By Edward Taylor FRANKFURT (Reuters) – In the race to build a self-driving car, German automakers are hitting a road block in their efforts to test vehicles so complex they need more than 10 times the amount of software found in a fighter jet. German laws currently place limits on testing on public roads. Automakers fear this is allowing U.S.
Read moreThree U.S. Federal Trade Commission members said on Wednesday they regretted the inadvertent release of part of an agency report about its probe of Google Inc as the company continues to face antitrust scrutiny from European authorities
Read moreBy Alexei Oreskovic SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Facebook Inc on Wednesday opened up its Messenger service for developers to create apps and for shoppers to communicate directly with retailers, as the Internet company seeks to expand its reach. The new features mark Facebook's latest effort to transform its mobile messaging service into a full-featured platform with the same pull with consumers and businesses as its flagship 1.4-billion user social network. Facebook unveiled the new features at its annual developer conference in San Francisco, for the first time allowing developers to create apps that function inside the Messenger service used by more than 600 million people.
Read moreGerman internet service provider United Internet said on Wednesday its 2014 core profit had risen by more than a third due to record growth of new customers both organically and through acquisitions.
Read morePayPal, the electronic payments firm, agreed to pay $7.7 million to settle charges by the U.S. Treasury Department that it violated numerous sanctions programs against countries that include Iran, Cuba and Sudan, Treasury said on Wednesday. PayPal, owned by EBay Inc , did not adequately screen its transactions for U.S
Read moreBy Chris Arsenault ROME (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A group of large companies, mainly in the food sector, have promised to reduce their role in the destruction of the world’s forests, and a new online portal launched on Wednesday aims to hold them to their word. Some of the biggest names in global food production, processing and retailing, including Cargill, McDonalds, Marks & Spencer, Tesco and Walmart are among the companies, with a combined market capitalization of nearly $4 trillion, pledging to tackle deforestation in their supply chains.
Read moreChina's Internet regulator issued on Wednesday new guidelines prohibiting sexual and vulgar content on Tencent Holdings Ltd's popular messaging app, the latest step in the agency's perennial campaign to clean up China's Internet. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said sexually explicit pictures and text, including nude photos and erotic animation, and stories of “one-night stands, wife-swapping, sexual abuse and other harmful information” will be subject to punishment.
Read moreBy Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) – Cyber crime is probably the biggest risk facing companies across the world, and they need to do more to help governments tackle the problem, U.S.
Read moreBy Ben Blanchard BEIJING (Reuters) – If Beijing is successful in its bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics then foreigners who attend will get uncensored Internet access, but this isn't an issue for Chinese who “don't like” sites like Facebook and Twitter, an official said on Wednesday.
Read moreThe founder of British price comparison company Moneysupermarket.com, Simon Nixon, on Wednesday scrapped a plan to sell a stake of up to 6.4 percent in the company, less than a day after announcing it. A source had earlier told Reuters that Nixon was reducing offer to 4 percent of the company’s share capital — 22 million shares — from the 35 million shares previously targeted, with a price range of between 268 pence and 270 pence. News of the cancellation sent shares in Moneysupermarket down 6.3 percent to 268.5 pence by 0850 GMT.
Read more