Obama urges tech, law enforcement to address social media used for plots

The White House is urging Silicon Valley to help address the threat posed by militant groups by restricting the use of social media for planning and promoting violence, a senior administration official said on Sunday. In coming days, the White House will talk to companies in the tech sector about developing a “clearer understanding of when we believe social media is being used actively and operationally to promote terrorism,” said the official, speaking on background

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VTech hack exposes ID theft risk in connecting kids to Internet

By Jim Finkle and Jeremy Wagstaff BOSTON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Parents who gave their child a Kidizoom smartwatch or a VTech InnoTab tablet may have exposed them to identity theft after Hong Kong-based VTech said hackers stole the personal information of more than 6 million children. Shipments of toys that connect to the Internet will rise 200 percent over the next five years, according to estimates by UK-based Juniper Research. It's not clear what the motive was for the VTech breach nor whether it has resulted in any identity theft so far

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India’s Modi spoofed over doctored photos of Chennai flood visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the butt of online jokes on Friday when it turned out an official photo showing him surveying flood damage in southern India through a helicopter window had been doctored. The picture showed Modi peering through the round window at a dramatic view of flooded city streets in Chennai, capital of Tamil Nadu state, after the strongest rains in a century there killed more than 280 people in a month and displaced thousands of residents. Social media lit up with users accusing the official Press Information Bureau (PIB) of faking the scene.

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