Opinion

Opinion

Social media technology

• Reimagining ethical digital technology

  With ever-increasing digitisation leading to greater dependence on a range of digital technologies, enterprises need to urgently look at how they can incorporate ethical and social considerations into the tech they develop  Continue Reading

• Online Safety Bill: Collaborating to make the internet safer for all

  The UK government's plan to regulate the internet and social media includes some positive and progressive measures – but by working with industry, a lot more could be achieved  Continue Reading

• Encryption myths versus realities of Online Safety Bill

  The UK government can’t legislate the impossible – a safer society depends on encryption, not breaking it  Continue Reading

• ICO cookie consent: How will the plan affect businesses?

  A data privacy and compliance expert considers what the ICO’s proposals for an overhaul of cookie consent procedures could mean for businesses  Continue Reading

• Why identity is the central problem for the future of the internet

  As debate rages over who has the right to control user identities online, is the concept of decentralised identity about to have its day?  Continue Reading

• Online Safety Bill: an opportunity for tech to get it right

  Long-awaited proposals for regulating internet companies still leave much to be defined – and the tech sector must take the lead in finalising a plan that works for society and government  Continue Reading

• Why we need to reset the debate on end-to-end encryption to protect children

  Private messaging is the front line of abuse, yet E2EE in its current form risks engineering away the ability of firms to detect and disrupt it where it is most prevalent  Continue Reading

• What does Brexit mean for the future of UK digital policy? A view from Europe

  Any decisions by the UK government to diverge from EU policies and values over digital policy and regulation could cause real economic problems for UK businesses  Continue Reading

• It’s time to accept that disinformation is a cyber security issue

  Tackling the manipulation of truth and facts is no easy task, and it’s time for the cyber security sector to take up the challenge  Continue Reading

• Why our online harms laws will be good for tech

  The UK's minister for digital infrastructure explains the government's thinking behind its proposals to regulate internet companies such as Facebook, Google and others  Continue Reading

• The Google antitrust case is more about politics than economics

  It’s not entirely clear what economic reasons led the US government to try to tackle Google’s search monopoly, which suggests it is mostly about politics  Continue Reading

• The harsh reality for newspapers in the fight against Facebook, is that people won’t pay for news

  The Australian media is the latest to try to get Facebook and Google to pay for using their news stories. That only exposes the fact that not enough readers want to do so  Continue Reading

• 11 obscure questions, Facebook, Max Schrems and the European Court of Justice

  Eleven obscure questions will be the first step towards explaining why we in the UK and Europe have experienced 13 years of what has been described as ‘mass and indiscriminate surveillance’ by the US  Continue Reading

• Coronavirus: What does the ‘new normal’ mean for how we work?

  Examining the long-term impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic on the world of work, security, privacy and networks  Continue Reading

• Coronavirus and privacy – finding the middle ground

  Data collection has a role to play in fighting the deadly Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak, but governments need to be accountable for how it is used  Continue Reading

• Our data is making us ‘richer’ – even if it’s the tech companies getting rich

  How much do we value our personal data, and how does that compare to the value we think we get from companies like Facebook and Google exploiting that data?  Continue Reading

• Is the EU better equipped than the US to supervise the use of facial recognition?

  Clearview AI can be an indispensable tool to reinforce national security, but there are many risks associated with the use of facial recognition technology that the EU might be better equipped to deal with than the US  Continue Reading

• Could regulation kill Facebook completely?

  Social media companies are under financial pressure, as costs increase faster than revenues due to growing concerns about the price of regulatory intervention  Continue Reading

• Why the banking industry needs an IT makeover

  UK banks face huge challenges keeping their service availability levels at 99.99%  Continue Reading

• How can we tell if regulating Google and Facebook is the right thing to do?

  There are different economic approaches to dealing with monopolies and market dominance, but the nature of Google and Facebook defies easy answers  Continue Reading

• Can Europe legally share data with the US? A court far away is about to decide

  The European Court of Justice will deliver an opinion on whether Europe can legally continue to send private data about European citizens to the US  Continue Reading

• We can’t allow fake news and disinformation to upend our democracy

  Fake news, misinformation and cyber attacks are part of our political process – now is the time to act  Continue Reading

• AI vs AI: How can we win the fake news battle?

  Many internet browsers and social media companies have been forced to take on a new responsibility to combat the dissemination of false information, but can they succeed?  Continue Reading

• Regulators globally are shaping up to rein in Facebook

  We need to move fast and fix Facebook, before it breaks us  Continue Reading

• Why Facebook’s Libra digital currency could run rings round the regulators

  Facebook’s cryptocurrency isn’t really a cryptocurrency, nor is it really a money transfer network, but it’s been formulated in such a way that regulators might not be able to do anything to stop it  Continue Reading

• What are the options for regulating internet companies?

  The UK – and other countries – are likely to introduce new regulations for internet and tech companies like Facebook and Google. We consider what sort of rules they might introduce  Continue Reading

• Facebook’s high-stakes privacy gamble goes to Dublin court

  A high-wire gamble with billions in compensation at stake for European internet users – part of a complex case between Facebook and the Irish information commissioner – hides challenge to the unlawfulness of US state internet surveillance  Continue Reading

• Capitalism too short-termist? The tech sector suggests otherwise

  Many observers criticise businesses and stock markets for being too short-termist – but if that was the case, how did Amazon, Uber and their ilk ever come into existence?  Continue Reading

• Smart cities face challenges and opportunities

  IHS Markit analysts Noman Akhtar and Kevin Hasley assess the way forward for smart city technology projects around the world  Continue Reading

• Ethics and tech – a double-edged sword

  Just because a business activity is legal doesn’t mean it will be acceptable to customers, as the ethical debates in tech are proving  Continue Reading

• Hacking the internet of things just got easier – it’s time to look at your security

  Are you taking security for internet-connected devices seriously enough?  Continue Reading

• If we're measuring GDP wrong in a digital world, what does that say about the economy?

  Conventional measures of economic success such as GDP fail to account for the nature of free digital services. How different would the UK economy appear if that changed?  Continue Reading

• Who do you trust to censor social media?

  Calls to censor Facebook and its rivals are growing – but society needs to consider carefully the motivations of those making such demands  Continue Reading

• Taxing tech giants on revenue only ends up with us customers paying more

  EU proposals to tax internet companies based on sales in each country fail to apply the tax burden on the right people  Continue Reading

• Safer Internet Day: Building online safety practices with young people

  Many organisations around the UK are contributing to the important work on making the internet a safer place for everyone  Continue Reading

• How to boost your personal brand as an IT professional

  Seven steps to help you build a personal brand in the workplace, articulate the value you provide and build your professional reputation  Continue Reading

• Criminal law: Are Twitter threats taken seriously?

  As threats of violence become increasingly common online, law enforcement is taking stronger action against the perpetrators  Continue Reading

• Was that it? Business as usual for fintechs after Brexit vote

  Following the Brexit vote, Fintech Times editor Bird Lovegod describes how financial services IT startups are getting on with business as usual  Continue Reading

• Why we’re measuring the digital economy in the wrong way

  Conventional measures of productivity and growth, such as GDP, fail to capture the true effect of the digital revolution – but we're getting richer nonetheless  Continue Reading

• Disrupted everything: How Google will change our world

  While Apple could be the first company to hit a $1tn valuation, Google could be first to hit a $2tn market cap. But how will it get there?  Continue Reading

• Living with Google Glass – not quite useful enough to overcome the dork-factor

  Businesses will use Google Glass first, says Simon Dring after spending a few days living with the technology.  Continue Reading

• Who owns your LinkedIn account?

  It is common for employees to use personal social networking accounts for work, but who actually owns those accounts?  Continue Reading