Digital Life

Google says it discovered and patched the problem with its Google+ social network in March yet decided not to disclose it immediately.

Economy

Google+ Shutting Down For Consumers After Data Vulnerability Is Revealed

2:36pm October 09, 2018

by Merrit Kennedy

The company says it discovered and patched the issue in March but did not immediately disclose it. There is no evidence, it said, that a third party was aware of the bug or misused profile data.

Politics & Government

The 'Weaponization' Of Social Media — And Its Real-World Consequences

1:40pm October 09, 2018

by Dave Davies

P.W. Singer and Emerson Brooking say social media has been manipulated to fuel popular uprisings and affect the course of military and political campaigns. Their new book is LikeWar.

Queue Listen Now

Europe's Copyright Reforms Are More Than (Just) A Boring Policy Change

2:42pm September 27, 2018

by Andrew Flanagan

Two weeks ago, the European Commission approved new rules that will change how tech companies are required to deal with copyright infringement on their platforms. Unsurprisingly, it was controversial.

The digital cryptocurrency Bitcoin, shown in a February 6 visual representation, was among the cryptocurrencies targeted by the recent hack of a Japanese exchange.

World News

Hackers Steal $59 Million In Cryptocurrency From Japanese Exchange

5:54pm September 20, 2018

by Ruben Kimmelman

Tech Bureau Corp., which owns the Zaif cryptocurrency exchange, says the security breach occurred last week, and was discovered several days later.

National

'The Department Of Swagger': The State Department's Instagram Rebranding Campaign

6:34pm September 14, 2018

by Michele Kelemen

Mike Pompeo has rebranded the Department of State the "Department of Swagger." That's how he launched his Instagram feed, at any rate.

Queue Listen Now

A new lawsuit alleges Facebook is misleading advertisers, but the company says it can't guarantee that all ads will reach their intended targets.

Advertising On Facebook: Is It Worth It?

10:15pm September 12, 2018

by Jasmine Garsd

A lawsuit says Facebook is misleading advertisers about just how effective it is. Facebook, which makes billions from ads, says it can't guarantee that all of them will reach their intended targets.

Queue Listen Now

Gary Wagner, a blind Buffalo resident and subscriber to an app that connects him to a shopping assistant, looks for hot sauce at a Wegmans store in Amherst, New York.

National

Blind Grocery Shoppers Access 'Second Set Of Eyes' Through App At Wegmans

2:17pm September 12, 2018

by Michael Mroziak

An app service known as Aira is connecting blind and visually impaired grocery shoppers with sighted guides that help them navigate the aisles at Wegmans through their smartphones.

Politics & Government

Troll Watch: Misinformation Operations Target UK

5:56pm September 09, 2018

What stories were pushed out by Internet trolls this week? NPR's Michel Martin asks Matt Tait, a cybersecurity fellow at the University of Texas at Austin.

Queue Listen Now

In the documentary Swiped, filmmaker Nancy Jo Sales investigates how dating apps have created unintended consequences in actual relationships.

Arts

A Documentary Swipes Left On Dating Apps

5:56pm September 09, 2018

by Michel Martin

Journalist Nancy Jo Sales investigates the impact of online dating tech on offline culture in her first film Swiped: Hooking Up in the Digital Age. Predictably, some of her findings are pretty bleak.

National

Barbershop: Online Censorship

5:12pm September 08, 2018

This week, Alex Jones was permanently suspended from Twitter and Steve Bannon was uninvited from The New Yorker's annual festival. NPR's Michel Martin takes up the issue of censorship with Kara Swisher, Charlie Sykes and Megan McArdle.