John Lister

Florida law now says under-14s can't use social media while 14 and 15-year-olds need parental permission. The controversial law takes effect from the start of 2025 but may still be challenged in the Supreme Court. The new state law says social media ... platforms must delete any existing account held by somebody aged under 14 as well as prevent under 14s from opening a new one. Supporters of the law said children of this age weren't mature enough to understand the "addictive technologies" of such sites and make an informed choice whether to use them. Hefty Penalties For those aged 14 or 15, ... (view more)

YouTube may soon automatically figure out the "best parts" of a video and let users jump straight to them. It could aid viewers but might not be great news for people who make videos for in return for compensation (whether it's an embedded paid ... sponsorship or Google Ads). The company is testing out the technology in what it is calling "a very small experiment in the US". It suggests the feature will, at least at first, be exclusive to subscribers of YouTube Premium. The feature, known as Jump Ahead, appears to be in testing in both the mobile app and connected TV app versions of YouTube. With ... (view more)

A program to make broadband cheaper for low income households will soon expire. The Affordable Connectivity Program provokes political debate on both the importance of technology and the role of government. The program launched in 2021 with a $14 ... billion funding commitment from the federal government. It was available for households based on their income or them also being eligible for programs such as Medicaid or nutritional aid. Eligible households received a $30 discount on their broadband bill. Some providers created basic packages priced at $30, meaning the households did not pay any ... (view more)

Recently, Google has started baking artificial intelligence (AI) into its standard search results. However, the new AI-powered responses have been criticized for giving credibility to scams, including leading users to malicious sites where their ... systems could be compromised by ransomware and similar. Although the baked-in artificial intelligence results have already been available for people who have intentionally asked to try it, what's important to note is that Google is now rolling it out for some ordinary users when they carry out a search. The idea of the new tool is to better handle ... (view more)

Major tech companies including Microsoft and Meta say Apple is trying to weasel out of a court ruling on the way it handles app payments. They've weighted in on a court dispute about how to enforce a judgment against Microsoft. The case centers on ... in-app payments where people who've already installed an app give extra money to the app developers. Common examples include subscriptions to a digital service or payments for additional content in games. Apple demands a cut of either 15 or 30 percent of such payments made through its payment handling services. Critics, including games maker Epic, ... (view more)

YouTube says video creators must reveal when they have used artificial intelligence tools. However, the rules only apply in specific circumstances. According to YouTube, creators using AI is not a problem in itself. Instead it wants viewers to be ... better informed about "whether the content they're seeing is altered or synthetic." The new requirement only applies when people use such tools create "realistic content", which YouTube defines as "content a viewer could easily mistake for a real person, place, scene or event." (Source: blog.youtube ) Animation OK There's no need to label AI-based ... (view more)

Google says Chrome will now warn users about risky sites using real-time information. The improvements won't compromise user privacy. Chrome already offers a feature called Safe Browsing. The default option, "standard protection," kicks in when ... users are about to visit a site, download a file or install an extension. The feature compares the target URL (website address) against a database of known and suspected security risks and warns the user of a match. The optional "enhanced protection" option will also actively check the target site for any signs that it may be compromised, threaten ... (view more)

Google has revealed it paid $10 million in bounties to people who spotted security bugs in its products last year. More people earned rewards than in an equivalent Microsoft program, though Google paid out less per person. Such programs are designed ... not only to boost security but to encourage security researchers to work for good, rather than exploit bugs. However, critics say tech companies should put more of their resources into making software as bug-free as possible to start with. Google paid out a total of $10 million in 2023, split between 632 researchers in 68 countries. The highest ... (view more)

A "3D" processor could make wireless communication more efficient according to scientists at the University of Florida. It could benefit both WiFi and cellular data services. One of the limitations of current WiFi tech is that it uses a "planar ... processor" to handle the wireless signal. Because these processors are (in practical terms) two-dimensional, they can only work with a limited range of wireless frequencies. Expanding the range of frequencies planar processors can handle is only possible by making them wider, a little like increasing capacity on roads. But making the ... (view more)