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Topic: UK

Tech giants to tackle to take a leap in tackling online fraud. (Pexels) News 

UK Government Unites Tech Titans to Tackle Online Fraud!

Jim Hendler

According to the UK government, eleven major tech companies have made a commitment to intensify their efforts in combating the issue of online scammers. This pledge is being hailed as a groundbreaking initiative on a global scale. Companies such as Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Google, Instagram, LinkedIn, Match Group, Microsoft, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube have all agreed to participate in the Online Fraud Charter. Government officials believe that this charter will enhance user protection measures. The tech giants have promised to take tougher measures within six months to prevent and remove…

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Anthropic released a new version of its AI bot, named Claude. (AP) AI 

Anthropic Launches Updated Version of ChatGPT Competitor, Claude

Febin Mathew, ,

Anthropic, a startup specializing in artificial intelligence, has unveiled Claude, the latest iteration of its AI chatbot, which aims to be a more secure and reliable option. Anthropic said Claude 2 is available to anyone in the U.S. or U.K. online at claude.ai, and businesses can access it through an API. The new release on Tuesday comes several months after Anthropic began offering an earlier version of Claude to companies that wanted to add it to their products. The bot was previously tested by a handful of companies, including Quora…

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The announcement comes after Microsoft beat back the FTC's request for a preliminary injunction against the deal. Gaming 

Microsoft and UK Regulators Enter Talks to Resolve Dispute Over Activision Acquisition

Adriana Marais, , , ,

The Federal Trade Commission’s request for a preliminary injunction to halt Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard was denied by a US federal judge. However, Microsoft and the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have decided to pause their legal dispute and engage in negotiations to potentially reach a compromise that would enable the deal to proceed. “Following today’s court decision in the US, our focus now turns back to the UK. While we ultimately disagree with the CMA’s concerns, we are considering how the deal could be…

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Adobe has five days to pacify the country's competition regulator. News 

UK to Increase Scrutiny of Adobe’s $20 Billion Figma Purchase

Adarsh V.K, ,

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced its intention to conduct a thorough investigation into Adobe’s acquisition of Figma, according to The Wall Street Journal. The CMA has expressed worries about the potential negative impact on competition in the screen design software market and has decided to proceed with a “phase two” investigation. However, the CMA has given both companies a five-day window to propose legally binding solutions to address these concerns. If the CMA finds the response unsatisfactory, the investigation will commence. Adobe had previously announced its…

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Men Checking and Repairing Electric Lines at a Station. (Representative Image| Pexels) AI 

Virtus Raises Alarm Over London’s Aging Power Grid Impeding UK’s AI Ambitions

Febin Mathew,

A business has cautioned the UK energy regulator that London’s power grid is facing difficulties in accommodating additional data centers, which could discourage potential investments and hinder Britain’s aspirations in technology such as AI. “The combination of the immediate lack of power and future power delays prevents us from growing our business in the South East of England by adding new sites,” wrote Peter Betts, director of engineering at Virtus Data Centers Ltd. It “prevents the region from benefiting from future technological developments in areas such as artificial intelligence, an…

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Galaxy S20, 21 and S22 owners can replace the screen, back glass and charging ports. News 

Samsung Launches Self-Repair Service in the UK

Febin Mathew,

Samsung has revealed that its self-repair initiative has been introduced in the UK and other European nations, following its debut in the US in the previous year. Customers can now obtain the necessary tools and components to repair compatible devices, including the Galaxy S20, S21, and S22 mobile phones, as well as the Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360 laptops. “Samsung strives to extend the life of our devices to encourage users to experience the optimized performance of their Galaxy device for as long as possible,” said Samsung…

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Officials hope to improve research and safety. AI 

Google and OpenAI to Provide AI Models to UK Government

Adriana Marais, , ,

During London Tech Week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the UK’s AI regulation will involve the opportunity to directly examine the technology of certain companies. Google DeepMind, OpenAI, and Anthropic have committed to granting “early or priority access” to their AI models for research and safety purposes. Sunak hopes that this will enhance the scrutiny of these models and enable the government to identify both the advantages and hazards associated with them. It is not clear what information the tech companies share with the UK government. We’ve asked Google,…

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Microsoft's president met Britain's finance minister for talks on Tuesday and said he would try to work with regulators to seek UK approval for its $69 billion purchase of "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard. News 

Microsoft President and UK Finance Minister Discuss Activision Takeover Block

Adriana Marais, , ,

On Tuesday, Microsoft’s president held discussions with Britain’s finance minister and expressed his intention to collaborate with regulators in order to obtain UK authorization for the company’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the creator of “Call of Duty,” which is valued at $69 billion. Britain’s competition authorities blocked the takeover in April in a shock decision that puts the games’ biggest-ever deal at risk, prompting a furious response from two groups that questioned whether the country was still open to tech companies. Microsoft has since appealed, and its president Brad Smith…

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Microsoft is challenging Britain's decision to block its $69 billion takeover of "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard on the grounds of "fundamental errors" in the assessment of Microsoft's cloud gaming services. News 

Microsoft Sets Ground for Activision Appeal Against UK Regulator

Adriana Marais, , ,

Microsoft is challenging a UK decision to block its $69 billion acquisition of “Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard on the grounds of “fundamental flaws” in the valuation of Microsoft’s cloud gaming services. Britain’s anti-trust regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), vetoed the deal in April, saying it could harm competition in the nascent cloud gaming market, sparking a furious row. Microsoft confirmed on Wednesday that it had filed an appeal against the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) decision, and published a summary of its arguments on Friday. It…

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Sunak and the tech leaders - OpenAI's Sam Altman, Google DeepMind's Demis Hassabis and Anthropic's Dario Amodei - discussed the risks AI poses News 

UK works with OpenAI and Google DeepMind to ensure society benefits from AI technology

Adriana Marais, , , ,

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the bosses of leading artificial intelligence companies OpenAI, Google DeepMind and Anthropic will work together to ensure society benefits from transformative technology, they said in a statement after the meeting on Wednesday. According to the statement, Sunak and the technology leaders — OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei — discussed risks posed by artificial intelligence, from disinformation and national security to existential threats. They also discussed security measures, voluntary actions labs are considering to manage risks, and possible avenues…

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Apple has already settled a similar case in the US and offered a free battery replacement to the defective units. News 

Apple is accused of curbing the iPhone in the UK and faces lawsuits worth billions

Adriana Marais, , ,

Apple continues to face accusations that it has deliberately discouraged iPhone users from degrading battery units. We’ve heard of these reports before, and now the company is facing a £1.6 billion lawsuit in the UK accusing Apple of holding back the iPhone 6 and 6s models. Justin Gutmann has filed a lawsuit on behalf of UK users who have been affected by this abuse known as the battery door. The lawsuit alleges that Apple deliberately slowed down the performance of iPhone models to reduce battery drain. Apple has previously faced…

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Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the company behind the popular game 'Call of Duty', will not pose a threat to competition in the gaming console market, UK regulators said - clearing a significant hurdle for the $69 billion deal. News 

UK ditches antitrust rules from Microsoft-Activision deal, but remains wary of impact on cloud gaming market

Adriana Marais, , , , , ,

LONDON: Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of “Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard would not harm competition in game consoles, Britain’s competition watchdog said, removing a major hurdle to the deal. In its findings based on new evidence, the Competition and Markets Authority said on Friday that it would not make economic sense for Microsoft to make “Call of Duty” exclusive to its Xbox console and instead would still have an incentive to keep the game available for PlayStation. However, the regulator said it was still reviewing the deal’s impact on…

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Britain said on Thursday it would ban TikTok on government phones with immediate effect, a move that follows other Western countries who have barred the Chineseowned video app over security concerns. News 

Now Britain bans TikTok on government phones due to security concerns

Febin Mathew, ,

LONDON: Britain said on Thursday it would ban TikTok from state phones immediately, following other Western countries that have banned the Chinese-owned video app over security concerns. “The security of sensitive government data must be a priority, so today we are banning this app from government devices. The use of other apps that harvest data will be monitored,” government minister Oliver Dowden said in a statement. TikTok has come under increasing scrutiny amid fears that user data on the app, owned by Beijing-based company ByteDance, could end up in the…

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