Neowin News Feed for: Ban

U.S. bans import of routers due to "severe cybersecurity risks"

Usama Jawad — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 09:50:01 +0000

The U.S. just made a bold move against foreign routers, and it could quietly impact millions of households across the country. Read more...

Twitch and Kick streamer banned thanks to a highly requested Windows 11 exclusive feature

Sayan Sen — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 14:18:01 +0000

One of the most highly requested Windows 11 exclusive features has helped expose a popular Twitch streamer who accidentally streamed explicit content. Read more...

YouTube is letting some banned creators back on the platform

Usama Jawad — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 19:48:02 +0000

YouTube will allow banned content creators to start a new channel on the platform, as long as they meet a certain criteria. Read more...

China bans Nvidia chips, company boss Jensen Huang expresses disappointment

Hamid Ganji — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 16:34:01 +0000

China has ordered local firms to stop purchasing AI chips from Nvidia, a move that could significantly impact Nvidia's finances in the coming months. Read more...

Anthropic bans OpenAI's access to Claude due to ToS violation

Usama Jawad — Sat, 02 Aug 2025 05:02:01 +0000

Anthropic has revoked OpenAI's access to the Claude API after learning that it was being misused in a way that violated its terms of service. Read more...

Facebook apparently banning people from posting Linux related content on its platform

Karthik Mudaliar — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 04:46:02 +0000

In a weirdly surprising move, Facebook is restricting posts related to Linux content on its platform and flagging them against its Community Guidelines, including popular site DistroWatch. Read more...

Marvel Snap also gets banned in the USA due to its link with ByteDance

Sagar Naresh Bhavsar — Sun, 19 Jan 2025 08:06:01 +0000

As the new law banning TikTok was enacted in the US on January 19, the card game Marvel Snap also got caught up in the act. Read more...

TikTok is on the brink of U.S. shutdown as Sunday deadline approaches

Karthik Mudaliar — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 09:12:01 +0000

TikTok could be a thing of the past, at least in the United States, as the Sunday deadline approaches for its possible shutdown. Read more...

Even $1 billion & a manufacturing plant aren't enough to get iPhone 16 unbanned in Indonesia

Sagar Naresh Bhavsar — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 15:12:01 +0000

The Indonesian government has rejected Apple's offer of a $1 billion investment plus an AirTag manufacturing plant in the country. Read more...

This may be your last TP-Link router as they could be banned in the US soon

Sayan Sen — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 21:30:01 +0000

According to a new report, the USA may be planning to ban TP-Link, especially its routers, very soon. Read more...

Meta suspends user accounts on Instagram and Threads that track celebrity private jets

Steve Bennett — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 10:40:01 +0000

Users who run these accounts have found that they have been suspended on Instagram and Threads today. Read more...

Turkey bans Discord due to illegal content sharing on the platform

Karthik Mudaliar — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 16:16:01 +0000

Turkey has officially banned access to the messaging platform Discord due to concerns over illegal content sharing. Read more...

US-Russia tensions escalate as Kaspersky ban set to be introduced

Paul Hill — Thu, 20 Jun 2024 15:30:01 +0000

The US could ban Kaspersky anti virus sales on Thursday, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The US government believes Kaspersky is poses a significant security threat. Read more...

President Biden signs TikTok bill into law; clock is ticking on the app's possible US ban

John Callaham — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 16:16:01 +0000

President Joe Biden has now signed the TikTok bill into law. That means the social network's Chinese owners at ByteDance have 270 days to sell it, or the TikTok app could be banned from US app stores. Read more...

Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 stripped of pulse oximeter to avoid ban on sales in the US

Anushe Fawaz — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 09:44:02 +0000

A recent filing showcases that Apple is trying to avoid further bans on its Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models' sales in the US. It is now removing the pulse oximeter technology in recent models. Read more...

Nepal's government becomes the latest to ban TikTok

Steve Bennett — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 14:00:01 +0000

Governments across the world have imposed bans of varying degrees on TikTok, however, Nepal has gone further to ban the app across the entire country in a decision made in a cabinet meeting today. Read more...

France bans sale of iPhone 12 over high radiation levels, Apple disputes the findings

Anurag Singh — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 10:00:02 +0000

France's National Frequency Agency (ANFR) has notified Apple that it is banning the sale of iPhone 12 models in the country. Apple expressed its disagreement with ANFR's conclusions. Read more...

Microsoft has started suspending gamers who use Xbox emulators in retail mode

John Callaham — Fri, 28 Jul 2023 14:30:01 +0000

Microsoft has also reportedly flat out banned some gamers who have attempted to upload emulators on Xbox consoles set in retail mode. The use of emulators in developer mode is still allowed. Read more...

Reddit to go dark on June 12, subreddits protest against probable death of third-party apps

Aditya Tiwari — Mon, 05 Jun 2023 15:04:01 +0000

In an attempt to protest against Reddit's recent API pricing, various subreddits have joined hands for a digital protest. These subreddits will be going dark later this month for a period of 48 hours. Read more...

Windows 11 debloater app gets banned from Microsoft Store, dev calls it "a tragedy"

Sayan Sen — Fri, 05 May 2023 15:32:01 +0000

The Windows 11 debloater app BloatyNosy had issues with Microsoft Store policies, which had been seemingly resolved once. However, Microsoft has once again banned the app from its Store. Read more...

Ireland data regulator: We should not blindly ban AI-powered chatbots

Usama Jawad — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 07:20:01 +0000

Although some European countries are rushing to ban ChatGPT and related technologies, Ireland is taking a more measured approach where it wants to fully understand the benefits and risks of AI. Read more...

Imgur to ban all explicit NSFW content starting May 15

Aditya Tiwari — Thu, 20 Apr 2023 13:40:02 +0000

Imgur has started its latest crackdown on explicit content uploaded to its platform. The website will soon remove all explicit content and orphan content that is not tied to any user account. Read more...

TikTok banned on UK government devices after security review

Paul Hill — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 14:16:01 +0000

The UK government has banned TikTok from being used on government devices. It said the ban was a precautionary one as the app requires sensitive data permissions, and they could be misused. Read more...

TikTok slams EC's decision to ban app on its staff's phones as “un-European”

Paul Hill — Thu, 23 Feb 2023 18:30:01 +0000

TikTok has criticized the European Commission's decision to ban its employees from using TikTok on their devices. It said the process to reach the decision was "un-European" due to its secretiveness. Read more...

Over 200 Chinese mobile apps banned in India, reducing competition for Paytm

Usama Jawad — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 09:26:01 +0000

Inda has banned over 200 mobile apps and services operating in the country. While some of these were created by Indian developers, they are suspected of transferring customer data to China. Read more...

Pakistan unblocks Wikipedia after its Prime Minister intervenes

Justin Luna — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 04:06:02 +0000

Wikipedia can now be accessed again on Pakistan after the country's Prime Minister ordered its unbanning. The PM said that the blanket ban's unintended consequences outweighed its benefits. Read more...

Pakistan degrades access to Wikipedia and threatens to block it over "sacrilegious" content

Usama Jawad — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 09:10:01 +0000

Pakistan's government has degraded access to Wikipedia following news of the platform hosting certain content deemed objectionable by local authorities. The website could soon be blocked completely. Read more...

US government begins blocking exports to Huawei

Steve Bennett — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 09:28:01 +0000

In a new measure, the US government has reportedly begun blocking approvals of licenses to export to the Chinese tech giant Huawei, which covers most items and businesses within the US. Read more...

Twitter will permanently ban impersonators, says CEO Elon Musk

Justin Luna — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 03:46:01 +0000

As Elon Musk's Twitter allows anyone to wear a blue tick for $8 a month, the company is aiming to prevent impersonations by permanently banning accounts that do not indicate that they are a parody. Read more...

WeChat users asking for bans to be lifted that were given for sharing demonstration images

Steve Bennett — Sun, 16 Oct 2022 10:26:01 +0000

WeChat users who were banned for shares images of a recent pro-democracy demonstration in China have been sharing messages on Weibo asking for access to be restored, titled as "confession letters." Read more...

Twitter is reportedly reviewing its policies around permanent bans

Usama Jawad — Wed, 12 Oct 2022 13:14:01 +0000

With Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter looming, it seems like the latter is reviewing its policies around perma-bans. It's unclear if this is related to Musk's recent criticism of the policy though. Read more...

Beijing finally grants licenses to NetEase and Tencent to publish new paid games

Usama Jawad — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 14:10:01 +0000

It seems like China has finally started loosening its grip a little on its local tech sector. The country's regulator has finally given NetEase and Tencent permission to publish new paid games again. Read more...

Truth Social app can't get on Google Play Store due to its inadequate moderation policies

Alap Naik Desai — Tue, 30 Aug 2022 19:16:01 +0000

The Google Play Store hasn't approved Truth Social, the social media platform promoted as a free speech alternative to Twitter. The app allegedly violates policies pertaining to moderation of content. Read more...

VideoLAN claims that its VLC media player is being blocked in India

Usama Jawad — Thu, 18 Aug 2022 10:50:02 +0000

VideoLAN's president and lead developer has claimed that Indian internet service providers are restricting customers from downloading VLC media player from the official website for unknown reasons. Read more...

Indonesia has blocked Steam, Yahoo, PayPal, and more for license violations

Usama Jawad — Sat, 30 Jul 2022 12:12:01 +0000

The Indonesian government has blocked multiple companies and services for continuing to operate without registering themselves. Registration would also enforce certain tough regulatory restrictions. Read more...

Putin signs legislative amendment to ban cryptocurrency payments in Russia

Anushe Fawaz — Sat, 16 Jul 2022 14:42:01 +0000

Russia's President Putin signed a law to enact suspension of certain provisions of Federal Law “On Banks and Banking Activity”, and bans the use of digital assets as a payment mode in Russia. Read more...

Proposed loot box ban in The Netherlands sees widespread support

Steve Bennett — Sun, 03 Jul 2022 21:26:01 +0000

The motion submitted to the House of Representatives in The Netherlands, brought together the support of six political parties, meaning that it is likely that they will follow Belgium's lead. Read more...

PSA: You may get banned for redeeming Microsoft Rewards points, fix on the way

Usama Jawad — Sun, 05 Jun 2022 07:26:01 +0000

Microsoft Rewards members all over the world are complaining about being banned for no apparent reason while trying to redeem their points. That said, a partial fix has now been deployed. Read more...

Elon Musk would unban Trump from Twitter, calls original decision "stupid"

Usama Jawad — Wed, 11 May 2022 06:26:01 +0000

In an interview, Elon Musk has stated that he would unban Donald Trump from Twitter if his acquisition completes. He called the original decision "morally wrong", "foolish", and "flat-out stupid". Read more...

Twitter puts temporary ban on product changes to prevent sabotage from rogue employees

Usama Jawad — Tue, 26 Apr 2022 11:12:01 +0000

Twitter has reportedly put a temporary ban on product changes to preemptively prevent sabotage from employees who might go rogue following the deal with Elon Musk. Employees are divided on the topic. Read more...