Technology News (Reuters)

South Korea is struggling to retain its lead in global next-generation 5G telecom services, as the coronavirus pandemic further cools sentiment of consumers whose interest in the technology has waned due to cost and quality concerns.

Amazon.com Inc's general counsel on Thursday said his emotions clouded his judgment when he wrote meeting notes in which he allegedly outlined a public relations strategy against a protest organizer and questioned the employee's intelligence.

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday proposed to fine TracFone Wireless $6 million for allegedly violating its rules governing the subsidy program for telecommunications services for low income users.

Uber and Lyft drivers are hitting a wall in their efforts to apply for the coronavirus jobless benefits promised by Congress as state agencies say they are not ready to handle a class of workers who are totally new to the U.S. unemployment system.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said it needs more time to decide whether to allow a plan by the New York Stock Exchange to offer a new high-speed wireless connection to the exchange that some brokers have blasted as anti-competitive.

Infectious disease researchers are using Facebook Inc mobile location data to provide daily updates to U.S. cities and states evaluating the effectiveness of social distancing orders aimed at slowing the novel coronavirus.

Samsung Electronics said on Friday that it has suspended its home appliance factory in the United States after two of its workers had tested positive for coronavirus.

EU justice chief Vera Jourova on Thursday criticized U.S. tech giants such as Google and Facebook for making money off coronavirus-related fake news instead of putting in more efforts to stop the deluge.

Alphabet Inc's Google will begin to allow some clients, including hospitals, to run advertisements relating to the coronavirus on its platforms, in a change to its rules on ads around "sensitive events," which it plans to extend to political organizations.

Facebook Inc. launched a service in Italy to check the accuracy of information on coronavirus circulating on its messaging platform WhatsApp, the U.S. tech firm said on Thursday.

Amazon.com Inc plans to roll out temperature checks and face masks for staff at all its U.S. and European warehouses plus Whole Foods stores by early next week, a huge deployment for workers on the front lines of the coronavirus outbreak.

SoftBank Group Corp said it has terminated a $3 billion tender offer for additional WeWork shares agreed last year with shareholders, drawing threats of legal action and plunging the floundering office space company further into crisis.

Amazon is not liable for unknowingly stocking goods for third-party sellers that infringe trademarks, Europe's top court said on Thursday, handing online retailers a victory in their battle against luxury goods companies.

Alphabet Inc's Google will begin to allow some advertisers to run ads relating to the coronavirus on its platforms, in a change to its rules on ads around "sensitive events," according to a copy of a memo to advertising clients seen by Reuters.

Facebook Inc on Thursday rolled out the desktop version of its Messenger app for Apple's Mac and Microsoft's Windows to make video chats available on computer screens for Facebook users.

Netflix Inc led rivals YouTube, Amazon Prime and Disney+ with over 59 million installs in the first quarter of 2020, but more time was spent on YouTube's Kids service as usage boomed following the shutdown of thousands of schools in March.

Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance has agreed to buy leading industry data site CoinMarketCap for an undisclosed sum, the companies said in a joint statement on Thursday.

Saudi Arabia's digital marketplace Sary, which connects small businesses with merchant wholesalers, has secured $6.6 million in financing to boost expansion as coronavirus-driven demand for essential goods boosts appetite for its services.

Geely-owned Volvo Cars and auto tech supplier Veoneer will split their jointly owned software venture Zenuity as the Swedish carmaker focuses on developing autonomous driving software, the companies said on Thursday.

Governments across Africa are teaming up with technology giants including Facebook and WhatsApp to fight misinformation about coronavirus on social media platforms that could propel the pandemic on a continent with shaky healthcare systems.