The House of Lords has passed the Investigatory Powers Bill, putting the huge spying powers on their way to becoming law within weeks. The bill – which forces internet companies to keep records on their users for up to a year, and allows the Government to force companies to hack into or break things they've sold so they can be spied on – has been fought against by privacy campaigners and technology companies including Apple and Twitter. But the Government has worked to continue to pass the bill, despite objections from those companies that the legislation is not possible to enforce and would make customers unsafe. In its facilities, JAXA develop satellites and analyse their observation data, train astronauts for utilization in the Japanese Experiment Module'Kibo' of the International Space Station (ISS) and develop launch vehicles 23/40 The robot developed by Seed Solutions sings and dances to the music during the Japan Robot Week 2016 at Tokyo Big Sight. At this biennial event, the participating companies exhibit their latest service robotic technologies and components 24/40 The robot developed by Seed Solutions sings and dances to music during the Japan Robot Week 2016 at Tokyo Big Sight 25/40 Government and industry are working together on a robot-like autopilot system that could eliminate the need for a second human pilot in the cockpit 26/40 Aurora Flight Sciences' technicians work on an Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automantion System (ALIAS) device in the firm's Centaur aircraft at Manassas Airport in Manassas, Va.

WhatsApp has temporarily suspended giving parent company Facebook information about users in Europe for ad targeting, responding to concerns there over privacy, a source close to the matter said Tuesday. Conversations with officials in Europe over the past few months resulted in the social network deciding to only tapping into WhatsApp user data there for purposes such as fighting spam, according to the source. The break was described as an effort to give regulators time to share privacy concerns and for Facebook to consider ways to address them. German data protection authorities in September cited privacy concerns when they blocked Facebook from collecting subscriber data from WhatsApp there. "It has to be (the users') decision whether they want to connect their account with Facebook," Hamburg's Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information Johannes Caspar said at the time.

WhatsApp has introduced a new feature likely to strike fear into the hearts of its competitors: video calling. After months in the beta stage, the Facebook-owned tech giant rolled out the update on Tuesday to its more than one billion monthly users. The latest feature could be bad news for rivals such as Skype and Apple's Facetime, as Whatsapp ups the ante in its effort to position itself as a one-stop-shop for communications. Facebook employees'form secret task force' to purge fake news Russia to ban LinkedIn, leading fears of crackdown on internet freedom Yahoo admits it knew about huge data breach for two years Facebook employees'form secret task force' to purge fake news Users will be able to make video calls across Android, iPhone, and Windows Phone devices in the coming days, according to a statement posted on the company's blog. The new functionality looks similar to the normal voice calling feature, however a picture-in-picture feed will allow you to see yourself and who you're talking to.

Facebook has been forced to end a hugely controversial data sharing agreement with WhatsApp. The decision would have seen WhatsApp hand out information on all of its users to Facebook, letting the latter use data about people's chats to inform its advertising. It would also have gone the other way – allowing companies to send WhatsApp's to people based on things they've bought on Facebook, for instance. But now the UK's Information Commissioner's Office has told the company that it needs to bring that arrangement to an end because it does not have "valid consent" from its users. Facebook had looked to gain permission from its users to have their data used as part of the deal.

Microsoft has released a new chat program meant to let colleagues talk to each other. The app will allow people to chat as well as to work together on documents at the same time, in a way similar to Google Docs. But its main competitor will be apps like Slack and Hipchat, which are both instant messaging services that have taken over many connected offices. Connected company president Shigeki Tomoyama addresses a press briefing as he elaborates on Toyota's "connected strategy" in Tokyo. A Toyota Motors employee demonstrates a smartphone app with the company's pocket plug-in hybrid (PHV) service on the cockpit of the latest Prius hybrid vehicle during Toyota's "connected strategy" press briefing in Tokyo An employee shows a Samsung Electronics' Gear S3 Classic during Korea Electronics Show 2016 in Seoul, South Korea Visitors experience Samsung Electronics' Gear VR during the Korea Electronics Grand Fair at an exhibition hall in Seoul, South Korea Amy Rimmer, Research Engineer at Jaguar Land Rover, demonstrates the car manufacturer's Advanced Highway Assist in a Range Rover, which drives the vehicle, overtakes and can detect vehicles in the blind spot, during the first demonstrations of the UK Autodrive Project at HORIBA MIRA Proving Ground in Nuneaton, Warwickshire Chris Burbridge, Autonomous Driving Software Engineer for Tata Motors European Technical Centre, demonstrates the car manufacturer's GLOSA V2X functionality, which is connected to the traffic lights and shares information with the driver, during the first demonstrations of the UK Autodrive Project at HORIBA MIRA Proving Ground in Nuneaton, Warwickshire In its facilities, JAXA develop satellites and analyse their observation data, train astronauts for utilization in the Japanese Experiment Module'Kibo' of the International Space Station (ISS) and develop launch vehicles The robot developed by Seed Solutions sings and dances to the music during the Japan Robot Week 2016 at Tokyo Big Sight.

Facebook has banned an insurance company from using people's profiles to price their insurance. Just hours after Admiral announced that it would launch a new app that scoured Facebook profiles and tried to work out their personalities, the site has said that the plan breaks its terms and so will be banned. Admiral had hoped that by using Facebook information it could build up a picture of people, and hopefully work out whether they were more or less likely to crash. Customers could be given up to a 15 per cent discount if they signed up to the app. Connected company president Shigeki Tomoyama addresses a press briefing as he elaborates on Toyota's "connected strategy" in Tokyo.

Last week, Apple launched its latest MacBook Pro laptops. They are deluxe, powerful machines with innovations including the Touch Bar, where the top row of function keys is replaced by a touch-sensitive screen where different functions appear, changing as you change programs. The new models also have a fingerprint sensor built into the power button, to buy stuff online faster than you can say "impulse purchase". In this exclusive interview, Philip Schiller, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, told The Independent all about them. Schiller is a familiar face at Apple keynotes, mixing a dry sense of humour with bullish, on-message statements.

An artificial intelligence (AI) judge has accurately predicted most verdicts of the European Court of Human Rights, and might soon be making important decisions about cases. Scientists built an artificial intelligence computer that was able to look at legal evidence as well as considering ethical questions to decide how a case should be decided. And it predicted those with 79 per cent accuracy, according to its creators. The algorithm looked at data sets made up 584 cases relating to torture and degrading treatment, fair trials and privacy. The computer was able to look through that information and make its own decision – which lined up with those made by Europe's most senior judges in almost every case.

Instagram is completely down, leaving people unable to use either its app or website. Visitors to the website see a message reading "5xx server error" and nothing else. App users will see a message saying that the app "couldn't refresh feed" – though the problem looks temporary, it isn't actually possible to get new pictures at all. It isn't clear what the source of the problem is or if it will be fixed any time soon. Connected company president Shigeki Tomoyama addresses a press briefing as he elaborates on Toyota's "connected strategy" in Tokyo.

A viral Facebook post has been shared by more than a million people – but there's one very important catch. The "Standing Rock check-in post claims that police monitoring protests over the North Dakota Access Pipeline will be obstructed if people check in to the area on Facebook. The local sheriffs have been using Facebook "to find out who is at Standing Rock in order to target them in attempts to disrupt the prayer camps", the message reads, and so falsely checking in can stop them from doing so. But both local sheriffs and the Sacred Stone Camp that is the centre of the protests have said that the message doesn't actually interrupt any ongoing surveillance or monitoring operations, and isn't likely to make any immediate difference to the protests. Connected company president Shigeki Tomoyama addresses a press briefing as he elaborates on Toyota's "connected strategy" in Tokyo. A Toyota Motors employee demonstrates a smartphone app with the company's pocket plug-in hybrid (PHV) ...