China’s Xi urges countries unite in tackling AI challenges but makes no mention of internet controls

Chinese President Xi Jinping says potential risks associated with artificial intelligence are challenges that countries should deal with together.

Mexico sets new work-from-home rules, including that employers pay internet

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s Labor Department issued new rules Friday requiring employers to pay for internet and provide ergonomic chairs for employees working from home. The new rules also mandate a “right to disconnect” for employees who work at least 40% of their time from remote locations.

The cyber gulag: How Russia tracks, censors and controls its citizens

It's becoming increasingly difficult for Russians to escape government scrutiny. Authorities monitor social media accounts, prosecuting critics of President Vladimir Putin or the war in Ukraine. Surveillance cameras with facial recognition systems allow police to swiftly detain activists and draft dodgers. Even a once-praised online government service platform is seen as a tool of control, with plans to serve military summonses through it — rendering useless a popular draft evasion tactic of avoiding being handed the paperwork in person. Activists say Putin’s government has managed to harness digital technology to surveil, censor and control Russians — new territory in a nation with a long history of spying on its citizens.

BTS book ‘Beyond the Story,’ source of Internet speculation, to be published July 9

The speculation over a certain untitled book can end, and it's BTS fans, not followers of Taylor Swift, who can rejoice. Flatiron Books announced Thursday the book “4C Untitled Flatiron Nonfiction Summer 2023” was in fact about the mega-popular South Korean boy band, not Swift. “Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS” is 544 pages written by the journalist Myeongseok Kang, and will arrive on July 9. Earlier speculation about the untitled book had focused on it being about Swift, and made the project a bestseller on Amazon and Barnes and Noble's websites.

Amazon begins offering physical products in games, VR

Amazon said Tuesday it launched a new service that will allow customers to purchase physical products while playing video games or interacting in virtual reality. The service, called “Amazon Anywhere,” mirrors recent efforts by other retailers who've launched initiatives aimed at attracting gamers and shoppers in the metaverse. But most shopping options launched in virtual worlds typically offer virtual goods, or other digital items - not physical products. Amazon says its new service will be launched within Peridot, an augmented reality game from Pokémon Go developer Niantic.

Hate passwords? You’re in luck – Google is sidelining them

Good news for all the password-haters out there: Google has taken a big step toward making them an afterthought by adding “passkeys” as a more straightforward and secure way to log into its services. Ultimately, passkeys could end racking your brain to recall complicated mnemonics or trusting password managers to cough up randomized strings of gobbledygook when you need them. Setting up passkeys isn't quite as simple as it could be, but it's not too bad. And living without passwords might be worth the trouble.

First Internet: Q1 Earnings Snapshot

FISHERS, Ind. (AP) — FISHERS, Ind. (AP) — First Internet Bancorp (INBK) on Wednesday reported a loss of $1.3 million in its first quarter. The Fishers, Indiana-based bank said it had a loss of 14 cents per share.

Musk internet kits a boon for bad actors in Brazilian Amazon

ATALAIA DO NORTE, Brazil (AP) — Brazilian federal agents aboard three helicopters descended on an illegal mining site on Tuesday in the Amazon rainforest. They were met with gunfire, and the shooters escaped, leaving behind an increasingly familiar find for authorities: Starlink internet units.

What is Section 230, the rule that made the modern internet?

Twenty-six words tucked into a 1996 law overhauling telecommunications have allowed companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google to grow into the giants they are today.