperature” on online divisiveness. Continue reading...

When a group of amateur investors on a Reddit messageboard began buying up stock in a video games retailer it forced huge losses on major Wall Street hedge funds that had bet against it. But following a trading frenzy the stock began to fall, almost as quickly as it had risenAt the beginning of the year, not many people were paying attention to GameStop. Its business of selling video games in retail stores looked increasingly shaky as the market shifted ever more online in the grip of the Covid-19 pandemic. GameStop’s seemingly grim prospects led Wall Street hedge funds to take out big bets on the company’s share price falling further (known as short selling) but they had not reckoned with a force that was about to blow them away. Users of the Reddit messageboard WallStreetBets began grouping together to buy huge quantities of GameStop’s stock, driving the share price higher and higher and inflicting huge losses on the hedge fund titans.Desmund Delaney tells Rachel Humphreys that as part of the Reddit community he was tipping shares in GameStop back in 2019 and took his own advice investing in the company, despite the derision of other users. But he gave up on the company last year while its share price was below $10 and cashed out. If he’d sold last week he would be sitting on half a million dollars. Continue reading...

Having stepped down as Amazon’s chief, the billionaire is ‘super passionate’ about other projects