Technology | The Guardian

Russian-born UK citizen and Tory party activist Sergei Cristo fought to make MI5 sit up and take notice of the Russian political interference operation now threatening democracy in Britain - and around the worldIn the dark days of the spring in 2022, as Russian troops terrorised Bucha and every day brought shocking new scenes of Ukrainians fleeing for their lives, I rang an old acquaintance, Sergei Cristo. Cristo is a Russian-born British citizen and I prepared for what I suspected might be a long conversation: he is a talker. He was born in Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia, but he moved to Britain when he was 19 and it's fair to say we're not the most obvious of allies. He loves the royal family and is a passionate Conservative party activist. He used to be on the committee of a donor club for young Conservatives, and then I became vice-chairman, I knew the cabinet, I knew the leader, everybody".He's not kidding. He has photos of himself with everyone from Margaret Thatcher to Boris Johnson, and his favourite place to hang out used to be the Carlton Club, the grand Conservative private members' club in central London. Continue reading...

App no longer available on US Apple and Google stores after supreme court upholds lawmakers' banTikTok stopped working in the US late on Saturday, shortly before a federal ban on the Chinese-owned short-video app was due to take effect.The app was no longer available on Apple's iOS App Store or Google's Play Store. The US Congress passed a law in April mandating that parent company ByteDance either sell TikTok to a non-Chinese owner or face a total shutdown. It chose the latter. Continue reading...

President-elect said he'd probably give the company an extension from US ban the supreme court recently upheldDonald Trump has said he will most likely" give the Chinese-owned TikTok app a 90-day reprieve from a potential ban in the US after he takes office on Monday morning.The incoming president said on Saturday, in an interview with NBC News, that he was considering the extension on a Sunday deadline laid down for the parent company of the wildly popular app to sell TikTok to a non-Chinese-buyer or face a ban under US law. Continue reading...

Labels and artists forced to rethink marketing strategies as viral hit-making app faces possible US shutdown on SundayOn a recent Monday morning, Olivia Shalhoup opened her laptop and steeled herself for a day of meetings. Around 40% of her work as the founder of Amethyst, a marketing and PR agency, focuses on helping musicians navigate TikTok. On this particular day, the fate of the app in the US hung in the balance, with a supreme court ruling looming, and her clients were tense. The big thing we were talking about in every single call is: What are we going to do?'" Shalhoup said. To say that TikTok is crucial to artist campaigns right now is an understatement. No one is immune from this."Since its debut in 2017, TikTok has become a star-making machine, as short-form video content has eclipsed traditional forms of music promotion such as TV and radio. The app has the power to make rising artists into A-listers, propel their ascent to the top of the charts, and turn Magic FM staples like Running Up That Hill into gen alpha hits. With the help of TikTok, Lil Nas X turned the $30 beat of Old Town Road into a career-making smash, while dance challenges drove Doja Cat's Say So and Megan Thee Stallion's Savage to No 1 in the US. More recently, songs like Djo's End of Beginning and Artemas's I Like the Way You Kiss Me became global smashes after going viral on the app. The ability to track a song's stickiness, engagement and reach is something like a label executive's dream, offering what the author John Seabrook has called real-time global callout data", which in turn helps bigwigs make smart deals. Continue reading...

As the platform bows out in the US, here is my carefully curated list of the best things it's taught meThe average TikTok user spends almost one hour each day on the app. However, the screen time of American users is about to be rapidly reduced, as the app is set to be banned in the US.On Friday the US Supreme Court rejected an appeal against a law that would see the social media platform banned over national security concerns. TikTok's China-based parent company ByteDance had challenged the law, arguing that it violates free speech protections for more than 170 million users. Continue reading...

Social media accounts blocked for breaking Beijing rules as millions of users join up before ban takes effect

Would six-year-old Malakhi be strict? Could the grownups give up their phones? Three writers let their children set the rulesZoe Williams Continue reading...

The convergence of money and politics isn't new. What's different is the Silicon Valley right's hostility to the nation state

App used by 170m people in US will become unavailable unless outgoing president directs DoJ not to enforce law, company saysTikTok says it will be forced to go dark on January 19" in the United States unless the Biden administration assures service providers that it will not enforce a law banning the Chinese-owned social media app that was upheld by the US supreme court on Friday.The nine justices voted unanimously in a decision that sides with the majority of the US Congress and the US Department of Justice that the hugely popular social media app is a threat to US national security. Continue reading...

Americans fleeing the looming TikTok ban have been warmly welcomed to app Xiaohongshu - or RedNote - despite China's tight restrictions on what can be postedIt is the coolest thing," says Huang Ziyan, a longtime user of Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu, describing the experience as a 21st-century Tower of Babel".Huang is referring to the influx of US TikTok refugees" fleeing the impending ban and the resulting cross-cultural exchange that has seen Americans warmly welcomed - and sometimes given a few helpful tips. Continue reading...

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Musk's company has been accused of manipulating systems to give far-right posts and politicians greater visibilityThe European Commission has asked X to hand over internal documents about its algorithms, as it steps up its investigation into whether Elon Musk's social media platform has breached EU rules on content moderation.The EU's executive branch told the company it wanted to see internal documentation about its recommender system", which makes content suggestions to users, and any recent changes made to it, by 15 February. Continue reading...

How long does it take to change a habit? It varies, but one paper suggests the average is 66 days. We asked writers to change one thing in their lives within that timeframe ... and tell us if it works

As the app is on the brink of being expelled, the president-elect has been working to make good on his pledge to save itIn the run-up to the election, Donald Trump made a plea to his followers. FOR ALL THOSE THAT WANT TO SAVE TIK TOK IN AMERICA, VOTE TRUMP!" he posted to his Truth Social account in September. Since then, he's been working to make good on that pledge.He hosted TikTok's CEO, Shou Chew, at his Mar-a-Lago estate in December, implored the US supreme court to delay a TikTok ban and he's now reportedly considering an executive order to postpone the app's disappearance. Chew is slated to join Trump at his inauguration in what appears to be a show of solidarity with the embattled executive. Continue reading...

FSB-linked Star Blizzard attempts to lure email recipients to click on QR code that gives attackers access to accountRussian state-linked hackers have targeted the WhatsApp accounts of government ministers and officials around the world with emails inviting them to join user groups on the messaging app.The WhatsApp tactic marks a new approach by a hacking unit called Star Blizzard. Britain's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has linked Star Blizzard to Russia's domestic spy agency, the FSB, and has accused it of seeking to undermine trust in politics in the UK and likeminded states". Continue reading...

Chile's president invited me to the palace and asked to see some of my cardsI started playing the Pokemon Trading Card Game (TCG) around 10 years ago, when Iwas seven. My older brother, Marco, had already been playing with my dad for years. At first, the three of us just played at home. For me, Pokemon TCG is a family activity - it keeps us close. Ithink that's important, especially nowadays when everyone is on their phone.I'm from Iquique, a city in the north of Chile. We have a strong Pokemon community here, and several local shops host tournaments. The game is two-player, and involves each person preparing a deck of 60 cards - each card represents one Pokemon, with different abilities and powers. You then battle your opponent with your cards; whoever has the more powerful combination of cards is the winner. Continue reading...

Inaccurate notices branded with broadcaster's logo sent to iPhone users but tech firm works on improvementsApple is suspending an artificial intelligence feature that made inaccurate summaries of news headlines.The tech company received a complaint from the BBC after the AI-generated service issued a news alert branded with the corporation's logo falsely telling some iPhone users that Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing the UnitedHealthcare chief executive, Brian Thompson, had shot himself. Continue reading...

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British content creators, who may lose a big chunk of their audiences, say they see the app as a gateway to AmericansIf TikTok disappears from the US, it won't just be its 170 million American users who will lose out.British TikTokers and business owners have told the Guardian they will also lose a sizeable chunk of their audiences after a ban. The video app has become a key gateway to Americans for the UK's online video creators, who make a living from accruing views and making sponsored content deals. With the ban scheduled to take effect on Sunday, a US-sized hole will appear in the global userbase. Continue reading...

As natural disasters make need to cut CO emissions clearer than ever, energy demand of AI systems is about to soarViolent weather events have been top of the news agenda for weeks, with scientists and fact-based news organisations attributing their increased severity to climate breakdown. The scientists consulted have all emphasised the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions.At the same time there are predictions about artificial intelligence and datacentres urgently needing vast amounts of new electricity sources to keep them running. Small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) have been touted as the green solution. The reports suggest that SMRs are just around the corner and will be up and running in the 2030s. Google first ordered seven, followed by Amazon, Microsoft and Meta each ordering more. Continue reading...

Union says Facebook-owner's policy changes will affect ability to retain talent and thrive as an inclusive business'UK staff at Facebook owner Meta feel concerned" and let down" about the company's decision to scrap factcheckers and diversity, equity and inclusion programmes, the trade union representing UK tech workers has warned the firm.The Prospect union, which represents a growing number of UK Meta employees, has written to Meta to express staff concern about the impact of the controversial decisions by chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg. Continue reading...

Telecoms company hoped to convert roadside cabinets into charge points but will now shut down its sole installationBT has scrapped a plan to turn roadside green cabinets into electric car chargers, after only managing to install one.The British telecoms company had spied a chance to use the existing electricity connections to the cabinets, which usually house telephone and broadband internet equipment, to quickly install chargers. However, it will now shut down its sole charge point, in East Lothian, Scotland, according to the Fast Charge, a charging newsletter. Continue reading...

A larger screen, redesigned snap-off controllers and a new Mario Kart make an appearance in a reveal trailerNintendo has announced its long-awaited successor to the 150m-selling Switch console, called the Nintendo Switch 2. It will be out later in 2025.The first Nintendo Switch debuted on 3 March 2017, and pioneered the hybrid console: it can be played both on the move, with its snap-on controllers, and at home, connected to a TV. The Switch 2 follows the same model, with a larger screen and bigger, redesigned controllers that attach magnetically to its sides. The controllers can be used like a mouse, or held in the hands like a traditional joypad, and also have motion-control functionality. Continue reading...

Regulator Ofcom releases guidelines that call for use of face scans, credit cards checks or photo-IDUsers accessing online pornography in the UK could soon be required to have their face scanned, under measures announced by Ofcom to stop children seeing the material.Enforcement guidelines released on Thursday, which will apply to social media platforms as well as sites such as OnlyFans and Pornhub, stipulate that children will no longer be able to simply assert they are 18 to view pornography online. Continue reading...

How player-funded development launched a multiplayer game of galactic proportions - and costs - in Star CitizenHow much does it cost to make a video game? The development expenses of blockbuster games are closely guarded business secrets, but they have been climbing ever higher over the years towards big Hollywood-style spending.Industry leaks have exposed how the budgets of major video games are spiralling upwards: $100m, or $200m, even more. One of the bestselling franchises, Call of Duty, saw costs balloon to $700m (573m), a number only revealed recently when a reporter dug into court filings. Continue reading...

Outgoing president signs executive order to tackle US vulnerabilities after attacks that have cost country billionsThe Biden administration is making a final push to fortify America's cyber defenses against mounting threats from China and Russia, issuing a sweeping cybersecurity executive order just days before leaving office that aims to tackle vulnerabilities from outer space to consumer electronics.The wide-ranging directive is likely to be the administration's last big policy push before handing the keys over to Donald Trump, who heads to the White House next week and inherits a new world of cyber-attacks that have cost the nation billions of dollars and punctured government offices. Continue reading...

Blue Origin's huge New Glenn rocket has blasted off from Florida on its first mission to space. Its first attempt to launch, on 14 January, was cancelled because ice had accumulated on a propellant line. The company, founded by Jeff Bezos, cited no issues before launch and the rocket successfully reached orbit

Biden signed a law banning the app in January - if parent firm ByteDance fails to block it, here's what could happen

Long-running leaks mean the usually secretive Nintendo have failed to keep a lid on its new console. With its official announcement due any minute now, here's what we know so farNintendo is likely to announce its next console this week, the follow-up to the 150m-selling Nintendo Switch, which came out in March 2017. There's just one problem: we already know almost everything about it. At this point there's very little that Nintendo could announce that would be a surprise to anyone who has been following the rumours closely.The trickle of Nintendo Switch 2 leaks began last summer, and built to a flood this month. Last week at the CES tech trade show in Vegas, accessory maker Genki arrived with a full-on model of Nintendo's next console, which it happily showed off behind closed doors to illustrate its forthcoming products. You can even look at a detailed render of the thing on Genki's website. It is a slightly larger, more powerful version of the Switch console we all know and love, with controllers that attach magnetically rather than sliding on and off the sides of the screen. It can still be played docked on your TV or on the go. Continue reading...

Whether you're chasing folding treadmills or gym quality on a budget, our top-rated running machines will accelerate your training The best running shoes to take you from trail to road to marathon, tried and tested by runnersAlthough the treadmill has been around since the early 1800s, when it was once used to punish prisoners (sounds about right), it didn't become a common feature in the home until the late 1960s, when William Staub unleashed his PaceMaster 600 on the US public.Where they were once a simple rolling deck, treadmills today are often glossy pieces of interactive tech. Many now offer on-demand, real-time workouts (pioneered by Peloton) and the latest blockbuster movies via streaming services. Even if your treadmill doesn't sport a whopping touchscreen display, it probably works nicely with heart-rate monitors, smartwatches and smartphone apps to track workouts and offer performance statistics after every session.Best treadmill overall:

Company reveals plans to cut about 5% of its global workforce days after saying it would get rid of factcheckers

Troubling new HBO docuseries An Update on Our Family looks at YouTube families and Myka Stauffer, the mom who rehomed' her adopted sonIn May 2020, the vlogger parents Myka and James Stauffer tearfully revealed to their nearly 1 million followers that the son they adopted from China just three years before had been rehomed". The child, Huxley, who was only five at the time and lived with autism, had been the star in so many YouTube videos sharing the Stauffer family's joys, struggles and brand partnerships. But in the month leading up to that May 2020 upload, titled an update on our family", followers noticed that he had been phased out, old videos featuring Huxley had been removed and comments from followers inquiring as to his whereabouts promptly deleted while Myka continued posting homemaking videos.After the Stauffers came clean, the backlash was (predictably) swift and unforgiving, calling out the family, which includes four other biological children, for exploiting Huxley to gain clicks and views, packaging his trauma as an adoptee into content, before deciding they were ultimately ill-equipped to meet his needs (I apologize for being so naive," a statement from Myka read). However, the internet's response, much of it furiously leaning into not just critical commentary but also wild conspiracy theory geared for even more clicks and views, became knock-on content perhaps as craven and predatory as the inciting behaviour. Continue reading...

Financial regulator alleges Musk later acquired shares of company at artificially low prices', stiffing shareholdersA US financial regulator has sued Elon Musk for allegedly failing to disclose his ownership of Twitter stock and later acquiring shares in the company at artificially low prices", stiffing other shareholders.The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed suit against Musk late on Tuesday in federal court in Washington DC for alleged securities violations. According to the suit, Musk did not disclose that he had acquired a 5% stake in the company in a timely manner, which allowed him to underpay by at least $150m for shares he purchased after his financial beneficial ownership report was due". Continue reading...

RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu, rockets to top of US app stores, along with ByteDance's Lemon8New users have piled in to the Chinese social media app RedNote just days before a proposed US ban on the popular social media app TikTok, as the lesser-known company rushes to capitalize on the sudden influx while walking a delicate line of moderating English-language content.In a live chat dubbed TikTok Refugees" on RedNote on Monday, more than 50,000 US and Chinese users joined the room. Veteran Chinese users, with some sense of bewilderment, welcomed their American counterparts and swapped notes with them on topics such as food and youth unemployment. Occasionally, however, the Americans veered into riskier territory. Continue reading...

Tech company rejects as pure fiction' a report that a deal could take place if it fails to avoid an impending banChinese officials have reportedly held preliminary talks about a potential option to sell TikTok's operations in the US to the billionaire Elon Musk, should the short-video app be unable to avoid an impending ban. Another option is that Musk acts as a broker in a deal to sell the app.Beijing officials prefer that TikTok remains under the control of its Chinese parent, Bytedance, but have discussed other options including a sale to Musk, Bloomberg reported. The Financial Times reported on the same day that the officials had discussed the preliminary possibility of Musk functioning as a go-between for Bytedance and any potential buyer that would prevent the app from being shut down. Continue reading...

More women are using apps instead of the pill, but while some find them freeing', others had unwanted pregnanciesAfter 15 years on the contraceptive pill Francesca* decided that she wanted to know how her body felt without additional hormones. She started using a fertility tracking app - which tracks menstrual cycles or symptoms of ovulation to help estimate a woman's fertile window - after learning about them on social media.I had been taking hormones since my teens, and had no real conception of my menstrual cycle in my adult life," said the Londoner, now in her early 30s. She had been diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) at 18 and told to continue taking the pill to help with symptoms. Remarkably, pretty much all of my hormonal imbalance symptoms started to subside after stopping taking the pill," she said. Continue reading...

As PM pins hopes on AI, what effect will building energy-hungry datacentres have on Labour's clean power pledge?Keir Starmer this week launched a plan to bring a 20-fold increase in the amount of artificial intelligence (AI) computing power under public control by 2030.But the race to build more electricity hungry AI datacentres over the next five years appears to work against another government target: to plug in enough low-carbon electricity projects to create a clean power system by the same date. Continue reading...

Richard Osman and Kate Mosse say plan to mine artistic works for data would destroy creative fieldsKate Mosse and Richard Osman have hit back at Labour's plan to give artificial intelligence companies broad freedoms to mine artistic works for data, saying it could destroy growth in creative fields and amount to theft.The best-selling novellists spoke out after Keir Starmer a national drive to make the UK one of the great AI superpowers" and endorsed a 50-point action plan that included changes to how technology firms can use copyrighted text and data to train their models. Continue reading...

Bundle up and break a sweat with these winter running accessories, from base layers and gloves to waterproof jackets The best running shoes to take you from trail to road to marathonIf you're tempted to stop running in the winter or retreat to the gym, think again. Whether it's getting out for fresh air and daylight on crisp, blue-sky days, or blowing away the cobwebs in the dark and rain after work, running outdoors can make winter more bearable.With a few changes to your attire and some nifty accessories, you can stay warm and dry and be safer. You won't need all of the below - it depends on where you run, how far and what time of day you get out. Everything featured is either unisex or available in women's and men's versions. Continue reading...

Want to switch to a dumbphone but worry about things like two-factor authentication or map apps? These are my best tips and workarounds

Workers at Teleperformance, customer support company for Apple, Google and Netflix, accuse it of union busting and surveillanceCall center workers for some of the world's biggest tech companies including Apple, Google, Microsoft and Netflix are accusing their employer of retaliating against union organisers, constantly surveilling staff and even refusing bathroom breaks.In the US or Europe, if you call for technical or customer support from a big tech company, you may be speaking with a worker at one of Teleperformance's call centers in Greece. Continue reading...

CMA to look at impact on consumers, businesses, advertisers and publishers, as well as collection of data

For years I've overlooked the many good reasons for leaving the social media platform. But now there is no other choiceJaron Lanier was chief scientist of the engineering office of Internet2 back in the day, which is to say, definitely one of the godfathers of the internet. In 2018, he set out the reasons to get rid of your social media in his book Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now. When I read it, I shorthanded it to: Facebook. I really should just close down my Facebook account." There was no way back then I would have got rid of Twitter. It was where I went to complain about Brexit, and that's all I did. Also, seven years ago, Twitter wasn't just porn and chatbots.Regarding Facebook, though, all Lanier's propositions were laid out in a buffet: in politics, it creates a bias not towards the left or right, but downwards". Any position that could be less evidenced, more stupid, would be the one that would fly. Continue reading...

The actor has shared selected items from his famous collection for a new exhibition taking place in Sag HarborSome celebrities collect art, rare film prints or plain old action figures. (Welcome to the club, Leonardo DiCaprio.) Tom Hanks, somewhat famously, collects something that's simultaneously more practical and unwieldy: typewriters. And unlike Steve Martin's paintings or Leo's figures, you can currently get a look at some of the Hanks typewriters at The Church, an exhibition venue in Long Island's Sag Harbor.Some of Tom's Typewriters includes 35 from his collection of over 300, chosen by Hanks himself. These include an electric typewriter from the set of Mad Men (the curators are, as yet, unclear as to how Hanks obtained this, but he's recording an electronic guide to accompany the show that they are hoping will explain), an original 1969 Olivetti Valentine" typewriter designed by Ettore Sottsass, and, in one of the more surprising touches, a relatively new model: a translucent typewriter, still manufactured by a company that pivoted from calculator production in the 1980s, for use by incarcerated writers. The exhibit also includes some less fancy beaters set aside for a more interactive experience; the physical presence, after all, is such a part of the typewriter's mystique. Continue reading...

Online retailer will also begin its first large-scale deliveries by train and trial heavy post-style carts

Chief inspector of prisons issues warning after surge in weapons and drugs flown into high-security facilitiesDrones have become a threat to national security", the prisons watchdog has said, after a surge in the amount of weapons and drugs flown into high-security jails.Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons, called for urgent action from Whitehall and the police after inquiries found that terrorism suspects and criminal gangs could escape or attack guards because safety had been seriously compromised". Continue reading...

Prohibition would bring the NHS, schools and local councils into line with government departmentsSchools, the NHS and local councils will be banned from making ransomware payments under government proposals to tackle hackers.In a crackdown on such cyber-attacks, operators of critical national infrastructure will be barred from bowing to demands when criminal gangs hold IT systems hostage. Continue reading...

Ex-workers say CEO declaring relocation of moderation and safety teams from California just a play for Trump approvalIn a carefully worded statement, Mark Zuckerberg announced last week that Meta was moving its trust and safety and content moderation teams out of California and that the company's content review is going to be based in Texas". The thrust of these teams' work is to ensure that Facebook and Instagram users do not encounter hate speech, pornography and violent content.The CEO said moving the moderators to the Lone Star state will help remove the concern that biased employees are overly censoring content". It was part of a larger announcement that Meta was ending its factchecking program, easing content restrictions and focusing on free expression". Moderators are separate from Meta's factchecking efforts, which were done by third parties. Continue reading...

Key questions answered around potential use of health data to train AI models under Labour's proposals

Class action alleges company is abusing its dominant position in the app market and 30% fee breaches lawsApple has been accused of dominating the tech market with a total shutout" of competitors as it faces claims it overcharged customers of the UK App Store, a court has heard.The claim alleges that the tech company is abusing its dominant position in the app market and that its 30% commission fee is in breach of European and UK competition laws. Continue reading...