REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 8, 2023--

Apple is to adopt a messaging standard that will make texting between an iPhone and an Android device a better experience. The US technology giant has confirmed it will adopt the rich communication services (RCS) “later next year”. RCS is considered an industry standard for messaging and allows users to send and receive high-quality photos and videos, chat over wifi as well as mobile data and users are able to see when messages have been read – a range of features that currently do not exist or work to the same standard when messaging between an iPhone and Android. Until now, Apple has focused on its own messaging system – iMessage – which allows for seamless communication between iPhone handsets. Later next year, we will be adding support for RCS Universal Profile, the standard as currently published by the GSM Association. We believe RCS Universal Profile will offer a better interoperability experience when compared to SMS or MMS Apple spokesperson Adopting RCS alongside iMessage will likely make the experience of chatting to an Android user from an iPhone closer to the iMessage experience. In a statement given to industry news site 9to5Mac, Apple said: “Later next year, we will be adding support for RCS Universal Profile, the standard as currently published by the GSM Association. “We believe RCS Universal Profile will offer a better interoperability experience when compared to SMS or MMS.” The announcement of the proposed change also comes as EU regulators have continued to pressure Apple to make iMessage more interoperable with other services under its new Digital Services Act – legislation designed to rein in tech giants, improve competition and ultimately provide better, more accessible services for consumers. Earlier this week, smartphone maker Nothing also revealed its Android phones would begin to support iMessage via a new app. Read More ICO seeks permission to appeal against Clearview AI tribunal ruling Users of iPhones can now check bank balance from Wallet app VR tool aims to help rail passengers spot and safely tackle sexual harassment

Embark's destruction-based FPS The Finals is making a surprise return this summer for another Closed Beta test.

The University of Chicago will partner with International Business Machines Corp. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google in deals totaling

The Biden administration is charting plans to sell offshore oil drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico over

X, the social media company formerly known as Twitter, has scrapped a feature that lets users self-report political misinformation on the platform, a research group says, marking the latest safety-focused guardrail that X has rolled back since billionaire Elon Musk took the helm.

TikTok has been fined 345 million euro (£296 million) by Ireland’s data watchdog following an investigation into how the social media platform processed children’s data. The fine was imposed on TikTok Technology Limited (TTL) by the Data Protection Commission (DPC) after the probe into how certain privacy settings and features complied with obligations under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation. The DPC inquiry examined age verification as part of the registration process and the processing of the personal data of children by the Chinese-owned video-sharing platform between July 31 and December 31 2020. Tiktok said that it “respectfully disagreed” with the level of the fine imposed and stated that it related to features and settings which were in place three years ago. The DPC adopted its final decision regarding its inquiry into TTK on September 1. We respectfully disagree with the decision, particularly the level of the fine imposed TikTok spokesperson The DPC ruling described how child users progressed through the sign-up to the TikTok platform in such a manner that their accounts were set to public by default. It said this meant that videos that were posted to child users’ account were public-by-default and comments were enabled publicly by default. In the Family Pairing feature, the DPC said a child user’s accounts could be “paired” with an unverified non-child. It said that that the non-child user had the power to enable direct messages for child users above the age of 16, thereby making this feature less strict for the child user. As part of the inquiry, the DPC also examined some of TTL’s transparency obligations, including the extent of information provided to child users in relation to default settings. The DPC has issued a reprimand as well as an order requiring TTL to bring its processing into compliance by taking specified action specified within three months and administrative fines totalling 345 million euro. A spokesperson for TikTok said: “We respectfully disagree with the decision, particularly the level of the fine imposed. “The DPC’s criticisms are focused on features and settings that were in place three years ago, and that we made changes to well before the investigation even began, such as setting all under 16 accounts to private by default.” It is the latest in a series of fines handed out by the DPC in Ireland to social media giants. Earlier this year, Facebook’s parent company Meta Ireland was fined 390 million for breaches of EU data privacy rules, one of a number of fines the DPC has imposed on the company. In Januar,y WhatsApp was fined more than five million euro over data protection breaches and last year Instagram was fined 405 million euro over the way in which it handled teenagers’ personal data. Earlier this year in the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office fined TikTok £12.7 million because it “did not do enough” to make sure underage children were not using its platform and ensure that their data was used correctly. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Stadiums and tourism hotspots to test new 5G networks in £88 million scheme Chatbots ‘able to outperform most humans at creative thinking task’ Information Commissioner urges people to share data to protect at-risk children

A bill that would force Big Tech companies to pay news agencies for using their content passed its first big test in the state Legislature on Thursday

Russian scientists have warned that powerful solar flare activity on Monday may cause significant disruption for satellite and radio communications. Three solar flares observed on Sunday by the Fedorov Institute of Applied Geophysics in Moscow lasted up to 14 minutes, signalling abnormally large geomagnetic disturbances on Earth. The institute forecasted the arrival of class X flares for Monday, which are the most energetic type of solar radiation, capable of damaging electronics. Earlier this month, a giant sunspot named AR3354 grew to a size roughly 10 times larger than Earth, unleashing an X-class flare aimed directly at Earth that triggered radio blackouts in some parts of the US. The latest solar activity is expected to interfere with short-wave radio communications, used by military, maritime and emergency operators. Increased solar storm activity in recent years has led to fears of an impending solar superstorm, which some astronomers warn could lead to an “internet apocalypse”. Such powerful storms occur approximately once every 100 years, with the last major one taking place in 1921. Nasa predicts that the next peak in the Sun’s 11-year activity cycle will arrive at some point in 2025, though it is not clear yet whether this will be the once-in-a-century event that some astronomers fear. The worst on record, referred to as the Carrington Event, took place in 1859 and resulted in fires at telegraph stations. “If the Carrington Event happened today, it would have even more severe impacts, such as widespread electrical disruptions, persistent blackouts, and interruptions to global communications,” the US space agency warned in a recent blog post. “Such technological chaos could cripple economies and endanger the safety and livelihoods of people worldwide.” Research published in 2021 assessed the robustness of internet and communications infrastructure against severe space weather events The study found that coronal mass ejection events could risk disconnecting Europe from the US, with the authors urging more to be done to improve the resilience of global telecommunication networks. In March this year, Nasa announced a new artificial intelligence model capable of predicting where on Earth a solar storm may strike, giving scientists up to 30 minutes of advanced warning. Vishal Upendran, from the Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics in India, who was involved in the AI’s development, said: “With this AI, it is now possible to make rapid and accurate global predictions and inform decisions in the event of a solar storm, thereby minimising – or even preventing – devastation to modern society.” Read More Once-in-a-century solar superstorm could plunge the world into ‘internet apocalypse’, study says Powerful solar flare responsible for blackout in US What to expect from India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission to Moon’s south pole India launches historic mission to Moon’s south pole

COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 10, 2023--

Archive of Our Own (AO3), a popular fan fiction website, is down. And people are

Adobe Inc.’s $20 billion takeover of Figma Inc. is set for an in-depth European Union investigation over concerns