Can TikTok be trusted with users' data?
NPR's Rachel Martin talks to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, who is urging Google and Apple to remove the TikTok app from their digital stores, citing security concerns.
Technology
Instagram and Facebook begin removing posts offering abortion pills
Social media posts ostensibly aimed to help women living in states where preexisting laws banning abortion suddenly snapped into effect last Friday.
How 'superworms' could help solve the trash crisis
A new study from Australia shows that larvae of the darkling beetle can eat polystyrene — the material behind plastic foam.
News brief: 4th Jan. 6 hearing, eastern Ukraine, cryptocurrency vulnerability
The House Jan. 6 panel holds another hearing. Russia is close to capturing Severodonetsk, a key city in the eastern part of Ukraine. Analysis shows cryptocurrency tech is vulnerable to tampering.
Sports betting ads are everywhere. Some worry gamblers will pay a steep price
Gambling on sports has becoming a billion-dollar industry in the U.S. But critics warn that the torrent of ads — and limited regulation — could pose risks for problem gamblers and young people.
The Google engineer who sees company's AI as 'sentient' thinks a chatbot has a soul
The Google computer scientist who was placed on leave after claiming the company's artificial intelligence chatbot has come to life tells NPR how he formed his opinion.
Users beware: Apps are using a loophole in privacy law to track kids' phones
Washington Post tech columnist Geoffrey Fowler says a 1998 law prohibits tech companies from collecting data on kids — but only if the companies know the age of their users.
After 27 years, Microsoft has retired Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer officially retires Thursday. NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Margaret O'Mara, professor at the University of Washington, about the embattled web browser's long history.
Nearly 400 car crashes in 11 months involved automated tech, companies tell regulators
There were five deaths and six serious injuries in the 392 crashes reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration from July 2021 to May 2022. Two-thirds of the crashes involved Teslas.
Microsoft is retiring its once-dominant browser Internet Explorer
Microsoft says starting Wednesday it will no longer support Internet Explorer. Resources and tech support will go to Microsoft Edge — an internet portal that the company calls new and improved.