Canada Calls TikTok Major Threat To National Security, Orders Complete Shutdown Of All Operations

TikTok is facing another major setback with orders for a complete shutdown of all operations in Canada.

Canadian officials from Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry claim that TikTok links to the parent firm ByteDance pose significant risks to the nation. This is why it’s being forced to wrap up all operations, even though the government has yet to completely ban it.

Canadian officials issued a statement on this front including how they are taking all necessary steps to address the matter and any risks that come with TikTok Tech Canada Inc. The country’s Minister for Innovation revealed how such decisions were related to data that kept on getting collected over time. They also shared how the move comes after careful consideration and on the advice of national security and intelligence members as well as the government’s allies.

The sudden crackdown is outlined as a serious multi-step review process that considers national security. The nation previously banned the platform from all government devices. It also came a few months after the US passed another law discussing the ban on the stateside.

We’ve already seen the US take serious measures and call out the app’s links with China as a serious threat to the US. This is all although TikTok and its CEO have put up a battle against the claims, trying to reassure the country.

Now, TikTok is fighting back against Canada’s claims and hopes to challenge their order as well. They also spoke about how a sudden shutdown of offices in the country can destroy so many well-paying local jobs that does not benefit anyone.

They plan to take the matter to court but for now, the app is still available for creators who wish to find their interests, businesses, and an audience through the innovative platform.

Read next: Tech Leaders Rally Behind Trump 2.0: AI, Global Issues, and Economic Growth in Focus
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Tech Leaders Rally Behind Trump 2.0: AI, Global Issues, and Economic Growth in Focus

Donald Trump is back in office as the 47th President. Tech leaders are already responding.

Microsoft’s Satya Nadella says he’s looking forward to new opportunities. Jeff Bezos? He’s focused on the huge potential America has for growth. Sundar Pichai from Google wants this to be an era where innovation reaches everyone. Elon Musk, too, is backing this shift. He believes the message is clear: people want change.

AI policy is going to be a big focus. Some felt that the last administration’s rules were too strict. Andreessen Horowitz, a big name in venture capital, even backed Trump because they believe he’ll be better for small AI startups.

With Musk advising on AI policy, expect things to move fast. This could mean more flexibility for new ideas and less regulation. Tech companies are hoping this leads to more opportunities—for everyone, not just the big players.

What about global issues? They’re still front and center. From the Israel's genocide in Gaza to tensions around the world, Trump’s response will be key. People want to know if he’ll stick with his past approach or take a new direction. We’ll be watching closely—how he handles these big issues, from climate crisis to economic impacts, will affect millions.

Image: Library of Congress/Unsplash

Read next: Understanding Global Security: Gallup’s 2024 Index Reveals Kuwait’s Top Rank, Europe’s High Safety Scores
by Web Desk via Digital Information World

Understanding Global Security: Gallup’s 2024 Index Reveals Kuwait’s Top Rank, Europe’s High Safety Scores

True safety goes beyond statistics—it’s felt in everyday life. With Gallup’s Global Safety Report 2024 as our guide, we’ve visualized the countries where law and order shape a genuine sense of security. The rankings were done after considering the feelings of people about their personal safety, how much assault or crimes they have experienced and how much confidence they have in the police in their respective countries. Even though the public safety levels have improved somewhat in the last decade, many people still do not feel secure in their country.

According to the Law and Order Index 2024, Kuwait is the safest country in the world. It has the index score of 98 out of 100. Followed by Kuwait are Singapore and Tajikistan. Singapore is ranked one of the safest countries in the world because it has low crime rates and law enforcement in the country is very strict. Norway is the fourth safest country in the world. Apart from the top three countries in the Law and Order Index 2024, the rest of the seven countries are all from Europe.

The reason why the majority of the European countries are ranked safest is because of trust in government institutions and low crime rate. Finland got the highest public trust in the police (87%). On the other hand, Liberia is the most unsafe country in 2024 because of poor economic conditions, high crime rates and poor law enforcement. Liberia is one of the poorest countries in the world so it also experiences political corruption and other crimes too that are the reason why people feel unsafe in the country.

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Country	Law and Order Index Score 2024
Kuwait	98
Singapore	95
Tajikistan	95
Norway	93
Estonia	91
Finland	91
Iceland	91
Kosovo	91
Luxembourg	91
Switzerland	91
Denmark	90
UAE	90
Vietnam	90
Bahrain	89
El Salvador	89
Indonesia	89
Portugal	89
Saudi Arabia	89
Slovenia	89
Uzbekistan	89
China	88
Egypt	88
Montenegro	88
Netherlands	88
Sweden	88
Taiwan	88
Austria	87
Azerbaijan	87
Jordan	87
Malaysia	87
Spain	87
Georgia	86
Germany	86
Hong Kong, S.A.R.	86
Ireland	86
Japan	86
Lithuania	86
Armenia	85
Czech Republic	85
South Korea	85
Albania	84
France	84
Iraq	84
Israel	84
Malta	84
Philippines	84
Belgium	83
Canada	83
Hungary	83
India	83
Serbia	83
Bosnia and Herzegovina	82
Kyrgyzstan	82
Latvia	82
Northern Cyprus	82
Slovakia	82
Somalia	82
Türkiye	82
United Kingdom	82
Australia	81
Bangladesh	81
Croatia	81
Iran	81
Italy	81
Poland	81
Russian Federation	81
United States	81
Cambodia	80
Kazakhstan	80
Mauritius	80
Moldova	80
North Macedonia	79
Tanzania	79
Thailand	79
Bulgaria	78
Burkina Faso	78
Morocco	78
Pakistan	78
Romania	78
Cyprus	77
Greece	77
Lao	77
Mali	77
Nepal	77
Panama	77
Sri Lanka	77
Libya	76
New Zealand	76
Tunisia	76
State of Palestine	75
Uruguay	75
Brazil	74
Côte d'Ivoire	74
Guatemala	74
Costa Rica	73
Honduras	73
Lebanon	73
Ukraine	73
Benin	72
Paraguay	72
Senegal	72
Ghana	71
Mongolia	71
Mozambique	71
Togo	71
Yemen	71
Ethiopia	70
Comoros	69
Dominican Republic	69
Zimbabwe	69
Chile	68
Madagascar	68
Niger	68
Mexico	66
Venezuela	66
Argentina	65
Colombia	65
Mauritania	65
Nigeria	65
Zambia	65
Cameroon	64
Myanmar	64
Namibia	64
Guinea	63
Kenya	63
Malawi	63
Peru	63
Republic of the Congo	63
Bolivia	62
Eswatini	62
Gabon	62
Uganda	62
Botswana	60
Chad	60
The Gambia	59
DRC	58
South Africa	58
Sierra Leone	57
Ecuador	55
Liberia	50

Read next: Which Nations Excel and Struggle in the IMF's AI Preparedness Index?
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Meta Hit With $15 Million Fine After Being Accused Of Illegal Data Collection On Facebook

South Korea is slapping tech giant Meta with a mega fine worth $15 million. The country’s top privacy watchdog says Meta illegally collected Facebook users’ data including sensitive information, political views, and details about gender.

Meta was also accused of sharing personal information with thousands of other advertisers, raising eyebrows about the company’s real intentions behind the act.

This is just another addition to the long list of penalties against the firm by South Korea’s government which has targeted Facebook’s parent firm for several years now. For this reason, the company continues to build up scrutiny against Meta who is also the owner of popular platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp. The country knows how a lot of personal data is also shared through these apps and therefore guards cannot be left down.

The news comes after the country wrapped up a four-year-long investigation against the company which says they found a lot of evidence speaking about sensitive data collection. The total figure of users outlined is 980k on Facebook where religion and politics were mostly targeted as well as those linked to similar gender unions.

The firm was found to share data with over 4000 advertisers which is strictly prohibited and goes against South Korean laws that bars collection and processing of this material. The commission similarly spoke about how Meta collected so much sensitive data by simple analysis of users’ pages on the app and also by gauging which ads they engaged most with.

It then categorized those ads to better highlight the users that were interested in topics like same gender, politics, and religion including trans matters. Other controversial topics included North Korea.

The report also shared how Meta silently collected the information and used it for its personal gains with only vague mentions of the usage through its data policy. There was a clear lack of consent taken from the users’ end.

Facebook clearly broke users’ trust and failed to provide them with necessary security protection like removing inactive pages or blocking them altogether. As a result of this behavior, it became an easy target for hackers to use the domains and forge identities while requesting resets for passwords.

This is a major hit for Meta who was already fined by the EU regulators in September for security lapse which arose in 2019. The fine there went above the $100M mark and showed the company’s lapse in encryption.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: Google’s Featured Snippets Are Displaying Conflicting Information From The Same Source
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Google’s Featured Snippets Are Displaying Conflicting Information From The Same Source

A new investigation is digging down deep into Google’s Featured Snippets.

According to the revelations, the snippets include contradictory data from similar sources, all depending on how the user phrases the search question. It’s concerning because it just goes to show how poorly the search engine can interpret data correctly.

The head of Dragon Metrics, Sarah Presch was the first to highlight how the replies are poles apart when the user puts out questions in a different manner, even if they’re asking the same thing.

For instance, looking for a link between things like coffee and hypertension could give rise to a snippet talking about the potential to raise blood pressure.

Looking for a link between coffee and hypertension gives rise to contradictory snippets from a similar article that spoke about coffee having zero long-term impacts. Similar oppositions arose when issues like politics, health, and current affairs were the topic of discussion.

The study also proved how questioning political candidates with lines including what is good and what is bad might produce very drastically different responses, despite the main leading query being the same.

This has led to some calling Google a bias machine while others spoke about how the company’s algorithms seem to prioritize material that matches what the user’s intentions might be, instead of giving rise to comprehensive and balanced data.

The results align with Google’s internal material from a few years back where engineers at the firm confirmed that some documents they could not comprehend and therefore the reply is false.

As per Google’s latest stance on this, it says those documents are really outdated so it’s better to avoid them at all costs. This does not seem too convincing as what Google ended up doing is pulling out small amounts of text depending on what people look for and then feeding them with replies that sound convincing.

Another expert who also happens to be the founder of AlsoAsked mentioned more regarding these findings. He says the company creates models to try and guess what users might appreciate but this gives rise to a feedback loop.

The results have serious implications for SEO professionals and others creating content. They mean featured snippets don’t clearly represent what the content is about. User intent also impacts how material gets interpreted and shown. Lastly, the content strategy might need changes to ensure accuracy through different question formats.

Google’s rep defended their moves by adding how users can also look for differnet viewpoints when they scroll deeper into the material. They also highlighted how features such as ‘about this result’ might assist users gauge the real data source.

So depending on the study’s findings, publishers might need to take a few actions. For starters, they should create comprehensive material that is correct, no matter how the question is phrased by the user. Secondly, they need to track how a certain Feature Snippet shows up for various search phrases. Only then can they attain success.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: WhatsApp Beta Update Introduces Quick Gallery Shortcut for Easier Media Sharing
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

WhatsApp Beta Update Introduces Quick Gallery Shortcut for Easier Media Sharing

WhatsApp is a great app to keep in touch with your family and friends through messaging, calling and sharing media. Many WhatsApp users regularly share images and videos to people in their contacts through the app. Although the process to do so is easy and smooth, it takes two to three steps. However, things are going to change soon, according to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is working on a new update which will save users’ time and will make sending images and videos easier.

In the new WhatsApp for Android v2.24.23.11 update, there will be a new shortcut in the chat bar of WhatsApp chats which will instantly direct you to your phone gallery. Right now, if users want to share images or videos, they need to click on the camera icon next to the text bar or click on attachments icon to go to the gallery.

Now that the gallery icon will be there in the text bar, it will be easier and quicker for users to share something from their device gallery. That will be a good thing for users who do not use the camera in WhatsApp. But for users who do use it, they will have to click on the attachments icon to open the camera. There is still no news when this feature will be added for all users on WhatsApp.

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• Which Nations Excel and Struggle in the AI Preparedness?
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Which Nations Excel and Struggle in the IMF's AI Preparedness Index?

Artificial Intelligence has taken over the world and now many industries are implementing AI in their workplaces. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reports reports that AI has impacted 40% of the world’s employment, with some industries being more affected by AI than others. The IMF put forward a report named AI Preparedness Index to rank top countries which are prepared for AI. 174 countries are ranked in the report according to how prepared they are for AI.

According to the rankings, Singapore is the top country which is fully prepared for AI and can adopt AI in its industries smoothly. Singapore has already invested billions of dollars on AI and for making national strategies for AI adoption. According to LinkedIn, the workers in Singapore are also fully prepared to adopt AI and the Singapore government has also developed AI tools for public service officers. Followed by Singapore is Denmark while the United States ranks third in AI preparedness.

Other European countries in the top ten rankings for AI preparedness are Netherlands, Estonia, Finland, Switzerland, Germany and Sweden. It is to be noted that the countries which are most prepared for AI adoption are mostly from Europe. It is because these countries have advanced infrastructure, great government policies and skilled workforce which can smoothly go with AI adoption.

IMF made its AI Preparedness Index report by taking into account four important metrics. Those metrics were digital infrastructure, human capital, legal frameworks and technological innovations in the countries. After looking at all these metrics in 174 countries, the IMF put forward the top ten countries that are fully prepared for AI adoption.

Rank	Country	AI Preparedness Index Score (0-1)
1	Singapore	0.80
2	Denmark	0.78
3	United States	0.77
4	Netherlands	0.77
5	Estonia	0.76
6	Finland	0.76
7	Switzerland	0.76
8	New Zealand	0.75
9	Germany	0.75
10	Sweden	0.75
11	Luxembourg	0.74
12	Japan	0.73
13	United Kingdom	0.73
14	Australia	0.73
15	South Korea	0.73
16	Israel	0.73
17	Austria	0.72
18	Canada	0.71
19	Norway	0.71
20	Hong Kong	0.70
21	Iceland	0.70
22	France	0.70
23	Ireland	0.69
24	Belgium	0.67
25	Taiwan	0.67
26	Lithuania	0.66
27	Malta	0.66
28	Spain	0.65
29	Czech Republic	0.65
30	Portugal	0.65
31	China	0.64
32	Slovenia	0.63
33	Latvia	0.63
34	Cyprus	0.63
35	Malaysia	0.63
36	United Arab Emirates	0.63
37	Italy	0.62
38	Poland	0.60
39	Slovak Republic	0.59
40	Chile	0.59
41	Romania	0.58
42	Greece	0.58
43	Croatia	0.58
44	Bulgaria	0.58
45	Saudi Arabia	0.58
46	Hungary	0.56
47	Russia	0.56
48	Kazakhstan	0.55
49	Uruguay	0.55
50	Türkiye	0.54
51	Costa Rica	0.54
52	Serbia	0.54
53	Thailand	0.54
54	Qatar	0.53
55	Oman	0.53
56	Mexico	0.53
57	Seychelles	0.53
58	Georgia	0.53
59	Albania	0.53
60	Mauritius	0.53
61	Indonesia	0.52
62	Bahrain	0.52
63	Ukraine	0.51
64	Barbados	0.50
65	Montenegro	0.50
66	Brazil	0.50
67	Panama	0.50
68	Philippines	0.50
69	South Africa	0.50
70	Brunei Darussalam	0.50
71	Armenia	0.49
72	India	0.49
73	Peru	0.49
74	Colombia	0.49
75	Mongolia	0.48
76	Jordan	0.48
77	North Macedonia	0.48
78	Vietnam	0.48
79	Moldova	0.48
80	Argentina	0.47
81	Azerbaijan	0.47
82	Belarus	0.47
83	Dominican Republic	0.47
84	Tunisia	0.47
85	Kuwait	0.46
86	The Bahamas	0.46
87	Fiji	0.45
88	Kenya	0.45
89	Ecuador	0.44
90	Bhutan	0.44
91	Rwanda	0.44
92	Sri Lanka	0.44
93	Trinidad and Tobago	0.44
94	Jamaica	0.43
95	Cabo Verde	0.43
96	Morocco	0.43
97	Bosnia and Herzegovina	0.43
98	Timor-Leste	0.43
99	Kyrgyz Republic	0.43
100	Ghana	0.43
101	Guyana	0.42
102	Belize	0.42
103	Namibia	0.42
104	Suriname	0.42
105	Lebanon	0.42
106	Botswana	0.41
107	Paraguay	0.41
108	Macao	0.41
109	Senegal	0.40
110	Egypt	0.39
111	Guatemala	0.39
112	El Salvador	0.39
113	Bangladesh	0.38
114	Puerto Rico	0.38
115	Iran	0.38
116	Bolivia	0.38
117	Saint Lucia	0.37
118	Zambia	0.37
119	Algeria	0.37
120	Liberia	0.37
121	Cambodia	0.37
122	Pakistan	0.37
123	Tajikistan	0.37
124	Côte d'Ivoire	0.37
125	Benin	0.36
126	The Gambia	0.36
127	Lesotho	0.36
128	Uganda	0.35
129	Tanzania	0.35
130	Nepal	0.35
131	Uzbekistan	0.35
132	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	0.34
133	Honduras	0.34
134	Cameroon	0.34
135	Malawi	0.34
136	Nigeria	0.34
137	Nicaragua	0.33
138	Laos	0.33
139	Myanmar	0.33
140	Niger	0.33
141	Maldives	0.32
142	Guinea	0.32
143	Gabon	0.32
144	Djibouti	0.32
145	Togo	0.32
146	Burkina Faso	0.31
147	Eswatini	0.31
148	Madagascar	0.31
149	Zimbabwe	0.30
150	Syria	0.30
151	Sierra Leone	0.30
152	Mali	0.30
153	Burundi	0.29
154	Papua New Guinea	0.29
155	Republic of Congo	0.28
156	Venezuela	0.27
157	Iraq	0.27
158	Haiti	0.27
159	Guinea-Bissau	0.26
160	Angola	0.26
161	Mozambique	0.26
162	Comoros	0.25
163	Ethiopia	0.25
164	Yemen	0.25
165	São Tomé and Príncipe	0.25
166	Democratic Republic of the Congo	0.25
167	Libya	0.24
168	Chad	0.23
169	Sudan	0.23
170	Mauritania	0.23
171	Somalia	0.20
172	Central African Republic	0.18
173	Afghanistan	0.13
174	South Sudan	0.11

Read next: The Hidden Cost of Upgrading: Are You Guilty of This Wasteful Habit?
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World