Business

Business


Tech, human rights groups call on Ottawa to take action on facial recognition, AI

OTTAWA — A group of technology and human rights organizations are calling on the federal government to take immediate action to address concerns around artificial intelligence and facial recognition technology. In an open letter to the ministers of privacy and industry, the group asks for a moratorium on facial recognition technology by police services and […]

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FTC accuses Amazon of enrolling consumers into Prime without consent and making it hard to cancel

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon was sued Wednesday by the Federal Trade Commission for allegedly engaging in a yearslong effort to enroll consumers without consent into Amazon Prime and making it difficult for them to cancel their subscriptions. In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, the agency […]

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Europe, US urged to investigate the type of AI that powers systems like ChatGPT

LONDON (AP) — European Union consumer protection groups urged regulators on Tuesday to investigate the type of artificial intelligence underpinning systems like ChatGPT, citing risks that leave people vulnerable and the delay before the bloc’s groundbreaking AI regulations take effect. In a coordinated effort, 13 watchdog groups wrote to their national consumer, data protection, competition […]

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Energy Department among federal agencies breached by Russian ransomware gang

The Department of Energy and several other federal agencies were compromised in a Russian cyber-extortion gang’s global hack of a file-transfer program popular with corporations and governments, but the impact was not expected to be great, Homeland Security officials said Thursday. But for others among what could be hundreds of victims from industry to higher […]

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UN chief calls for coordinated global action on disinformation, hate and artificial intelligence

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The proliferation of hate and lies on digital platforms and the threat that artificial intelligence can become an uncontrolled “monster” demand coordinated global action — starting with a code of conduct for governments, tech companies and advertisers that promotes truth and protects human rights, the U.N. chief said Monday. Secretary-General Antonio […]

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Hong Kong launches bid to attract Canadian companies, but rights group warns of risks

Hong Kong’s government is betting that Canadian companies and other overseas businesses will put profits over politics as it tries to lure talent and industry back to the city that has been cracking down on dissent after quashing a pro-democracy protest movement. A Toronto-based official involved in the pitch that was advertised in Canadian newspapers […]

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Judge in FTX bankruptcy rejects media challenge, says customer names can remain secret

DOVER, Del. (AP) — The names of individual customers of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX Trading can be permanently shielded from public disclosure, a Delaware bankruptcy judge ruled Friday. Following a two-day hearing, Judge John Dorsey rejected arguments from lawyers for several media outlets and for the U.S. bankruptcy trustee, which serves as a government watchdog […]

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Former ByteDance executive says Chinese Communist Party tracked Hong Kong protesters via data

HONG KONG (AP) — A former executive at ByteDance, the Chinese company which owns the popular short-video app TikTok, says in a legal filing that some members of the ruling Communist Party used data held by the company to identify and locate protesters in Hong Kong. Yintao Yu, formerly head of engineering for ByteDance in […]

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Senators call on TikTok CEO to explain ‘inaccurate’ statements about how company manages US data

NEW YORK (AP) — Two U.S. senators are asking TikTok to explain what they called “misleading or inaccurate” responses about how it stores and provides access to U.S. user data after recent news reports raised questions about how the Chinese-owned social media platform handles some sensitive information. In a letter sent Tuesday to TikTok CEO […]

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Four directors step down from Indigo board, Reisman also leaving in August

Nearly half the board of Indigo Books and Music Inc. is stepping down — including founder and executive chair Heather Reisman — in a stunning announcement that saw one director allege poor leadership and treatment. Reisman, who built Indigo into Canada’s biggest bookstore chain over a quarter-century, said she will retire this summer. More immediate […]

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Tim Hortons to launch credit card through mobile rewards app

TORONTO — Tim Hortons is launching a credit card that can be used through its mobile app, the latest move into an increasingly competitive rewards space. Tims Financial is a new division of Tim Hortons that will offer a no-annual-fee Mastercard powered by Neo Financial, the company said in a press release Wednesday. The card […]

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Microsoft will pay $20M to settle U.S. charges of illegally collecting children’s data

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Microsoft will pay a fine of $20 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it illegally collected and retained the data of children who signed up to use its Xbox video game console. The agency charged that Microsoft gathered the data without notifying parents or obtaining their consent, and that […]

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