Money will go towards testing tools including voice analysis on child abuse image database

Tesla CEO’s lawyers said ‘pedo guy’ is a common insult used when Musk was a child in South Africa and not meant to ‘accuse a person’Elon Musk is continuing to try to wriggle his way out of a defamation lawsuit, claiming in a court filing on Monday that a tweet labeling a British diver “pedo guy” was not meant to actually accuse him of pedophilia.The Tesla CEO is being sued over comments made in 2018 about Vernon Unsworth, a diver who helped rescue a team of young soccer players stuck in an underwater cave. Continue reading...

My friend Sir Terry Harrison, who has died aged 86, was a man of the north-east and proud to be so. He joined the engineering firm Clarke Chapman in 1957 and became managing director in 1969. Clarke Chapman merged with Reyrolle Parsons to form Northern Engineering Industries (NEI) in 1977, employing 40,000 people.Terry became chief executive of NEI (1983-86) and was executive chair (1986-89) when it was acquired by Rolls-Royce. He was appointed to the board of Rolls-Royce and in 1992 was made chief executive. Three years later he was knighted. It was said that when Rolls-Royce divested itself of NEI in 1996, it had waited until Terry had safely retired from the board. Continue reading...

Social media was supposed to liberate us, but for many people it has proved addictive, punishing and toxic. What keeps us hooked? By Richard Seymour• Read the text version here Continue reading...

Same Bose magic now sleeker, with better controls, calling and adaptable noise cancellingBose’s new top-of-the range 700 noise-cancelling headphones attempt to be the new gold standard, with a new design, new technology and a shift in focus.Launched to sit atop the long-standing kings of noise-cancelling cans, the £300 QuietComfort 35 II, the new £350 Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 look to shift Bose’s rather staid image toward something more modern and fashionable. Continue reading...

Jordan Erica Webber is joined by Richard Sprenger, who recently went to Los Angeles to learn more about a new summer camp that aims to teach six to 10-year-olds how to become the next YouTube sensation. Continue reading...

Engineer who quit over military drone project warns AI might also accidentally start a warA new generation of autonomous weapons or “killer robots” could accidentally start a war or cause mass atrocities, a former top Google software engineer has warned.Laura Nolan, who resigned from Google last year in protest at being sent to work on a project to dramatically enhance US military drone technology, has called for all AI killing machines not operated by humans to be banned. Continue reading...

BoE among 26 global banks due to meet with Libra amid fears over risk to state sovereigntyGlobal regulators will question Facebook on Monday about its Libra cryptocurrency amid concerns from EU governments over the threat the digital currency poses to financial stability, according to the Financial Times.Officials from 26 central banks, including the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, will meet with representatives of Libra in Basel on Monday, the FT said, citing officials. Continue reading...

Marc Randolph launched the streaming service that would revolutionize TV and film, upend Hollywood and draw more than 150 million subscribersIt was a fluke that the Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph changed the history of television. It almost didn’t happen.In 1997, the Santa Cruz businessman was spending his carpool rides to work brainstorming internet startup ideas with a colleague. They discussed personalised surfboards, customised dog food, shampoo by mail. One commute, the chat turned to “videotapes”. Continue reading...

Gentler acceleration and electric vehicles can reduce air pollution but walking or cycling are bestLocal authorities are encouraging people not to leave their cars idling as tests show we can reduce air pollution by changing the way we drive.Scientists in Utah measured exhaust emissions from a test car driven by volunteers over a set route. Contrary to the stereotypical view of the “boy racer”, the study showed the older male participants were the most polluting drivers. Continue reading...

Finance minister says governments’ monetary sovereignty could be at riskFrance has said it will block the development of Facebook’s Libra in Europe, dealing the cryptocurrency a fresh blow.The French finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, said plans for Libra could not move ahead until concerns over consumer risk and governments’ monetary sovereignty were addressed. Continue reading...

Israeli PM has denied writing inflammatory post about ‘Arabs who want to destroy us all’Facebook has suspended a chatbot on Benjamin Netanyahu’s official page after it breached hate speech policy by sending visitors a message warning of Arabs who “want to destroy us all”.Battling a tight election race in the run-up to the 17 September polls, the Israeli prime minister has sought to appeal to far-right religious and nationalist voters who fear the political influence of Palestinian citizens of Israel. Continue reading...

Supermarket to roll out grocery deliveries within one hour across more UK citiesMorrisons has expanded its partnership with Amazon for ultra-fast same-day grocery deliveries to more cities across the UK, as it reported a drop in quarterly sales.The Bradford-based supermarket group said it had signed a multiyear deal with Amazon, which replaces its previous rolling contract, to cover “many more cities across the UK”. Continue reading...

Bill’s Acer Chromebook C720 will not receive further updates. It works well so can he still use it?I have recently got the message that my Acer Chromebook C720 will not be receiving any further updates as Google no longer supports Chromebooks older than six years. I use mine for surfing the internet, email and creating documents, which I send as email attachments. The machine still works as well as when I first bought it, and I’m reluctant to dump it for a new one.I understand that I can install a new operating system myself but I really can’t be bothered. The reason I bought a Chromebook in the first place was because of ease of use, simplicity and reliability. What are the risks if I just continue to use it without receiving any more updates? BillThere is no way to assess the risk because it depends partly on what you use your Chromebook for, and how careful you are. Nowadays, most attacks require some kind of user assistance. This can mean, among other things, installing fake Android apps with hidden features, installing bogus Chrome extensions, visiting malicious websites, falling for phishing attacks, falling for man-in-the-middle attacks and failing to install essential security updates. Continue reading...

New S-Pen Air gestures, enormous screen, triple camera, longer battery hope to convince Samsung super fans to upgradeThe king of Samsung smartphones has finally arrived, but is the Galaxy Note 10+ and its S-Pen stylus really still the super phone for super fans of the South Korean brand?For a long time the Galaxy Note line was used to push the boundaries of what could be done with a smartphone, siring the big-screen “phablet” category in the process. I’m sad to report that’s no longer the case. The £999 Note 10+ might technically be the biggest screen on a Samsung flagship phone, but it’s really only by a smidgen. Continue reading...

Apple is building a new base while selling expensive hardware to users, and taking a 30% cut from developersApple had few treats for those avid followers who tuned in to the company’s press event this week. Three new phones, all thoroughly leaked in advance; a new basic iPad with a slightly larger screen; and a new Apple Watch with a face that never turns off.Not everything was predictable. It’s just we had to take the surprises where we found them. Continue reading...

Brexit-battered pound means iPhones 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max will cost about £200 more than in USApple is set to release the most expensive iPhone ever in the UK next week against the backdrop of a Brexit-battered pound, just two years after the company broke its own records with the iPhone X.The iPhones 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max, revealed during a press event on Tuesday, will hit the US market priced at $999 [£809] and $1,099, the same price as their predecessors, the iPhones XS and XS Max. Continue reading...

iPhone 11 Pro is being touted as ‘the most advanced and detailed iPhone yet’ with a three-lens ‘pro’ camera system

iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max have faster processors, better screens, and new double and triple camera systems

Apple’s autumn press event brings at least three iPhones, two watches and an arcade – follow along live to see if there are any surprises in store

Seventh-generation iPad is faster, with a bigger screen and Apple Pencil support

Latest smartwatch has health features, more case options and can display time all the time

Game subscription service will launch on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV on 13 September

Social network and its subsidiary to crack down on potentially dangerous contentFacebook will no longer allow graphic images of self-harm on its platform as the company tightens its policies following criticism of the moderation of violent and potentially dangerous content on social media.The company also said on Tuesday that self-injury-related content would become harder to search for on Instagram, and such images would not appear as recommended content. Continue reading...

Sony has confirmed ‘X’ button on Dualshock controller should be called ‘Cross’ and players are freaking outIn a week filled with furore and controversy in British politics, do not make the mistake of thinking you can escape to video games for respite. There is outrage brewing here, too, and it concerns the X button on the PlayStation controller.A fortnight ago, Twitter user @drip133 asked a seemingly innocent question above a photo of the joypad: “Do you say ‘x’ or ‘cross’ button?” There were hundreds of contradictory responses, which became increasingly furious as the week wore on. Some insisted that because the other buttons are named after shapes – Triangle, Square and Circle – logically, the “X” button must be called “Cross”; others pointed out that as ‘X’ was the common usage, this was the only acceptable pronunciation. Continue reading...

Move comes after Humanists UK pointed out that page contravened crowdfunding website’s termsThe crowdfunding website GoFundMe has taken down a page launched in June by campaigners against LGBT education in schools.Humanists UK had twice demanded the page be removed because it contravened GoFundMe’s terms. There had been no response until GoFundMe was contacted for comment by the Guardian on Tuesday morning. Continue reading...

Commission says invigilators cannot tell which devices are connected to internetAll watches should be banned from exam halls as more devices become connected to the internet, an inquiry into cheating has found.The Independent Commission on Examination Malpractice, set up by exam boards to investigate the prevalence of cheating in public exams, warned that invigilators increasingly could not tell the difference between smartwatches and traditional watches. Continue reading...

Later this month, more than 1,000 Amazon staffers will walk out to demand action. Rebecca Sheppard is one of the strike’s organizersSince late last year, a group of workers within Amazon have been organizing to push the company to radically reduce its carbon emissions. Yesterday, they announced a major new action: on 20 September, Amazon workers around the world will walk out of their offices to join the Global Climate Strike. So far, more than 1,000 workers have pledged to participate. The organizers have three demands. They want the company to commit to zero emissions by 2030, to have zero custom cloud computing contracts with fossil fuel companies and to spend zero dollars on funding climate-denying lobbyists and politicians.Related: Silicon Valley revolt: meet the tech workers fighting their bosses over Ice, censorship and racism Continue reading...

Vodafone says it would be ‘commercially crazy’ for TPG to create a fourth networkAllowing a $15bn merger between telecommunications companies TPG and Vodafone would snuff out the prospect of a new mobile network to challenge the industry’s dominant players, Telstra and Optus, the competition regulator has told a court.Appearing before the federal court on Tuesday, counsel for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Michael Hodge QC, said it was “entirely commercially realistic” to say that TPG would resume previous plans to roll out a network if the merger was stopped. Continue reading...

Footage posted online appears to show vehicle’s two occupants dozing as car travelled at 90km/h on a highwayA Massachusetts man has posted a video online that appears to show the driver of a Tesla car sleeping as he and a passenger travelled along a highway.Teslas have an autopilot function, but the company says drivers are expected to remain alert. Continue reading...

As Apple prepares to launch a new iPhone, Alex Hern explores the privacy scandal around its automated personal assistant, Siri. Plus, Polly Toynbee on why Jeremy Corbyn is preventing Boris Johnson from calling an electionThe Guardian’s UK technology editor, Alex Hern, talks to Anushka Asthana about the fallout from his revelations that contractors working for Apple were listening to voice recordings of Siri users in order to grade them. The company’s voice-automated personal assistant had recorded confidential information, illegal acts and even Siri users having sex. It subsequently issued an apology and pledged to change the way Siri is run.In the run-up to Apple’s annual product launch, Hern discusses why the Siri privacy breach is just one of the company’s many recent challenges. Continue reading...

Regulators are growing more concerned about company’s impact on smaller companies striving to compete in Google’s marketsFifty US states and territories, led by Texas, announced an investigation into Google’s “potential monopolistic behavior”.The Monday announcement closely followed one from a separate group of states on Friday that disclosed an investigation into Facebook’s market dominance. The two investigations widen the antitrust scrutiny of big tech companies beyond sweeping federal and congressional investigations and enforcement action by European regulators. Continue reading...

The retailer reported a pre-tax loss of €493m despite sales rising by 11.6% to €28bnAmazon received €241m in tax credits last year that it can deduct from future bills for its European business, despite efforts by authorities in Brussels to ensure the company pays more tax.Amazon Europe, which is based in Luxembourg and aggregates the billions of pounds of sales the retailer makes from individual countries across the continent, received the credits after reporting a pre-tax loss of €493m in 2018. Sales rose 11.6% to €28bn. Continue reading...

From ultra-violent alien hunts to a honking, flapping goose simulator, here are our video game highlights for the seasonThe third title in the comic book-inspired sci-fi looter-shooter series takes its familiar cast of antiheroes on another hyperactive, ultra-violent alien hunt across a range of post-apocalyptic planetscapes. The more complex progression system and an incredible arsenal of weapons will thrill fans and newcomers alike. Out 13 September Continue reading...

This week Jordan Erica Webber is joined by Alex Hern, as they look at the scandal that rocked the voice assistant world, and ask whether or not we can trust that voice assistants aren’t eavesdropping on our most private moments Continue reading...

E-safety commissioner given power to monitor sites and order offending websites to be blockedAustralian internet service providers have been ordered to block eight websites hosting video of the Christchurch terrorist attacks.In March, shortly after the Christchurch massacre, Australian telecommunications companies and internet providers began proactively blocking websites hosting the video of the Christchurch shooter murdering more than 50 people or the shooter’s manifesto. Continue reading...

Forget Apple’s much-vaunted iOS safeguards – attackers have been quietly breaking and entering for yearsWhenever there’s something that some people value, there will be a marketplace for it. A few years ago, I spent a fascinating hour with a detective exploring the online marketplaces that exist in the so-called “dark web” (shorthand for the parts of the web you can only get to with a Tor browser and some useful addresses). The marketplaces we were interested in were ones in which stolen credit card details and other confidential data are traded.What struck me most was the apparent normality of it all. It’s basically eBay for crooks. There are sellers offering goods (ranges of stolen card details, Facebook, Gmail and other logins etc) and punters interested in purchasing same. Different categories of these stolen goods are more or less expensive. (The most expensive logins, as I remember it, were for PayPal). But the funniest thing of all was that some of the marketplaces operated a “reputation” system, just like eBay’s. Some vendors had 90%-plus ratings for reliability etc. Some purchasers likewise. Others were less highly regarded. So, one reflected, there really is honour among thieves. Continue reading...

The Galaxy deserves to be so much more than an airport cab – it’s a star in its own rightFord Galaxy

State attorneys general are opening the latest inquiries into the companies’ practices as government scrutiny growsAttorneys general in a number of US states are opening antitrust investigations into Facebook, New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, announced on Friday. A separate inquiry into Google is expected to be announced Monday.The new investigations mark yet another blow to the major tech players, which have faced increasing scrutiny from the government – most prominently an antitrust investigation by the Department of Justice. Continue reading...

New York state attorney general said bipartisan coalition investigating if Facebook stifled competition and put users at riskDozens of US states are set to launch antitrust and privacy investigations into Facebook and Google as scrutiny of the big tech firms increases in the US.The investigation into Alphabet’s Google unit will examine the search giant’s effect on the digital advertising market and its impact on consumers. In a separate but overlapping investigation the states’ leading law enforcers will investigate Facebook’s privacy record and its advertising model. Continue reading...

Exclusive: voice assistant’s responses were rewritten so it never says word ‘feminism’An internal project to rewrite how Apple’s Siri voice assistant handles “sensitive topics” such as feminism and the #MeToo movement advised developers to respond in one of three ways: “don’t engage”, “deflect” and finally “inform”.The project saw Siri’s responses explicitly rewritten to ensure that the service would say it was in favour of “equality”, but never say the word feminism – even when asked direct questions about the topic. Continue reading...

Drake exec-produces the east London gang drama, while Sacha Baron Cohen gets serious for a real-life Syrian espionage sagaSad lad rapper Drake saved writer Ronan Bennett’s east London drama from cancellation with this Netflix revival. With the move from Channel 4 comes a host of new stars to add to Ashley Walters’s titular drug-dealing role, including MCs Dave and Little Simz. The acting is muted and the story is brutal, engaging and, just sometimes, hopeful.

They were weird and obscure and no one else remembers them – here are the old computer games that still give us the chillsIt was Caverns of Khafka for me. Discovered one rainy afternoon in a Debenhams bargain bin, this weird Commodore 64 dungeon exploration game totally freaked me out with its funeral dirge soundtrack and horrific screeching bats. When I tried to tell my friends about it, they looked confused and concerned – no one else had ever heard of it. I started to think I was the only person in the world who had explored this disorientating adventure – it took on a sinister air.In the pre-internet era of gaming, it was common to stumble upon these hidden oddities. The industry was more disorganised with smaller publishers distributing games that were often programmed by eccentric loners, and there was only a handful of specialist magazines to call them out. Games were snuck onto the shelves of newsagents and video rental shops, or into car boot sales and computer fairs, and you often had no idea what they were until you bought them and loaded them up. And by then it was far too late. Continue reading...

PC; Xbox One

The company has touted its new privacy and security features but critics are skeptical given Facebook’s track record on user dataFacebook announced on Thursday it is rolling out its newest service across the US, a platform for dating. What could go wrong? A lot, it turns out.The new service, Facebook Dating, can be accessed in the Facebook app but requires users to create a separate dating-specific profile. It then links users with potential matches based on location, indicated preferences, events attended, groups and other factors. Facebook Dating will integrate with Instagram and offer a feature called Secret Crush, which allows users to compile a list of friends they have an interest in, to be matched with if the crush lists them as well. Continue reading...

New made-for-smartphone series Content gets a major publicity boost with thousands of shares on social mediaA new ABC made-for-smartphone series has gone viral after a clip of a fictional car crash during a Facebook live stream was mistaken by many as a real accident.Don’t stream and drive, thot pic.twitter.com/AUSEJ273u7 Continue reading...

Sales of electric vehicles overall have doubled in the past yearThe Tesla Model 3 has rapidly become the UK’s third most popular new car as sales of electric vehicles overall doubled in the past year.New owners registered 2,082 Tesla Model 3 cars in August, according to data published on Thursday by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Continue reading...

PC, PlayStation 4; Foam Sword/Double Fine Productions

Being a YouTuber is now the most popular aspiration for children today, according to a recent survey. In 2018, the site’s highest earner was a seven-year-old American toy reviewer. But the video platform has been mired in controversy over its failure to protect children. Richard Sprenger meets some of the children plying their trade on YouTube, viral sensation Rebecca Black, and visits a Los Angeles summer camp where kids as young as six learn the tricks of the trade Continue reading...