Australia to charge tech companies for news content if they do not pay
SYDNEY — Australia’s center-left government said on Thursday it planned new rules that would charge big tech firms millions of dollars if they did not pay Australian media companies for news hosted on their platforms. The move piles pressure on…
UN digital program seeks to empower Africa’s public workers
NAIROBI, KENYA — The United Nations, Microsoft and Kenya’s Ministry of Information last week launched a digital and artificial intelligence center in Nairobi to train African public servants and accelerate the development and use of online services. Officials said the…
US sanctions Chinese cybersecurity firm for ‘malicious’ activities
WASHINGTON — The United States slapped sanctions on a Chinese cybersecurity company and one of its employees Tuesday, accusing it of compromising more than 80,000 firewalls in a 2020 attack. The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement that it…
From VOA Mandarin: Trump 2.0 and the future of the CHIPS Act
The Biden administration is shoring up its CHIPS Act funding agreements before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20. Trump has previously disparaged the CHIPS Act and called for higher tariffs instead of subsidies to incentivize companies to build…
China launches anti-monopoly probe into Nvidia
BEIJING — China on Monday said it has launched an investigation into U.S. chip maker Nvidia over suspected violations of the country’s anti-monopoly law, in a move that will likely be seen as a retaliatory move against Washington’s recent chip…
As data centers proliferate, conflict with local communities follows
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA — Richard Andre Newman thought he would live the rest of his life in his quiet, leafy neighborhood in suburban Virginia. He was born and raised in Bren Mar Park, where children ride their bikes and neighbors wave…
US House to vote to provide $3 billion to remove Chinese telecoms equipment
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote next week on an annual defense bill that includes just over $3 billion for U.S. telecom companies to remove equipment made by Chinese telecoms firms Huawei and ZTE 000063.SZ…
Appeals court upholds law that could ban TikTok in US
A federal appeals court in Washington on Friday upheld a law requiring the wildly popular social media app TikTok to be sold to a non-Chinese owner or face closure in the United States by next month. The court cited “persuasive”…
Analysts troubled by trend of internet, social media shutdowns in Africa
WASHINGTON — Amid widespread protests in Kenya this summer over a controversial finance bill, the country’s Communications Authority announced it did not intend to shut down internet access. The next day, however, Kenya experienced a countrywide loss in internet connectivity….
US senators vow action after briefing on Chinese Salt Typhoon telecom hacking
WASHINGTON — U.S. government agencies held a classified briefing for all senators on Wednesday on China’s alleged efforts known as Salt Typhoon to burrow deep into American telecommunications companies and steal data about U.S. calls. The FBI, Director of National…