Big Tech Giants Including Google Accuse Microsoft Of Unfair Business Dealings In Its Cloud

A leading number of tech and trade enterprises have gone to the FTC to make complaints about Microsoft.

New reports spoke about how the groups entailed search engine giant Google who accused the computational giant of conducting unfair business dealings across its cloud. Remember, Microsoft holds the industry’s second-highest market share and that’s why people are worried.

Such comments are in response to requests produced by an American agency in terms of gathering data related to plenty of security matters and even having to do with the likes of competition in today’s data market.

Meanwhile, the computing power in this particular cloud is one that’s getting scrutinized across the board, thanks to a recently held investigation.

They’re following plenty of scrutiny around the globe and they would carry out some probes by another antitrust authority seen across Europe. The goal was to see if the licensing agreements which called for the discouragement of using rival cloud was right or not.

Similarly, a lot of criticism regarding fee deduction from cloud providers also got attraction and people thought it was not right.

There happened to be a certain example that entailed all sorts of public comments. Here, NetChoice targeted both Oracle as well as Microsoft. And they felt that even though the right sort of criticism was there regarding anti-competitive practices, they would prevent clients from transforming providers in search of some lower expenses.

There are plenty of service offerings and they keep on gaining the right type of strength for other firms by bringing in more business.

The news was unveiled by NetChoice which has a group of members that entails market leaders such as Amazon, Google, and even Meta.

We then saw tech giant Google’s voice and thoughts on the matter be echoed around the sentiment that the right licensing was on par and it had been enforced by computational giant Microsoft and some more leading software providers that would disrupt competition across the Cloud board.

Remember, those companies that were bringing in more software by the computational giant for data centers are now facing plenty of restrictions and even enhanced surcharges while migrating licenses to the firm’s leading competitors.

Google says it was in line with all the criticism on the subject and also, tech giant Amazon appeared to feel the same way about this.

Both tech giants Oracle and even Microsoft failed to return any type of requests by Reuters in regards to such a comment. And now, the software giant ended up updating the terms of the contract in regard to the negative feedback that arose its way.

This includes how the firm was very committed to the likes of success in the cloud community. But with time, so many rivals were calling the amendments made not good enough and incomplete. They raised more concerns on the matter.

For now, the FTC is not responding to the matter and has even refused to provide any comments regarding the situation.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

TikTok Shocks World By Confirming Some Data Belonging To Americans Is Stored In China

It’s been a while since we last heard about the whole TikTok and US debate arising. And just when you thought things might be doing well, here comes some more shocking news.

A new development shows how TikTok has admitted to storing data belonging to Americans outside the country. And by that we mean China.

The leading social media app says that it did indeed store American creators’ data in servers located in China. And when asked why it ended up lying, the tech giant revealed how it was never asked about creators’ data. It was only asked about users’ data.

But their justification does not seem to be the least bit convincing. And people around the globe as shocked as to what in the world is going on.

The app’s CEO reportedly swore under oath that no data belonging to American users was located in China and now, the claims are being twisted to delineate the differences between creators and users.

Furthermore, the company says that all sorts of sensitive data regarding American creators who came on the app to make earnings was stored in Chinese databases.

A letter was sent out by American Senators to the app’s CEO where a number of concerns had been highlighted regarding how shocked they were at Shou Zi Chew’s claims regarding the app, calling them incorrect.

The CEO was seen testifying before Congress about how it stored data belonging to users in places like the US and Singapore

But thanks to another recently held investigation by Forbes, more shocking behavior had been unveiled. This includes how China was another place where servers were located and stored Americans’ data.

The data in question was related to finance and as anyone would expect, people were not happy. Therefore, the US Senate and other officials are in search of answers from TikTok over these claims.

TikTok’s reply to such queries went on to mention that data collected by users is worlds apart from the details provided by creators so they can be paid by the app’s creator fund.

But the investigation led by Forbes is clearly painting a very different picture altogether.

There is plenty of proof regarding how internal documents featuring things like social security numbers, tax forms, and other data belonging to creators and vendors are present in China. And when it comes down to payments, the app handles that through its own tools that ByteDance possesses.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Deep Sea Internet Cables Might Be Replaced by Satellites

Currently, the world is dependent on various cables that are placed along the ocean floor in order to obtain internet access. This is a costly and risky endeavor, since these cables require a lot of maintenance and they are prone to getting damaged at frequent intervals. Just one transatlantic cable can cost upwards of hundreds of millions dollars, but researchers just came up with a solution that would make these cables less necessary than might have been the case otherwise.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that optical data communications might give rise to a satellite based internet. Scientists who are working at ETH Zurich revealed that terabytes of information could be transmitted through the air with these lasers, and satellites that are not too far from the Earth’s surface can be used as an internet backbone so to speak.

In the test, the scientists successfully transmitted data around 33 miles away, sending the packets from the Swiss capital of Bern to their High Altitude Research Station. This station is thousands of miles above sea level, and there was considerable air turbulence to contend with, but in spite of the fact that this is the case, the test was a resounding success.

While satellite internet is nothing new, with Elon Musk’s Starlink standing out as a prime example, it currently only uses microwave transmissions which are exceedingly slow. As for laser optical systems, they have wavelengths that are thousands of times smaller than that of microwaves.

This is quite useful because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up allowing more data to be transferred in the same amount of time. Researchers accounted for the turbulence by transferring multiple states, thereby making it so that each symbol numerous bits instead of just one.

Nearly a hundred adjustable mirrors were also involved to correct the data’s path. This clearly shows that laser optical systems could be the future of the internet, eliminating the need for the hundreds of deep sea cables out there.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Chrome Makes Incognito Browsing Even More Private with Screenshot Option

Google Chrome is taking measures to guarantee that users may snap screenshots while surfing in Incognito mode without jeopardizing their privacy. The new Canary flag enables the screenshot feature while still keeping the preview of the Incognito tab invisible in your phone's Recent overview.

Screenshots are a great way to remember something for later or to share with friends, but it can be tricky when certain software doesn't cooperate. Google Chrome's new incognito-screenshot flag makes this process easier and more secure.

Currently Chrome don't allow users to take screenshots in incognito tab

If you enable this flag, Chrome will let you take screenshots in Incognito mode without leaving any visible trace. When the screenshot is taken, the tab preview will remain hidden in your phone's recent overview, and it won't open automatically when accessing that same tab later on. It prevents privacy leaks, as a screenshot can contain sensitive information, and the preview can alert people to what is being looked at.

The incognito-screenshot flag was first introduced in Chrome 88 and has since been improved with the Canary update. This update allows users to take screenshots without making the preview of the Incognito tab visible in their phone's recent overview, meaning no one can look over their shoulder and see what they're browsing.

A safe and secure surfing experience is something that Google Chrome firmly believes in offering to its customers. If you use the incognito-screenshot flag, you can take screenshots from inside your browser without disclosing any information about your private sessions. So go ahead; browse privately and securely with Google Chrome!

Android expert Mishaal Rahman has revealed a solution to the long-debated issue of restricted screenshots on Android devices. Previously, only full restrictions were available to block previews in the recent overview, but with the new system, users can manually capture screens while ensuring Incognito tab content remains private.

It can be easily implemented by installing Chrome Canary and enabling the Improved Incognito Screenshots flag, as demonstrated in this video. Protect your privacy with this game-changing fix.

Google Chrome continues to make strides in protecting user privacy, and this improved Incognito screenshot flag is yet another example of their commitment. With this new system, you can capture screenshots while still keeping the preview of your Incognito tab invisible in Android's recent view. So go ahead; browse privately and securely with Google Chrome!

H/T: Techdows

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Google Acknowledges Android Bug Misrepresenting Continuous Microphone Access in WhatsApp

In a recent development, Google has officially acknowledged and taken action on a concerning bug that affected a specific subset of WhatsApp users on the Android platform. This bug resulted in the creation of misleading privacy indicators and notifications, causing users to believe that WhatsApp was continuously accessing their device's microphone. The implications of such an issue raised significant concerns surrounding user privacy and data security. In response to these concerns, Google promptly engaged with the WhatsApp team to investigate and resolve the bug. This collaborative effort underscores the commitment of both Google and WhatsApp to ensure the privacy and security of their users' personal information. By addressing the bug and working towards a solution, they aim to restore confidence in the privacy features of the popular messaging application.

In a noteworthy announcement on social media, Google has officially confirmed the existence of a bug that affected users of the WhatsApp messaging app on Android devices. The confirmation came through a tweet from the official Android Developers account, shedding light on the issue and providing a simple remedy. The bug, which was traced back to a recent Android problem, could be resolved by updating the WhatsApp application to its latest version. Google expressed its appreciation to the WhatsApp team for their collaboration in addressing the bug and extended its apologies for any confusion or inconvenience caused to users. This proactive response from Google reflects its commitment to maintaining a robust and reliable user experience on the Android platform.

Upon the discovery of the bug, WhatsApp maintained that it was a matter of misattribution within Android's Privacy Dashboard, rather than the app itself excessively accessing the device's microphone. In a public statement, WhatsApp reached out to Google, publicly requesting an investigation and resolution of the matter. The prominence of this request underscored the significance of microphone privacy, particularly in light of Meta's association with the parent company of WhatsApp. This incident highlighted the criticality of addressing privacy concerns and ensuring transparency in mobile applications.

Specific technical information about the bug is currently scarce. The bug attracted significant attention when it was highlighted through a viral case involving a Pixel device, which had recently undergone an update to Android 13 QPR3. However, the official list of changes provided to users for this update did not make any reference to the bug or its resolution. It is plausible that the bug may have been addressed through an update to the WhatsApp application independently.

In conclusion, although more information regarding the bug and its resolution is being sought from Google. They have acknowledged and resolved a bug in WhatsApp for Android that erroneously displayed constant microphone access. Users can ensure the bug is fixed by updating WhatsApp to the latest version. This incident highlights the significance of privacy in mobile applications and showcases the commitment of both Google and WhatsApp to promptly address such issues. It is recommended that affected users update their WhatsApp application to address any privacy concerns. It is crucial for individuals to stay informed and prioritize their digital privacy.

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by Ayesha Hasnain via Digital Information World

Twitter Increases Its Single Tweet Capacity To 25000 Characters With Ability To Include Inline Pictures To Long Tweets

If you happen to be a fan of long tweets, well, you might be in luck.

Twitter has rolled out a new capacity limit for long tweets and that includes enhancing the capacity up to 25,000 characters.

It’s quite interesting how this change has arisen at a time when we just saw the capacity limit go up to 10,000 a few months back. But it seems that Twitter was not happy with that call and is now opting to enhance it further to 25,000.

But similar to before, this feature is solely limited to just 25,000 characters on just one tweet.

After tapping the example version of the tweet, you can see what 25,000 characters appear like on a particular tweet and as you can imagine, it’s definitely a lot of scrolling involved.

Additionally, you can see how the app recently launched the ability to include some more inline pictures into the long-form version of tweets and all subscribers on Twitter Blue are getting plenty of access to attain functionality in the past week.

Sources claim that the app is also launching the chance to include inline pictures in long tweets and all subscribers of Twitter Blue would attain access to such functions as early as now.

Now, users will be given the chance to produce blog posts through a unique form of content style and that means pictures get incorporated alongside the text and inside the tweets.

This might be a great chance to get more people to engage on the app and while there is yet to be any such data speaking about how users of the platform are setting out responses to this feature.

We do feel it’s quite annoying the chance to press on a particular tweet and then expand it further. They would then return this to the centralized feed of the app after they’re done reading. This is very true when you happen to be pressing on a particular thread to read but some experts feel it might be a simple shift in behavior. But with time, we can see this becoming something major and people having a lot more time to go through a particular tweet.

Such updates end up lining up with Musk’s vision of the platform undergoing an expansion in its functionality for the app. And it provides a new platform where users can put out new types of content such as both text and videos that are long.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Twitter On New Mission To Win Back Its Advertiser Trust As App Makes New Changes To Its Ad Policies

Twitter may not be participating full throttle in this week’s Cannes but one thing is for sure. The company seems to be on a new kind of mission that would bring back its trust in advertisers.

The news comes as the firm gears up to make more changes to the app’s advertising policies.

Moreover, the platform says it’s taking a new kind of decision and trying out all sorts of strategies because it has a new team member on board. She’s CEO Linda Yaccarino and has plenty of experience in the advertising world.

It’s clear that Elon Musk’s own strategies are linked to Twitter and the restoration of its ad policies but they may not have worked out too well in the past and that is what has brought us to it today.

Less than 1% of the users on the platform are Blue Members so they’re not subscribers who pay to use this platform. But what we do know is that the drive right now is to better the pitch and advertising partners through some serious pledges with insights that reassure users that no matter what, the platform is very safe and secure as well as a great way to conduct promotional activity.

For starters, Twitter mentioned how it's going to meet with more industry brand safety standards. They’ll be the right providers of giving users quality assurance on this matter.

Meanwhile, the platform claims it’s going through a major ordeal in terms of looking through some great services that would ultimately provide greater control to advertisers when placing ads across a certain app.

We already know how the company is working by the side of Integral Ad Science and a few others for measurements of ads. And as per independent analysis, most of the ad-related impressions pop up opposite to the content that has been labeled safe as per the GARM safety floor.

To put it more simply, the industry has speculated more about how everything would now be done more transparently and measured through a solo analysis that gives assurance when taking Twitter’s efforts into consideration.

This has witnessed so many advertisers returning to the platform and nearly 75% of the company’s leading advertisers hopping back and forth in terms of more campaigns. We witnessed how this occurred when the app’s leading 100 stopped advertising spending and cited safety concerns as the leader in this regard.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World