Monthly Archives: October 2021

Inside the controversial US gunshot-detection firm

ShotSpotter’s incident-review room is like any other call centre. Analysts wearing headsets sit by computer screens, listening intently. Yet the people working here have an extraordinary responsibility. They make the final decision on whether a computer algorithm has correctly identified a gunshot – and whether to dispatch the police. Making the wrong call has serious […]

Start-up launches £495,000 hoverbike in Japan

A Japanese start-up is hoping to convince motorists to swap their cars for a $680,000 (£495,000) hoverbike. ALI Technologies’ XTurismo Limited Edition went on sale in Japan, earlier on Wednesday. Electronics giant Mitsubishi and footballer Keisuke Honda are two backers of the Tokyo-based company. ALI Technologies says the hoverbike can fly for 40 minutes at […]

Frances Haugen says Facebook is ‘making hate worse’

Whistleblower Frances Haugen has told MPs Facebook is “unquestionably making hate worse”, as they consider what new rules to impose on big social networks. Ms Haugen was talking to the Online Safety Bill committee in London. She said Facebook safety teams were under-resourced, and “Facebook has been unwilling to accept even little slivers of profit […]

Digicel Pacific: Australia’s Telstra buys Pacific firm ‘to block China’

The Australian government and telecoms giant Telstra are buying a Pacific telecoms company in a joint venture. The move is being viewed as a political block to China’s influence in the region. Telstra called the A$2.1bn ($1.6bn; £1.2bn) deal a “unique and very attractive commercial opportunity to boost our presence in the region”. Digicel Pacific […]

Ofcom orders phone networks to block foreign scam calls

Major phone networks have agreed to automatically block almost all internet calls coming from abroad if they pretend to be from UK numbers, Ofcom has confirmed. Criminals have been using internet-based calling technology to make it look like a phone call or text is coming from a real telephone number. Almost 45 million consumers were […]

Will Apple be the last US tech giant left in China?

There was a time when the US tech giants were all in China – even Facebook. Today, Apple’s huge presence in the country looks increasingly conspicuous. Last week Microsoft, which still operates in China, announced it was to shut down its social network, LinkedIn, there. The company said having to comply with the Chinese state […]

Nearly 45 million received scam calls in three months, Ofcom says

Almost 45 million people in the UK were targeted by scam text messages or phone calls over the summer, according to telecoms regulator Ofcom. About half reported getting a scam call or text at least once a week. A survey of 2,000 adults in September found that almost a million people had been misled by […]

Nearly 45 million received scam calls in three months, Ofcom says

Almost 45 million people in the UK were targeted by scam text messages or phone calls over the summer, according to telecoms regulator Ofcom. About half reported getting a scam call or text at least once a week. A survey of 2,000 adults in September found that almost a million people had been misled by […]