Category: Government
Instagram uses its power to put Coronavirus tips atop feed
Instagram is embracing its potential as a news source, employing its ubiquity to distribute Coronavirus prevention techniques through a new call-out at the top of its homescreen feed. In some countries, Instagram will show a link to information from the World Health Organization and local health ministries along with a…
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Pentagon asks court for time to reconsider JEDI award to Microsoft
The JEDI contract award process might never be done. Following legal challenges from Amazon after the Pentagon’s massive, $10 billion cloud contract was awarded to Microsoft in October, the Pentagon indicated in court documents last night that it wishes to reconsider the award. It’s just the latest plot twist in…
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Russian trolls are outsourcing to Africa to stoke US racial tensions
With tech companies wise to many of the tactics that Russia’s now-infamous troll farms used to seed disinformation during the 2016 election, those campaigns are getting creative. According to a pair of reports out from Facebook and Twitter, a disinformation campaign run by individuals with links to Russia’s Internet Research…
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Reporters Without Borders uses Minecraft to sneak censored works across borders
Censorship takes many forms, but even the most restrictive countries can’t block every single path for information they’d rather not get in (or out). Reporters Without Borders has identified a surprising new platform for hosting banned content: Minecraft. The organization, collaborating with reporters, Minecraft pros and, of course, a creative…
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Senate bill seeks to ban Chinese app TikTok from government work phones
On Thursday, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Rick Scott (R-FL) introduced legislation to further restrict the use of the popular viral video app TikTok on government devices. The bill seeks to expand existing federal guidance prohibiting use of TikTok to encompass any U.S. government-issued device. The legislation is the most…
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US is preparing to ban foreign-made drones from government use
The Trump administration is preparing an executive order to ban federal departments and agencies from buying or using foreign-made drones, citing a risk to national security, TechCrunch has learned. The draft order, which was drafted in the past few weeks and seen by TechCrunch, would effectively ban both foreign-made drones…
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