Brazil hits Facebook with $1.6 million Cambridge Analytica fine

The Cambridge Analytica data scandal may have come to light nearly two years ago, but the former company -- and as a result, Facebook -- is still feeling the effects of the fall out. Brazil's government has imposed a $1.6 million fine on Facebook for...

WhatsApp banned over 400,000 accounts during Brazil’s election

There's little doubt that Facebook had to deal with a ton of fake news during Brazil's 2018 election, but now it's clearer just how much was on its plate. A document submitted to an investigation of misinformation during the presidential election ha...

Uber will test an audio recording safety feature in Brazil and Mexico

A couple months ago, we learned that Uber was testing a feature that would allow riders to record audio through the app if they felt unsafe during a trip. Now, Uber is launching a pilot of that audio-recording feature in select cities in Brazil and M...

The world’s largest telescope is one step closer to completion

The world's largest telescope is one step closer to completion. This month, the team working on the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) completed the second of seven primary mirror segments, a process that began in January 2012.

Hitting the Books: Modern surveillance and ‘the science of happiness’

Welcome to Hitting the Books. With less than one in five Americans reading just for fun these days, we've done the hard work for you by scouring the internet for the most interesting, thought provoking books on science and technology we can find and...

Facebook shut down a spam network in Brazil

Facebook's crackdown on misleading content continues, this time in Brazil. The social network gave the boot to 68 pages and 43 accounts -- all linked to a single marketing group -- for violating the company's policies on misrepresentation and spam.