India bans 47 more Chinese mobile apps
India has banned 47 more Chinese apps just weeks after blocking the highly popular video-sharing platform TikTok and 58 others over national security and privacy concerns, an information ministry official and media reports said Monday. Tensions between the world’s two most-populous nations soared last month after a Himalayan border clash that left 20 Indian troops […] The post India bans 47 more Chinese mobile apps appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
India bans 47 more Chinese mobile apps
India has banned 47 more Chinese apps just weeks after blocking the highly popular video-sharing platform TikTok and 58 others over national security and privacy concerns, an information ministry official and media reports said Monday. Tensions between the world’s two most-populous nations soared last month after a Himalayan border clash that left 20 Indian troops […] The post India bans 47 more Chinese mobile apps appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
China’s Wang Yi tells Blinken US should lift sanctions on Chinese firms
The Biden administration has imposed bans on the sale of certain technologies to Chinese companies, citing national security risks.....»»
China’s military and government acquire Nvidia chips despite US ban
The sales by largely unknown Chinese suppliers highlight the difficulties Washington faces, despite its bans, in completely cutting off China's access to advanced US chips that could fuel breakthroughs in AI and sophisticated computers for its military.....»»
Asian military bans digital clone app
The Filipino defense secretary warned that uploading personal photos may pose a security risk Apps that require users to upload their personal photos and then employ artificial intelligence to create a person's digital clone are now off limits to Philippines military personnel, the country's Department of National Def.....»»
Asian military bans digital clone app
The Filipino defense secretary warned that uploading personal photos may pose a security riskApps that require users to upload their personal photos and then employ artificial intelligence to create a person's digital clone are now off limits to Philippines military personnel, the country's Department of National Defense has said. Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. warned that such apps coul.....»»
Asian military bans digital clone app
The Filipino defense secretary warned that uploading personal photos may pose a security riskApps that require users to upload their personal photos and then employ artificial intelligence to create a person's digital clone are now off limits to Philippines military personnel, the country's Department of National Defense has said. Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. warned that such apps coul.....»»
Philippines military bans AI-based app
The country's defense secretary warned that uploading personal photos onto an app that creates a "digital person" may pose a security risk Apps that require users to upload their personal photos and then employ artificial intelligence to create a person's digital clone are now off limits to Philippines military person.....»»
Gibo bans AFP use of AI photo generator apps
They may be a global craze, but artificial intelligence photo generator apps can pose security risks, according to Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, who issued an order prohibiting military and defense personnel from using the apps......»»
Philippines bans military from using AI image generators due to ‘security risks’
All defense and military personnel in the Philippines have been ordered to refrain from using all artificial intelligence image generator apps, which a government memorandum said poses “significant privacy and security risks.”.....»»
Indonesia bans goods transactions on social media platforms
Indonesia has banned goods transactions on social media platforms in a new regulation, its trade minister said Wednesday, as Jakarta aims to rein in direct sales on major platforms it says are harming millions of small businesses. Calls had grown in recent months for a regulation governing social media and e-commerce, with offline sellers seeing their livelihoods threatened by the sale of cheaper products on TikTok Shop and other platforms. "This trade regulation has been in force (since yesterday)," Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan told a news conference in the capital Jakarta. He said social commerce platforms would have a week to comply with the new rule. "Any government would protect local small businesses," he said, saying the regulation was passed to ensure "equality in business competition". The regulation means social media firms will not be able to conduct direct transactions but only promote products on their platforms. "Social commerce can place ads like TV, but it mustn't be transactional. (They) can't open shop, can't directly sell," he said, without mentioning TikTok by name. Laws in the archipelago nation did not cover direct transactions through social media platforms such as TikTok, Facebook or Instagram before the new regulation. The new regulation is yet another setback for TikTok, which has faced intense scrutiny in the United States and other nations in recent months over users' data security and the company's alleged ties to Beijing. "Other countries are banning, we don't, (we're) regulating," Hasan said. Indonesia is one of the world's biggest markets for TikTok Shop and was the first to pilot the app's e-commerce arm. But Indonesia is now the first country in the region to act against the platform's growing popularity in social media commerce. The ministerial-level regulation -- an amendment to a trade regulation issued in 2020 -- did not need approval by lawmakers. Chinese technology giant and TikTok owner ByteDance and TikTok Indonesia did not respond immediately to a request for comment Wednesday. But a TikTok Indonesia spokesperson told AFP on Monday the ban would harm as many as six million local sellers who market their products on the platform. Meta -- which owns Facebook and Instagram -- did not respond to a request for comment. 'Markets are quiet' How the ban will work exactly remains unclear but experts said it could mean social media firms would have to obtain a separate approval for their e-commerce arms. "It could be that their license will be rearranged," said Tauhid Ahmad, executive director of the Jakarta-based Institute for Development of Economics and Finance. Offline sellers at Tanah Abang market in Jakarta applauded the government's decision. "The government should... dare to innovate given the current situation, where markets are quiet like this," said Stevanie Ahua, a 60-year-old wholesale denim jeans seller. She said her revenue had dropped by 60 percent in recent months as buyers turned to online shops. Others like 29-year-old cookie baker Panji Made Agung in Bali said he was disappointed by the ban. "For sellers like me, TikTok can be used for soft selling. We can become influencers and sellers at the same time," he said. Indonesia's e-commerce market is dominated by platforms such as Tokopedia, Shopee and Lazada but TikTok Shop gained a significant market share since launching in 2021. Indonesia, with 125 million users, is TikTok's second-largest global market after the United States, according to company figures. TikTok's chief executive Shou Zi Chew visited Jakarta in June, pledging to pour billions of dollars into Southeast Asia in the coming years. The post Indonesia bans goods transactions on social media platforms appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Analyst: Look out for BRICS
The government must not only monitor China’s actions in the West Philippine Sea but also the developing countries’ bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, or BRICS. BRICS members are considered the emerging geopolitical rivals to the G7 group of advanced economies. UST Political Science professor Marlon Villarin said China wanted to resolve the conflict in the West Philippine Sea through economic, not legal, terms. “We should watch BRICS closely. This is an international alliance, particularly now that it has attracted new members which are backers of China,” Villarin said when he guested on the program “Hot Patatas” of DAILY TRIBUNE and Dyaryo Tirada Wednesday. Villarin said that despite China’s tactics in asserting its maritime claim, some nations maintain a soft approach to China, like the United Kingdom, because of its economic stakes in China, such as the minerals needed for solar power and electric batteries. “When it comes to technology, China has strong leverage. For example, minerals are used to produce solar power and electric batteries. So, we should ask about the reasons for not antagonizing China. Is the economic leverage successful in convincing some countries to keep their peace?” he said. Take down app The National Security Council, meanwhile, has called on the government to “seriously consider” banning the Chinese social media application TikTok among local security officials. Jonathan Malaya, assistant director general of the NSC, suggested in a news forum, noting that the council had yet to conduct a complete study on whether or not the TikTok app was being used by China in the Philippines to promote its propaganda. “We should seriously consider it for the security sector alone, not for the civilian agencies of government,” Malaya said. TikTok faces increasing limits and bans on a global scale. In the US, a looming ban is under review while a recent congressional hearing grilled TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. Several countries across North America, Europe, and Asia have implemented some level of restriction on the app, mainly over privacy and cybersecurity concerns connected to its parent company, ByteDance, which has ties to the Chinese government. International government bodies, including the European Commission and NATO, have banned their staff from using TikTok on their corporate phones. “Maybe if there is a need to ban, it will not be for public school teachers, it will not be for civilians, but it will be for the armed personnel,” Malaya said. NSA to be consulted Malaya said there was a thorough discussion with National Security Adviser Eduardo Año on the matter. “We will need to study this very carefully, based on national security considerations. We will discuss this with the National Security Adviser if it will be proper for the Philippines to take this step,” he said. Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines assured that measures are in place to protect the national security from internal and external threats. The post Analyst: Look out for BRICS appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
TikTok challenges Twitter, offers text format
TikTok, the social platform known for its addictive video content, announced Monday that it will offer text-only posts, becoming the latest tech giant to offer an alternative to embattled Twitter. The text posts on TikTok will most closely resemble similar offerings on Instagram, which earlier this month also launched a challenge to Twitter — which owner Elon Musk renamed X — called Threads. Like Meta-owned Threads, TikTok benefits from its size, with around 1.4 billion monthly active users, according to specialist site Business of Apps. But unlike Facebook’s parent company, it has chosen to integrate its new text-only feature into its app rather than launch a separate product, as Meta did with Threads. TikTok’s version will remain more visual than a Twitter or Threads post, with users able to add a color background, music and stickers to the post. The Chinese-owned company said the new format will expand “boundaries of content creation for everyone on TikTok” and tap into the “creativity” seen in comments and captions, the company said. In addition to Threads, smaller platforms such as Mastodon, Bluesky and Substack Notes have emerged as potential rivals to Twitter, but none have so far dethroned it despite its troubles. WITH AFP The post TikTok challenges Twitter, offers text format appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Google launches ChatGPT rival Bard in EU, Brazil
Google launched its AI chatbot Bard in the European Union, Brazil and a dozen other countries on Thursday and unveiled new features as it expands access to its answer to Microsoft-backed ChatGPT. The US tech giant unveiled Bard in February but delayed its release in the European Union as the bloc plans to regulate artificial intelligence amid concerns about risks associated with the rapidly growing technology. Google has raced to catch up with rival Microsoft, which has rushed to integrate ChatGPT-like powers in a wide array of its products, including the Bing search engine. Bard is "now available in most of the world, and in the most widely spoken languages," Bard's product lead Jack Krawczyk and vice president Amarnag Subramanya wrote in a blog. "As part of our bold and responsible approach to AI, we've proactively engaged with experts, policymakers and privacy regulators on this expansion," they said. The company said it would incorporate user feedback and take steps to protect people's privacy and data as it broadens access to Bard. The AI tool can now be used in over 40 languages including Arabic, Chinese, German, Hindi and Spanish. It was previously available in three languages -- English, Japanese and Korean. Google also announced new features, including receiving audio responses from Bard or answers in five different styles: simple, long, short, professional or casual. Another new feature allows users to upload photos that Bard can analyze for information. The rise of AI has raised both excitement and concerns about its potential to improve or replace tasks done by humans. AI tools have shown in recent months the ability to generate essays, create realistic images, mimic voices of famous singers and even pass medical exams, among a slew of uses. Common worries include the possibility that chatbots could flood the web with disinformation, that biased algorithms will churn out racist material, or that AI-powered automation could lay waste to entire industries. 'Extinction' fears Experts -- even the founder of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, Sam Altman -- have warned about the potential existential risks that the technology poses to humanity. Altman and dozens of other specialists signed a statement in May urging global leaders to reduce "the risk of extinction" from AI. But the warnings have not stopped the rapid development of AI. Tesla and Twitter owner Elon Musk, who has issued his own warnings about the risks, launched an AI company named xAI on Wednesday. The xAI website said Musk would run the company separately from his other companies but that the technology developed would benefit those businesses, including Twitter. Last month, the European Parliament backed a draft law that will be the basis for the world's first comprehensive rules for AI. It includes specific provisions for generative AI systems, such as ChatGPT and Dall-E, capable of producing text, images and other media. The parliament and the EU's member states will negotiate on the regulation before it is approved and the bloc wants to strike a deal by the end of the year. The rules stipulate that AI-generated content must be declared as such and bans some AI including real-time facial recognition systems. The post Google launches ChatGPT rival Bard in EU, Brazil appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Online trade maintains strong growth last year
Online stock market transactions rose as those using it grew by 8.6 percent in 2022 to 1,258,907 accounts. Despite the muted growth in online accounts compared to previous years, the average value per online transaction rose by 33.2 percent to P46,236.40 from P34,701.80 in 2021. While close to 100,000 online accounts were added last year, its non-online counterpart recorded a decrease of 7,156 accounts to 453,827. Given this, the total number of stock market accounts registered in 2022 was 1,712,734, up by 5.7 percent from 2021’s 1,620,017 accounts. “The growth in accounts may have been subdued in 2022 but I expect an uptick in numbers again with the foray of new stock brokerage firms in the online trading space and the upcoming rollout of stock investing features in finance apps,” PSE president and CEO Ramon Monzon, said. “The total number of stock market accounts was also affected by the clean-up of dormant accounts done by the trading participants,” Monzon added. The said cleanup of inactive accounts was done in compliance with Republic Act 9160, the Anti-Money Laundering Act. The accounts were mostly owned by local retail investors as they held a little over 98.0 percent of the total stock market accounts. Institutional investors and foreign investors owned 1.9 percent and 1.7 percent of the total stock market accounts, respectively. Investor profile The Stock Market Investor Profile Report showed that there were slightly more female investors in 2022 at 50.2 percent. For online accounts, 51.0 percent were held by female investors while the rest are owned by their male counterparts. A surge in accounts owned by investors in the 30 to 44 age range was recorded in 2022. About half of the retail accounts were held by investors in the 30 to 44 age group from a 33.9 percent share in 2021. The 45 to 59-year-old investors comprised 20.7 percent of accounts, followed by the 18 to 29-year-olds at 18.7 percent and investors aged 60 and above at 10.8 percent. The ownership by age of online accounts mirrored that of total retail accounts with the 30 to 44 age group taking up the largest share at 55.7 percent of online accounts. The 18 to 29-year-old investors followed registering a 20.8 percent share. Meanwhile, the 45 to 59 age bracket held 18.4 percent of the online accounts and the 60 and above age group owned 5.0 of online accounts. Investors with an annual income of less than P500,000 annually made up 53.5 percent of retail accounts and 72.9 percent of online retail accounts. Those who earned an annual income of P500,000 to P1 million had a 25.6 percent and 13.6 percent share in retail accounts and online retail accounts, respectively. Investors whose annual income is above P1 million comprised 20.9 percent of retail investors and 13.6 percent of online investors. In terms of location, Metro Manila continued to have the biggest number of retail investors at 81.5 percent, trailed by Luzon 10.7 percent, Visayas at 3.7 percent and Mindanao at 2.5 percent. Investors based overseas accounted for 1.7 percent of retail investors. Foreign nationals with investments in the local market were mostly Chinese, American, Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese. The post Online trade maintains strong growth last year appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
China jails US citizen for life on espionage charges
China has sentenced a 78-year-old US citizen to life in prison for espionage, a court said Monday, but revealed few details about the previously unreported case. Such heavy terms are relatively rare for foreign citizens in China, and the jailing of American passport holder John Shing-wan Leung is likely to further strain already-damaged ties between Beijing and Washington. Leung, who is also a Hong Kong permanent resident, "was found guilty of espionage, sentenced to life imprisonment, deprived of political rights for life", said a statement from the Intermediate People's Court in the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou. Suzhou authorities "took compulsory measures according to the law" against Leung in April 2021, it said, without specifying when he had been taken into custody. It was unclear where Leung had been living at the time of his arrest. A spokesperson for the US embassy in Beijing said they were aware of reports that a US citizen had been recently convicted and sentenced in Suzhou. "The Department of State has no greater priority than the safety and security of US citizens overseas," the spokesperson said. "Due to privacy considerations, we have no further comment." The court statement provided no further details on the charges, and closed-door trials are routine in China for sensitive cases. Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin declined to comment further on the case at a regular press briefing on Monday. In Hong Kong, security minister Chris Tang told a news conference Monday the city's authorities were notified of Leung's arrest in 2021. "The Hong Kong police have carried out follow-up action according to the notification," Tang said, refusing to elaborate further. Rights activist jailed The jailing is likely to further damage relations with Washington, which are already severely strained over issues such as trade, human rights and Taiwan. Washington and Beijing have just ended an unofficial pause in high-level contacts over the United States' shooting down in February of a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi held eight hours of talks in Vienna in an apparent breakthrough last week, with both sides describing the meeting as "candid, substantive and constructive". On Friday, Washington issued a statement condemning the reported sentencing of a Chinese human rights activist for "inciting subversion of state power". Guo Feixiong, also known as Yang Maodong, was jailed for eight years, according to rights groups. There has been no official confirmation of the sentencing from China. The US State Department said in its statement its diplomats had been barred from attending the trial in southern China. "We urge the PRC to live up to its international commitments, give its citizens due process, respect their human rights and fundamental freedoms including freedom of speech, and end the use of arbitrary detentions and exit bans," said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday the country's "judicial authorities act in accordance with the law, and their actions brook no interference". US President Joe Biden is due to head to Hiroshima for a meeting of leaders of the G7 group of major developed economies. The G7's relationship with China is expected to be high on the agenda at the May 19-21 summit. Other high-profile espionage cases in recent years include the arrest in 2019 of Chinese-born Australian writer Yang Jun. Australia called last week for another of its nationals, jailed journalist Cheng Lei, to be reunited with her family after 1,000 days in detention over "supplying state secrets overseas". In April, authorities formally charged a prominent Chinese journalist with spying, more than a year after he was detained while having lunch at a Beijing restaurant with a Japanese diplomat, a media rights group said. Revised anti-espionage law Also in April, China approved an amendment to its anti-espionage law, broadening its scope by widening the definition of spying and banning the transfer of any data related to what the authorities define as national security. The changes to the law will come into force on July 1. "Chinese authorities have long had an essentially free hand in addressing national security concerns," Chinese law expert Jeremy Daum wrote. "The laws involved are sometimes amorphous and vague, leading to selective, or even arbitrary, enforcement," he said, adding that the definition of "espionage" was already so broad "it isn't immediately clear what the impact of the expanded definition will be". The post China jails US citizen for life on espionage charges appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Canada warns citizens on Hong Kong exit bans
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Canada warned its citizens on Thursday that Hong Kong authorities can prevent people leaving the city under a new law that has raised fears of Chinese mainland-style exit bans. The law, granting the immigration chief powers to bar people from boarding planes to and from the city, came into effect […] The post Canada warns citizens on Hong Kong exit bans appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Sweden bans China s Huawei, ZTE from 5G network
Sweden has banned Chinese telecoms groups Huawei and ZTE from its 5G network for security reasons, the Swedish telecoms regulator said on Tuesday......»»
Chinese to boycott Apple if US bans WeChat app
Chinese consumers could boycott Apple if the United States bans WeChat, China’s foreign ministry spokesman warned Friday, as the clock ticks down on a US order to block the popular social app......»»
Britain bans Huawei to give US big victory versus China
London---Britain on Tuesday bowed to growing US pressure and ordered the phased removal of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from its 5G network despite warnings of retaliation from Beijing......»»
Britain bans China s Huawei, handing US big win
London, United Kingdom | Britain on Tuesday bowed to US pressure and approved the phased removal of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from its 5G network despite warnings of retaliation from Beijing......»»