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Germany to bar Chinese components from 5G networks

Germany will bar the use of critical components made by Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE in core parts of the country’s 5G networks in two steps starting in 2026, the nation’s top security official said Thursday. Germany, which has Europe’s biggest economy, has long mulled what to do about components made by Chinese suppliers in its new-generation cellphone networks.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said critical components from Huawei and ZTE will be barred from 5G core networks by the end of 2026, while “critical management systems” from the two manufacturers in 5G access and transport networks must be replaced by the end of 2029. The decision follows negotiations in recent weeks with Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Telefonica, which operate Germany’s 5G networks, and agreements will be signed with all three companies, the Interior Ministry said.

U.S. lawmakers worry about Microsoft-Emirati AI firm deal

Republican lawmakers asked the Biden administration for an intelligence assessment of Microsoft’s $1.5 billion investment in UAE-based artificial intelligence firm G42 over concerns about transfer of sensitive technology and G42’s historic ties to China. Representative Michael McCaul, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and John Moolenaar, leader of the Select Committee on China, made the request for a briefing in a letter dated Wednesday to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, the committees said.

The Republicans said they want the briefing on the deal, announced in April, before it advances to a second phase involving the transfer of export-restricted semiconductor chips and model weights, sophisticated data that improves an AI model’s ability to emulate human reasoning.

WhatsApp to get voice message transcription

WhatsApp is working on a new update that will bring a feature to transcribe voice messages to all Android users. The feature has so far been limited to Google Messages on Pixel devices. The feature has been under development for some time, but it appears this is now ready for primetime and will be rolling out in several languages, a report from 9to5Google said.

When the feature goes live, WhatsApp will show a pop-up to confirm that transcripts are available for incoming voice messages. To make use of the features, users will have to download a language pack or voice message transcription first. The feature reportedly supports just five languages as of now. These include English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and Hindi.