News

Social media technology

• June 20, 2025 20 Jun'25

  AR/VR headset market reaching ‘critical tipping point’

  Research finds marked uptick in immersive technologies market with 18.1% year-on-year growth fuelled by immersive and versatile experiences, with future growth anticipated to be driven by mixed and extended reality

• June 19, 2025 19 Jun'25

  University of Oulu shows machine vision can replace expert presence

  Leading Finnish university and tech hub reveals advances in immersive augmented reality technologies to support remote work and operations and address unique challenges and skill shortages of northern regions

• June 12, 2025 12 Jun'25

  Cisco Live 2025: The digital workplace gets closer to ‘distance zero’

  Research reveals disconnects between employer expectations and employee preferences around return-to-office policies in the new world of hybrid working, but also finds acceptance and uptake of cutting-edge collaboration tools

• May 29, 2025 29 May'25

  Post Office slammed after deleting social media comments on IT scandal

  Post Office accused of suppressing the views of victims of the Horizon scandal by deleting comments on social media platforms

• May 27, 2025 27 May'25

  Immersive content to stretch wireless networks to breaking point

  Research finds video accounts for 69% of all internet data traffic, far surpassing social media and gaming, and that by 2031, limitations of current networks are already apparent

• May 20, 2025 20 May'25

  Interview: Driving tech innovation at the BBC

  Computer Weekly speaks to Jatin Aythora, director of BBC Research and Development, about self-belief and learning from different industries

• May 07, 2025 07 May'25

  Meta awarded $167m in court battle with spyware mercenaries

  WhatsApp owner Meta is awarded millions of dollars in damages and compensation after its service was exploited by users of mercenary spyware developer NSO’s infamous Pegasus mobile malware

• May 02, 2025 02 May'25

  Government and Ofcom disagree about scope of Online Safety Act

  MPs heard different views from the online harms regulator and the UK government about whether and how the Online Safety Act obliges platforms to deal with disinformation

• April 28, 2025 28 Apr'25

  Digital twins critical for digital transformation to fly in aerospace

  Technology consortium publishes whitepaper to address the challenges of digital twin adoption in the aerospace and defence industries highlighting requirements for successfully deploying these digital twin-enabling technologies

• April 14, 2025 14 Apr'25

  Meta settles lawsuit over surveillance business model

  Meta settles lawsuit over use of personal data in targeted advertising, opening up the possibility of other UK users raising legal objections to its processing

• April 10, 2025 10 Apr'25

  Investigative reporter files legal action over police surveillance and social media monitoring

  Journalist complains to Investigatory Powers Tribunal after Northern Irish police placed him under surveillance as he investigated their handling of a high-profile death

• April 08, 2025 08 Apr'25

  NCSC issues warning over Chinese Moonshine and BadBazaar spyware

  Two spyware variants are being used to target the mobile devices of persons of interest to Chinese intelligence, including individuals in the Taiwanese, Tibetan and Uyghur communities

• April 08, 2025 08 Apr'25

  Spoofing vuln threatens security of WhatsApp Windows users

  Meta has disclosed and patched a potentially dangerous spoofing flaw in WhatsApp for Windows that could have caused big problems for unwitting users

• April 02, 2025 02 Apr'25

  Interview: Tomer Cohen, chief product officer, LinkedIn

  The professional social network’s product chief is leading the introduction of artificial intelligence for the firm’s in-house development processes and to enhance services for users

• March 28, 2025 28 Mar'25

  Digital Twin Consortium outlines spatially intelligent capabilities and characteristics

  Consortium designed to drive increased virtual representation adoption across industries publishes whitepaper emphasising the importance of locational intelligence in practice

• March 17, 2025 17 Mar'25

  Online Safety Act measures come into effect

  Regulator Ofcom is now able to take enforcement action against platforms under the Online Safety Act if they fail to proactively safeguard against content such as terrorist or child sexual abuse material

• March 12, 2025 12 Mar'25

  Apple slated in CMA mobile browser investigation

  Apple policies are main focus, but Google doesn’t escape the regulator’s scrutiny either, with its business practices to promote Chrome coming under fire

• March 11, 2025 11 Mar'25

  Musk claims of Ukraine DDoS attack derided by cyber community

  Elon Musk draws criticism after accusing Ukraine of being behind a significant DDoS attack against social media platform X

• March 11, 2025 11 Mar'25

  Hadean, Google Cloud team to develop AI-powered spatial computing

  Technology partnership looks to facilitate the creation of highly realistic and responsive simulations, optimising training exercises and planning scenarios to help organisations develop deeper understanding of potential situations

• March 04, 2025 04 Mar'25

  MWC 2025: Comms tech consortium begins XR trials on 5G Standalone network

  Collaboration between Ericsson, T-Mobile and Qualcomm looks to pioneer the next wave of 5G low latency operator services, beginning with supporting demanding mobile immersive experiences

• February 27, 2025 27 Feb'25

  MPs grill X, TikTok and Meta about online misinformation

  Representatives from the social media firms said that while the scale of their platforms makes content moderation difficult, they are effectively dealing with the vast majority of misinformation

• February 26, 2025 26 Feb'25

  Apple and Dassault Systèmes join forces for digital twin Vision

  Leading connected engineering software provider teams with CE giant to take advantage of state-of-the-art immersive viewing to realise digital twin-based product design and manufacturing platform

• February 26, 2025 26 Feb'25

  Engineering at tipping point as manufacturing embraces Industry 5.0

  Leading connected engineering software provider unveils vision of generative AI-based design to support new age of industrial applications with sustainability and virtual processes at the core

• February 24, 2025 24 Feb'25

  Government seeks payments tech partner through £49m contract

  UK government wants tech partner to help it embed open banking functionality into its Gov.uk Pay platform

• February 18, 2025 18 Feb'25

  Meta’s planned subsea cable will exceed circumference of Earth and support AI innovation

  Meta’s planned 50,000 km subsea cable will be the world’s longest and connect the five major continents

• February 17, 2025 17 Feb'25

  ‘Times are hard’ for fintech but latest report reveals glimmer of recovery

  Fintech investment in the UK hit a four-year low last year, as the wider EMEA region saw the lowest numbers in eight years

• February 17, 2025 17 Feb'25

  AI-driven personalisation appealing to UK shoppers, says research

  Retailers should be using artificial intelligence to increase brand loyalty through personalisation, according to research

• February 05, 2025 05 Feb'25

  Youth activists protest Meta over mental health impacts

  Protest outside Meta’s London offices marks launch of Mad Youth Campaign, an effort by activists to challenge the ways in which corporate power negatively shapes the conditions young people live under

• January 23, 2025 23 Jan'25

  ICO launches major review of cookies on UK websites

  ICO sets out 2025 goals, including a review of cookie compliance across the UK’s top 1,000 websites, as it seeks to achieve its ultimate goal of giving the public meaningful control over how their data is used

• January 17, 2025 17 Jan'25

  US Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban

  The US Supreme Court has upheld a legal ban on TikTok, meaning that the video-sharing application will be shut down from midnight on Sunday 19 January

• January 16, 2025 16 Jan'25

  Russia’s Star Blizzard pivots to WhatsApp in spear-phishing campaign

  The Russian cyber spy operation known as Star Blizzard changed tactics after a takedown operation by Microsoft and the US authorities, turning to widely used messaging platform WhatsApp to try to ensnare its targets

• January 15, 2025 15 Jan'25

  Users protest, flee TikTok as clock ticks on US ban

  As the US Supreme Court prepares to rule on the future of TikTok, rumours of a sale are swirling around Washington DC while panicked users make plans for an exodus

• January 14, 2025 14 Jan'25

  CMA kicks off investigation into Google search engine dominance

  The Competition and Markets Authority is using powers that came into force at the start of the year to assess Google’s reach

• December 17, 2024 17 Dec'24

  Ofcom publishes Illegal Harms Codes of Practice

  The codes of practice and guidance from Ofcom outline the steps online services providers can take to protect their users from illegal harms

• December 06, 2024 06 Dec'24

  US TikTok ban imminent after appeal fails

  TikTok’s appeal against a US government ban has failed, with a judge dismissing its arguments that its First Amendment free speech rights are being restricted

• November 21, 2024 21 Nov'24

  US Department of Justice wants Alphabet to sell Chrome browser

  The regulator is looking to put a stop to what it sees as the search engine giant’s anti-competitive practices

• November 20, 2024 20 Nov'24

  Government issues strategic priorities for online safety regulator Ofcom

  Technology secretary Peter Kyle sets out the government’s strategic priorities for how Ofcom should approach regulating online safety, including embedding safety by design and supporting innovation in technologies to help protect people online

• November 15, 2024 15 Nov'24

  RealWear looks to reshape industrial AR with Almer acquisition

  In what is said to mark a pivotal moment in a key part of the spatial computing sector and boost frontline worker productivity, industrial wearable technology firm acquires manufacturer of ultra-compact, user-friendly AR headsets

• October 10, 2024 10 Oct'24

  UK and US pledge closer working on children’s online safety

  In their first agreement on the subject of children’s online safety, the UK and US governments have said they will create a new working group to boost cooperation

• October 10, 2024 10 Oct'24

  Google slams US government’s proposal to split company up on anti-competitive grounds

  The US Department of Justice has incurred the wrath of Google for suggesting a series of remedies, after the US court ruled back in August that Google had an illegal monopoly over internet search market

• October 02, 2024 02 Oct'24

  UK government opens Digital Catapult 5G Immersive Lab

  Ribbon cut on facility in north-east of England set up to revolutionise how businesses in traditional sectors like retail, agriculture and manufacturing adopt technologies based on 5G communications

• September 04, 2024 04 Sep'24

  Fraud and scam complaints hit highest ever level in UK

  The Financial Ombudsman Service says it recorded almost 9,000 complaints about fraud and scams from April to June, the most ever recorded

• August 28, 2024 28 Aug'24

  Telegram founder Pavel Durov questioned over cyber crime charges

  Billionaire founder of Telegram accused of failing to co-operate with law enforcement requests for lawful interception

• August 27, 2024 27 Aug'24

  AI drives strong Zoom second quarter

  Comms and collaboration service provider reveals robust first half of 2025 fiscal year, outperforming guidance across the board and with marked strength in large accounts

• August 21, 2024 21 Aug'24

  Pakistani national arrested over Southport ‘cyber terrorism’

  Authorities in Pakistan have arrested a man on suspicion of cyber terrorism over his role in the spread of online misinformation in the wake of the Southport knife attack

• August 20, 2024 20 Aug'24

  Zoom marks million milestone for webinar attendee capability

  Zoom announces that it can now support seven-figure audiences for online conferences in use cases including enterprise, entertainment and public sector

• August 08, 2024 08 Aug'24

  Ofcom issues online safety warning to firms in wake of UK riots

  Ofcom has issued a warning reminding social media firms of their upcoming online safety obligations, after misinformation about the Southport stabbings sparked racist riots throughout the UK

• August 01, 2024 01 Aug'24

  Meta’s Zuckerberg looks ahead to AI-generated adverts

  Facebook’s parent company is driving artificial intelligence across its advertising platform, supported by open source development

• July 23, 2024 23 Jul'24

  NCA seizes thousands of social media accounts used by people smugglers

  A three-year campaign has seen thousands of social media posts and accounts used to advertise the services of illegal people smugglers taken down

• July 23, 2024 23 Jul'24

  Chrome cookies reprieved amid Google Privacy Sandbox changes

  Google abruptly changes tack on third-party cookies in its Chrome web browser, cancelling plans to deprecate them in favour of an unspecified ‘new experience’ for users