Zuckerberg regrets some Facebook decisions on COVID-19 done at behest of U.S government

Zuckerberg regrets some Facebook decisions on COVID-19 done at behest of U.S government

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says senior Biden administration officials pressured Facebook to “censor” some COVID-19 content during the pandemic and vowed the social media giant would push back if it faced such demands again. In a letter to Rep. Jim Jordan, the Republican chair of the judiciary committee of the House of Representatives, Zuckerberg alleges … Read more

Oprah or Hasan Piker? DNC tests the value of celebrities vs. influencers

Oprah or Hasan Piker? DNC tests the value of celebrities vs. influencers

Last night, talk show icon Oprah Winfrey received roaring applause at her first-ever appearance at a national political convention. The day before, actor Sean Astin strutted onstage to call for the first woman president in United States history, while managing to slide in references to his roles in both Stranger Things and Rudy. And Atlanta rapper Lil … Read more

Data centres are hungry for power, and Alberta is pitching itself as the place to build

Data centres are hungry for power, and Alberta is pitching itself as the place to build

Alberta is putting itself in the race for a slice of the soaring growth of data centres in North America. A pair of Alberta cabinet ministers set off for Silicon Valley last week with the sole focus of promoting the province as a “prime location” to build the physical structures that store and process our digital information. Major … Read more

‘Real’ story of BlackBerry to be made into film by Mark Wahlberg’s documentary company

‘Real’ story of BlackBerry to be made into film by Mark Wahlberg’s documentary company

Mark Wahlberg’s documentary production house is ringing up “the real BlackBerry story.” Wahlberg’s Unrealistic Ideas says it is moving ahead with a feature-length documentary centred around the history of the Waterloo, Ont.-based smartphone maker. The company says the still-untitled BlackBerry doc will tap into interviews with former executives and staff at the company once known … Read more

Trial of key convoy figures Lich, Barber nears end of the road

Trial of key convoy figures Lich, Barber nears end of the road

Closing arguments start this morning in the trial of key Freedom Convoy figures Tamara Lich and Chris Barber — the beginning of the end for a slow-rolling legal drama that began two and a half years ago. For the accused, it’s been a long and uncertain road that keeps leading them back to Ottawa. “For … Read more

Blind musicians and teachers communicate through vibration using Canadian-made device

Blind musicians and teachers communicate through vibration using Canadian-made device

As It Happens5:32Blind musicians and teachers communicate through vibration using Canadian-made device A PhD student in Ottawa has developed a device that allows blind and low-vision students to feel music cues, replacing the need to see them.  Instead of having to follow a conductor’s baton, or a teacher’s hand gestures during a lesson, music learners … Read more

More young people flocking to birding as their hobby of choice

More young people flocking to birding as their hobby of choice

A new generation of birders is embracing the hobby and making it their own. Birding,  bird watching, is the observation of birds in nature. Many participants also capture photographs or sound recordings of their sightings, and keep track of the species they’ve seen throughout their lives. In Sudbury, Ont., a Facebook group is providing a … Read more

Will the AI chatbot wave come for the federal government?

Will the AI chatbot wave come for the federal government?

Delayed air passengers, disgruntled phone customers and even hungry people craving a slice of pizza increasingly find their pleas to private companies being answered by artificial intelligence. Soon Canadians who need to reach out to the federal government could also find themselves talking to an employee who’s been helped by non-human assistants. Ottawa is working … Read more

Be warned: After global tech outage, phishing schemes and scammers may try to exploit you

Be warned: After global tech outage, phishing schemes and scammers may try to exploit you

Efforts to deal with a global tech outage that caused chaos for travellers, hospitals and banks are underway, but it may not be the end of your computer woes: Phishing schemes trying to reel in businesses and individuals are now coming to light. Security specialists are warning to be aware of malicious actors purporting to be tech specialists offering help to recover … Read more

Day of disruptions, dashed plans for many Canadians after global tech outage

Day of disruptions, dashed plans for many Canadians after global tech outage

Canadians weren’t spared the headaches of cancelled flights, delayed medical appointments and other problems caused by a failed cybersecurity software upgrade that caused a host of cascading issues around the globe on Friday. According to an alert sent by the global cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike to its clients and reviewed by Reuters, the company’s Falcon Sensor software … Read more