News

Social media technology

• November 29, 2022 29 Nov'22

  ‘Legal but harmful’ clause dropped from Online Safety Bill

  Online Safety Bill’s ‘legal but harmful’ provision will be dropped by the UK government in favour of public risk assessments, tools to help users control the content they consume, and new criminal offences around self-harm

• November 24, 2022 24 Nov'22

  Meta faces UK lawsuit over surveillance business model

  The High Court case against Meta could set a precedent for millions of UK users to object to their personal data being collected and processed for advertising purposes

• November 22, 2022 22 Nov'22

  Ducktail spins new tales to hijack Facebook Business accounts

  The increasingly active Ducktail cyber crime operation is refining its operations, seeking new methods to compromise its victims’ Facebook Business accounts

• November 18, 2022 18 Nov'22

  Is Elon Musk’s Twitter safe, and should you stop using it?

  With a litany of security and compliance issues exposed and in many cases caused by Elon Musk’s takeover of social media platform Twitter, some may be asking if it’s still safe or appropriate to use

• November 15, 2022 15 Nov'22

  TikTok influencers are better than finance firms for money advice, say quarter of young adults

  Young people are turning to TikTok-based influencers for advice on how to manage their finances and where to bank

• November 13, 2022 13 Nov'22

  Metaverse could add up to $1.4tn a year to Asia’s GDP

  The metaverse may still be in its infancy, but sustained investments in the technology over the next decade could have a significant impact on Asia’s economy

• November 13, 2022 13 Nov'22

  Online scam victims lose an average of £1,000 each

  New data from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau shows victims of online fraud lose an average of £1,000 per person

• November 07, 2022 07 Nov'22

  Keeping personally identifiable data personal

  As it celebrates its 100th birthday, the BBC has begun a pilot looking into its role in enabling the general public to store their personal data

• November 04, 2022 04 Nov'22

  Elon Musk begins mass Twitter layoffs via email

  New Twitter owner Elon Musk has begun the process of cutting the company’s workforce in half, but is already facing a legal backlash for allegedly violating US labour laws

• November 02, 2022 02 Nov'22

  Shadow digital secretary outlines Labour’s tech priorities

  Labour’s digital and technology plans focus on reining in the power of the tech giants, boosting connectivity across the UK, and improving online safety

• October 28, 2022 28 Oct'22

  FYUZ 2022: Telecom Infra Project, Intel launch metaverse mMIMO collaboration

  Global community designed to drive infrastructure services to advance global connectivity enters into partnership with chip giant

• October 27, 2022 27 Oct'22

  Government ups cyber support for elderly, vulnerable web users

  DCMS announces a funding boost to help the elderly, disabled and other vulnerable groups stay safe online and avoid being misled by disinformation

• October 27, 2022 27 Oct'22

  LinkedIn adds new features to safeguard user privacy, security

  Social media platform is adding a number of features and systems designed to protect legitimate users from inauthentic profiles and activity

• October 27, 2022 27 Oct'22

  Santander calls for cooperation to tackle APP fraud

  New report puts forward key recommendations that the banking sector, government and other industries could take to tackle authorised push payment fraud

• October 27, 2022 27 Oct'22

  Meta tightens purse strings as it spends on Reality Labs

  Facebook’s parent company is betting the business on a long-term strategy to move social media into the metaverse

• October 25, 2022 25 Oct'22

  Dutch lawyers raise human rights concerns over hacked cryptophone data

  Dutch defence lawyers say in an open letter that there is a risk of unfair trials unless they are allowed to test the reliability and legitimacy of hacked cryptophone evidence

• October 14, 2022 14 Oct'22

  Malicious WhatsApp add-on highlights risks of third-party mods

  Kaspersky researchers discovered a malicious version of a widely used WhatsApp messenger mod, highlighting the risks of using so-called mods

• October 14, 2022 14 Oct'22

  Protecting children by scanning encrypted messages is ‘magical thinking’, says Cambridge professor

  Ross Anderson argues in a rebuttal to GCHQ experts that using artificial intelligence to scan encrypted messaging services is the wrong approach to protecting children and preventing terrorism

• October 12, 2022 12 Oct'22

  Qualcomm unveils next-gen MR, VR devices based on Snapdragon platform

  New premium-tier extended reality platform is said to deliver 50% higher sustained power and 30% improved thermal performance to enable more immersive metaverse experiences in smaller, lighter form factors

• October 12, 2022 12 Oct'22

  Meta presents vision for business metaverse

  How can hybrid teams collaborate seamlessly? Meta believes virtual reality tied to business applications is the way forward

• October 06, 2022 06 Oct'22

  EU rolling out measures for online safety and AI liability

  The European Council has approved the passage of the Digital Services Act to protect people’s rights online, while the European Commission has announced proposals to help those negatively affected by artificial intelligence to claim compensation

• October 06, 2022 06 Oct'22

  Proposals for scanning encrypted messages should be cut from Online Safety Bill, say researchers

  Automatic scanning of messaging services for illegal content could lead to one billion false alarms each day in Europe

• September 28, 2022 28 Sep'22

  Online Safety Bill needs complete overhaul, say rights groups

  Civil society groups write to new digital minister to challenge various aspects of the upcoming Online Safety Bill, which they say threatens rights to privacy and freedom of expression

• September 27, 2022 27 Sep'22

  Telefónica, Qualcomm collaborate to build XR, metaverse systems

  Partnership designed to grow metaverse and extended reality ecosystem using Snapdragon Spaces as well as upskilling Telefónica’s internal teams and external innovation programmes in XR hardware and applications

• September 22, 2022 22 Sep'22

  Privacy Pledge signatories dream of alternative internet

  A group of privacy-focused organisations have come together to establish a set of principles for taking the internet back from big tech and surveillance capitalism

• September 02, 2022 02 Sep'22

  IFA 2022: Qualcomm announces Meta partnership as it stakes out connected future

  Chip giant unveils plans to embed its connectivity technology – encompassing Wi-Fi 7, 5G and even satellite – within virtual and real-world environments to drive connected experiences

• August 24, 2022 24 Aug'22

  Alleged Twitter security failings spell trouble ahead

  Twitter’s former security head, Peiter Zatko, has alleged a number of serious cyber failures at the social media platform, raising the spectre of investigations and sanctions

• August 16, 2022 16 Aug'22

  Older customers prefer phone calls to chatbots

  Businesses are increasingly adopting customer-facing digital technologies, but the older generation are not so keen to embrace tech

• August 02, 2022 02 Aug'22

  UK safety tech sector sees strong revenue and employment growth

  Safety tech is now one of the fastest-growing sectors in the UK tech industry, with jumps in revenue, investment and employment

• July 28, 2022 28 Jul'22

  Facebook net income drops 36% as economic outlook worsens

  Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is planning to slash spending by $6bn, but remains focused on AI development

• July 26, 2022 26 Jul'22

  Meta publishes first-ever human rights report

  Meta details its approach to protecting and promoting human rights, but civil society groups say the company has failed to grapple with the human rights risks associated with its own business model

• July 26, 2022 26 Jul'22

  Ducktail infostealer targets Facebook Business users

  Newly uncovered Ducktail operation targets individuals with access to Facebook Business service and tries to steal their accounts

• July 22, 2022 22 Jul'22

  LinkedIn most impersonated brand in phishing attacks

  Social network LinkedIn, along with Microsoft and DHL, are just some of the brands that are most frequently imitated by cyber criminals conducting phishing attacks

• July 21, 2022 21 Jul'22

  GCHQ experts back scanning of encrypted phone messages to fight child abuse

  Ian Levy, technical director of the NCSC, and Crispin Robinson, technical director of GCHQ, back client-side scanning software on mobile phones to detect child abuse

• July 14, 2022 14 Jul'22

  How hostile government APTs target journalists for cyber intrusions

  Proofpoint shares data on multiple campaigns of cyber intrusions against journalists originating from threat actors aligned to the governments of China, Iran, North Korea and Turkey

• July 14, 2022 14 Jul'22

  Government pauses Online Safety Bill’s progress

  The government has paused the Online Safety Bill’s journey towards becoming law, amid timetable pressure

• July 13, 2022 13 Jul'22

  Digital break-up kit to help women get out of bad relationships safely

  Domestic abuse charity Refuge teams up with Avast to equip women with the knowledge to effectively and safely end a relationship digitally

• July 12, 2022 12 Jul'22

  Brits say social media must do more to block harmful content

  UK citizens want social media companies to do more to prevent harmful content appearing on their platforms

• July 08, 2022 08 Jul'22

  Ofcom publishes Online Safety Roadmap

  The roadmap sets out how the online harms regulator will approach implementing the UK’s online safety regime, and tells tech firms to start preparing for the new rules

• July 07, 2022 07 Jul'22

  Deliciously Ella – how the brand adopted D2C during the pandemic

  Plant-based brand Deliciously Ella did not intend to sell directly to customers, but shifting unsold stock during the pandemic opened digital doors for the brand

• July 07, 2022 07 Jul'22

  Tech companies face pressure over end-to-end encryption in Online Safety Bill

  An amendment to the Online Safety Bill, currently going through Parliament, will put pressure on tech companies over end-to-end encrypted messaging services

• July 07, 2022 07 Jul'22

  The Security Interviews: Inside Russia’s Ukraine information operation

  Computer Weekly speaks to Craig Terron of Recorded Future about delving deep inside the Russian disinformation machine, and how the Kremlin’s strategy is set to evolve

• June 29, 2022 29 Jun'22

  Romance scammers exploit Ukraine war in cynical campaign

  Romance scammers can make easy money exploiting people looking for love, but in this newly observed campaign linked to the Ukraine war they are playing on deeper emotions

• June 28, 2022 28 Jun'22

  Digital Poverty Alliance unveils evidence review

  Evidence review into the state of digital poverty in the UK sets out policy principles and recommendations, which will be used as the basis for a national action plan to eliminate the issue

• June 28, 2022 28 Jun'22

  Avast uncovers ‘thieves’ kitchen’ of malware-writing teens

  Researchers stumble across online community of 11 to 18-year-olds constructing, exchanging and spreading malware

• June 23, 2022 23 Jun'22

  Non-European tech giants could be subject to EU-backed anti-greenwashing directive

  EU-backed push to tighten up the sustainability reporting processes for companies that do business in Europe gathers pace

• June 16, 2022 16 Jun'22

  Interpol arrests thousands in global cyber fraud crackdown

  A two-month operation saw law enforcement agencies in 76 countries crack down on organised cyber fraud

• June 10, 2022 10 Jun'22

  Former CEO explains how Dreams went from nightmare to fantasy

  In 2013, Mike Logue joined Dreams after it had been saved from administration – he explains how data and communication rebuilt the business

• May 24, 2022 24 May'22

  ICO orders facial recognition firm Clearview AI to delete all data about UK residents

  UK data watchdog fines facial recognition company Clearview AI £7.5m for multiple privacy breaches. The firm, which offers services to law enforcement, faces growing pressure from regulators and legal action around the world

• May 06, 2022 06 May'22

  UK digital markets regulator to be given statutory powers

  Digital Markets Unit will be put on statutory footing by UK government to ensure technology giants do not abuse market power, but announcement comes with no clear indication of when legislation will be introduced