Tech giants under Washington’s microscope

Hong Kong's leader on Tuesday brushed off a warning by major tech companies including Google, Facebook and Twitter that they may quit the financial hub if authorities push ahead with a new privacy law. "Our goal is to target these illegal doxxing actions and the privacy commissioner is empowered to take action and carry out investigations, that’s it," says Chief Executive Carrie Lam at the weekly press conference.

Apple, Microsoft and Google's parent company Alphabet have seen a surge in revenue. The results are attributed to the coronavirus pandemic — but also the easing of lockdowns.

Alibaba's Jack Ma was the first to be targeted by Beijing's crackdown on private enterprise. Now ride-hailing, streaming, delivery and tuition firms have run foul of authorities and investors are nursing heavy losses.

Recent tit-for-tat sanctions from Beijing and Washington have accelerated a trend of economic decoupling, with China looking for more ways to achieve self-sufficiency in critical tech sectors.

Google, Facebook and Microsoft have contributed to "the largest ever effort to lobby the EU" in a battle against new laws aimed at curbing their powers.

A report by three US activist groups claims Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Twitter made billions from US government contracts since 2004.

Following revelations by whistleblower Frances Haugen and a global outage, the US company faces renewed scrutiny. It could mark a tipping point and prompt lawmakers to get tough on the tech giant.

Facebook is facing a historic crisis. Revelations by former data scientist-turned-whistleblower Frances Haugen have shed light inside the notoriously secretive tech giant. She says Facebook harms children, sparks division and undermines democracy in pursuit of astronomical profits. Her allegations are backed by the leak of tens of thousands of internal documents.

A robotic dog stole the limelight at the Milipol defence and security trade fair near Paris on Tuesday. The 22nd edition of Milipol Paris takes place from Oct. 19 to 22 and plays host to dozens of countries, including Israel, United States and Switzerland. The robotic dog costs "under $1 million", according to Ghost Robotics special projects head Tom Jacobs. He adds that the technology that has advanced in the past few years has enabled the robot dog to keep its balance in difficult terrain

DW spoke with Maria Ressa about journalism, facts and democracy. The Philippines-based journalist warned that tech companies are grabbing power and money while abdicating responsibility.

As Russia and China attempt to master sophisticated technologies, the head of MI6 is set to warn that "unlike Q in the Bond movies, we cannot do it all in-house."

Governments have set their eyes on the world's largest tech companies. But why has Big Tech come under so much fire? And how did it get so "Big" in the first place?