Reuters - Technology Report

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Thursday, December 14, 2017

Federal Communications Commission set to reverse net neutrality rules

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is expected on Thursday to rescind net neutrality rules championed by Democratic former President Barack Obama that barred the blocking or slowing of internet traffic.

Tech firm raises $118 million in virtual coin offer to fund blockchain phone

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Swiss-Israeli technology firm Sirin Labs said on Thursday it had raised $118 million in an initial coin offering (ICO) to support the development of an open source blockchain smartphone.

T-Mobile to launch TV service in 2018, buy Layer3 TV

NEW YORK (Reuters) - T-Mobile US Inc said on Wednesday that it would launch a new streaming television service next year after buying startup Layer3 TV for an undisclosed amount.

Finisar deal helps Apple block rivals' path to AR features

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc's $390 million deal with chip supplier Finisar Corp announced on Wednesday helps lock in the supply of a component that Apple believes will play a big role in its future products by bolstering augmented reality features.

Trump administration calls for government IT to adopt cloud services

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said Wednesday the U.S. government needs a major overhaul of information technology systems and should take steps to better protect data and accelerate efforts to use cloud-based technology.

Bitcoin fever exposes crypto-market frailties

LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - As bitcoin raced to another record high on Tuesday, one of the biggest providers of digital currency wallets, Coinbase, went down under the weight of traffic, leaving many of its more than 10 million customers unable to access their funds.

In major shift, Rakuten plots to become Japan's No. 4 wireless carrier

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten Inc said it would apply for a 4G mobile license, aiming to become the country's fourth major wireless carrier in a strategic shift that had analysts warning of an uphill battle to gain customers.

Atos shares fall 2.8 percent after Gemalto rejects takeover bid

PARIS (Reuters) - Shares in Atos fell as much as 2.8 percent early on Thursday after Franco-Dutch chip maker Gemalto rejected its 4.3 billion euro ($5 billion) takeover bid.

France proposes age-of-consent rule for Facebook users

PARIS (Reuters) - All French children under the age of 16 will have to seek parental approval to open an account on Facebook or any other social network under draft legislation presented on Wednesday.

Three U.S. men plead guilty to crimes tied to 2016 botnet attacks

(Reuters) - A former Rutgers University student and two other men pleaded guilty to computer crimes related to the creation, sale and use of the Mirai botnet, a network of infected electronics equipment used to knock major websites offline in massive 2016 cyber attacks.