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Twitter Clashes With Brazil Over School Violence Posts

Twitter is under fire in the biggest economy in Latin America for its lax stance on material that is thought to incite violence in schools.

Brazil accuses Twitter of allowing posts that encourage violence in schools. Authorities this week started over 500 requests to remove content and profiles that were initially rejected by Twitter, which has advocated a free-speech attitude since its acquisition by billionaire Elon Musk last year.

Due to the controversial attitude, an executive order was issued late on Wednesday that warns Twitter and other websites of fines or even a possible ban if they don’t comply. cracking down on social networking sites carrying posts celebrating the attacks after a startling rise in homicides in educational facilities across Brazil.

Also Read: US Is Buying Chipmaking Machines From Taiwan More Than Ever

After putting forward the decree in Brasilia on Wednesday evening, Justice Minister Flavio Dino declared that “a child’s life is worth more than all the terms of use in all the platforms.”

The Justice Ministry’s push comes as the country is still in shock following the murder of four children this month at a creche in the southern state of Santa Catarina, which was committed by a man brandishing a hatchet.

Investigators frequently cite the development of active online communities that praise such assaults as one of the factors contributing to the ongoing rise in school violence. Local media stated that Twitter has started removing some of the content highlighted by the Ministry of Justice as a result of pressure from Brazilian authorities.

However, it is still unknown whether Twitter will comply with the government’s request. In Brazil, occurrences of school violence were uncommon, but researchers at the University of So Paulo have counted 10 cases during the last 13 months. This year, four incidents took place.

According to Carolina Ricardo, executive director of the non-governmental organization Sou da Paz, there is a definite link between attacks and social media networks that disseminate hate speech. She stated, “There’s also a clear reference to the US cases, all recent Brazilian cases were inspired in Columbine’s, so it’s necessary to truly debate social media regulation.”

Also Read: PBS Joins NPR in Quitting Twitter Over State-Backed Label

Twitter and Brazilian authorities also had a dispute in 2021 over tweets on school violence in the state of Santa Catarina. The dispute started when a judge directed Twitter to take down tweets about a police operation at a school that resulted in the deaths of two children. The judge alleged that the posts broke the nation’s rules prohibiting the spread of violent information.

Following Musk’s takeover, Twitter’s legal policy team, which censors content in response to governmental and legal requests and evaluates law enforcement requests for user data, suffered from “massive cuts”. Since then, other members of the policy team have left on their own volitionally, leaving fewer individuals with the time or knowledge to handle requests from the government.

Sandhya Gupta

I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.

US Is Buying Chipmaking Machines From Taiwan More Than Ever

As the Biden administration seeks to revive the local semiconductor industry, US sales of Taiwanese chip-making gear reached an all-new high record in March. According to information from the Ministry of Finance in Taiwan, the country which is a worldwide hub for silicon manufacturing innovations, witnessed a 42.6 percent increase in its chipmaking equipment exports to the US in March compared to the same month last year, setting an all-time high record of 71.3 million USD (RM314.01 million). However, trade in China went down 33.7 percent, marking the tenth consecutive month of a downward spiral.

Taiwan is a key factor in the worldwide supply chain and residence of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) as well as numerous additional key players in the chip industry.

Also Read: Why is Samsung’s cut in chip production good news for industry?

United States officials took action to establish more sophisticated chipmaking within American borders because of concerns over over-dependence on Taiwan island, which China regards as a portion of its own country.

Due to financial aid and assistance from the state and municipal governments, TSMC is building two fabrication facilities in Arizona.

The chip supply chain is beginning to split apart as a result of US measures to restrict China’s access to essential semiconductor equipment, know-how, and goods. One indication of this is the decline in Taiwan’s shipments of semiconductor machines to China.

A month back, Japan also unveiled intentions for new export limits on chip manufacturing equipment, clearly aiming its limitations at China which is the second-largest economy in the world.

Japan’s move to collaborate with the United States and the Netherlands in banning chip manufacturing equipment exports to China has given the allies strong tools to use in the expanding technological conflict.

The commerce ministry of Japan announced this week that beginning in July, exports of 23 different types of chip technology will require government authorization.

This has an impact on a wide range of businesses, which includes Nikon Corp., Tokyo Electron Ltd., and Screen Holdings Co., which have played a key role in China’s efforts to establish a local chip sector.

“Japan joining the export curbs will do great harm to China’s ability to make and develop chips smaller than 16 nanometers,” said Akira Minamikawa, an analyst at research company Omdia.
Source: bloomberg.com

Also Read: U.S. set to further tighten chipmaking exports to China

American businesses like Applied Materials Inc. were immediately impacted by the regulations when the Biden administration published its extensive limits on chip-related shipments to China in October.

Following the announcement that both the Netherlands along with Japan has joined the China restriction, all the main nations that manufacture chipmaking gear are taking part. The most cutting-edge equipment, involving those that produce logic chips at 16 nm or with more complex geometries, are covered by the constraints.

Suhani Jain

I am a student pursuing my bachelor’s in information technology. I have a interest in writing so, I am working a freelance content writer because I enjoy writing. I also write poetries. I believe in the quote by anne frank “paper has more patience than person

PBS Joins NPR in Quitting Twitter Over State-Backed Label

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By Sandhya Gupta

NPR announced its departure from Twitter on Wednesday, marking the first notable news organization to do so since Mr. Elon Musk’s turbulent acquisition of the social media site.

The departure ends a week-long controversy over Twitter’s choice to identify NPR as “state-affiliated media,” designating it similarly to big media organizations in totalitarian nations like Russia or China.

Popular in the United States, NPR already stopped tweeting from its primary account as it awaited Twitter to reverse course. Twitter only achieved this by changing NPR’s label to “government-funded media,” something it also did for the BBC in the United Kingdom.

Also Read: South Korea fines Google $32 million for squeezing out rival

Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, has criticized NPR’s reliance on US government financing, despite the fact that just a small portion of the Washington-based organization’s income comes from federal agencies.

All of NPR’s organizational accounts “will no longer be active on Twitter,” the organization announced in a brief statement because “Twitter is taking actions that undermine our credibility by falsely implying that we are not editorially independent.”

It continued, “There are plenty of ways to stay connected and keep up with NPR’s news, music, and cultural content”, urging readers to alternative platforms that it then provided links for in a final tweet.

Mr. Musk has long stated his intense dislike for the news industry, and he recently added an automated poop emoji response to emails from journalists. News organizations have had a difficult time weaning themselves from the network, which continues to be a major forum for dialogue among politicians, pundits, and public figures.

NPR’s journalists and affiliate radio stations “will be able to decide on their own if they want to stay on the platform,” an NPR official told Agence France-Presse. NPR left the platform just hours after Elon Musk said in a BBC interview on Tuesday that he would think about changing the designation to “publicly funded” because the original choice of the label was erroneous.

He also commented on Twitter’s contentious decision to remove The New York Times’ blue verification mark after the publication declined to pay to preserve it.

Also Read: Baidu sues Apple, app developers over fake Ernie bot apps

Starting on April 20, all legacy verified Twitter accounts that were established to be authentic under the previous management of the company will have to pay to join Twitter Blue. Mr. Musk stated that he did not want Twitter to support “some anointed class of journalists” who decide what counts as news as one of the reasons for this.

Elon Musk bought the social media network for $44 billion last year and has since made significant changes, including getting rid of the verification process for the press, celebrities, and other well-known Twitter users.

Sandhya Gupta

I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.

South Korea fines Google $32 million for squeezing out rival

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By Suhani Jain

The antitrust regulatory body in South Korea has penalized Google which is a subsidiary of Alphabet, about KRW 42.1 billion, 31.88 million USD which is around Rs. 262 Crore for hindering the launch of video games for smartphones on an opponent’s forum.

KFTC (The Korea Fair Trade Commission) stated that Google on Tuesday, by involving video game developers to entirely unveil their titles on Google Play in return for offering in-app publicity around June 2016 and April 2018, increased its dominant market position and harmed the localized app market One Store’s earnings and worth as a platform.

Also Read: Baidu sues Apple, app developers over fake Ernie bot apps

Google stated that it will analyze the Korea Fair Trade Commission’s final verdict before deciding what to do next.

“Google makes substantial investments in the success of developers, and we respectfully disagree with the KFTC’s conclusions”, a spokesperson said.
Source: gadgets360.com

According to the South Korea Fair Trade Commission, the government’s attempts to promote fair markets are a component of the lawsuit against the US tech behemoth.

The antitrust regulator stated that other local companies were also impacted by Google’s conduct, including Netmarble, Nexon, & NCSOFT.

For preventing customizable copies of its Android operating system, Google was heavily fined by the KFTC in 2021 with a huge fine of over 200 billion won.

Top Indian entrepreneurs urged the nation’s competition authority to investigate Google, a few weeks ago for allegedly breaching an antitrust regulation by demanding a hefty service charge for in-app purchases, according to a document.

The Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) lawsuit was the newest confrontation between Google & Indian businesses, who have long blasted the US corporation for enforcing unfair business terms and conditions that disadvantage smaller competitors.

Also Read: Amazon plans to trim employee stock awards amid tough economy

“Google’s policy change of charging service fee even on transactions processed by third-party payment processors … has detrimental consequences for users and app developers,” the 15-page confidential March complaint by the Alliance of Digital India Foundation said.
Source: gadgets360.com

Google, which did not respond to inquiries, previously explained that the service charges fund investments within the Google Play app store as well as the Android operating system for smartphones, in order to ensure that it is distributed for free, and includes developer tools as well as analytic services.

Suhani Jain

Google TV now has over 800 ad-supported free channels

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By Sandhya Gupta

Google TV is mimicking basic cable more and more. The business revealed today that it will be incorporating content from a number of new suppliers in order to make exploring ad-supported live TV channels a focal point of the platform. The information was released after it was claimed that the business was in talks with media organizations to add related content to YouTube.

As of right now, Google TV is expanding its library of Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television (FAST) channels to include those from Plex, Haystack News, and Tubi.

Also Read: Google workers in London stage walkout over job cuts

Also being added by Google are “built-in channels from Google TV that you can watch without even downloading or launching an app.” According to the corporation, the service now includes over 800 free channels.

The word “FAST” refers to “linear streaming content,” which is ad-supported and broadcast at set times like regular television shows. FAST channels, which have already been adopted by rivals like Roku, make streaming into a format akin to traditional channel-surfing, further demonstrating that live TV viewing has simply become cable delivered through a different conduit.

According to Google, the service will feature programs including Law & Order: SVU, The Walking Dead, and Westworld. It also features news material from NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox. Additionally, it offers content from around the world in over ten languages, including Spanish, Japanese, and Hindi.

Additionally, Google claims that the redesigned TV guide, which organizes the content, makes browsing simpler and quicker. All of your live TV material will be available under the Google TV Live menu, along with YouTube TV and Sling TV (if you have a subscription).

Despite the fact that most of the experience will be pretty straightforward, some of the channels can require a download and setup procedure. To make it even simpler to enjoy the shows you already know and love, additional channels are being integrated into the new Live tab experience.

These services don’t charge any monthly fees, so you can watch a tonne of shows for free. All of that programs will be included in a new TV guide, making it simple to discover what you’re browsing for. It will also be possible to add a few of your preferred channels to the TV guide roster for quick and simple navigation.

Also Read: Google begins opening access to its ChatGPT competitor Bard

The Mountain View company revealed that the new live TV experience will be made available on all Google TV gadgets in the USA, including Chromecast with Google TV and TVs from Sony, TCL, Hisense, and Philips that already have Google TV integrated.

The new TV guide and free channels will be available to qualified Android TV devices later this year, Google TV stated last but not least. Google TV announced intentions to make the redesigned TV guide and free channels available to qualified Android TV devices at some point this year.

Sandhya Gupta

I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.

Baidu sues Apple, app developers over fake Ernie bot apps

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By Suhani Jain

The Chinese search engine Baidu has filed a lawsuit against Apple & “relevant” app developers allegedly selling counterfeit versions of its newly released Ernie bot application on the App Store. The artificial intelligence-powered chatbot Ernie has been regarded as the most competitive substitute for the US-developed ChatGPT in China.

ChatGPT’s immediate rival is Baidu’s Ernie chatbot. It is a Baidu AI product that has reportedly been in production since 2019. Yet it was only made available a short time after ChatGPT went global.

Also Read: Amazon plans to trim employee stock awards amid tough economy

According to the business, Ernie is fully capable of processing natural language and can converse, answer questions live online, write articles, write codes, etc.

On Friday, Baidu declared that it has registered cases in Haidian People’s Court, Beijing, against Apple and also the app developers who created the knockoff editions of its Ernie bot. There isn’t yet an official Ernie app accessible, according to a comment from Baidu on its main “Baidu AI” WeChat account.

“At present, Ernie does not have any official app,” Baidu said in a statement late on Friday posted on its official “Baidu AI” WeChat account.

“Until our company’s official announcement, any Ernie app you see from App Store or other stores are fake,” it said.
Source: reuters.com

Baidu also uploaded a picture of its court document, emphasizing that until a formal notice is made, any Ernie apps that seem to be accessible through the App Store or any other stores are fake.

Apple has not made any comment on the circumstances yet. According to a search done by Reuters on Saturday, at least four applications with the Mandarin name “Ernie bot” are still available on the App Store, but they are all fake.

As per Baidu, those who have gotten legitimate access codes are the only ones who can access the Ernie bot. In its comment, the business also issued a warning against people who try to sell access codes.

Also Read: Meta releases AI model that can identify items within images

The AI-backed chatbot known as Ernie, meaning “Enhanced Representation through Knowledge Integration,” was introduced by Baidu in March of this year. Because of the popularity of ChatGPT powered by Microsoft, Chinese businesses and tech companies are racing to develop a rival.

Baidu’s cloud platform currently enables businesses to include the bot in their services by submitting a request. Originally, the Ernie bot was only obtainable to a small set of customers with invitation credentials.

Suhani Jain

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