Walmart Announces Membership Service in Attempt to Compete With Amazon
Walmart+ will cost $98 a year to receive free shipping for orders over $35. The company hopes to build on the success of its pickup grocery ...
Home / Archive for August 2020
Facebook Could Block Sharing of News Stories in Australia
The move, a response to pressure to pay publishers when their stories are posted on the social network, could add to internet silos springin...
TikTok Deal Faces Complications as U.S. and China Ratchet Up Tit-for-Tat
China’s new export rules, which could delay or scuttle a sale of TikTok, have further turned giant companies into pawns in a geopolitical st...
Drone Delivery? Amazon Moves Closer With F.A.A. Approval
The agency said it had issued a certificate clearing the way for the company to use drones to fly packages to its customers’ doorsteps.
TikTok Deal Faces Complications as U.S. and China Ratchet Up Tit-for-Tat
China’s new export rules, which could delay or scuttle a sale of TikTok, have further turned giant companies into pawns in a geopolitical st...
Drone Delivery? Amazon Moves Closer With F.A.A. Approval
The agency said it had issued a certificate clearing the way for the company to use drones to fly packages to its customers’ doorsteps.
Apple’s App War Needs Peace
Changes to Apple’s app store could make developers’ lives — and our smartphones — better.
Preaching Equality, Start-Up Didn’t Practice It With Employees
Current and former workers at Carta, a hot Silicon Valley fintech company, said they were belittled, excluded and punished if they spoke up....
Big Oil Faded. Will Big Tech?
Not that long ago, it was American oil powers — not tech giants — that ruled the economy and influenced world events.
Myriam Sarachik Never Gave Up on Physics
The New York-based scientist overcame sexism and personal tragedy to make major contributions to the field, for which she received recogniti...
TikTok Deal Is Complicated by New Rules From China Over Tech Exports
In an 11th-hour twist, Beijing raised a potential hurdle for a sale of TikTok, further roiling the race to buy the Chinese-owned app.
Humans Take a Step Closer to ‘Flying Cars’
A Japanese company said it had completed a manned flight of its electrical vertical takeoff and landing machine. Experts say the technology ...
Will More Data Make Us Healthier?
Trackers can collect all sorts of information on our health, sleep and fitness. But then what?
Why Does Walmart Want to Buy TikTok?
The app’s Chinese version, Douyin, is trying to become a mobile marketplace where video stars promote products. That could be a model for th...
In Bid for TikTok, Microsoft Flexes Its Power in Washington
The tech giant, once an example of how not to operate in the nation’s capital, now has a successful influence operation there.
What if Facebook Is the Real ‘Silent Majority’?
Right-wing influencers are dominating the political discussion on Facebook, raising questions about whether it will translate into electoral...
Walmart Joining Microsoft in TikTok Bid
The retail giant said it was teaming up with Microsoft, which has been negotiating for weeks to buy the popular Chinese-owned video app.
Big Oil Faded. Will Big Tech?
Not that long ago, it was American oil powers — not tech giants — that ruled the economy and influenced world events.
Intel Slips, and a High-Profile Supercomputer Is Delayed
The chip maker was selected for an Energy Department project meant to show American tech independence. But problems at Intel have thrown a w...
TikTok Chief Executive Kevin Mayer Resigns
Less than four months after joining the video app, Mr. Mayer said he was leaving. TikTok has been under pressure from the Trump administrati...
Three Charged With Leaking Movies as Part of Global Piracy Ring
U.S. officials said members of the Sparks Group, an elite piracy network, fraudulently obtained and distributed movies ahead of release date...
The Lesson We’re Learning From TikTok? It’s All About Our Data
We should minimize how much we share with all of our favorite and not-so-favorite apps. Here’s how.
What’s a Palantir? The Tech Industry’s Next Big I.P.O.
A tech start-up named for objects in “The Lord of the Rings” has become a major government contractor. But what it does is not easy to under...
How TikTok’s Talks With Microsoft Turned Into a Soap Opera
Neither side wanted a big deal. But what began as talks about a small investment ballooned with interventions from President Trump.
How the Hollywood Fix Cornered the Influencer Paparazzi Market
Fletcher Greene, 38, used to photograph all sorts of celebrities. But when the pandemic hit, the A-listers hid while Gen Z’s rising stars st...
In South India, Amazon Builds Its Largest Office Yet
As Amazon signals its growth in India with its office in Hyderabad, its largest in the world, local business owners are pushing back.
Facebook Plans Legal Action After Thailand Tells It to Mute Critics
After a warning from the government, the company restricted access to a Facebook group critical of the Thai monarchy. But it said it would c...
Ant Group, the Alibaba Payment Affiliate, Files to Go Public
The company, whose flagship Alipay app has helped drive the boom in mobile payments in China, is planning to list shares in Hong Kong and Sh...
With Hacks and Cameras, Beijing’s Electronic Dragnet Closes on Hong Kong
Under a new national security law, the police are targeting the social media accounts of executives, politicians and activists. American int...
To Fight Apple and Google’s Grip, Fortnite Creator Mounts a Crusade
Tim Sweeney, chief executive of Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, has railed against tech power. “The market is out of control,” he said.
TikTok Sues U.S. Government Over Trump Ban
The suit escalates a bitter back-and-forth between the popular video app and American officials.
TikTok Sues Trump Administration
The suit escalates a bitter back-and-forth between the popular video app and American officials.
Twitter Flags Trump Tweet for Dissuading Voting
The social media service hid the president’s post about ballot drop boxes, saying it violated Twitter’s election integrity rules.
Electric Vehicle Makers Find a Back Door to Wall Street
Special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, are helping them and other fledgling companies raise money and gain coveted stock listings....
Threatened by Facebook Disinformation, a Monk Flees Cambodia
A smear campaign linked to the Cambodian government went viral on the social media platform, sending an activist Buddhist cleric into exile ...
TikTok Plans to Challenge Trump Administration Over Executive Order
The popular video app, which is owned by a Chinese internet company, said it had been deprived of due process when President Trump moved to ...
Palantir, Tech’s Next Big I.P.O., Lost $580 Million in 2019
The Silicon Valley company could be the next in a string of tech outfits to go public long before they have turned a profit.
Jeff Wilke, Amazon’s Chief of Consumer, to Retire Next Year
Mr. Wilke, who has been a key lieutenant to Jeff Bezos, is departing after building the e-commerce business for two decades.
Facebook Braces Itself for Trump to Cast Doubt on Election Results
The world’s biggest social network is working out what steps to take should President Trump use its platform to dispute the vote.
Mark Zuckerberg Questioned Under Oath in F.T.C. Antitrust Inquiry
It was the first known time that regulators directly interviewed a chief executive of one of the tech companies being scrutinized for potent...
Ann Syrdal, Who Helped Give Computers a Female Voice, Dies at 74
As a researcher at AT&T, she helped lay the groundwork for modern digital assistants like Siri and Alexa.
Former Uber Security Chief Charged With Concealing Hack
Joe Sullivan, who led Uber’s security team through the company’s most tumultuous period, was fired by the company’s newly installed chief ex...
Kamala Harris's Big Tech Connections
Silicon Valley has enthusiastically backed Ms. Harris since she first ran for state attorney general in California a decade ago.
Uber and Lyft Threaten to Shut Down in California
The companies, under legal pressure to reclassify their drivers as employees, said they would halt rides unless an appeals court gives them ...
Protect Your Privacy and the Environment While Upgrading Your Gear
Got a new phone, tablet or computer and want to repurpose or responsibly recycle the old one? Here’s a guide to moving on.
British Grading Debacle Shows Pitfalls of Automating Government
The uproar over an algorithm that lowered the grades of 40 percent of students is a sign of battles to come regarding the use of technology ...
Bryce Hall, TikTok Influencer, Has Power Shut Off by Los Angeles
This month, Mayor Eric Garcetti said that Angelenos who violated the city’s guidelines on gatherings during a health crisis would have their...
Airbnb, a ‘Sharing Economy’ Pioneer, Files to Go Public
The home rental company, which was privately valued at $31 billion, is trying to go public after its business was crushed by the pandemic.
QAnon Groups Removed by Facebook
The social network also said it was restricting another 1,950 groups, 440 pages on Facebook and more than 10,000 accounts on Instagram relat...
Trump Says Oracle Could ‘Handle’ Owning TikTok
President Trump, who has been pushing for a sale of the Chinese-owned video app, did not say whether Oracle would be a better buyer than Mic...
Trump Says Oracle Could ‘Handle’ Owning TikTok
President Trump, who has been pushing for a sale of the Chinese-owned video app, did not say whether Oracle would be a better buyer than Mic...
Social Justice Guides Are All Over Instagram
Artists, activists and academics are dropping knowledge and resources on Instagram in an effort to democratize access to information.
Apple Is Worth $2 Trillion, Punctuating Big Tech’s Grip
Apple is the first U.S. company to reach $2 trillion in value, capping a staggering ascent that began in the pandemic.
Alabama’s High Stakes Experiment: Reopening Universities as Virus Looms
The state is betting its robust student testing and technology program will be enough to hinder campus outbreaks, even as universities in ot...
Internet and Power Outage? It's Storm Season
Bad weather and blackouts now destroy our ability to work, see family and friends, buy things and generally pretend that 2020 is normal.
Big Tech’s Domination of Business Reaches New Heights
As the economy contracts and many companies struggle to survive, the biggest tech companies are amassing wealth and influence in ways unseen...
With Virtual Reality, Caregivers Can Become Patients
Carrie Shaw’s struggle with her mother’s dementia led her to create a company that allows users to experience the struggles of growing older...
How Your Phone Is Used to Track You, and What You Can Do About It
Smartphone location data, often used by marketers, has been useful for studying the spread of the coronavirus. But the information raises tr...
Amazon Sticks With Office Expansion Plans in New York and Elsewhere
The additional space and workers, envisioned before the pandemic, are a sign of how large tech companies continue to prosper.
What Is QAnon, the Viral Pro-Trump Conspiracy Theory?
Explaining the “big tent conspiracy theory” that falsely claims that President Trump is facing down a shadowy cabal of Democratic pedophiles...
What's the Deal With That Strawberry Dress on TikTok?
How fantasies about the pastoral, lost innocence and future festivity converged in one diaphanous pink $490 garment.
Uber and Lyft Consider Franchise-Like Model in California
Under pressure to classify their freelance drivers as full-time employees, the ride-hailing companies are discussing another option.
America Has Two Feet. It’s About to Lose One of Them
For decades, U.S. metrologists have juggled two conflicting measurements for the foot. Henceforth, only one shall rule.
Trump Administration Widens Huawei Dragnet
The Commerce Department placed new restrictions on the Chinese tech giant’s ability to work with the global chip industry.
Toxic Trade-Offs at Facebook
Facebook groups led to the rise of QAnon. We can only imagine what could happen with encryption.
Trump’s Attacks on TikTok and WeChat Could Further Fracture the Internet
The president’s restrictions on Chinese tech may be part of an eye-for-an-eye logic called reciprocity. The price could be a global patchwor...
Coronavirus Doctors Battle Another Scourge: Misinformation
Physicians say they regularly treat people more inclined to believe what they read on Facebook than what a medical professional tells them.
You May Not Know This Pandemic Winner, but Your Tween Probably Does
Millions of children have flocked to the online gaming site Roblox since March. That’s helping game developers, some as young as 16, make a ...
Kamala Harris and Disinformation: Debunking 3 Viral Falsehoods
False and misleading information about Ms. Harris has surged in the days since she joined the Biden ticket.
Pinterest Employees Demand Gender and Race Equality
More than 200 said they stood in solidarity with three former co-workers who have accused the company of discrimination.
How Apple’s 30% App Store Cut Became a Boon and a Headache
App makers like the game company Epic and the music service Spotify are challenging Apple’s right to a large cut of their sales. Regulators ...
Debunking 3 Viral Falsehoods About Kamala Harris
False and misleading information about Ms. Harris has surged in the days since she joined the Biden ticket.
A Steal Might Actually Be a Raw Deal
Netflix, Apple and the rest must figure out what bundles we love, and which we’ll grow to hate.
Trying to Make It Big Online? Getting Signed Isn’t Everything
Young people come to Los Angeles in droves with dreams of fame and fortune. Once they’re discovered, it’s not always sunny.
A Third of TikTok’s U.S. Users May Be 14 or Under, Raising Safety Questions
Three current and former employees expressed concerns about the Chinese-owned app’s safeguards for preteen children.
Apple Bans Fortnite From Its App Store
The hugely popular gaming app was removed by Apple after it said Fortnite’s creator, Epic Games, violated its App Store guidelines.
Labor Dept. Lawyer Says Trump Appointee Intervened in Oracle Case
A litigator asserts that she faced reprisal after saying Secretary Eugene Scalia was set to settle a discrimination suit for a sum she found...
A playbook for combating QAnon
QAnon can no longer be ignored. What internet companies could do to stop its spread.
What if QAnon Is the New Tea Party?
Followers of the pro-Trump conspiracy theory are winning elections and worrying moderate Republicans. Sound familiar?
North Korean Hacking Group Attacks Israeli Defense Industry
Israel says the attack was thwarted, but a cybersecurity firm says it was successful. Some officials fear that classified data stolen by Nor...
Google, Facebook and Others Form Tech Coalition to Secure U.S. Election
The move formalizes discussions that the companies and government agencies have been holding to fight disinformation on social media.
Amazon Is So Much Bricks and Mortar
E-commerce is not a purely online activity. It affects our real world, too, in both constructive and potentially harmful ways.
We Tested Instagram Reels, the TikTok Clone. What a Dud.
TikTok might not be winning over President Trump, but it sure beats its Instagram copycat for making and sharing short videos.
QAnon Followers Are Hijacking the #SaveTheChildren Movement
Fans of the pro-Trump conspiracy theory are clogging anti-trafficking hotlines, infiltrating Facebook groups and raising false fears about c...
Pinterest Accused of Gender Bias in Suit by Former No. 2 Executive
Françoise Brougher, Pinterest’s former chief operating officer, said she was fired after speaking up about mistreatment.
Why Do People Think Scott Borgerson is Married to Ghislaine Maxwell?
A maritime expert surfaces in the proceedings against the longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein.
In Victory for Qualcomm, Appeals Court Throws Out Antitrust Ruling
A three-judge panel reversed a 2019 ruling that found that Qualcomm had abused its monopoly position in wireless chips.
Uber’s Next Idea: A New Labor Law
Uber’s “third way” would offer its drivers flexibility plus some benefits. It’s not totally crazy.
A Bible Burning, a Russian News Agency and a Story Too Good to Check Out
A story about protesters burning Bibles drew condemnation from conservatives. It now appears to have been wildly exaggerated — and the first...
Facial Recognition Start-Up Mounts a First Amendment Defense in Privacy Suits
Clearview AI has hired Floyd Abrams, a top lawyer, to help fight claims that selling its data to law enforcement agencies violates privacy l...
The Global Internet Is a Mirage
The TikTok deal risks fracturing the internet. But let’s be honest, it’s always been fractured.
After a Flop, Amazon Makes Another Foray Into Video Games
Amazon said it was rebranding Twitch Prime, in another attempt to crack the video game market after a big budget game effort failed.
Amazon Satellites Add to Astronomers’ Worries About the Night Sky
The F.C.C. approved the company’s 3,236-satellite constellation, which aims to provide high-speed internet service around the world.
Start-Ups Braced for the Worst. The Worst Never Came.
The doomsday warnings about tech start-ups failing in the pandemic have not yielded the shakeout that many expected a few months ago.
Big Tech Makes Inroads With the Biden Campaign
While Joe Biden has criticized the largest tech companies, his campaign and transition teams have welcomed allies of Facebook, Google, Amazo...
Frances Allen, Who Helped Hardware Understand Software, Dies at 88
One of the few women in the computer industry in its early days, she paved the way for the efficient, lightning-fast apps of today.
Trump’s Orders on WeChat and TikTok Are Uncertain. That May Be the Point.
The restrictions on the two Chinese-owned apps followed a familiar model for other policy announcements on China from the Trump administrati...
What if Your Home Could Be Mobile, but Also You Could Park It?
A start-up rethinks a little about how to live.
Trump Swings Against TikTok, WeChat
President Trump signed executive orders against two popular China-based apps. Let me try to explain.
This Is Not a Desk Chair
The pandemic has put video game equipment in unusually high demand. The gaming chair is ascendant.
At Talkspace, Start-Up Culture Collides With Mental Health Concerns
The therapy-by-text company made burner phones available for fake reviews and doesn’t adequately respect client privacy, former employees sa...
Targeting WeChat, Trump Takes Aim at China’s Bridge to the World
The all-purpose app, which the administration is restricting along with TikTok, is how many Chinese living abroad stay in touch with each ot...
Facebook Gaming Finally Clears Apple Hurdle, Arriving in App Store
Saying Apple forced changes during months of rejection, the social network is releasing a version for iPhone and iPad users today.
Trump Targets WeChat and TikTok, in Sharp Escalation With China
The government cited national security concerns in announcing sweeping restrictions on two popular Chinese social media networks, a move tha...
Uber’s Revenue Craters, as Deliveries Surge in Pandemic
Uber said revenue fell 29 percent in the second quarter because people traveled less, but food deliveries soared.
Why Influencers Won’t Stop Partying Anytime Soon
Creators in Los Angeles say that hosting and posting about big social gatherings is part of their job, coronavirus or no.
Chat Group Becomes Target of Moscow’s Wrath as Security Crackdown Widens
The group started out as an online discussion of hobbies, schoolwork and sometimes politics. But then it was infiltrated by an informant for...
The Cult of the Tech Genius
It’s time to rethink how we treat and enable these brilliant — but damaging — tech personalities.
Facebook Removes Trump Campaign’s Misleading Coronavirus Video
It was the first time Facebook took down a post by Mr. Trump’s campaign for spreading virus misinformation, but it did not signal a change t...
Facebook Must Better Police Online Hate, State Attorneys General Say
The call from 20 state officials adds to the rising pressure facing Mark Zuckerberg and his company.
The Tech You Love
GPS, Spotify, Pokémon Go: Our readers tell us about the tech that makes their lives better.
With TikTok Mired in Uncertainty, Facebook Pounces With Instagram Reels
Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, rolled out a new product that lets people create 15-second videos and share them.
See for Yourself: How Airplanes Are Cleaned Today
Airlines are fine-tuning their cleaning procedures — where they clean, how frequently and with which tools. This is what the new processes l...
Is TikTok a Good Buy? It Depends on What’s Included
TikTok’s most valuable assets, a hyper-effective algorithm and a community of popular creators, may not be as easy to acquire as the company...
Star Technologist Who Crossed Google Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison
Anthony Levandowski, a onetime star Silicon Valley engineer of self-driving cars, had pleaded guilty to stealing trade secrets.
Disney, Staggered by Pandemic, Sees a Streaming Boom
The company lost $4.7 billion in the latest quarter, but also reported that Disney+ has about 60.5 million subscribers after nine months of ...
Apple Replaces Phil Schiller as Its Top Marketing Executive
Mr. Schiller will be replaced by Greg Joswiak, a longtime executive at the company.
Google Faces European Inquiry Into Fitbit Acquisition
Authorities are investigating how Google will use health and wellness data collected from Fitbit’s fitness tracking devices.
When Taming Big Tech Goes Wrong
What the United States can learn from Europe’s efforts to restrain America’s tech giants.
For Robots, It’s a Time to Shine (and Maybe Disinfect)
The pandemic has turned cleaning and other mundane building tasks into a challenge, stoking interest in machines as cost-effective solutions...
Distilleries Raced to Make Hand Sanitizer for the Pandemic. No Longer.
Even though coronavirus cases have surged again, craft distilleries say the business of making the disinfectant has become more difficult.
F.T.C. Investigating Twitter for Potential Privacy Violations
The social media company said the agency was examining whether it had misused people’s personal information to serve ads.
TikTok, Trump and an Impulse to Act as C.E.O. to Corporate America
The president’s interventions in company dealings based on his own instincts are a departure from the arm’s-length approach of predecessors ...
Facebook Bets Big on Future of N.Y.C., and Offices, With New Lease
Despite the pandemic, the social media giant leased all the office space in the former main post office at Penn Station in Midtown.
Trump Says Microsoft Can Bid for TikTok
The president said he did not object to a potential acquisition of the Chinese-owned app, retreating from comments about banning the service...
The Strange Saga of TikTok
The chief executive of a big tech company negotiated directly with the U.S. president over an app. Say what?
Google Pixel 4A Review: At $350, a Win for Those on a Budget
Yes, you can now pay less than $399 for a smartphone — and it won’t stink.
How TikTok’s Owner Tried, and Failed, to Cross the U.S.-China Divide
The founder of ByteDance, Zhang Yiming, dreamed of building a global tech company based in China. Then the geopolitical reality set in.
How TikTok’s Owner Tried, and Failed, to Cross the U.S.-China Divide
The founder of ByteDance, Zhang Yiming, dreamed of building a global tech company based in China. Then the geopolitical reality set in.
How TikTok’s Owner Tried, and Failed, to Cross the U.S.-China Divide
The founder of ByteDance, Zhang Yiming, dreamed of building a global tech company based in China. Then the geopolitical reality set in.
With TikTok, ‘Uncool’ Microsoft Aims for the Love of Tweens
Buying one of the largest and most influential social networks in the country could change the perception of the tech giant.
This Tool Could Protect Your Photos From Facial Recognition
Researchers at the University of Chicago want you to be able to post selfies without worrying that the next Clearview AI will use them to id...
TikTok Ban: Creators Respond to Trump
The uncertainty over the future of the wildly popular video app has brought chaos to its user community — and to the entertainment and adver...
From Minecraft Tricks to Twitter Hack: A Florida Teen’s Troubled Online Path
The teenage “mastermind” of the recent Twitter breach, who had a difficult family life, poured his energy into video games and cryptocurrenc...
More Than 1,000 Companies Boycotted Facebook. Did It Work?
Major advertisers on Facebook reduced their spending by millions of dollars in July, but not enough to significantly damage the platform’s r...
NASA Astronauts Safely Return to Earth: ‘Thank You for Flying SpaceX’
Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley returned to Earth in the first water landing by an American space crew since 1975.
Nordstrom Uses Influencers to Promote Safety and Draw Anxious Shoppers
Some retailers are turning to popular social media personalities to detail post-pandemic protocols and boost the allure of visiting their st...
What’s Going On With TikTok? Here’s What We Know
President Trump is talking about banning the app. TikTok may also sell its U.S. operations. Let’s sort through it all here.
ByteDance Said to Offer to Sell TikTok’s U.S. Operations
The Trump administration has said the video app poses security concerns because of its Chinese ownership.
Why a Data Breach at a Genealogy Site Has Privacy Experts Worried
Nearly two-thirds of GEDmatch’s users opt out of helping law enforcement. For a brief window this month, that didn’t matter.
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