A US appeals court has struck down a long-standing argument from social media platforms: that a federal law grants them blanket immunity from being held accountable for user harms – even the wrongful death of children. In a ruling delivered …
TikTok Inc. was blamed in a lawsuit for the death of a 10-year-old girl who allegedly participated in an online challenge in which people choke themselves until they black out. Nylah Anderson, an intelligent child who could speak three languages, …
Expedia Group Inc.’s short-term rental business Vrbo has banned hosts who use its platform from leaving house keys in public places, and TripAdvisor Inc. is reviewing its safety policies to better protect travelers. The two companies said the moves were …
When the coronavirus pandemic shut down bars and concert halls in March, a new phenomenon was born: the vacation-rental nightclub. Professional party promoters started scanning Airbnb, Vrbo and other short-term rental sites for mansions and luxury condos for hire. Tickets …
IBM called for rules aimed at eliminating bias in artificial intelligence to ease concerns that the technology relies on data that bakes in past discriminatory practices and could harm women, minorities, the disabled, older Americans and others. As it seeks …
Airbnb Inc. is laying the groundwork for a public market debut later this year, announcing a new corporate governance strategy that values safety, sustainability, diversity and accountability. The home-share startup has said it will track guest safety incidents, verify all …
One afternoon in late October 2017, hundreds of students from the elite Avenues private school in Manhattan were loaded onto buses, ready to head home. Suddenly, school principal Abby Brody got a disturbing smartphone alert. The crime-tracking app Citizen buzzed …
From a cramped living room in Brooklyn, New York, a handful of young computer nerds has developed a new way to use technology to help save lives in natural disasters. They have designed tiny electronic nodes inside baseball-sized rubber casings …
International Business Machines Corp. fell short in its latest attempt to prove machines can triumph over man. But it came close. The tech giant’s six-year-old artificial intelligence debating system, affectionately dubbed “Miss Debater,” went head-to-head with one of the world’s …
A lawsuit targeting electric scooter-sharing companies seizes on the dangers of zipping around town on two wheels and brings gory detail to one of the more polarizing technology trends to emerge over the last year. Nine people who were injured …
