Technology | The Guardian

Analysis: NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware could allegedly track locations and access passwords

The San Francisco Bay Area remains the innovative center of the US tech industry. But challenges are on the horizonIt didn’t come as a huge surprise when Oracle Corp announced it was moving its headquarters from California to Texas last week. The world’s second largest software company, founded in Silicon Valley in the late 1970s, had already transitioned parts of its 135,000-member workforce to Austin over the last two years as executives sought to cut costs.Related: Elon Musk says he has moved from California to Texas Continue reading...

The Observer picture editor reflects on the evolution of photojournalism as he bows out after nearly 30 years

A mix-up on the tech giant’s service has meant three years of frustration for Simon Borghs, and highlights our reliance on the data private companies holdIf Simon Borghs wanted to eat a takeaway pizza fresh out of the box, he would have to sit in the local park. Taking a taxi meant lengthy discussions with the driver to ensure that he got to his flat. Getting a delivery meant walking down the road with his phone in his hand looking for the courier.His problem was that the postcode for his east London flat was incorrect on Google Maps, so any driver using the service for navigation ended up not at his address, but in parkland at Three Mills Green, Bromley-by-Bow, half a mile away as the crow flies, but a mile and a half to drive. Continue reading...

The drawbacks of insecure work and the gig economy have crystallised in the past six months. In an era of accelerated change, how can young Australians find quality jobs?

Secretary of state is first in administration to point to Russia but Trump attacks media over reports

A New York Times blogpost put pressure on the porn site over videos of rape and child abuse, but only when money was at risk did it take actionOn 4 December, the New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof published a column entitled The Children of Pornhub. Pornhub attracts 3.5bn visitors a month, rakes in money from 3bn advertising impressions a day and, says Kristof, “prides itself on being the cheery, winking face of naughty, the website that buys a billboard in Times Square and provides snowploughs to clear Boston streets. It donates to organisations fighting for racial equality and offers steamy content free to get people through Covid-19 shutdowns.”If you sense a “but” coming, you’re spot on. Kristof continues: “There’s another side of the company: its site is infested with rape videos. It monetises child rapes, revenge pornography, spycam videos of women showering, racist and misogynist content, and footage of women being asphyxiated in plastic bags. A search for ‘girls under18“’ (no space) or ‘14yo’ leads in each case to more than 100,000 videos. Most aren’t of children being assaulted, but too many are.” Continue reading...

A flurry of lawsuits, deemed the biggest antitrust action since the 1970s, mark a stunning reversal of fortunes for Silicon ValleyThe attorneys general of more than 30 US states took aim at Google this week with a new major antitrust lawsuit, accusing the tech company of illegally protecting a monopoly over its search business. Continue reading...

Pandora Sykes hosts The Missing, a new series bringing attention to mysterious real-life disappearances. Plus: from Indiana to the Islamic StateThe Missing

Complaint alleges company has illegal monopoly in search business that harms consumers and advertisersThe attorneys general of more than 30 US states have filed a new antitrust complaint against Google, marking the third lawsuit against the online search and advertising giant this autumn.The complaint focuses on Google’s search business and alleges that it has an illegal monopoly that hurts consumers and advertisers. Continue reading...

Limit suspended for two weeks including last day of Hanukah and New Year’s DayZoom is lifting limits on the free version of its videoconferencing software over the festive season to help families around the world socialise safely in the midst of the pandemic.Normally, free accounts are limited to 40-minute-long calls, which abruptly end at the time limit. Zoom has announced that those limits will be removed for two weeks including the last day of Hanukah, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Continue reading...

Ofcom says about 0.6% of properties including homes and offices unable to access speeds of at least 10MbpsAlmost 200,000 “forgotten homes” across the UK are being left behind in the government’s digital revolution, unable to get broadband speeds deemed the minimum to meet a modern family’s needs.The telecoms regulator Ofcom has said that 190,000 mostly rural homes and offices, about 0.6% of all properties, still cannot access “decent” broadband speeds of at least 10Mbps. Continue reading...

Timnit Gebru’s departure sparked outrage in the industry as it followed her paper criticizing the company’s diversity effortsGoogle employees have sent a letter to senior leadership demanding that the company reinstate and apologize to Timnit Gebru, a prominent Black researcher who said she was fired after criticizing the company’s diversity efforts.Gebru’s departure in early December has sparked outrage among Google staff and the industry at large. The letter – sent by Gebru’s colleagues on Google’s AI ethics team to the company’s top management, including CEO Sundar Pichai – demands they offer Gebru a chance to return to the company at a higher position, in addition to making a public commitment to uphold research integrity and integrate racial literacy training. The letter also asks that management not to retaliate against the team for speaking out about Gebru’s case. Continue reading...

Lawsuit accusing company of ‘tremendous violation of justice’ is latest bid to rein in big techGoogle is facing a new multi-state lawsuit, led by Texas, that accuses the company of abusing its “monopolistic power”, the latest in a slew of major legal efforts to rein in big tech.In a video announcing the suit on Wednesday, the Texas attorney generalcharged Google with engaging in anticompetitive behavior, particularly in the online advertising market. Texas argues that the company dominates the pathways by which an advertisement gets from the agency that produces it on to a web page or mobile app. Continue reading...

Intrigue surrounds what may have been exposed, from nuclear secrets to Covid vaccine data to next-generation weapons systems

Texas-based firm, which has become an industry dominant player, provides monitoring services to corporations and federal agenciesThe revelation that elite cyber spies in past months conducted the largest hack against US officials in years has put the spotlight on SolarWinds, the Texas-based company whose software was compromised while servicing some of the biggest agencies and companies in the United States.SolarWinds provides computer networking monitoring services to corporations and government agencies around the world, and has become a dominant player since it was founded in 1999. Continue reading...

Public prosecutor states Victor Gevers did access US president’s site but as ethical hacker faces no chargesDutch prosecutors have confirmed that Donald Trump’s Twitter account was hacked in October despite denials from Washington and the company, but said the “ethical hacker” would not face charges.The hacker, named as Victor Gevers, broke into Trump’s account @realDonaldTrump on 16 October by guessing the US president’s password, Dutch media reports said. Continue reading...

Cryptocurrency rose by more than 6% against the dollar amid growing interest from big investment companiesThe value of bitcoin, the world’s best known cryptocurrency, has reached an all-time high of more than $20,000.The cryptocurrency rose by more than 6% on Wednesday to reach $20,632 (£15,283) against the US dollar, extending a winning streak this year amid growing interest among big investment companies attracted to its potential for quick gains. Continue reading...

These inventions could help our coronavirus crisis now. But delays mean they may not be adopted until the worst of the pandemic is behind usThe world wasn’t prepared for the Covid-19 pandemic – and it still isn’t. Critical shortages of personal protective equipment and ventilators continue to put medical professionals and patients at unnecessary risk. Meanwhile, long wait times for test results contribute to viral spread.Yet throughout this year, promising scientific innovations have been developed that could help reduce deaths until everyone can get the vaccine. So why aren’t they available? Continue reading...

PC (version tested), Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, PS5, PS4; CD Projekt

The pandemic has highlighted the importance of working with neighbourhoods as social work rediscovered traditional methods

Company is reportedly making the change partly because the EU privacy regime is among the world’s strictestFacebook will shift all its users in the United Kingdom into user agreements with the corporate headquarters in California, moving them out of their current relationship with Facebook’s Irish unit and out of reach of Europe’s privacy laws. Continue reading...

Company said it removed almost 500 accounts and pages tied to France and Russia for ‘coordinated inauthentic behavior’Rival French and Russian disinformation campaigns have sought to deceive and influence internet users in the Central African Republic ahead of an election later this month, Facebook said on Tuesday.Facebook said it was the first time it had seen foreign influence operations directly engage on its platforms, with fake accounts denouncing each other as “fake news”. Continue reading...

I was trying to buy Apple Watch SE on Black Friday and lost out on the chance to get oneI purchased Currys gift cards for £200 and £50 via the Perks at Work scheme to buy an Apple Watch SE. But after attempting to check out online, the website crashed.When I tried again, the £200 was showing as £0. Currys confirmed there was an issue and that the gift card balance would be restored in between two and 48 hours. This was more than 72 hours ago and the balance is still £0. Continue reading...

Purge removed content from unverified users and, by Monday, had reduced the content on the popular adult site from 13m videos to just 4mPornhub has removed millions of videos – the majority of its content – after an investigation revealed a large number of them featured underaged and sex-trafficked subjects.The popular adult content site had prohibited unverified users from posting new content after a New York Times report revealed a number of inappropriate and illegal videos, including some involving minors, causing the credit companies Visa and Mastercard to cut ties with the company and all related websites. Continue reading...

CD Projekt Red, developers of science-fiction epic, have apologised for the state of the gameDisappointed gamers have been offered refunds and an apology after the year’s biggest game was released in a barely-finished state for owners of current-generation consoles including the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.CD Projekt Red, the developers of science-fiction epic Cyberpunk 2077, apologised for the state of the game in an open letter to players on Monday morning, and addressed accusations that they had misled customers by limiting pre-launch coverage to the version of the game built for powerful (and expensive) gaming PCs. Continue reading...

Personal trainer’s frontroom-friendly workouts make him nation’s favourite during coronavirusIn a year of seismic change, Britain turned to a new national figurehead for answers.He has curly hair, six-pack abs, and 2.6 million subscribers on YouTube. And according to year-end data released on Monday, one of Joe Wicks’ livestreamed PE classes was the single most popular UK video in the time of coronavirus. Continue reading...

US games company behind Fifa franchise scuppers deal with rival Take-Two InteractiveBritish video games maker Codemasters has become the focus of a £1bn bidding war after accepting an offer from California-based Electronic Arts, scuppering a previously planned deal with US rival Take-Two Interactive, maker of franchises including Grand Theft Auto.EA, the maker of titles including Battlefield and The Sims, has tabled a £945m offer for Codemasters, which is best known for its racing simulators including the Formula One series. Continue reading...

Concern that hackers who breached treasury and commerce departments used similar tool to break into other agenciesHackers backed by a foreign government have been monitoring internal email traffic at the US treasury department and an agency that decides internet and telecommunications policy, according to people familiar with the matter.“The United States government is aware of these reports and we are taking all necessary steps to identify and remedy any possible issues related to this situation,” said national security council spokesman John Ullyot. Continue reading...

The pandemic has made clear that corporations need more – not fewer – incentives to protect workersAs a former secretary of labor, I often receive mail from workers with job complaints, who apparently believe I still have some authority. But the email I received a few days ago from a worker at Amazon’s Whole Foods delivery warehouse in Industry City, Brooklyn, New York, was particularly distressing.She said that six of her co-workers had tested positive for Covid-19 since 22 October, because “safe social distancing is not only being ignored but discouraged,” adding that “when we express our discomfort to management, we are yelled at about filling orders faster, or told that we can take a leave of absence without pay.” Continue reading...

About a Girl tells the stories of the women behind David Bowie, Bob Marley and more. Plus: two strippers debunk the myths around their professionAbout a Girl

EU science funding is being spent on developing new tools for policing and security. But who decides how far we need to submit to artificial intelligence?Patrick Breyer didn’t expect to have to take the European commission to court. The softly spoken German MEP was startled when in July 2019 he read about a new technology to detect from facial “micro-expressions” when somebody is lying while answering questions.Even more startling was that the EU was funding research into this virtual mindreader through a project called iBorderCtrl, for potential use in policing Europe’s borders. In the article that Breyer read, a reporter described taking a test on the border between Serbia and Hungary. She told the truth, but the AI border guard said she had lied. Continue reading...

Sundar Pichai apologizes for how Timnit Gebru’s departure ‘seeded doubts’ at GoogleThe CEO of Google has apologized for how a prominent artificial intelligence researcher’s abrupt departure last week has “seeded doubts” in the company.Sundar Pichai told Google employees in a Wednesday memo, obtained by Axios, that the tech company was beginning a review of the circumstances leading up to Timnit Gebru’s exit last week, and how Google could have “led a more respectful process”. Continue reading...

Minutes of a 2018 meeting show Facebook chief complaining UK was anti-tech and saying he might look elsewhere in Europe to investFacebook founder Mark Zuckerberg threatened to pull investment out of the UK if the government did not look to soften its stance on the regulation of Silicon Valley companies, according to a document published on Tuesday.In response Matt Hancock, who held the meeting with Zuckerberg in 2018 when he was culture secretary, said that the UK could “shift from threatening regulation to encouraging collaborative working to ensure legislation is proportionate and innovation-friendly”. Continue reading...

Surprise at high price as company looks to beat Bose and Sony with super luxury audioApple has announced its long anticipated first over-ear, noise-cancelling wireless headphones, AirPods Max, retailing at £549.The new headphones look to take the good bits of Apple’s wireless earbuds, AirPods, and put them in larger Bluetooth headphones with high quality speakers and a very high price tag. Continue reading...

Electric carmaker to join blue-chip S&P 500 index as its stock price continues to soarTesla is to raise up to $5bn selling new shares, as the electric carmaker takes advantage of an almost 900% surge in its share price over the last 12 months.The move comes three months after Tesla last moved to raise $5bn, at the time its biggest issue of new stock in a decade, and just weeks before the company is due to enter the blue-chip S&P 500 index. Entry to the benchmark index is likely to further fuel Tesla’s stock market run as passive investors that track the S&P 500 will be compelled to buy shares in the business. Continue reading...

The crowdfunding platform has boomed in the year of coronavirus, with indie mavericks joined by Hollywood royalty

Children’s commissioner for England says tech giants are failing to keep children safeThe children’s commissioner for England has warned that end-to-end encryption is putting children at risk of abuse, as a survey finds that most eight-year-olds are using messaging apps supposedly restricted to those aged 13 or older.In a report published on Tuesday, Anne Longfield said plans by social media firms to widen the use of encrypted messaging would make it impossible for platforms to monitor content. Continue reading...

Timnit Gebru’s colleagues challenge claims she resigned while more than 1,800 sign petition of solidarityOutcry is growing within Google over the treatment of the AI ethics researcher Timnit Gebru, with Gebru’s colleagues challenging the company’s account of her exit in an open letter.In a letter posted on Monday on Medium, Gebru’s colleagues disputed an executive’s claim that she had resigned and called internal research policies into question. Continue reading...

New figure follows surprise third-quarter profit and values the company at up to $42bnAirbnb has raised the price of its shares before its initial public offering this week and could float with a valuation of as much as $42bn (£31.5bn).In a government filing in the US on Monday, Airbnb said it expects to price its shares between $56 and $60 each, up from a range of $44 to $50 earlier this month. Continue reading...

Writers including Salman Rushdie express anger after journalist Salil Tripathi has account suspended

Guardian found potentially harmful pro-weight-loss accounts were still available in search resultsTikTok has launched an investigation and banned some search terms after the Guardian found harmful pro-anorexia content was still easily searchable despite measures taken by the social media company to prohibit the advertising of weight-loss products.The video app – one of the most popular in the world with more than 800 million users, almost half of whom are between the ages of 16 and 24 – has imposed new restrictions on weight-loss ads after criticism for promoting dangerous diets. Continue reading...

You can’t taste it or smell it, but food and drink play a big role in video games, providing everything from sustenance to secret weaponryFood has always played a vital role in video games. From Pac-Man’s bonus fruits to Mario’s magical mushrooms, it has provided everything from sustenance to supernatural abilities – and in games such as Cooking Mama and Overcooked, food preparation became a genre in its own right. Game developers, like the creators of cooking programmes and recipe books, have discovered that well-presented food is irresistible – even when we can’t eat it.In the modern games industry, where detail and authenticity are paramount, the depiction of food has become an art form. Kaname Fujioka, executive director on Capcom’s fantasy adventure, Monster Hunter: World, says: “We design the ingredients and recipes based around the grade of the food, as well as any seasonal events it may be tied to. Since we’re unable to showcase the most important elements of food (taste and smell), we have to alter, exaggerate or potentially deform the visuals in a way that conveys that as best as possible. In order for players to believe that the visuals look ‘delicious’, a lot of fine-tuning is done on details like the colour, lighting and softness.” Continue reading...

The price tag of £248,000 might make your eyes water but Moley Robotics claims to have more than 1,000 potential buyersFinally, the ultimate kitchen gadget you never knew you wanted is here – but it will cost you about the same as the average UK house.For those stumped as to what to buy the super-rich person in their lives this Christmas, how about a fully robotic kitchen that promises to whip up a choice of up to 5,000 recipes at the press of a button? Continue reading...

The consumer group Which? chooses its top 50 gadets of the year, from cheap and cheerful to high endA robot vacuum that deals with the unpleasant job of emptying the dust bag, a swivelling selfie camera for the YouTube generation and a £12 kettle are among an eclectic list of items dubbed the best products of the year.Experts from the consumer group Which? have picked out 50 items for special praise from the 3,500 reviewed or released over the last year, focusing on their innovation, sustainability or value for money. Continue reading...

A recent study suggests lengthy, complex corporate filings are increasingly read by, and written for, machinesMy eye was caught by the title of a working paper published by the National Bureau for Economic Research (NBER): How to Talk When a Machine Is Listening: Corporate Disclosure in the Age of AI. So I clicked and downloaded, as one does. And then started to read.The paper is an analysis of the 10-K and 10-Q filings that American public companies are obliged to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The 10-K is a version of a company’s annual report, but without the glossy photos and PR hype: a corporate nerd’s delight. It has, says one guide, “the-everything-and-the-kitchen-sink data you can spend hours going through – everything from the geographic source of revenue to the maturity schedule of bonds the company has issued”. Some investors and commentators (yours truly included) find the 10-K impenetrable, but for those who possess the requisite stamina (big companies can have 10-Ks that run to several hundred pages), that’s the kind of thing they like. The 10-Q filing is the 10-K’s quarterly little brother. Continue reading...

Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, Xbox One

There is something powerful about seeing a squat, or a bicep curl, performed by someone whose musculature is beyond perfectI’ve never much used Instagram except for looking at pictures of pitbulls, so when I met my first influencer (an interiors one rather than fitness) I, of course, had no idea of the deadly seriousness of the medium. Existing not just on likes, but on likes as a proportion of followers, he expressly forbade me from following him, on the grounds that I seemed like the kind of person who, though approving of a post, would forget to actually click “like”. He had me bang to rights; I didn’t follow him, and all I can remember now is that his name was Richard and Instagram influencing is huge, huge business.The top 10 fitness influencers worldwide can earn between £10,000 and £37,000 per post – astronomical figures that work on a straightforward metric: your follower count multiplied by 0.003, turned into quids.( I don’t know who decided it, I just worked it out in my head). Only two of the global top 10 (Ulisses World and Simeon Panda) are men, and the women are similar only in the sense that they all have incredible muscle definition. Continue reading...