The slowdown in tech appears to still be weighing on Samsung and its profits. The Korean electronics giant said Tuesday that it expects to report another steep decline in fourth-quarter profit, the second time it’s done so in two years. The company said it expects to record an operating profit for the three-month period ended …

Ride-hailing service Uber filed a lawsuit Monday against the state of California, alleging that a landmark gig worker law, set to go into effect Wednesday, is unconstitutional. The lawsuit seeks to block AB 5, which has the potential to upend gig economy companies such as Uber and Lyft. The complaint, which also lists Postmates as a plaintiff, argues that the …

A popular messaging app billed as a secure way to chat with friends and family is actually a spying tool used by the United Arab Emirates to track the activities of those who download it, The New York Times reported Sunday. The app, which debuted only a few months ago, has been downloaded millions of times around the world. The …

Cox Communications has been ordered to pay $1 billion in damages to Sony Music, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and EMI after being found liable for the piracy of more than 10,000 songs. The lawsuit, filed in June 2018, accused the cable and internet service provider of deliberately ignoring pirates on its network. A federal jury in Virginia agreed …

Attackers sent videos of flashing strobe lights to thousands of followers of the Epilepsy Foundation’s Twitter account last month in an apparent attempt to trigger seizures in those with the condition, the foundation said Monday. The attacks, which used the foundation’s Twitter handle and hashtags to get the videos in front of the account’s followers, occurred during National Epilepsy Awareness …

With less than two weeks left to finish your holiday gift shopping, you may be getting a little nervous about what to give that hard-to-shop-for friend or family member. If you’re looking for inspiration, Google may have the solution. The web giant on Tuesday unveiled Google Shopping 100, a new microsite that highlights products that are trending on Google searches …

Makers of wearable devices shipped 84.5 million units in the third quarter, an increase of 94.6% and a single-quarter record, IDC reported Monday. Most of that growth was attributed to increased demand for hearables such as earbuds. “Hearables have become the new go-to product for the wearables market,” Ramon T. Llamas, research director for IDC’s Wearables Team, said in a …

Apple plans to make the Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR available to order on Tuesday, according to “save the date” emails the company sent to some customers on Saturday. Apple said in November it planned to bring the super-pricey, super-powerful Mac Pro to market in December. The beastly Mac Pro, along with its $5,000 6K Pro Display XDR monitor …

Huawei has fired another salvo in its escalating battle with the US government. On Wednesday it announced it filed a legal challenge against the Federal Communications Commission’s decision last month to bar rural carriers in the US from using federal subsidies to purchase equipment from the embattled Chinese telecom giant. The FCC announced in November it had voted to prohibit …

We’ve come a long way since the salad days of internet communications, when we used abbreviations such as LOL or keyboard emoji to help put a happy spin on our messages. As with all things internet, the way we express ourselves to others online has become more sophisticated, with animated GIFs replacing keyboard shorthand. Thanks to GIF generators, anyone and …