Technology

The German foreign ministry has restricted use of the video conferencing service Zoom to fixed-connection computers due to concerns about security issues, two German government sources said.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Wednesday approved Alphabet Inc unit Google's request to use part of an U.S.-Asia undersea telecommunications cable after the company warned it would face significantly higher prices to carry traffic by other means.

Zoom Video Communications Inc has tapped former Facebook security chief Alex Stamos as an adviser to improve the privacy and security of its rapidly growing video-conferencing app amid a global backlash, including a move by Alphabet Inc's Google to ban the desktop version of Zoom from corporate laptops.

Alphabet Inc's Google on Wednesday banned Zoom video conferencing application from its employees' laptops, citing security concerns.

Alphabet Inc's Google said on Wednesday it would give two months of free access to the paid version of its cloud-based game streaming platform Stadia as people are confined to their homes due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Zoom Video Communications Inc has tapped former Facebook security chief Alex Stamos as an adviser and set up an advisory board to improve the privacy and security of its rapidly growing video-conferencing app amid a global backlash.

Italian authorities are working on introducing a smartphone app that would help health services trace the contacts of people who test positive for the coronavirus as the government looks at ways of gradually lifting a lockdown imposed a month ago.

The U.S Justice Department on Wednesday recommended U.S. regulators approve Alphabet Inc unit Google's request to use part of an U.S.-Asia undersea telecommunications cable after the company warned it would face significantly higher prices to carry traffic by other means.

Video conferencing company Zoom has been responsive to concerns over its software, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a memo recently distributed to top government cybersecurity officials and seen by Reuters.

The German foreign ministry has restricted use of the video conferencing service Zoom , saying in an internal memo to employees that security and data protection weaknesses made it too risky to use, newspaper Handelsblatt reported on Wednesday.

Turkey will monitor the mobile phones of those diagnosed with the new coronavirus to ensure they do not break quarantine, authorities said on Wednesday, marking the latest measure to stem an outbreak that has surged over the last month.

The European Union is drawing up common rules for using mobile apps to track the spread of the coronavirus, aiming to make better use of the technology and address privacy concerns.

Tesla Inc told employees on Tuesday it would furlough all non-essential workers and implement salary cuts during a shut down of its U.S. production facilities because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The European Union will on Wednesday adopt a pan-European approach on the use of mobile applications to track the spread of the coronavirus, according to a European Commission document seen by Reuters.

China'a internet regulator ordered search engine Baidu to clean up improper information and halt the spread of "low-brow content."

Twitter Inc Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey on Tuesday pledged $1 billion of his stake in Square Inc , the payments processor that he co-founded and heads, to help fund relief efforts related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Amazon.com Inc will suspend a delivery service that aims to compete with UPS and FedEx in the United States.

Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn will make ventilators with U.S. firm Medtronic Plc to help patients afflicted by the coronavirus outbreak, the company said on Wednesday.

California's Santa Clara County, the technology hub hit hard by some of the first American cases of the coronavirus, dramatically slowed the illness with early and aggressive shelter-at-home rules, public health officer Sara Cody said on Tuesday.

Computer chip makers are banking on less disruptions to their factories from this week's strict lockdown in Singapore than the havoc wreaked on their supply chains last month when Malaysia and the Philippines imposed vague restrictions about "essential" operations.