Welcome listeners, hope you’re all doing well this Monday morning. The top three stories to take in right now include a Montreal teen arrested in cryptocurrency scam bust, the European Union considering banning facial recognition, and Alphabet passing the trillion-dollar mark.
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Thank you for tuning in to Hashtag Trending, it’s Monday, January 20th, and I’m your host, Tom Li.
Trending on Google, a Montreal teen has been charged in relation to a series of cryptocurrency scams, in which he helped to steal over $50 million from the US and $300,000 from Canada. The SIM swapping attack–where attackers gain ahold of a phone number–involved dozens of victims. At just 19 years old, Samy Bensaci of Montreal has been charged with fraud and personate with intent. As an added note, the Toronto police warns everyone to call their cellphone providers immediately when they lose service.
Trending on Reddit, the European Union may ban facial recognition technology for up to 5 years. The reason? It needs time to figure out how to prevent it from being abused. According to Reuters, an 18-page proposal by EU’s executive recommended new guidelines for the use of AI–although exemptions may be made for security and research purposes. The proposal is set to undergo further reviews next month.
Lastly, trending on LinkedIn, Google’s parent company Alphabet as finally joined the one trillion dollar club. The company crossed the mark on Thursday, joining Apple and Microsoft in the trillion-dollar gang and becoming the third most-valued U.S. tech company. According to Reuters, Google’s share price spiked by 17 per cent in the past three months.
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 Tom Li, thanks for listening.