Technology News and More

Microsoft is shutting down Skype, the internet-based phone and video service that was once the dominant way of staying connected in the mid 2000s.

President John Mahama has announced plans to establish a Cybersecurity Court to tackle the increasing cases of online fraud, cybercrime, and digital financial scams in Ghana.

Nvidia, the chip giant at the heart of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, said its business remained strong, despite fears of a bubble stirred by the emergence of Chinese AI firm DeepSeek last month.

Apple on Wednesday announced a cheaper new version of the iPhone 16 called the iPhone 16e, signaling a renewed push into the budget smartphone market for the tech giant.

South Korea has banned new downloads of China's DeepSeek artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, according to the country's personal data protection watchdog.

The Ministry of Communications, Digital Technology, and Innovation (MoCDTI) has initiated a strategic human resource restructuring.

The Minister for Communication, Digital Technology, and Innovations, Hon. Samuel Nartey George (MP), inaugurated the Inter-Agency Data Pricing Committee on Friday, February 14, 2025, tasking them with evaluating current pricing models and recommending solutions to reduce data costs.

TikTok is again available on the US app stores of Apple and Google, after President Donald Trump postponed enforcement of a ban of the Chinese-owned social media platform until 5 April.

The chief executive of ChatGPT-owner OpenAI says it is "not for sale" after a $97.4bn (£78.4bn) takeover bid from a consortium of investors led by Elon Musk.

A consortium of investors led by Elon Musk offered $97.4bn to take over OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT.

Minister of Communications Samuel Nartey George revealed plans to establish an inter-ministerial committee to address the high cost of data in Ghana.

The PlayStation Network has been experiencing a multi-hour outage that began on Friday evening.

According to Sony's PSN status page, account management, gaming and social, PlayStation Video, PlayStation Store, and the PlayStation Direct website are all dealing with issues.

The outage rendered the online aspects of games such as Fortnite, Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto and Marvel Rivals inaccessible, and has caused issues with license verification of offline single-player games.

On its support webpage, PlayStation said it was aware of the issue and working to resolve it as soon as possible.

According to DownDetector the problem began just before midnight on Friday night, with more than 71,000 users reporting the outage to the site.

Some gamers on social media say they are still experiencing issues, with PlayStation's support social media channels flooded with complaints from around the world.

Jeff Thigpen, 48, from Dallas in the United States, said he had been unable to access the PSN for 10 hours.

"At my job I have an hourly rotation and during my break I'll occasionally get on my PlayStation Portal," he told the BBC, referring to a handheld device that streams games from the owner's console or via the cloud.

"Tonight I tried and was unable to play any of the games I purchased.

"Paying a monthly fee for their service is one thing but not being able to play games that we've purchased is something that's beyond frustrating."

The outage has happened on a key weekend for the gaming industry, according to Connor Clarke, who runs the Sheffield Games Collective.

"This is doubly frustrating because it's an eventful weekend for the game-sphere," he said.

"There is a free beta for a hotly anticipated new game called Monster Hunter Wilds, and also a double XP weekend in Call of Duty Black Ops 6.

"I imagine there are thousands - if not millions - of gamers worldwide and in the UK that are quite frustrated that they are unable to play at the moment."

Mr Clarke added that these outages often last for a couple of hours at most.

"This one has been over 12 hours," he said.

"It's very frustrating. I'm unable to play multi-player and more frustratingly, I'm unable to play any of my downloaded single-player games because PlayStation says it is unable to verify my licenses."

BBC News has approached both PlayStation and Call of Duty developer Activision Blizzard for comment.

BBC

As I write, there are a lot of powerful people around the world preparing to make their way to Paris – and a sense that many of them are holding their breath.

Alphabet, the parent company of technology giant Google, is no longer promising that it will never use artificial intelligence (AI) for purposes such as developing weapons and surveillance tools.

US President Donald Trump has taken the first step towards setting up a sovereign wealth fund for the United States, and suggested that it could end up buying TikTok.

The emergence of Chinese AI app DeepSeek has shocked financial markets, and prompted US President Donald Trump to describe it as "a wake-up call" for the US tech industry.

A Chinese-made artificial intelligence (AI) model called DeepSeek has shot to the top of Apple Store’s downloads, stunning investors and sinking some tech stocks.

US President Donald Trump has said Microsoft is in discussions to acquire TikTok and that he would like to see a "bidding war" over the sale of the social media app.

Social media giant Meta has offered to pay up to $5,000 (£4,040) to popular creators in the United States who join Facebook and Instagram.

President John Mahama has nominated Samuel Nartey George, the Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram, as the Minister of Communication, Digital Technology, and Innovations.

TikTok is resuming services to its 170 million users in US after President-elect Donald Trump said he would issue an executive order to give the app a reprieve when he takes office on Monday.

ByteDance's popular video editing app, CapCut, has suspended its services in the United States following the enforcement of a federal ban on TikTok.

TikTok has gone offline in the US, hours before a new law banning the platform was due to come into effect.

Donald Trump has said he will "most likely" give TikTok a 90-day reprieve from a ban that is due to take effect on Sunday, on the eve of his swearing-in as the 47th US president.

The clock is ticking down on TikTok in America.

US President-elect Donald Trump will find a way to save TikTok before a ban on the app is due to take effect this weekend, his incoming national security adviser has said.

TikTok has called a report that China is considering allowing a sale of the social media company's US operations to Elon Musk "pure fiction."

The Supreme Court appears poised to uphold a law that bans TikTok in the US over national security concerns unless its China-based parent company sells the platform ahead of a 19 January deadline.

The co-chair of the independent body that reviews Facebook and Instagram content has said she is "very concerned" about how parent company Meta's decision to ditch fact-checkers will affect minority groups.

Meta is abandoning the use of independent fact checkers on Facebook and Instagram, replacing them with X-style “community notes” where commenting on the accuracy of posts is left to users.