The company announced on Friday that Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts will remain suspended for two years, effective from the date of their initial ban on January 7. Nick Clegg, Facebook’s vice-president of global affairs, said the company will then consider allowing him back on the platforms: He added that once the suspension is lifted, “there will be a strict set of rapidly escalating sanctions” that will be triggered if Trump commits further violations....

This comes days after the social network barred all users and publishers in the country from posting or viewing news links, as new Australian laws required platforms like Facebook to pay publishers to display their content. Apart from news sites, the ban also affected government information pages. While the company didn’t give details on what steps it’s taking, but it said it has reached an agreement with the government on making changes to the news code: Last week, the Australian government refused to make amendments to its code that forced platforms such as Facebook and Google to pay news sites for displaying links to articles....

Till now, the vaccination program allowed anyone above 45, as well as healthcare workers, and frontline workers to get the approved shots to fight COVID-19. As the program opens up for more people, Facebook is rolling out a new tool to find the nearest vaccination center in the coming days. The tool will be available in 17 languages, and help you identify the nearest vaccination center in your area. Plus, It’ll show if a center has walk-in options for people aged 46 years and above along with a link to register on the CoWin website and schedule your vaccination appointment if needed....

GIFs are great for punctuating your internet-breaking tweets and quick-witted replies to texts. It’s generally easy to find good ones by searching with a keyword — but if you want to be quicker and on point, you should try searching with an emoji instead. — Arlan ?? (@ArlanWasHere) September 5, 2019 Twitter user @ArlanWasHere rightly pointed this out in a tweet today. You can also use this in apps that support inline GIFs, like WhatsApp and Telegram, as well as certain keyboard apps like Gboard on Android....

The challenges facing the world’s most vulnerable people seem to keep mounting. Our uneven global recovery from the pandemic is worsening inequality and widening divides. For the first time in decades, poverty and hunger are on the rise. And as the war in Ukraine shuts down ten percent of our global wheat supply, hunger is projected to dramatically worsen. Thankfully, after two years of responding to the evolving obstacles created by COVID-19, we have opened doors to powerful solutions....

Since then, Google fired both employees, as well as two others involved in the initial protest. But now, those fired former-Googlers plan to file labor charges against the tech giant, accusing the company of letting them go for engaging in protected labor organizing. In an open letter published yesterday by “Google Walkout For Real Change,” on Medium, the article outlined how the four employees, Laurence Berland, Paul Duke, Rebecca Rivers, and Sophie Waldman, who were all involved in internal activism at the company, will “fight back....

Local governments worldwide are tackling varied and pressing challenges, from reducing pollution and making roads safer to ensuring public safety and helping the local economy recover from COVID-19 shutdowns While their goals are people-driven rather than profit-oriented, cities must manage funds transparently and prudently to ensure public money is spent wisely and to deliver a clear return on investment (ROI) for budget-holders and residents. Sweat your assets So how can a city official best demonstrate ROI?...

The average cable TV bill is currently up over $200 a month. $217.42, to be exact. That’s not only high, that’s more than the average household spends per month on electricity, gas, water, sewage, and garbage services combined. All just for the privilege of watching TV. At this point, those who haven’t cut the cable cord are probably either afraid — or just looking for a good excuse. Either way, FuboTV might be just the excuse many of the remaining tethered are waiting for to break away from the cable monopoly once and for all....

According to a recent report by German outlet Spiegel, Tesla’s odds in an ongoing court case, in which the country’s competition commission is suing the electric vehicle maker over misleading advertising, aren’t looking too good after the case hearing commenced last week. “The standards of the law against unfair competition are rather strict,” said the presiding judge Isolde Hannamann. Last year, the German Center for Protection against Unfair Competition (Wettbewerbszentrale) filed a suit against the electric carmaker for claims that calling its collection of advanced driver aids called “Autopilot” is fundamentally misleading....

If you don’t have VPN protection online, you need it. If you don’t have adequate cloud storage space to backup all of your systems and vital data, you need it. If you need both…then frankly, we’re surprised you’ve survived on the internet this long anyway. Of course that’s no reason to keep tempting fate, especially when the protection of The Lifetime Backup and Security Subscription Bundle ($89.99, over 90 percent off, from TNW Deals) can make sure you’re covered for both for a long, long time....

We had a stronger lineup than ever before, including speakers like Guy Kawasaki, Apple’s original marketer, and Larry Sanger, co-founder of Wikipedia. Our venue was new, too – we moved to NDSM in Amsterdam North, so we could offer more stages and, more importantly, more food trucks. The location’s artistic vibe was the perfect backdrop for our tech festival. Take a look at some of the TNW2019 highlights: As amazing as it was, we think we can do even better next year....

As one of the longest standing virtual private network (VPN) providers around, it would be easy for Private Internet Access to just quietly rest on their standing as one of the premier VPN security protections available anywhere. With a trophy case filled with honors like a PCMag Editor’s Choice award, a place on CNET’s Best VPN Services of 2021 list, and more than 100,000 Apple App Store and Google Play reviews giving PIA a 4....

At the time, the company appeared to still be planning on some kind of streaming event, as it had said it would “explore other ways to evolve Google I/O.” But today, the company announced it wouldn’t be holding any kind of event at all. In a statement posted to its I/O hub, the company now says: The Bay Area recently ordered residents to “shelter in place” over the next three weeks....

If users of Android 11 and older versions open the app, they’ll see the following, terse message: “Android Auto for phone screens will stop working soon” Here’s a screenshot of my Xiaomi Redmi 11 (running on Android 11), when I open it: The app is still usable, but the message reappears every time it’s activated. And there are no further details as to how soon “soon” actually is. In a statement to 9to5google, Google confirmed that the app is being done away with, but didn’t share any info about when it’s going to stop working: This basically means that either you’ll buy a vehicle with Android Auto as a built-in feature, or you’ll have to switch to the Google Assistant driving mode....

Google today announced it’s bringing its VPN service to Google One subscribers on the 2TB plan or higher — the ones starting at $10 a month. This goes for families too — you can share VPN access with up to 5 family members at no extra cost. For those not familiar, VPNs allow you to browse the web more securely by encrypting your connection and hiding your IP address. Your data goes through a VPN server before it hits the wider web, where it’s encrypted against potential hackers or others looking to track your information....

To make the transition as easy as possible for Google Play Music members, we’re walking you through everything to know & do here ⬇️ — TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) August 4, 2020 Google has been working towards this point since May, when it revealed its tools for transferring Play Music libraries, playlists, etc over to YouTube Music. And it makes sense the company would want to eliminate redundancy, even if it’s a bit sad....

The pledge came in response to a Greenpeace report on Big Tech’s Big Oil problem, which exposed 14 contracts that the three companies had with major oil firms. The environmental organization called on the firms to publicly commit to ending these relationships — and Google was first to answer. A company spokesperson told OneZero that the company will not “build custom AI/ML algorithms to facilitate upstream extraction in the oil and gas industry,” and would instead focus on solutions for the renewables sector....

Of course, can’t quickly becomes can with the use of powerful tools like Google Script. With some simple programming skills, this powerful language can be applied to integrate all kinds of weighty Google apps like Google Sheets, Google Docs, Gmail and more to help automate, streamline and declutter all kinds of web operations. With the training in The Increase Your Google App Productivity with Google Script Bundle ($34.99, over 90 percent, from TNW Deals), you’ll get all the background on using this sneaky resourceful tool to make your app creations faster, lighter, more useful and all-around smarter with a few simple steps....

Epic Games Store is gearing up to offer the popular Rockstar title entirely free of charge, a reliable source has informed Gamepressure. Even better, the free offering is expected arrive as the Premium Edition, which includes access to the game itself, Grand Theft Auto Online, and lots of additional content. Despite its initial release in 2013, GTA V is still a huge draw, clinching 10 million sales in the period between February 2019 and now....

Serial 1 is launching with four models aimed at different types of riders: Mosh/Cty ($3,399) Rush/Cty ($4,399) Rush/Cty Step-Thru ($4,499) Rush/Cty Speed ($4,999) Credit: Serial 1 As you might expect given the company’s reputation, these are all premium bikes, and the “/Cty” suffix implies they are all meant for urban environments. It also implies the company will eventually have bikes intended for other kinds of riding too. They’re all limited to 20mph except for — you guessed it, the Rush/Cty Speed — which is limited to 28mph....