Technology

Democratic senators introduced a bill on Thursday that would hold Facebook, YouTube and other social media companies responsible for the proliferation of falsehoods about vaccines, fake cures and other harmful health-related claims on their sites.

A widespread internet outage caused several major websites to shut down Thursday afternoon, including Amazon, Delta, Capital One and Costco.

Akamai, a content distribution network that helps with the spread of data around the internet, posted on Twitter that a software configuration update caused a bug in its DNS system.

The video game studio behind the hit franchises Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush is facing a civil lawsuit in California over allegations of gender discrimination, sexual harassment and potential violations of the state's equal pay law.

In November 2011, I plugged my brand new MotionPlus attachment into the bottom of my Wii remote. I booted up the console, pointed my newly accessorized Wiimote at the screen and clicked on the icon for the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. A new Zelda title had finally arrived.

Say WeWork and one person comes to mind: Adam Neumann, the lanky founder and former CEO with flowing black hair and a rock-star persona who would carry on about the "energy" of the company's communal work spaces.

He also embraced a "party-boy life style," said Eliot Brown, whose new book with co-author Maureen Farrell, The Cult of We: WeWork and the Great Start-Up Delusion, was published on Tuesday.

Well before noon, Neumann was known to offer potential investors shots of tequila from a bottle he kept behind his desk.

Shein may have the fast-fashion market cornered, but a growing number of its customers are calling for increased accountability from the company as indie designers continue to accuse it of ripping off their work.

Moments after returning from the edge of space, Jeff Bezos thanked the Blue Origin team that made his flight possible. He also thanked the Texas town of Van Horn, which hosted Tuesday's launch. And then he said this:

"I want to thank every Amazon employee and every Amazon customer, 'cause you guys paid for all this. ... Thank you from the bottom of my heart very much."

BEIJING — China has accused the United States of mounting cyberattacks against Chinese government, scientific, aviation and other technical institutions for the past 11 years.

The finger-pointing comes the day after the U.S. mounted similar accusations against China, an exchange of blame which threatens to make cybersecurity another rift in an already-fractious U.S.-China relationship.

Wearing a cowboy hat under the West Texas morning sun, Jeff Bezos crossed the bridge to enter the capsule made by his company Blue Origin. He was accompanied by three others – his brother Mark Bezos, female aviation pioneer Wally Funk and 18-year-old Oliver Daemen.

Then the shuttle hatch closed and just before 9:15 a.m. ET, the four blasted into space on the first human flight on Blue Origin's New Shepard launch vehicle.

Spyware made by the Israeli company NSO Group was used to spy on journalists, human rights activists and political dissidents in several countries, according to The Washington Post and other media organizations.

Misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines can appear almost anywhere: from an uncle's Facebook post to a well-trusted news commentator. But where does it come from, and why do some myths spread further than others?

With the help of the internet research firm Graphika, NPR analyzed the rise of one persistent set of lies about COVID-19 vaccines: that they can affect female fertility.

Despite a mountain of scientific evidence showing the vaccines are safe and effective, the false information persists.

It's the middle of what has already been dubbed a "Hot Vax Summer," and whether you're hesitant about getting back out there or ready to flirt, trending Google searches reveal that dating is definitely on our minds.

Jeff Bezos has become the second billionaire this month to reach the edge of space, and he did so aboard a rocket built by a company he launched.

In 2021, Ben Shapiro rules Facebook.

The conservative podcast host and author's personal Facebook page has more followers than The Washington Post, and he drives an engagement machine unparalleled by anything else on the world's biggest social networking site.

An NPR analysis of social media data found that over the past year, stories published by the site Shapiro founded, The Daily Wire, received more likes, shares and comments on Facebook than any other news publisher by a wide margin.

The Hubble Space Telescope is returning to operation more than a month after its original payload computer shut down. NASA said it has successfully switched over to its backup computer — and while the process of bringing the system back online is slow, the agency has started to bring science instruments out of "safe mode."

Tony and Debbie Steffey are retirees who live on a fixed income in southwest Virginia, and they're desperate for internet. To get it, they'd have to pay $10,000 for a fiber line to their double-wide trailer in the community of Carbo.

"We don't have it, we have no choice," Debbie Steffey, 67, said of not having the money to pay for the construction of a line.

"We don't even have email or nothing," added Tony Steffey, 65.

While some of them might be enough to make you say "oof," the over 300 new words and definitions added to Dictionary.com during its most recent round of updates reflect the realities of our rapidly changing world.

An Amazon delivery driver has become TikTok famous after a video of him killing a spider for a customer gained over 10 million views on the app. Now the Texas woman who posted the video is trying to find him to tell him: "Thank you."

If you've ever hesitated to add a smiley face or a thumbs-up to an email, a new survey from Adobe may put you at ease.

The software company, which conducts regular surveys on emoji use, found that the whimsical icons can make people feel more connected and more receptive to new tasks. They allow people to quickly share ideas. They make group decisions more efficient and can even reduce the need for meetings and calls.

Among Generation Z users, more than half said they'd be more satisfied at their job if their bosses used more emoji in workplace communications.

The Biden administration on Thursday announced new initiatives meant to combat growing domestic and foreign cyberthreats.

The White House has launched a ransomware task force to help coordinate its efforts, a senior administration official told reporters Wednesday evening.