By Paul Carsten BEIJING (Reuters) – China had 649 million internet users by the end of 2014, with 557 million of those using handsets to go online, said a government report on Tuesday, as the world's biggest smartphone market continues its shift to mobile.
Read moreBy Alexei Oreskovic and Jennifer Saba SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc released a barrage of data, special “heat” maps and slick animations on Monday to claim the title of most-popular social network for spectators watching the Super Bowl, but a winner was difficult to pick. Facebook, the world's largest social network, boasted that 65 million people chimed in on its service about the match that saw the New England Patriots edge the Seattle Seahawks 28-24, up 30 percent from the year earlier.
Read moreBy Andrea Hopkins RICHMOND HILL, Ontario (Reuters) – New anti-terror legislation in Canada would make it a crime to call for attacks on the country and give a much larger role to the government's main spy agency. The bill introduced by the Conservative government on Friday would give the spy agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the ability to disrupt attacks by interfering with travel plans or communications, for example. The bill, whose passage is assured because the Conservatives have a majority in Parliament, would also make it easier for police to make preventive arrests.
Read moreBy Alexei Oreskovic SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Google Inc's revenue grew 15 percent in the fourth quarter but fell short of Wall Street's target on declining online ad prices and unfavorable foreign exchange rates. Shares of Google edged up 0.1 percent to $510.66 in extended trading after an initial dip on the news
Read more(Reuters) – The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has created a cybersecurity task force to increase protection of consumer information collected by insurers and held by state insurance departments as well as to monitor the cyber insurance market. The NAIC is the group through which state insurance regulators coordinate regulatory oversight for areas including health, life, property and other types of insurance
Read moreBy Diane Bartz WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The owner of a “revenge porn site,” IsAnybodyDown.com, has agreed to not publish any nude pictures without the consent of the subject and to destroy his collection, the Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday. Craig Brittain, who opened his website in 2011 and closed it in 2013 after a blast of publicity, had solicited pictures of women he met on sites such as Craigslist, the FTC said in its complaint.
Read moreU.S. states for years have asked Congress for federal legislation easing the way for them to collect sales taxes on Internet purchases, but now that a bill has been drafted, state lawmakers are resisting. The National Conference of State Legislatures on Tuesday released a letter it sent to House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner on Monday that depicted a proposed online sales tax bill as an unconstitutional attack on states’ rights.
Read moreBy Laila Kearney and Barbara Goldberg NEW YORK (Reuters) – Fear, disappointment and even romantic thoughts about the Northeast’s blizzard of 2015 powered a social media storm that raged on the Internet on Tuesday. The avalanche picking up speed on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook included mashup photos that replaced the Statue of Liberty’s torch with a snow shovel and outfitted New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in a king’s fur cape and sword with the motto “Winter is Coming” from the “Game of Thrones” television show. Two of the most popular Twitter hashtags were #Snowmageddon2015 and #Snowpocalypse, although some felt #Blizzfizz was more appropriate.
Read moreBy Alexei Oreskovic SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Snapchat has partnered with CNN, ESPN and nine other media companies to feature videos and articles on its mobile messaging service, a move that heightens the competition with social networks such as Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc. Snapchat's new Discover service features individual “channels” for its various media partners that include five to 10 stories a day, according to Snapchat, which announced the move on its official blog on Tuesday. After 24 hours the stories disappear, in keeping with Snapchat's trademark feature of private messages that disappear a few seconds after they are viewed by users of the service.
Read moreSales of surveillance cameras are surging in South Korea after a daycare center worker was caught on camera earlier this month knocking a toddler to the floor, spurring calls for closer monitoring of schools and child care facilities. The education ministry said last week it planned to require that 90 percent of kindergartens install surveillance cameras by next year. Parliament has introduced a bill to require all daycare centers to install cameras, and is expected to pass it in March
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