Tech Digest daily roundup: Russia limits Facebook access
Russia has limited access to Facebook over the platform’s stance on the accounts of several Moscow-backed news outlets amid the invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s communications regulator Roskomnadzor accused the network of “censorship” and violating “the rights and freedoms of Russian citizens”. Facebook said it had refused to stop fact-checking and labelling content from state-owned news organisations. The move came a day after Russia launched its attack on Ukraine. It is unclear what the regulator restrictions mean, or to what extent Facebook’s parent company Meta’s other platforms – WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Instagram – are affected. BBC
There will be no Russian pavilion at the telecoms industry’s biggest annual gathering and a “handful” of Russian firms will be barred from it because of sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, the event’s organizer said on Friday. The organizers of the Mobile World Congress condemned Moscow’s actions, but have no plans to cancel or postpone the gathering scheduled between Feb. 28 and March 3 in Barcelona, John Hoffman, the chief executive of event organizer GSMA, told Reuters. “As we see the situation today, we don’t see any need or requirement to do that. Of course it’s an evolving situation and we will continue to monitor it,” Hoffman said. Reuters
UK car production fell -20.1% to 68,790 units last month, according to figures released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the weakest January total since 2009. Output was down 17,262 units against the same month last year, which itself was one of the worst Januarys on record when volumes were impacted by friction in the new post-Brexit trading arrangements, extended shutdowns and the pandemic…More positive, however, was the continued shift towards electrified vehicles, with zero-emission battery electric vehicles now accounting for one in 11 cars made in the UK, as their production rose 37.6% to 6,326 units. Motor Trader
America’s biggest microchip company is investigating a potential cyber attack that has taken parts of its business offline for two days, The Telegraph can reveal. Nvidia’s email systems and developer tools are understood to have been suffering from outages over the last two days, after what is believed to have been a malicious network intrusion. The suspected hack comes amid Russian cyberwarfare against Ukraine and heightened security concerns about attacks on the West in retaliation for hitting the Kremlin with sanctions. There is no evidence linking Nvidia’s outages to the conflict. Telegraph
The UK’s data watchdog has reprimanded the Scottish Government and NHS National Services Scotland over their failure to inform people how their personal information is used by the NHS Scotland Covid Status app. The app is one method people can use to demonstrate their vaccination status for mandatory Covid status checks that are still in place for large events and nightclubs, though the vaccine passport scheme will end on Monday. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a reprimand to both bodies over their initial failure to provide adequate privacy information within the NHS Scotland Covid Status app when it launched to explain how people’s information is being used. Yahoo!
