News

U.S. lawmakers approve warrantless internet spying program

Dustin Volz, Reuters
Posted at Jan 12 03:07 AM

Section 702 allows the NSA to eavesdrop on vast amounts of digital communications from foreigners living outside the United States through U.S. companies such as Facebook Inc, Verizon Communications Inc, and Alphabet Inc's Google. Read more »

PLDT eyes more deals with Huawei as 3rd player looms

ABS-CBN News
Posted at Jan 11 10:25 AM

PLDT Inc is looking to forge more partnerships with China's Huawei to improve services ahead of the entry of a third player in the telecommunications space, its chairman, Manuel V. Pangilinan said. Read more »

PT&T eyes 3rd telco player slot, Andanar says

ABS-CBN News
Posted at Jan 10 11:55 AM

Philippine Telegraph & Telephone Corp has expressed interest in setting up a third player in the telecommunications industry, Malacanang said Wednesday. Read more »

Vietnam sets up command center for cyberspace defense

Reuters
Posted at Jan 08 10:05 PM

HANOI - Vietnam announced on Monday the creation of a cyberspace operations command to protect its sovereignty on the Internet, with prime minister citing risks related to the disputed South China Sea and complex regional and global situations. Read more »

Globe approves $850-million capex for 2018

ABS-CBN News
Posted at Jan 05 06:13 PM

MANILA - Globe Telecom on Friday announced an $850 million (around P42.5 billion) cash capital expenditure (capex) budget for 2018 to finance its improvement plans following the surge in demand for mobile data services and content streaming, among others. Read more »

PT&T confirms talks with South Korean telco firm

ABS-CBN News
Posted at Jan 05 02:56 PM

MANILA - Philippine Telegraph & Telephone Corp (PT&T) confirmed on Friday that it is in an "advanced stage" of partnership discussions with a South Korean telecommunications company.   Read more »

Spotify hit with new copyright suit in US

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Jan 03 08:05 AM

A music publisher is seeking at least $1.6 billion from Spotify for alleged copyright violations, the latest lawsuit to hit the fast-growing streaming company.   Read more »

WhatsApp service returns after global outage

Reuters
Posted at Jan 01 08:17 AM

WhatsApp, a popular messaging service owned by Facebook Inc, suffered a global outage for about an hour on Sunday before the problem was fixed. Read more »

Congo orders internet, SMS cut ahead of protests

Reuters
Posted at Dec 31 09:03 AM

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo - Democratic Republic of Congo's government on Saturday ordered telecommunications providers to cut internet and SMS services across the country ahead of planned anti-government demonstrations. Read more »

Iran blocks internet on third night of protests

Ali Noorani and Eric Randolph, Agence France-Presse
Posted at Dec 31 07:27 AM

Demonstrators attacked a town hall in the Iranian capital Saturday as protests spilled into a third night despite government warnings against any further "illegal gatherings" and moves to cut off the internet on mobiles. Read more »

China challenge puts pressure on PH telcos: advocacy group

ABS-CBN News
Posted at Dec 28 09:10 AM

The looming entry of a Chinese telecommunications firm puts pressure on the country's two dominant carriers to improve their services, an internet advocacy group said Thursday. Read more »

Gov't wants 3rd telco to give Smart, Globe 'run for their money'

ABS-CBN News
Posted at Dec 28 02:09 AM

The government wants a third telco that "has the financial and technical clout to really compete," the officer in-charge of the Department of Information and Communications Technology said on Wednesday.    Read more »

Vietnam unveils cyber warfare unit to combat 'wrong views'

Reuters
Posted at Dec 26 09:42 PM

HANOI - Vietnam has unveiled a new, 10,000-strong military cyber warfare unit to counter "wrong" views on the Internet, media reported, amid a widening crackdown on critics of the one-party state. Read more »

Philippines boosts cybersecurity ahead of China Telecom entry

Reuters
Posted at Dec 21 09:22 PM

MANILA - The Philippines is beefing up cybersecurity measures prior to the expected entry of Chinese firms in its telecoms industry, the president's spokesman said on Thursday, amid concerns that national security could be at risk.   Read more »

PLDT plans record $1-B capex as telco competition rises

Reuters
Updated as of Dec 20 07:47 PM

PLDT will put aside a record high of at least 50 billion pesos ($994 million) for capital expenses next year as it braces for the arrival of a telco competitor, the company's chairman said on Wednesday. Read more »

YouTube partners with Katy Perry, Lady Gaga music conglomerate

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Dec 20 08:27 AM

YouTube said Tuesday that it had sealed a licensing agreement with the world's largest music label conglomerate Universal as the video behemoth explores creating a new streaming service.   Read more »

German watchdog finds Facebook data harvesting 'abusive'

Michelle Fitzpatrick, Agence France Presse
Posted at Dec 19 09:34 PM

Germany's competition watchdog said on Tuesday that Facebook was abusing its dominant position to "limitlessly" harvest user data from outside websites and apps, allowing its advertisers to target customers with hyper-specific ads. Read more »

Internet giants told: Accept 'Great Firewall' to enter China

Tom Miles, Reuters
Posted at Dec 19 08:30 AM

Google and Facebook will have to accept China's censorship and tough online laws if they want access to its 751 million internet users, Chinese regulators told a conference in Geneva on Monday.   Read more »

Facebook defends itself against critics of social media

David Ingram, Reuters
Posted at Dec 17 11:07 AM

Facebook Inc on Friday struck back against scientific researchers and tech industry insiders who have criticized the world's biggest social media network and its competitors for transforming how people behave and express emotion. Read more »

US regulator orders rollback of 'net neutrality' rules

Rob Lever, Agence France-Presse
Updated as of Dec 15 05:25 AM

"Net neutrality" rules, which require Internet providers to treat all traffic equally, were rolled back amid an acrimonious debate over how it impacts online freedom. Read more »