TikTok's U.S. survival hinges on an algorithm overhaul overseen by Oracle
The Trump administration has outlined a plan that would put Oracle in charge of safeguarding TikTok’s recommendation system, a senior White House official said today. The proposal is designed to ease U.S. concerns that the app could be steered by Beijing, while keeping TikTok available for the 170m people who use it in America.
The recommendation engine, which decides what videos appear in a user’s feed, sits at the center of the dispute. Often described as the app’s most important feature, its secret sauce, it is also the focus of security worries. U.S. officials argue that because it was created by ByteDance, based in Beijing, the Chinese government could influence what users see by pushing or hiding certain content without detection.
US government says 'framework' for TikTok ownership deal has been agreed with China
Washington and Beijing may be moving closer to resolving the long-running dispute over TikTok. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a "framework" agreement has been reached in trade talks with China in Madrid.
This could open the door for American ownership of TikTok's US operations, with final approval expected from both leaders later this week.
US government to acquire nearly 10% stake in Intel as part of President Trump's plan to boost American chip manufacturing
Intel has confirmed widely reported plans that it intends to sell nearly 10 percent of its shares to the U.S. government under a new $8.9 billion agreement with the Trump administration aimed at expanding American semiconductor production.
The deal gives the American government a direct equity stake in the struggling iconic chipmaker, and comes as part of President Trump’s much publicized push to strengthen domestic manufacturing.
Global PC market rises, but Trump tariffs unsettle US demand
PC shipments rose 6.5 percent year over year in the second quarter of 2025, reaching 68.4 million units globally, according to preliminary data from IDC. While international demand remained strong, vendors in the United States appear to be approaching the looming Trump tariff deadlines with growing caution.
IDC’s latest Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker shows broad-based PC market momentum across many regions. The continued shift to Windows 11 and an aging installed base have helped sustain replacement demand in both the consumer and commercial sectors.
Trump kicks the TikTok ban can down the road yet again
President Trump has made much of wanting to ban TikTok from operating in the US. In fact, he’s talked about it so much, and -- initially, at least -- with such passion, that you’d be forgiven for thinking that it was one of his top priorities.
But having already delayed the implementation of a ban twice, Trump has now indicated that he’d be willing to do so again. And the reason for doing so is just hilarious.
Google Maps now has multiple ways of referring to the Gulf of Mexico
Within moments of being inaugurated as US President earlier this year, Donald Trump vowed to rename the Gulf of Mexico. Sure enough, an executive order followed, changing the name to the Gulf of America -- but there has been the question about how most of the world will refer to it moving forward.
On a day-to-day basis, there will be some who use the new name, some who stick with the previous one -- but what about map services? Google previously stated that when the Geographic Names Information System was updated, Google Maps would reflect the new nomenclature. Now the name change has been implemented, but what you see will depend on where you are in the world.
Google is the latest tech firm to drop diversity hiring targets following Trump’s executive orders
President Trump has issued a slew of executive orders in the early days of his second stint in the White House. Among these are several designed to cut back on government and federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives that helped to boost job opportunities for underrepresented groups.
Following the executive orders and court rulings, numerous firms -- including tech companies such as Amazon and Meta -- announced that they were rolling back, revising, or killing off their DEI hiring targets. Now Google has followed suit.
Google Maps will honor President Trump’s renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and Denali to Mount McKinley
One of Donald Trump’s first pledges after being sworn in as the 47th president of the USA was to rename both the Gulf of Mexico and Denali. This was very quickly acted upon when he signed a slew of executive orders -- something the White House described as “honoring American greatness”.
Seen variously as controversial, symbolic, patriotic, confrontational and more, the changes of the names have sparked global debate. One question that has been raised a lot over the last week has been whether the likes of Apple Maps and Google Maps will implement the changes as well -- although not globally.
Trump is back -- here’s what it means for IoT
On January 20, Donald Trump was inaugurated to the highest office in the United States of America. If his last four-year term contains hints about his next four-year term, the tech sector can expect more protectionist policies reflected in tariffs, trade wars, and production.
For connected devices in the Internet of Things, this means flow-on effects in manufacturing supply chains and potentially stricter cybersecurity oversight. Let’s explore.
Donald Trump, UEFA European Championship, and Inside Out 2: there are no surprises in Google’s top trending searches of 2024
We’ve reached that point of the year. Spotify Wrapped has happened, and now it’s time for endless ‘year in review’ and ‘best of 2024’ outpourings. Not wanting to miss out, Google has revealed the top trending searches of 2024.
The very nature of listing the top trends is that they are popular, and therefore predictable. As such, the appearance of searches relating to the US election was to be expected, as was people looking up the meaning of “demure”. So what else does Google have to share with us?
This Election Day vote for freedom and make a REAL change
This U.S. Election Day, the nation finds itself deeply divided, with a fierce battle between two prominent figures: former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Their clash of ideologies has captivated the public, as voters passionately debate the policies and visions of these candidates. Issues like healthcare, climate change, and economic reform dominate conversations.
Yet, as the polls open and citizens cast their votes, there’s another opportunity for change that many might overlook -- a shift that, while not political, could still have a lasting impact on our daily lives and sense of control. And that change? It’s switching from Windows to Linux.
Microsoft warns that Iran is using cyber operations to influence the US 2024 election, just like China and Russia
Every country in the world has a vested interest in the outcome of the US election in November. The choice of either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris will have huge impact around the globe, and there are some countries that are actively engaged in trying to sway voters and influence 2024 US election.
That the likes of Russia and China are engaged in targeting the result of the poll is unsurprising, but Microsoft has issued a warning that Iran is also planning to influence this year's US presidential election. A report from the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center highlights evidence of Iranian cyber-influence operations which have already been running for months.
Elon Musk lets Donald Trump back on Twitter after users vote to lift the ban on the ex-president
Almost two years after Donald Trump was banned from Twitter, Elon Musk has permitted the former US president back onto the site. Trump was evicted form the site following the January 6 attacks on the US Capitol
This weekend Musk conducted a poll on Twitter asking people to vote about whether or not to "reinstate former President Trump". After more than 15 million votes were cast, a majority voted in favor, and it wasn't long before Trump's account was reactivated.
Great news: I've been invited to Donald Trump's Truth Social... 18 times at once! The new tech service's problems continue
When Donald Trump launched his new social network, Truth Social, in an effort to mitigate his lifetime ban by Twitter and Facebook, everyone was curious what would come of it. It launched on February 21 of this year with something of a less than stellar debut.
Early on, people were able to get on, but the servers quickly bogged down, and it began forming a waiting list. Like many of those trying to get in, I fell in that waiting list. As a writer, I have a vested interest in new tech of any kind. After all, we can’t talk about things to readers without first-hand experience.
Donald Trump launches his new social networking platform called TRUTH Social
Having been kicked off Twitter, Donald Trump is making good on his promise to launch his own social media platform. The new venture is TRUTH Social and it is the former US president's attempt to "fight back against Big Tech".
TRUTH Social comes from the newly created Trump Media and Technology Group and Digital World Acquisition Group, and Trump says that it will operate as "a rival to the liberal media consortium", adding, "I am excited to send out my first TRUTH on TRUTH Social very soon". From what we can see of it at the moment, it looks very much like a Twitter-clone.
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