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Social media technology

April 25, 2019 25 Apr'19
Public becoming more aware of privacy abuses and unethical tech

Widespread abuses of privacy, biometric information and artificial intelligence mean the internet is in poor health, but growing popular awareness of its problems gives some cause for hope, says the Mozilla Foundation
April 24, 2019 24 Apr'19
Online fashion brand Boohoo sees year-on-year revenue growth

Online fashion retailer Boohoo.com has seen a spike in revenue over the past year across all of its operating brands, and has announced the completion of several digital projects
April 23, 2019 23 Apr'19
Apple spends upwards of $30m a month on AWS during first quarter of 2019, report claims

According to US media reports, Apple is spending upwards of $30m a month on procuring cloud services from Amazon Web Services
April 18, 2019 18 Apr'19
Facebook leaks: Zuckerberg turned data into dollars in ruthless battle with competitors

Facebook’s CEO ruthlessly exploited personal data shared by its users to turn Facebook into the biggest social network, but internal documents show that privacy appeared to be an afterthought for executives

April 17, 2019 17 Apr'19
TfL suspends Wi-Fi service as Extinction Rebellion spreads

Transport for London has cut off its public Virgin Media Wi-Fi service to disrupt climate change protests
April 15, 2019 15 Apr'19
Facebook takes extraordinary legal steps to contain document leak

Facebook targets journalists and news organisations for computer searches
April 10, 2019 10 Apr'19
Skype blocked in UAE will hit businesses as well as people

Skype has been blocked to users in the United Arab Emirates, and its effects will be felt by businesses as well as citizens
April 04, 2019 04 Apr'19
Social inclusion unit aims to expand diversity in IT conversation

New unit at startup hub wants to explore how technology can be applied to address the barriers many people face in participating in society
April 03, 2019 03 Apr'19
Marie Claire develops platform to encourage in-magazine shopping

An in-house team at Marie Claire has developed a platform to encourage readers to shop while browsing the site
April 01, 2019 01 Apr'19
Fidor founder leaves as parent bank plots future

The founder of digital challenger bank Fidor leaves company as traditional banking parent company tries to sell business

March 26, 2019 26 Mar'19
Europe passes controversial Copyright Directive

The European Parliament has passed a new Copyright Directive, including a number of highly controversial articles
March 26, 2019 26 Mar'19
Nominet urges SMEs to register .uk domains to thwart squatters

The automatic right of .co.uk domain name holders to register the shorter .uk domains ends in June
March 20, 2019 20 Mar'19
Government can make better use of tech to tackle loneliness

Report produced by Vodafone urges the government to exploit the potential of technology to alleviate loneliness among older people
March 08, 2019 08 Mar'19
House of Lords committee calls for creation of a digital authority to oversee regulation

The proposed regulatory framework would coordinate regulators, assess rules and make recommendations to respond to developments in digital services
March 07, 2019 07 Mar'19
Zuckerberg commits to Facebook becoming privacy-focused

After a storm of controversy and criticism over the way Facebook fails to protect users’ privacy, the company’s chief says he plans to transform it into a privacy-focused platform
March 04, 2019 04 Mar'19
UK among most expensive countries for mobile data

The UK ranks 136th in the world for the average cost of 1GB of mobile data, according to new statistics
March 02, 2019 02 Mar'19
Facebook asked George Osborne to influence EU data protection law

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg invited one of the chancellor’s children to Facebook’s office as part of a intensive lobbying programme to influence European data protection legislation
March 01, 2019 01 Mar'19
Facebook facing 10 GDPR investigations in Ireland

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission has revealed it has 10 active probes into Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, as well as Apple, LinkedIn and Twitter, on its books
February 27, 2019 27 Feb'19
Most UK consumers say Facebook should be regulated

Nearly three-quarters of UK consumers feel the social platform is damaging people’s mental health, survey shows
February 26, 2019 26 Feb'19
Cyber criminals earn $3bn a year exploiting social platforms

Businesses urged to respond to research findings that the ready availability of hacking tools, wildfire spread of malware and proliferation of cryptocurrency mining has seen a 300-fold increase in social media-enabled cyber crimes in two years
February 22, 2019 22 Feb'19
Facebook planned to spy on Android phone users, internal emails reveal

Facebook planned to use its Android app to track the location of its customers and to allow advertisers to send political advertising and invites to dating sites to ‘single’ people, confidential documents show
February 19, 2019 19 Feb'19
Six experiential retail businesses chosen for Jlab

The businesses and startups that will take part in John Lewis’ 2019 Jlab programme have seen selected following a pitch day
February 18, 2019 18 Feb'19
DCMS Select Committee claims Facebook ‘deliberately frustrated’ fake news inquiry

Facebook’s UK public policy manager defends its participation in MPs' inquiry into the spread of fake news and disinformation online, which concludes by declaring an end to self-regulation by social media firms
February 14, 2019 14 Feb'19
Central Saint Martins hosts Three’s 5G trial for London Fashion Week

Three’s trial 5G network will enable the world’s first augmented reality fashion show at Central Saint Martins, while consumers can test out a prototype network at its flagship store
February 14, 2019 14 Feb'19
Apple Business Chat powers Npower’s smart meter switch

Energy supplier is using Apple Business Chat to help users through the process of switching onto new smart gas and electricity meters
February 13, 2019 13 Feb'19
London and Helsinki digital partnership challenges big IT platforms

CDOs of London and Helsinki meet at London’s City Hall to sign a city-to-city digital declaration around AI, open data and digital innovation
February 12, 2019 12 Feb'19
Telegram bot gets users hooked

Popular social media service provides a rich set of features for cyber criminals, RSA warns
February 01, 2019 01 Feb'19
Innocent people arrested following surveillance blunders, IPCO reveals

Interception of communications commissioner Adrian Fulford warns of “grave” repercussions for people wrongly identified as suspects due to errors made when government bodies access email, phone and telephone data
January 23, 2019 23 Jan'19
Facebook’s objections to court concerns over privacy more about ‘optics’ than facts

Facebook’s challenge to a High Court ruling that raises serious concerns about data transfers between Europe and the US is more about appearance than facts, lawyers for the Irish Data Protection Commission told Dublin's Supreme Court
January 22, 2019 22 Jan'19
Marks & Spencer introduces photo search for online shopping

British retail brand Marks and Spencer has introduced a photo searching capability to its mobile site to help people find products they like using other images
January 22, 2019 22 Jan'19
Facebook: US government does not engage in mass and indiscriminate surveillance

Social media giant challenges a ruling by Dublin’s High Court over a judgment that it says made ‘extraordinary and incorrect’ findings about the US legal system
January 14, 2019 14 Jan'19
Mobile and broadband markets fail digitally excluded groups

Financially vulnerable people, disabled and mentally ill people and elderly people all face significant challenges in accessing appropriate communications services, according to a new Ofcom report
January 10, 2019 10 Jan'19
More than half of customers will shop for food online by 2021

Just over 40% of customers currently do their grocery shopping online, but with that number expected to rise to more than half by 2021, are retailers doing enough to meet customer expectations?
December 23, 2018 23 Dec'18
'Serious' Twitter flaw allows hackers to post on other people's accounts

A vulnerability in Twitter allows hackers to send tweets, private messages, post images or videos, and turn off security features, says British security researcher
November 27, 2018 27 Nov'18
Billions missing out on digital society as internet use soars

As global internet usage continues to soar, billions of people around the world are missing out on the potential benefits of getting online, according to Cisco
November 26, 2018 26 Nov'18
Unprecedented actions by Commons committee augur badly for Facebook

House of Commons’ serjeant-at-arms effectively arrested the CEO of a US software company and frogmarched him to Parliament, where he was told he would be imprisoned if he failed to hand over papers on Facebook
November 23, 2018 23 Nov'18
ASOS launches digital assistant to help customers find right size

Online fashion retailer ASOS has launched an artificially intelligent assistant to help consumers find the right size of clothing before they place an order
November 20, 2018 20 Nov'18
Police challenged over refusal to disclose files on WikiLeaks staff

Lawyers will challenge the Metropolitan Police Service today to confirm or deny whether it holds correspondence with US law enforcement about three WikiLeaks staff – including two UK citizens – in a freedom of information tribunal
November 12, 2018 12 Nov'18
Government considering dedicated internet regulator, says digital minister

An upcoming white paper is likely to set out proposals for an internet regulator, a House of Lords committee has been told
November 06, 2018 06 Nov'18
Information commissioner calls for stricter regulation on political use of data

Information commissioner Elizabeth Denham’s investigation into the use of data in elections and campaigns, finds "a disturbing disregard for voters’ personal privacy"
November 06, 2018 06 Nov'18
Smart Dubai platform is the backbone of the city's transformation

Aisha bin Bishr, director general at Smart Dubai Office, talks about the Smart Data platform and soon-to-be-unveiled UAE Pass, a digital ID and signature which is being touted as one of the foundations a city needs to transform
October 31, 2018 31 Oct'18
IoT R&D projects missed out on £10m of government funding

A series of delays and disruption caused chiefly by changes in project ownership meant the government’s IoT UK Research and Innovation Programme failed to use a quarter of its allocated budget between 2015 and 2018
October 31, 2018 31 Oct'18
Facebook emphasises security drive during third-quarter earnings call

Social media giant admits it has a lot of work to do to keep on top of security as it looks to extend payment option to Messenger
October 30, 2018 30 Oct'18
Hammond’s digital services tax is a big risk, say experts

The tech industry is not impressed with the chancellor’s plan to tax web giants, saying it can stifle innovation, while tax lawyers warn that it is a very risky move that could lead to US retaliation
October 25, 2018 25 Oct'18
Firms will use AI to automate HR processes within two years

Companies are gearing up to automate HR processes with artificial intelligence and machine learning, while at the same time battling with outdated IT systems
October 15, 2018 15 Oct'18
Tech companies should not be under legal duty to remove terrorist material, says watchdog

The internet should not be a safe place for terrorists, but making it compulsory for technology companies to trawl for radical content risks interfering with the rights of innocent people, says Max Hill QC, the independent reviewer of terrorism ...
October 10, 2018 10 Oct'18
Ofcom says government should lead on internet regulation

Representatives from the telecoms regulator tell House of Lords that the government should build a framework for internet regulation that other bodies can follow and enforce
October 09, 2018 09 Oct'18
Consumer Google+ dumped in favour of enterprise focus

Google+ will no longer be offered to consumers, following a security audit. Instead, the company plans to flesh out an enterprise social media strategy
October 03, 2018 03 Oct'18
Diversity key for innovation, says Carnival Corporation CEO

The CEO of travel brand Carnival told Splunk.conf 2018 that having diverse teams is the best way to drive innovation throughout a business
October 01, 2018 01 Oct'18
UK will unilaterally tax web giants, says Hammond

Chancellor threatens to go it alone on tax reform for digital services businesses if an international agreement cannot be reached