Instant messaging and VoIP social platform Discord is experimenting with a feature that requires some users to verify their age by scanning their face or a photo ID. The technique is being implemented in Australia and the United Kingdom, where recently passed laws seek to crack down on minors accessing potentially harmful online content. The safeguard applies only to users who haven’t previously verified their age on the chat platform. Discord says age verification aims “to help users manage content filter settings and sensitive content visibility,” explaining it is a one-time process that can be completed when users first adjust their settings. Continue reading Discord Testing Facial Scans to Verify Age in UK and Australia

Anthropic’s Claude can now search the Internet in real time, allowing it to provide timely and relevant responses that are also more accurate than what the chatbot previously offered, according to the company. Claude incorporates direct citations for its Web-retrieved material, so users can fact-check its sources. “Instead of finding search results yourself, Claude processes and delivers relevant sources in a conversational format.” While this is not exactly groundbreaking — ChatGPT, Grok 3, Copilot, Perplexity and Gemini all have real-time Web retrieval and most include citations — Claude takes a slightly different approach. Continue reading Real-Time Web Access Informs Claude 3.7 Sonnet Responses

Digg, a link-based aggregator website that was an Internet staple circa 2012 then faded, has been acquired by founder Kevin Rose in partnership with Alexis Ohanian, who co-founded Reddit. The site gained popularity by tapping crowdsourced voting, allowing users to vote content up or down. Thanks to AI, the duo feel the timing is right for Digg to make a comeback. “We’ve hit an inflection point where AI can become a helpful co-pilot to users and moderators, not replacing human conversation, but rather augmenting it, allowing users to dig deeper, while removing repetitive burdens,” Rose says. Continue reading Crowdsourced Social Site Digg to Relaunch after AI Makeover

Alphabet asked a question: “Could we harness the speed of light to deliver data without the need for cables?” The answer, compiled over 7 years, is that it can deliver fast, affordable Internet connectivity by transmitting high-speed data using beams of light through the air using the company’s new Taara chip. Whereas the first-generation technology, the Taara Lightbridge, relied on a system of mirrors, sensors and hardware to steer light physically, the Taara chip uses software to steer, track, and correct the beam of light without bulky moving parts — or a fiber optic wire. Continue reading New Alphabet Chip Delivers Internet Through Air Using Light

Cloudflare is making it easier to assess the authenticity of online images by adopting the Content Credentials system advanced by Adobe and embraced by many others. Images hosted using Cloudflare now integrate Content Credentials, ensuring metadata remains intact. The platform tracks ownership and subsequent modifications, including whether artificial intelligence was used to edit the images. With touchpoints to an estimated 20 percent of Internet traffic, connectivity firm Cloudflare substantively expands the reach of the Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI), founded in 2019. Continue reading Cloudflare Joins CAI, Adds C2PA Image Authenticity Protocol

U.S. Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-California) has introduced a bill to thwart foreign-run pirate websites from exploiting loopholes in U.S. law. H.R. 791 — the Foreign Anti-Digital Piracy Act (FADPA) — would allow copyright holders to seek court orders requiring U.S. ISPs to block websites operated by foreign infringers who “present a massive and growing threat — costing American jobs, harming the creative community, and exposing consumers to dangerous security risks.” Lofgren said she worked with members of the tech, film and television industries to craft a proposal that remedies copyright violation without disrupting the free Internet for law abiders. Continue reading MPA Supports Lofgren’s Bill Targeting Foreign Digital Pirates

Comcast is introducing the first customers in the world to a pioneering new, ultra-low lag connectivity experience when they use interactive applications like gaming, videoconferencing and virtual reality. The rollout is already underway in cities including Atlanta, Chicago, Colorado Springs, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Rockville, Maryland. Aimed primarily at gamers on Nvidia GeForce NOW and Valve’s Steam, it will also improve videoconferencing and content streaming, some Meta XR headset experiences and any other applications that choose to leverage the open standard technology in the future, Comcast says. Continue reading Comcast Launches Ultra Low-Latency Internet for Xfinity Subs

Bookshop.org was launched in 2020 as a way for local bookstores to compete nationally against top names such as Barnes & Noble and Amazon. The outlet lets independent bookstores — even those without websites — set up a storefront on Bookshop.org, creating curated lists and themed pages. Readers could then visit these virtual bookstores and select one as their preferred shop. The idea was to bring local bookstore charm to the generic experiences available through larger services, and it has been called a lifeline for small shops. Now the company is adding ebooks with a reader app for Android, iOS and the Web. Continue reading Bookshop.org Adds Ebooks to Help Level Field for Indie Sellers

Perplexity joins the list of AI companies launching agents, debuting the Perplexity Assistant for Android. The tool uses reasoning, search, browsers and apps to help mobile users with daily tasks. Concurrently, Perplexity — independently founded in 2022 as a conversational AI search engine — has launched an API called Sonar intended for enterprise and developers who want real-time intelligent search, taking on heavyweights like Google, OpenAI and Anthropic. While to date AI search has largely been limited to answers informed by training data, which freezes their knowledge in time, next-gen tools can pull from the Internet in real time. Continue reading Perplexity Bows Real-Time AI Search Tool, Android Assistant

Mastercard Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Raja Rajamannar is quite clear on his opinion of current marketing practices. “The strategies to get the right consumer insights are totally flawed,” he said. “Every single aspect of marketing has to be reinvented.” In a CES panel on “Revolutionizing Customer Engagement,” Rajamannar and Netflix Vice President of Consumer Products Josh Simon described their partnership efforts to create experiences that engage the fanbase. The discussion, led by influencer.com Chief Executive Ben Jeffries, first focused on why traditional marketing strategies are failing. Continue reading CES: Netflix and Mastercard Partner on ‘Experience’ Marketing

A federal appeals court axed the FCC’s net neutrality rules, punctuating a 20-year battle to classify broadband Internet providers as utilities. The Cincinnati-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit — with jurisdiction over Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee — said the FCC lacks the authority to prevent ISPs from thwarting access to Internet content. Citing the Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision from June, the three judge panel wrote that government agencies lack the authority to deploy and administer such regulations. Since Sixth Circuit decisions aren’t precedent in other states, California says it will keep existing rules intact. Continue reading California Backs Net Neutrality, Despite Recent Court Reversal

In an era of tremendous innovation and an explosion of new lines of products, the creation of standards has never been so important. UL Standards & Engagement (ULSE) created its first standard in 1903 and now boasts a portfolio of 1,700 standards; other standards-setting bodies include the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) and the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA). Moderated by ULSE Director of Insights Sayon Deb, a CES panel of experts underscored the critical importance of such standards for developing and marketing innovative products. According to Deb, 60 percent of consumers express greater confidence in certified products. Continue reading CES: Standards Are Increasingly Vital for Fostering Innovation

Reddit has launched a new AI-powered search tool called Reddit Answers. Reddit is already appearing regularly in Google Search returns. The new interface provides a way users can utilize a conversational model to get answers directly from the social platform. “Once a question is asked, curated summaries of relevant conversations and details across Reddit will appear, including links to related communities and posts,” according to Reddit. Whether users will want to skip their usual go-to search engines in favor of querying Reddit alone could have long term ramifications for the 19-year old social platform, which went public in 2023. Continue reading ‘Reddit Answers’ Wants to Gain More Users Searching In-App

Microsoft has launched a new AI-powered feature for its Edge Browser. Copilot Vision is now in preview for a limited number of U.S. Copilot Pro subscribers by opt-in through Copilot Labs. With user permission, Copilot Vision “sees” what is onscreen and can respond to questions about text and images, explains the company. Calling Copilot Vision “the first AI experience of its kind,” Microsoft suggests the experience is “almost like having a second set of eyes as you browse,” adding that when users turn on Copilot Vision it will “instantly scan, analyze, and offer insights based on what it sees.” Continue reading Microsoft Previews AI-Powered Copilot Vision for Edge Browser

“AI won’t exist as an app, or a button… it’ll be an entirely new environment built on top of a web browser.” That is the pitch from The Browser Company, the New York-based firm behind the Arc browser that is now developing an AI-first web interface called Dia, expected to debut early next year. Dia aims to leverage AI tools to simplify common Internet tasks. The repertoire is now a familiar one, with things like writing assists and inspirational prompts becoming AI givens in a competitive field where Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini are already established. The Browser Company is trying to distinguish Dia with a simple, user-friendly interface. Continue reading The Browser Company is Building Dia, an AI-First Web Browser