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Data theft: Zuckerberg meets lawmakers, Congress releases his testimony

Ahead of his hearing in the Senate and House on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Monday met with some lawmakers on Capitol Hill here, according to CBS News.The hearings will take place in connection with the massive data breach by the analytics company Cambridge Analytica.Zuckerberg had earlier apologised for data breach and had said that the platform had made 'mistakes' as per media reports.Later it was reported that there was a building pressure on Zuckerberg from lawmakers, media and public to testify in front of the Congress.It has been reported that the social networking site Facebook had compromised with the personal data of over 87 million Facebook users to Cambridge Analytica.On a related note, Congress on Monday released Zuckerberg's testimony.Here's Zuckerberg's full testimony:Chairman Walden, Ranking Member Pallone, and Members of the Committee,We face a number of important issues around privacy, safety, and democracy, and you will ...

YouTube illegally collecting data on children, claim protection groups

Just like Facebook, Google also has been collecting data and that too of children, a coalition of 23 child advocacy, consumer and privacy groups, has claimed.The group has filed a complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in this regard, according to The Guardian.The group, in its complaint, has alleged that despite the search-engine giant claiming that the video-sharing website is only for those aged 13 and above, Google is aware that children below that age use the site.The group says Google collects information on the kids and then put tailor-made ads on the website to generate revenue."Google profits immensely by delivering ads to kids and must comply with Coppa (US Children's Online Privacy Protection Act). It's time for the FTC to hold Google accountable for its illegal data collection and advertising practices," The Guardian quoted Josh Golin, a member of the group, as saying.According to the group, Google collects personal information in the form of location, device

YouTube illegally collecting data on children, claims protection groups

Just like Facebook, Google also has been collecting data and that too of children, a coalition of 23 child advocacy, consumer and privacy groups, has claimed.The group has filed a complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in this regard, according to The Guardian.The group, in its complaint, has alleged that despite the search-engine giant claiming that the video-sharing website is only for those aged 13 and above, Google is aware that children below that age use the site.The group says Google collects information on the kids and then put tailor-made ads on the website to generate revenue."Google profits immensely by delivering ads to kids and must comply with Coppa (US Children's Online Privacy Protection Act). It's time for the FTC to hold Google accountable for its illegal data collection and advertising practices," The Guardian quoted Josh Golin, a member of the group, as saying.According to the group, Google collects personal information in the form of location, device

Cambridge Analytica: Zuckerberg to testify before US Congress

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify before the United States Congress on Monday regarding the massive data breach by the analytics company Cambridge Analytica.Zuckerberg had earlier apologised for data breach and had said that the platform had made 'mistakes' as per media reports.Later it was reported that there was a building pressure on Zuckerberg from lawmakers, media and public to testify in front of the Congress.It has been reported that the social networking site Facebook had compromised with the personal data of over 87 million Facebook users to Cambridge Analytica.Further Cambridge Analytica is accused of harvesting personal data of Facebook users to influence elections in several countries including the US presidential elections.

'My mistake, I'm sorry,' Facebook's Zuckerberg to tell Congress: prepared text

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg will accept responsibility for the social network's failure to protect private data and prevent manipulation of the platform, according to testimony released on the eve of his first Congressional appearance. "We didn't take a broad enough view of our responsibility, and that was a big mistake. It was my mistake, and I'm sorry," Zuckerberg said in his written testimony released by a House of Representatives panel. "I started Facebook, I run it, and I'm responsible for what happens here." Zuckerberg is to testify before senators tomorrow, and a House panel on Wednesday.

German physics Nobel laureate Peter Gruenberg dead at 78

German physicist Peter Gruenberg, a joint Nobel Prize winner whose work revolutionised digital data storage, has died aged 78, his research centre said Monday. Professor Gruenberg died last week, said a statement by the Research Centre Juelich near Cologne, mourning the loss of "an excellent researcher" and "well-respected and popular colleague". Gruenberg received the 2007 Nobel prize for physics, together with French scientist Albert Fert, after both had separately discovered so-called giant magnetoresistance (GMR) which led to a breakthrough in the development of gigabyte hard disks. Their work laid the foundations for the field of spintronics, which exploits the quantum mechanical spin of electrons for micro- and nanoelectronics, with applications ranging from video tape to MP3 players and hard disks, said the centre. "Without exaggeration one can say Peter Gruenberg and his discovery of giant magnetoresistance decisively changed our lives," said the institute in a ...

China state media say 4 popular news apps suspended

Four popular Chinese news apps have been temporarily removed from the Android store in China following an order from regulators to tighten control over the spread of information, state media reported today. Toutiao, Phoenix News, NetEase News and Tiantian Kuaibao suspended their downloading services before 3 pm today, the Beijing Daily newspaper said on its microblog. It said Toutiao will be suspended for three weeks and will resume service on April 30, while Phoenix will be taken down for two weeks, NetEase for one week and Tiantian for three days. Users can still download the apps from Apple's App Store. Android phones are far more common in China and the government has great sway over domestic communications and Internet platforms. Further details on the regulatory measure were not immediately available and calls to the government's oversight body, the Cyberspace Administration of China, rang unanswered today. China maintains tight control over news sources and heavily censors the .

Apple launches iPhone 8, eight plus in red as special edition to fight AIDS

Apple is the world's largest corporate donor to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, contributing more than $160 million as part of its partnership with RED

New Facebook initiative to insulate upcoming elections from fake news

In yet another bid to prevent fake news and foreign interference in upcoming elections globally including in India, Facebook on Monday announced a new initiative to help provide credible research about the role of social media in elections.

Uber to acquire self-service bicycle firm

Ridesharing giant Uber is set to take over Jump Bikes, a bike-sharing startup offering dockless electric bicycles, both US firms announced today. Jump and Uber were previously partners and 250 red bikes - which could be picked up or dropped off anywhere using built-in GPS - have been available through the Uber app in west San Francisco since the start of the year. The pilot got off to a "very strong start, with riders enjoying a convenient and environmentally friendly way to cruise up and down our trademark hills," Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a blog post, without disclosing the terms of the takeover. "JUMP's CEO Ryan Rzepecki is an impressive entrepreneur who has spent the better part of a decade bringing bike-sharing to life across the globe. I'm thrilled to welcome his team and their stellar product onto the Uber platform," he added. New York-based Jump, which employs around 100 people, will be a subsidiary of Uber - with the goal of making bikes available worldwide using the

After India, Microsoft takes 'Project Sangam' to Middle East, Africa

In a bid to bridge the widening skill gap, Microsoft on Monday announced expansion of the capabilities of its Cloud-powered "Project Sangam" to the Middle East and Africa.

Criminals conceal miners under the guise of legitimate thematic applications: Kaspersky

Multinational cybersecurity and anti-virus provider, Kaspersky Lab's researchers have discovered that more and more cybercriminals are turning their attention to malicious software that is mining cryptocurrencies at the expense of the users' mobile devices.These criminals are getting greedier and now use not only malware but also risk tools, hiding mining capacities in popular football and Virtual Private Network (VPN) applications to profit from hundreds of thousands of victims without their knowledge.The hot topic of cryptocurrency mining could not be ignored by cybercriminals, as they seek to increase their profits.They are mining on computers, servers, laptops and mobile devices.However, it is not only mining malware that they use.The experts at Kaspersky Lab found evidence showing that criminals are adding mining capacities into legitimate applications and spreading them under the guise of football broadcasting and VPN applications - with Brazil and Ukraine as the main ...

Facebook to tell users if their data was shared with CA

Under fire globally for allowing the data breach, social media giant Facebook will today start alerting the 87 million users, including 562,455 in India, whose data may have been compromised as the UK-based Cambridge Analytica pilfered them through an app. The US-based company will send a detailed message at the top of users' news feed, offering information on apps they use and the information they have shared with those apps. It will also tell people if their information may have been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica, the data mining firm accused of harvesting personal information of millions of Facebook users illegally to influence polls in several countries. "As part of this process we will also tell people if their information may have been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica," the company said last week. Facebook users will also have the opportunity to use the link to delete apps and prevent them from collecting more information, CNN reported. Also, all 2.2 ...

Apple co-founder protests Facebook by shutting down account

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is shutting down his Facebook account as the social media giant struggles to cope with the worst privacy crisis in its history. In an email to USA Today, Wozniak says Facebook makes a lot of advertising money from personal details provided by users. He says the "profits are all based on the users info, but the users get none of the profits back." Wozniak says he'd rather pay for Facebook. He says "Apple makes money off of good products, not off of you." Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify on Capitol Hill tomorrow and Wednesday about the company's ongoing data-privacy scandal and how it failed to guard against other abuses of its service. Facebook has announced technical changes intended to address privacy issues.

Samsung Galaxy S8 now available in new colour variant

Samsung India on Monday introduced its last year's flagship Galaxy S8 in burgundy red coloured variant for Rs 49,990.

True Balance app rolls out postpaid balance check, bill payment feature

Mobile balance management app True Balance today said it has rolled out postpaid balance check and bill payment feature for Airtel, Idea and Vodafone users. The platform, which rolled out its mobile wallet service earlier this year, said users can now check and pay their postpaid bills through the app using a graphical interface. "By launching operator agnostic postpaid balance check and bill payment feature, coupled with existing prepaid support, we aim to provide a one-stop holistic service to all users," True Balance CEO Charlie Lee said. The app, which started as a mobile balance management service for pre-paid users has crossed more than 1 lakh daily transactions so far, the company said. It has now added digital wallet and financial services to its portfolio.

Zuckerberg to face angry lawmakers as Facebook firestorm rages

Mark Zuckerberg will appear before US lawmakers this week as a firestorm rocks Facebook over its data privacy scandal, with pressure mounting for new regulations on social media platforms. The 33-year-old chief executive is expected to face a grilling before a Senate panel Tuesday, and follow up with an appearance in the House of Representatives the following day. It comes amid a raft of inquiries on both sides of the Atlantic following disclosures that data on 87 million users was hijacked and improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica, a British political consultancy working for Donald Trumps presidential campaign. Yesterday, Facebook said it had suspended another data analysis firm, US-based Cubeyou, after CNBC reported it used Facebook user information -- harvested from psychological testing apps, as in the case of Cambridge Analytica -- for commercial purposes. "These are serious claims and we have suspended CubeYou from Facebook while we investigate them," a Facebook ...

Tobacco products promoted on Facebook despite restrictive policies

Tobacco products are marketed and sold on Facebook - without regard for the age of potential buyers - despite policies restricting promotion of such items, a Stanford study has found. Although Facebook bars paid tobacco advertisements, the study found extensive unpaid, or "organic," marketing via brand-sponsored Facebook pages. In a comparison of the pages' content with Facebook policies covering commerce, page content and paid advertising, the study showed numerous instances of conflict with the rules. Inconsistencies and unexplained changes to some of the policies made it unclear exactly how those rules apply. Among 108 company-sponsored pages for leading brands of cigars, e-cigarettes, hookah tobacco and smokeless tobacco, more than half provided buttons allowing users to buy products. About two-thirds of the pages included sale promotions, such as coupons and discounts, and all but one featured imagery of a tobacco product. Though Facebook requires restricted access for people ...

OPPO F7: Flaunt selfies, relish more screen space (Tech Review)

Chinese handset maker OPPO introduced its photo-focused "F" series in January 2016. The company has now refreshed the line-up with F7 at Rs 21,990 for the selfie-loving generation.

Snapchat brings back 'reverse chronological order'

Snapchat has brought back an earlier feature called "reverse chronological order" into its app that allowed users to see recent stories first.