Washington, United States | AFP | The Senate Intelligence Committee has asked top tech companies Google, Facebook and Twitter to testify about Russian interference in US politics, a Senate aide confirmed Wednesday. The three internet and online social media giants are expected to appear on November 1 in an open hearing …
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Twitter aims to boost appeal with new 280-character tweet limit San Francisco, United States | AFP | Twitter is testing allowing tweets to be expanded to 280 characters — double the existing limit — in the latest effort to boost flagging growth at the social network. San Francisco-based Twitter said …
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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda Communications Communication (UCC) has accused Ugandan radio and televisions of relaying live broadcasts they say “are inciting the public, discriminating, stirring up hatred, promoting a culture of violence among viewers and are likely to create public insecurity and violence.” UCC directed broadcasters to stop …
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Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russia’s internet watchdog on Tuesday warned Facebook it would be banned in 2018 unless it complies with a law on storing local users’ data. “The law is compulsory for all,” the head of Roskomnadzor telecoms watchdog Alexander Zharov told journalists in Moscow, quoted by Interfax news …
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Beijing, China | AFP | Chinese authorities appear to have severely disrupted the WhatsApp messaging app in the latest step to tighten censorship as they prepare for a major Communist Party congress next month. Users in China have reported widespread disruptions in recent days to the Facebook-owned service, which previously …
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London, United Kingdom | AFP | An activist with a London-based rights group was convicted of a terrorism offence on Monday for refusing to divulge the passwords for his phone and laptop computer to the police. Muhammad Rabbani, international director at the Cage advocacy group, was stopped for questioning at …
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Milan, Italy | AFP | Dutch designer Anouk Wipprecht has a vision for a world in which people stop telling themselves little lies about their emotions — and she believes high-tech fashion is the key. Her creations, which combine digital technology with haute couture, play with social norms and aim to …
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Moscow, Russia | AFP | The Kremlin on Friday distanced itself from the controversy over Russia-linked Facebook ads which may have influenced last year’s US election, saying Moscow had nothing to do with them. “We don’t know who places ads on Facebook and how,” President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told …
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Frankfurt am Main, Germany | AFP | German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz said Thursday it would invest $1 billion in an Alabama factory as it prepares for electric vehicle production in the United States. “We are significantly growing our manufacturing footprint here in Alabama… We will be able to quickly ramp up …
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San Francisco, United States | AFP | Google is set to announce it is buying part of Taiwan-based smartphone maker HTC, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. The deal for HTC’s smartphone design unit would give the US tech giant more control of its mobile handset hardware as it seeks to …
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The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price