Technology News (Reuters)

The United States is in talks with Brazil and its local telecommunications companies on funding the acquisition of fifth-generation gear produced by Ericsson and Nokia, U.S. ambassador for Brazil Todd Chapman told Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo.

Japan aims to launch a smartphone app based on technology from Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google next week to help curb the spread of coronavirus by tracking close contact with those infected, the health ministry said on Friday.

(This June 11 story corrects amount recovered by trustee in last paragraph)

Top Wall Street brokerages Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley downgraded their ratings on Tesla Inc saying the electric carmaker's shares were overpriced, two days after the high-flying stock crossed $1,000 per share.

Italy, the first major European country to roll out a smartphone app to trace COVID-19 infections that does not rely on a centralized database, has already seen 2.2 million downloads in 10 days, a sign Italians are setting aside privacy concerns.

Japan's Honda Motor Co has resumed production at automobile and motorcycle plants in the United States and other countries after they were hit by a suspected cyber attack this week, a spokesman said on Friday.

Sony Corp on Friday unveiled more than two dozen titles for its upcoming PlayStation 5 console, including a sequel to its hit "Spider-Man" title and the latest "Gran Turismo" racer, as it builds anticipation ahead of the planned year-end launch.

U.S. video streaming company Netflix is in talks with Viacom18, part of the Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries' media unit Network18, about a multi-year partnership to source content, three sources told Reuters, in a move that would expand a relationship between the two sides.

Twitter on Thursday said it removed more than 170,000 accounts tied to a Beijing-backed influence operation that deceptively spread messages favorable to the Chinese government, including some about the coronavirus.

Three U.S. lawmakers asked Zoom Video Communications Inc to clarify its data-collection practices and relationship with the Chinese government after the firm said it had suspended user accounts to meet demands from Beijing.

China on Friday said Twitter should shut down accounts that smear China if it wants to fight disinformation, arguing that the country is the biggest victim of disinformation.

Singapore-based electronics maker PCI has won a bid to supply 300,000 dongles for a government project that could eventually see everyone in the city-state given the wearable device to help identify people who have interacted with COVID-19 carriers.

The Chinese Beidou navigation network will be complete this month when its final satellite goes into orbit, giving China greater independence from U.S.-owned GPS and heating up competition in a sector long dominated by the United States.

Airspace Systems, a California startup company that makes drones that can hunt down and capture other drones, on Thursday released new software for monitoring social distancing and face-mask wearing from the air.

Alphabet Inc's Google said on Thursday it was tackling unlawful discrimination by barring housing, employment and credit ads from being targeted to its users based on their postal code, gender, age, parental status or marital status.

Japan's Mitsubishi Electric Corp said on Thursday it would buy part of a plant in western Japan from Sharp Corp to meet growing demand for power management chips used in electric vehicles (EVs).

Zoom Video Communications Inc said on Thursday the Chinese government demanded the termination of four public meetings held on its video conferencing platform on June 4 to commemorate the 31st anniversary of China's Tiananmen Square crackdown.

Apple Inc said on Thursday it will increase spending with black-owned suppliers as part of a $100 million racial equity and justice initiative, while Google-owned YouTube said it will spend $100 million to fund black artists.

Google filed a lawsuit accusing home speaker maker Sonos Inc of infringing five of its patents, escalating tensions between the partners that have already led to a U.S. International Trade Commission probe.

Microsoft Corp said on Thursday it would await federal regulation before selling facial recognition technology to police, making it the latest big firm to back away from the business following protests against law enforcement brutality and bias.