Category: Computers and the Internet

States Move to Ban Deepfake Nudes to Fight Sexually Explicit Images of Minors

Legislators in two dozen states are working on bills, or have passed laws, to combat A.I.-generated sexually explicit images of minors.
China’s Pinduoduo Has Reshaped Discount Shopping

Pinduoduo appeals to people seeking deals and “downgraded spending,” as consumer purchasing in China has slowed recently amid economic rockiness.
How Scam Calls and Messages Took Over Our Everyday Lives

To own a computer or smartphone — indeed, to engage with the digital world to any degree — is to be a mark. You can try to block, encrypt and unsubscribe your way out of it, but you may not succeed.
‘Catfish,’ the TV Show That Predicted America’s Disorienting Digital Future

For 12 years, the MTV reality series “Catfish” has traveled the U.S., presenting hundreds of intimate snapshots of what can go wrong when the heart mixes with technology.
Start-Up Founder Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Fraud

Manish Lachwani, who founded the software start-up HeadSpin, is the latest tech entrepreneur to face time in prison in recent years.
Apple Says It Was Ordered to Pull WhatsApp From China App Store

Apple said it removed WhatsApp and Threads in its China app offerings Friday on Beijing’s orders, amid technological tensions between the U.S. and China.
Countdown Is On for the Bitcoin ‘Halving’

Bitcoin aficionados are hoping that a scheduled reduction in the number of new coins going into circulation will cause the price of the cryptocurrency to skyrocket.
Meta, in Its Biggest A.I. Push, Places Smart Assistants Across Its Apps

Users of Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and Messenger will be able to turn to the new technology, powered by Meta’s latest artificial intelligence model, to obtain information and complete tasks.
Truth Social Has an Edge as Rival Right-Wing Apps Falter

Donald Trump’s social media platform has outdistanced similar conservative sites such as Parler and Gettr, even as it lags far behind X and others.
TikTok’s Origin Story: Court Files Show Role of GOP Megadonor Jeff Yass

Court records, mistakenly made public, tell a story about the birth of ByteDance, its bumpy road to success and the role of the Republican megadonor Jeff Yass’s firm.
Takeaways From a Trove of ByteDance Records

The records briefly surfaced in a lawsuit involving the Republican megadonor Jeff Yass’s firm.
Google Fires 28 Employees Who Protested an Israeli Cloud Contract

The dismissals escalated longstanding tensions between company leaders and activist employees opposed to supplying technology to Israel’s government.