News

Social media technology

• July 20, 2023 20 Jul'23

  Online Safety Bill screening measures amount to ‘prior restraint’

  The Open Rights Group is calling on Parliament to reform the Online Safety Bill, on the basis that its content-screening measures would amount to “prior restraint” on freedom of expression

• July 12, 2023 12 Jul'23

  Ofcom’s online safety preparedness efforts hobbled by government

  Despite Ofcom’s progress so far, UK government changes to the scope and timetable of the Online Safety Bill are hobbling the ability of the regulator to successfully prepare for the new regime

• July 11, 2023 11 Jul'23

  EU formally grants data adequacy to US

  The European Commission has formally granted the US data adequacy, allowing companies and organisations to freely transfer personal data across the Atlantic via the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. But privacy activist Max Schrems has already committed...

• July 11, 2023 11 Jul'23

  Malicious URL volumes soar as cyber criminals pull on Threads

  Malicious actors have been quick to exploit the buzz around Meta’s newly launched Threads platform, with thousands of new suspicious domains registered exploiting its branding

• July 07, 2023 07 Jul'23

  Alaian, Qualcomm seek out extended reality startups

  Collaboration between telco alliance and leading mobile platform provider looks to offer emerging talents in extended reality the ability to accelerate their growth and promote the development of disruptive offerings

• July 06, 2023 06 Jul'23

  Meta’s Threads hits app stores, but no EU launch in sight

  Meta’s Twitter competitor makes its debut and signs up millions of users in just 12 hours, but concerns over compliance with the EU’s Digital Markets Act have sunk a pan-European launch for now

• July 04, 2023 04 Jul'23

  ‘Political lethargy’ to blame for digital exclusion, says Lords

  A House of Lords report about digital exclusion across the UK has blamed slow and undedicated government intervention for the extent of digital exclusion

• June 19, 2023 19 Jun'23

  Prime minister Rishi Sunak faces pressure from banks to force tech firms to pay for online fraud

  The UK’s major banks have told the prime minister to force tech firms to do more to prevent fraud that the banks end up paying for

• June 14, 2023 14 Jun'23

  TSB calls on Meta to intervene and protect users from fraud losses of £250m this year

  TSB is the latest bank to demand more action from social media sector in helping to reduce online fraud

• June 13, 2023 13 Jun'23

  Delivery charges and slow payments have customers abandoning baskets

  Customer expectation has been on the rise, both on and offline, and no-code automation firm Primer finds there are several reasons why consumers are choosing not to checkout

• May 31, 2023 31 May'23

  Lloyds Bank calls on tech companies to control social media ‘wild west’

  Lloyds Banking Group is calling on tech giants to step forward in the fight against online fraud, which emanates in the social media ‘wild west’

• May 25, 2023 25 May'23

  Build 2023: Microsoft wants developers to build IT with AI

  Software giant Microsoft is pushing the idea of next-generation business applications, powered by AI-based copilots with data feed plugins

• May 22, 2023 22 May'23

  Facebook owner Meta fined record €1.2 billion over EU-US data transfers

  Decision could have implications for other companies using Standard Contractual Clauses to share data between Europe and the US

• May 08, 2023 08 May'23

  Chat control: EU lawyers warn plans to scan encrypted messages for child abuse may be unlawful

  Leaked legal advice warns that European ‘chat control’ proposals to require tech companies to scan private and encrypted messages for child abuse are likely to breach EU law

• April 26, 2023 26 Apr'23

  Researchers deal blow to Gootloader gang that supported REvil

  Thousands of compromised WordPress blogs have been spreading the Gootloader malware for years, but eSentire’s security research team are turning the tables on the gang that played a key role in REvil ransomware attacks

• April 18, 2023 18 Apr'23

  Tech companies and NGOs urge rewrite of Online Safety Bill to protect encrypted comms

  The Online Safety Bill faces amendments in the House of Lords amid concerns that it could weaken the security of end-to-end encrypted communications for UK citizens

• April 04, 2023 04 Apr'23

  TikTok fined in UK over unlawful use of children’s data

  The ICO has fined TikTok £12.7m for breaches of data protection law, including unlawfully collecting data on children under 13

• March 31, 2023 31 Mar'23

  Mounting Russian disinformation campaign targeting Arab world

  Researchers have found evidence of a broad Russian disinformation campaign targeting Arabic-speakers in the Middle East and North Africa

• March 27, 2023 27 Mar'23

  France latest to ban TikTok on government devices

  Following bans in the UK and US, France has moved to enact restrictions on TikTok, and other social media apps, on government devices

• March 20, 2023 20 Mar'23

  BBC cracks down on TikTok after review

  The BBC is asking staff not to install TikTok on corporate-owned devices without a justified business purpose, although its use will still be allowed to share media content with its audiences

• March 17, 2023 17 Mar'23

  UK TikTok ban gives us all cause to consider social media security

  The UK government’s ban on TikTok should give all organisations cause to look into what information social media platforms are collecting on us, and what they are using it for

• March 16, 2023 16 Mar'23

  TikTok banned on UK government devices

  The UK government has followed in the footsteps of its US and European counterparts and banned the use of Chinese social media app TikTok on official devices

• March 06, 2023 06 Mar'23

  Fintech industry calls for regulatory change to help struggling consumers

  Fintech trade body calls for regulatory changes to allow fintechs to broaden services for people struggling in the cost-of-living crisis

• March 02, 2023 02 Mar'23

  Salt Labs identifies OAuth security flaw within Booking.com

  Security flaw in Booking.com OAuth implementation could be used to launch account takeovers, but researchers discovered and flagged the issue before it could be exploited in the wild

• February 20, 2023 20 Feb'23

  Twitter 2FA changes bring more risks than benefits

  Twitter’s approach to nudging users away from insecure SMS-based 2FA is being questioned over its logic

• February 20, 2023 20 Feb'23

  App-based Zopa bank buys BNPL fintech

  App-based Zopa bank is adding a buy now, pay layer platform to its technology stack through its first acquisition

• February 14, 2023 14 Feb'23

  Researcher exposes crypto scam network exploiting YouTube

  A massive network of fake YouTube videos promoted by automated sock puppet accounts is reeling in hundreds of cryptocurrency enthusiasts and persuading them to hand over their money, WithSecure researchers found

• February 10, 2023 10 Feb'23

  BNPL accounted for 12% of UK online spending in January

  Buy now, pay later products from fintech providers accounted for 12% of the £8bn spent online in the UK in January, according to analysis

• February 10, 2023 10 Feb'23

  Social media platform Reddit breached in phishing attack

  An unspecified threat actor obtained access to internal documents, code and business systems at Reddit after stealing employee credentials in a phishing attack

• February 09, 2023 09 Feb'23

  Cost-of-living crisis creates appetite to switch banks

  As millions of Brits struggle with their finances, many view tailored financial services as beneficial

• February 09, 2023 09 Feb'23

  Twitter CEO Elon Musk pauses datacentre downsizing push in wake of outage

  Twitter CEO Elon Musk has called a temporary halt to the company’s push to cut costs by downsizing its infrastructure expenditure after an outage left users around the world unable to post tweets

• February 09, 2023 09 Feb'23

  Consumers want tech-driven clothing stores

  As consumers increasingly visit stores as the pandemic subsides, NTT Data finds that technology in shops could persuade consumers to return to physical shopping

• February 08, 2023 08 Feb'23

  Prolific social media fraudster jailed for three years

  Ramzan Abubakarov of Hendon will serve three-year prison sentence after using Telegram to coordinate series of frauds which netted almost £2m

• February 03, 2023 03 Feb'23

  Finance regulator finding more misleading promotions quicker through improved digital tools

  UK finance regulator able to find and block misleading promotions faster through improved digital tools

• February 03, 2023 03 Feb'23

  FCA cracks down on misleading promos by social media influencers

  Social media is becoming a major part of the FCA’s work in clamping down on misleading financial advertising and promotions, with multiple influencers rapped for their behaviour

• February 01, 2023 01 Feb'23

  Romance fraudsters stole £65m from Brits since 2020

  Online romance fraudsters have scammed Brits out of £65m in the past three years, according to retail bank TSB

• February 01, 2023 01 Feb'23

  CryptoRom scam abuses Apple and Google app stores to claim victims

  Sophos researchers report on two fake apps used by romance scammers to lure victims into parting with their money, both of which were able to escape the attention of Apple and Google app store safeguards

• January 31, 2023 31 Jan'23

  Digital banking changing the high street forever as banks close branches and open alternatives

  Banks are reshaping their channels as customers move to digital services, with physical innovation complementing digital strategies

• January 27, 2023 27 Jan'23

  Lords question ‘extensive’ government online safety powers

  Digital minister Paul Scully defends government Online Safety plans to give secretary of state powers to direct Ofcom

• January 20, 2023 20 Jan'23

  WhatsApp’s £4.8m fine raises questions for organisations using behavioural advertising

  The Irish Data Protection Commissioner has fined WhatsApp, owned by Meta, in a case that will raise questions for organisations that rely on contracts rather than consent to comply with GDPR when offering behavioural advertising

• January 19, 2023 19 Jan'23

  UK seeks to ban sharing ‘positive’ Channel crossing videos online

  Under UK government amendments to the Online Safety Bill, video footage that shows people crossing the Channel in a ‘positive light’ could be added to a list of illegal content that all tech platforms must proactively prevent from reaching users, ...

• January 17, 2023 17 Jan'23

  Cloudflare urged to clamp down on pirates, counterfeiters

  A whitepaper produced by brand protection specialist Corsearch calls on Cloudflare to do more to stop online content piracy and sales of counterfeit goods

• January 16, 2023 16 Jan'23

  The Security Interviews: Protecting your digital self

  Our digital self – the virtual presence of who we are online – has a pervasive influence in the real world. People make judgements based on these digital depictions, so what can be done to ensure positive representation?

• January 06, 2023 06 Jan'23

  Proposed digital fraud refund rules risk excluding many victims

  Proposals to establish a fraud refund mechanism in the UK risk excluding many victims of digitally enabled fraud, a major bank has warned

• January 06, 2023 06 Jan'23

  Meta to appeal £345m fine for Facebook and Instagram privacy breaches

  Social media company Meta is to appeal after the Irish Data Protection Commission fined the company for breaching GDPR

• December 21, 2022 21 Dec'22

  Top 10 retail technology stories of 2022

  Computer Weekly looks at what 2022 had in store for the retail industry – after the pandemic increasing technology adoption for most of the retail sector, what have firms put in place to survive the next few years?

• December 13, 2022 13 Dec'22

  Crime Stoppers Tasmania debuts new reporting portal

  Reporting tool will enable the public to share crime-related information with law enforcement agencies to support policing in Tasmania

• December 05, 2022 05 Dec'22

  Fake investment ads persist on Meta’s social networks

  Online adverts for investment scams relating to property and crypto assets are still getting past measures designed to stop them

• December 02, 2022 02 Dec'22

  Twitter ‘replacement’ Hive Social shuts off service in privacy alert

  Hive Social, a recently established social media network, has temporarily closed its servers to address deep structural privacy issues identified by ethical hackers

• November 29, 2022 29 Nov'22

  Cyber criminals exploiting naked TikTok ‘challenge’

  Malware operators lured targets by promising them they would be able to view nude videos of TikTok users