Encrypted messaging services including WhatsApp, Signal and Element have signed an open letter opposing the UK Online Safety Bill ahead of its final reading in the House of Lords. The platforms argue the Bill could undermine end-to-end encryption – the privacy technology these companies provide – which is the most robust level of security as […]
The House of the US state of Montana has given final passage to a Bill banning the social media app TikTok from operating in the state. It is a move that is bound to face legal challenges but also serve as a testing ground for the TikTok-free America many national politicians envision due to concerns […]
A European spacecraft is on its way to Jupiter in a mission to explore whether its ocean-bearing moons can support life. The six-tonne probe, named Juice (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer), blasted off on an Ariane 5 rocket on Friday at 1.14pm UK time from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Juice was due to […]
Elon Musk has said Twitter had “four months to live” when he bought the platform and insisted it needed to cut costs to save it from bankruptcy. The billionaire owner confirmed that about 80% of its staff have been axed since he took over at the helm. In a wide-ranging interview with the BBC at […]
A European spacecraft is about to embark on a 6.6 billion km journey to explore whether Jupiter’s ocean-bearing moons can support life. The six-tonne probe, named Juice (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer), will be heading towards the solar system’s biggest planet carrying 10 scientific instruments, in what is the European Space Agency’s (ESA) biggest deep-space mission […]
Aerospace and satellite companies are urging governments around the world to adopt a “highway code” to tackle space junk. The Space Safety Coalition (SSC), an international organisation of satellite operators, aerospace companies and industry representatives, has published new guidelines to protect satellites orbiting the Earth from being damaged by space debris. In it, the coalition […]
Bob Lee, a technology executive who created Cash App and was currently chief product officer of MobileCoin, was fatally stabbed in San Francisco early on Tuesday, police have said. The San Francisco Police Department said in a press release that officers responded to a report of a stabbing on Main Street at 2.35am and found […]
Data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has confirmed four galaxies dating to when the universe was around 300–500 million years old. The telescope was designed to probe the early universe and initial surveys have identified many possible candidate galaxies of extremely high redshift – a measure of the speed that helps gauge distance. […]
Social media platform TikTok has been fined £12.7 million because it “did not do enough” to make sure underage children were not using its platform and ensure that their data was used correctly. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said that TikTok allowed up to 1.4 million children under 13 to use its platform in 2020, […]
Twitter has failed to take legacy blue checkmarks off the social media platform after it committed to remove them on April 1. The business, led by billionaire owner Elon Musk, has also confused many people by making older verified users indistinguishable from those who have paid for the checkmark. It comes after Mr Musk said […]
