China bans Scratch, Canadians are getting maximum internet speeds overall, and the Trump administration is considering to ban China’s top chipmaker.
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It’s all the tech news that’s popular right now. Welcome to Hashtag Trending! It’s Wednesday, Sept. 9, and I’m your host Baneet Braich.
China bans Scratch, an MIT programming language for kids. China’s internet users can no longer access Scratch’s website. With the ban, children will be missing out on learning to make games, animations, stories and more. It’s quite the roadblock for China as a huge advocate for early coding. Now the reason for the ban is that Scratch contains “a great deal of humiliating, fake, and libelous content about China, a state-run news outlet reported in August. Regardless of the ban, it’s likely China will find a new means to keep young minds engaged in tech.
Well you should be happy with your internet providers because a new study by the CRTC says that Canadian consumers are receiving maximum advertised Internet speeds. The quality of Internet service is consistent across the participating ISPs, regardless of the time of day. The testing was performed by using a device called a ‘Whitebox.’, which connects to a customer’s router and does routine tests that measure the quality of the customer’s Internet connection. Canadians can sign up to be on the next phase of the project as well at Measuring Broadband Canada.
The Trump administration is considering whether to add China’s top chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, or SMIC, to its growing trade black list, a Defence Department official told Reuters. The efforts of cracking down on Chinese companies continue with the US. SMIC said it was in complete shock and is open to communication with the U.S. government. The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment. The administration has been blacklisting Chinese companies that help strengthen Beijing’s military. However, in a recent statement, SMIC said it had no ties to the Chinese military.
That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home daily briefing. I’m Baneet Braich, thanks for listening.