Social media technology
Social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have proved enormously popular, and while they are consumer focused, the principles of collaboration and information sharing that they embody are highly relevant for corporate IT. We analyse the latest trends in social media technology, social networking and explain how they can be applied to enterprise IT strategy.
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Feature
29 Apr 2025
The top challenges of influencer marketing and their solutions
Brands can partner with influencers to build credibility and connect with their audiences. However, marketers often struggle to find the right influencers and spot fake followers. Continue Reading
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News
28 Apr 2025
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 Continue Reading
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Blog Post
26 Jul 2019
Apologising with Nick Clegg
Nick Clegg – Sir Nick to you – continues to flourish as Facebook’s hired appeaser, most recently resurfacing from his Atherton mansion with a sound bite about how his employer was “rocked to its ... Continue Reading
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News
25 Jul 2019
Surge in UK businesses switching bank account providers
The UK system that makes it easy to change bank account has seen a surge in businesses taking up the service Continue Reading
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News
25 Jul 2019
Facebook shrugs off $5bn fine, reports strong quarter
Investors responded positively after social networking firm reported better-than-expected second-quarter results after budgeting for FTC fine, but the company faces a further antitrust investigation Continue Reading
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News
24 Jul 2019
Zuckerberg responsible for Facebook privacy compliance after $5bn FTC fine
Facebook pays record fine after breaching users’ privacy, following settlements with Federal Trade Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission Continue Reading
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News
24 Jul 2019
US Department of Justice launches antitrust probe into dominance of online platform providers
The US Department of Justice has called for an antitrust investigation into how “market-leading” online platform operators in the search, social media and retail space operate Continue Reading
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E-Zine
16 Jul 2019
Computer Weekly – 16 July 2019: Reaping the benefits of digital transformation at Defra
In this week’s Computer Weekly, we check out the digital transformation at Defra, and see how the government department is preparing for Brexit. The new technology chief for the NHS explains how he’s going to bring the health service into the digital age. And we examine how to make a success of enterprise social media platforms. Read the issue now. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
11 Jul 2019
Let us troll
This month saw the Church of England release its own Digital charter, intended to improve the online community’s “common sense, kindness and sound judgement”. Now, you can sit there and have a go ... Continue Reading
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Podcast
09 Jul 2019
Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 23
In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Ryan Priest rejoins the show to help this week’s co-hosts, Caroline Donnelly and Clare McDonald, take a light-hearted look at the past week in tech Continue Reading
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News
05 Jul 2019
Challenger bank shuts up shop in UK amid uncertainty
Digital bank Fidor is ending its time in the UK, blaming uncertainties in the market Continue Reading
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Opinion
04 Jul 2019
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
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News
04 Jul 2019
Over half a million homes now using full-fibre as access improves
Ofcom’s latest Communications Market Report examines key trends in the UK’s broadband and mobile market, and finds that access to faster broadband is expanding rapidly across all delivery mechanisms Continue Reading
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News
04 Jul 2019
Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp outage resolved, but questions remain over what caused it
Facebook confirms that technical difficulties blighted its applications and services for several hours on 3 July 2019 Continue Reading
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News
03 Jul 2019
Why PSD2 adoption in the Netherlands is lagging behind
The Netherlands appears to be falling behind in open banking, even though the Dutch are digitally proficient and are often early adopters of new technology. What is going on? Continue Reading
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Feature
01 Jul 2019
Facebook’s privacy game – how Zuckerberg backtracked on promises to protect personal data
Facebook promised its users privacy then quietly abandoned its promises in pursuit of profits. Now it faces antitrust regulation Continue Reading
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Feature
01 Jul 2019
Rise of the machines: How AI is changing unified communications
Artificial intelligence is now moving into live UC environments at scale. We look at the impact it will have and what lies ahead Continue Reading
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Feature
01 Jul 2019
The changing face of enterprise collaboration
Enterprises are turning to social platforms to optimise communication among their workforces. Computer Weekly looks at some examples Continue Reading
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News
28 Jun 2019
Almost half of shoppers still prefer brands with stores
Despite an increasing amount of people shopping online, factors such as product pricing and whether a brand has a physical store still come into play Continue Reading
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Feature
27 Jun 2019
How privacy could breathe new life into personalisation
As much of the advertising technology used by marketers to deliver personalised content online is deemed unlawful, there are signs regulation could actually be a win-win for both consumers and business – as long as the industry embraces change Continue Reading
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Blog Post
26 Jun 2019
Scepticism and the challenges beyond for Facebook’s Libra
Facebook faces major hurdles to make Libra a success even if it overcomes the rampant scepitisim Continue Reading
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News
20 Jun 2019
Facebook officially unveils cryptocurrency plans
Facebook has released details about its Libra cryptocurrency, but questions still remain over how, and if, it will work Continue Reading
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News
20 Jun 2019
HCL delivers digital services to Cricket Australia
Cricket governing body chooses Indian IT supplier to expand the boundaries of its customer engagement platforms Continue Reading
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News
19 Jun 2019
How AirAsia streamlined its customer service
Integrating multiple customer touch points with Salesforce has enabled Asia’s leading low-cost carrier to shorten waiting time and improve customer service Continue Reading
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Blog Post
19 Jun 2019
Puss in briefs
A Pakistani politician has played down the embarrassment of one of his briefings being streamed live to Facebook with the cat filter on. “The cat filter was turned on by mistake,” said Shaukat ... Continue Reading
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News
18 Jun 2019
Facebook announces global digital currency Libra
Facebook is launching digital coin to open up affordable financial services to the world Continue Reading
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News
13 Jun 2019
Facebook London hiring spree focuses on tackling online harms
Facebook is hiring for 500 tech jobs in the capital in the next six months, with a particular focus on seeking out and clamping down on malicious content and fake accounts, and curbing other harmful behaviour on its platforms Continue Reading
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Blog Post
13 Jun 2019
Some reflections on Black Mirror
The fifth series of Charlie Brooker’s anthology series Black Mirror landed on Netflix this month, and we were surprised to find it’s moved away from making terrifying technology predictions to ... Continue Reading
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News
12 Jun 2019
Austrian Supreme Court green-lights GDPR case against Facebook
A potential landmark case against Facebook for violating General Data Protection Regulation rights has been given the go-ahead by the Austrian Supreme Court Continue Reading
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Blog Post
11 Jun 2019
John Suffolk's grilling by MPs exposes the tech industry's troubling amorality
In an astonishing and frankly unprecedented turn of events before the Science and Technology Select Committee this week, Huawei chief security officer John Suffolk was branded a "moral vacuum" by ... Continue Reading
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Feature
05 Jun 2019
Big tech chiefs boycott parliamentarians investigating citizens’ privacy
An International Grand Committee on Big Data, Privacy and Democracy considers whether failure to protect citizens’ privacy constitutes grounds for anti-trust regulation against Facebook and other big tech companies Continue Reading
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Feature
04 Jun 2019
How retail store technology is filling the ‘imagination gap’
Retailers are using in-store technology to reduce the time between shoppers’ consideration phase and purchase, but how is it engaging them and triggering conversions? Continue Reading
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Feature
04 Jun 2019
Cutting employees some Slack: The rise of messaging apps in retail
Slack’s 2019 stock market debut raises the profile of enterprise collaboration software, but what options do retailers have in this space and how are they using the technology? Continue Reading
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News
31 May 2019
Facebook loses bid to halt European court decision on EU-US data sharing
Irish Supreme Court dismisses attempt by Facebook to prevent the European Court of Justice considering the validity of US-EU data transfers, after Austrian lawyer Max Schrems argued that they put the privacy of EU citizens at risk Continue Reading
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News
30 May 2019
Microsoft embarks on renewable-powered datacentre push in Sweden
Microsoft is doubling down on its efforts to have more of its datacentres powered by renewable energy, with commitment to make its facilities in Sweden the most sustainable yet Continue Reading
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News
30 May 2019
Hyperscale datacentre operators report first drop in capex growth for seven quarters
Datacentre investments of cloud and internet giants dropped in the first quarter of 2019 after seven consecutive quarters of growth, but market watcher claims it is just a blip Continue Reading
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News
28 May 2019
NHS Digital sets out Internet First policy
NHS Digital is soliciting input to its Internet First policy, a set of standards and guidelines to help health and social care organisations make digital services accessible over the internet Continue Reading
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News
23 May 2019
Paul Smith looks to tailor its back-end systems with Cegid software
British tailor Paul Smith has been working with Cegid since 2015, but it is now considering upgrading to the provider's latest software to reduce costs and increase efficiency Continue Reading
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News
22 May 2019
Hundreds of European retail banks will disappear as challengers scoop up customers
One in every 10 banks in Europe will no longer exist as digital challengers take customers from them Continue Reading
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News
21 May 2019
UC Expo 2019: Experts talk up future tech in unified communications
Automation and AI are increasingly prevalent in unified comms, but do enterprises really need it? Continue Reading
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News
16 May 2019
Fujitsu sets out to restore trust in technology
Trust in technology, how to recapture it, and how to ensure AI doesn’t overstep its bounds were the big messages on the opening day of Fujitsu Forum in Tokyo Continue Reading
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Blog Post
15 May 2019
Clout drought
When Anna Wintour failed to extend a single Met Gala invite to anyone from Computer Weekly this year, she sent out a clear message to the entire world: tech is out. We were left to only imagine ... Continue Reading
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News
15 May 2019
Facebook engaged in ‘calculated’ campaign to eliminate competition, claims businessman
A US businessman is seeking damages from Facebook after accusing the social media company of unfairly blocking “humorous” Facebook pages which generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising revenue Continue Reading
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News
14 May 2019
Spyware targets WhatsApp users
Social media platform issues update after it discovered a flaw being exploited by commercial spyware Continue Reading
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News
09 May 2019
Facebook co-founder: ‘It is time to break up Facebook’
Co-founder of Facebook, Chris Hughes, has published an op-ed in The New York Times calling for Facebook to be broken up, as it faces investigations from the US Federal Trade Commission Continue Reading
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News
09 May 2019
Physical stores – the place to meet your tribe
In a digital world, stores still have a place as community hubs, representatives from Lego, Vans and M&Ms told Retail Expo Continue Reading
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News
07 May 2019
Early adopters expect to pay 32% premium for 5G
Potential early adopters of 5G say they expect, on average, to pay more for their devices and services, but they expect measurable improvements on 4G from the get-go Continue Reading
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News
30 Apr 2019
Brighton Dome theatre gets access to city’s 5G mobile testbed
Brighton Dome & Festival is to deploy a 5G network to explore future applications for the technology in the arts Continue Reading
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News
26 Apr 2019
Facebook faces fresh privacy actions from regulators
Facebook faces legal action from Canada after it dismissed regulators’ findings that it failed to protect customer privacy. The firm has set aside $5bn to settle a privacy action in the US and faces a new investigation in Ireland Continue Reading
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News
25 Apr 2019
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 Continue Reading
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News
24 Apr 2019
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 Continue Reading
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Blog Post
23 Apr 2019
Sorry Cadwalladr, I misunderstood
Carole Cadwalladr has used her TED talk to highlight Facebook’s obfuscation regarding political adverts on its site, calling for Mark Zuckerberg to hold a TED talk of his own or risk finding ... Continue Reading
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News
23 Apr 2019
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 Continue Reading
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News
18 Apr 2019
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 Continue Reading
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Blog Post
17 Apr 2019
Cutting off the internet is a TERRIBLE idea, whether or not you agree with Extinction Rebellion
Many people using the London Underground today will likely have noticed that the usual Virgin Media-run Wi-Fi service is not working. Some might even have been mildly inconvenienced by not being ... Continue Reading
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News
17 Apr 2019
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 Continue Reading
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Blog Post
17 Apr 2019
Facebook shutters Messenger payments in UK as Brits just not into it
Facebook is closing its peer to peer payments service within Messenger in the UK because of limited take up Continue Reading
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News
15 Apr 2019
Facebook takes extraordinary legal steps to contain document leak
Facebook targets journalists and news organisations for computer searches Continue Reading
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Blog Post
10 Apr 2019
Lush gives up on social media
Since the birth of social media platforms, brands have been carefully adapting their marketing strategies to reach the cool kids on whatever their chosen channel of choice. From MySpace, to ... Continue Reading
- 10 Apr 2019
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News
10 Apr 2019
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 Continue Reading
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News
04 Apr 2019
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 Continue Reading
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Blog Post
04 Apr 2019
Remembering Google+
We remember Google not letting us comment on a YouTube video until we signed up to its barren and now extinct social media platform like it was yesterday, if only in the sense that it’s one of the ... Continue Reading
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News
03 Apr 2019
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 Continue Reading
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02 Apr 2019
Europe passes controversial Copyright Directive
On the face of it, the European Parliament’s new Copyright Directive aims to ensure the media industry does not lose out financially to behemoths, but certain articles could see users’ internet freedom stifled. Continue Reading
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Podcast
02 Apr 2019
Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 10
In this week’s episode of The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, the team discusses Twitter spats, the long-running legal saga between HP and Mike Lynch, Asos’s retail tech strategy, G-Cloud 11 and how machine learning is shaking up the healthcare sector Continue Reading
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News
01 Apr 2019
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 Continue Reading
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Opinion
28 Mar 2019
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
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News
26 Mar 2019
Europe passes controversial Copyright Directive
The European Parliament has passed a new Copyright Directive, including a number of highly controversial articles Continue Reading
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News
26 Mar 2019
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 Continue Reading
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Blog Post
20 Mar 2019
Vote Leave’s early bath
Vote Leave’s band of zip-wiring cowboy builders has been handed another fine: this time for sending out nearly 200,000 unsolicited texts to the poor sods who entered their contest to win £50m if ... Continue Reading
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News
20 Mar 2019
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 Continue Reading
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Podcast
19 Mar 2019
Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 8
In this week’s episode of The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, the team reminisces over 30 years of the World Wide Web, gets the low-down on what happened at this year’s Cloud Expo and digs a little deeper into the user IT implications of Brexit Continue Reading
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Photo Story
11 Mar 2019
Web @ 30
It has been 30 years since Sir Tim Berners-Lee's initial proposal for the World Wide Web Continue Reading
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News
08 Mar 2019
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 Continue Reading
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News
07 Mar 2019
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 Continue Reading
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News
04 Mar 2019
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 Continue Reading
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News
02 Mar 2019
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 Continue Reading
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News
01 Mar 2019
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 Continue Reading
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News
27 Feb 2019
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 Continue Reading
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News
26 Feb 2019
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 Continue Reading
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News
22 Feb 2019
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 Continue Reading
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Blog Post
19 Feb 2019
WWW at 30: the worldwide swamp
Next month will be the 30th anniversary of the world wide web. In 1989, who would have thought the web would touch every aspect of people’s lives - not only in a good way but also in ways that seem ... Continue Reading
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News
19 Feb 2019
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 Continue Reading
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News
18 Feb 2019
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 Continue Reading
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News
14 Feb 2019
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 Continue Reading
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News
14 Feb 2019
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 Continue Reading
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News
13 Feb 2019
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 Continue Reading
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News
12 Feb 2019
Telegram bot gets users hooked
Popular social media service provides a rich set of features for cyber criminals, RSA warns Continue Reading
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Blog Post
07 Feb 2019
Baddiel and Jones unedited
For years now, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has been hounded to add a feature that allows users to amend their typo-laden tweets, but do we really need more ways to take the platform so seriously? Take ... Continue Reading
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News
01 Feb 2019
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 Continue Reading
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News
23 Jan 2019
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 Continue Reading
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News
22 Jan 2019
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 Continue Reading
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News
22 Jan 2019
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 Continue Reading
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Opinion
16 Jan 2019
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
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News
14 Jan 2019
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 Continue Reading
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News
10 Jan 2019
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? Continue Reading
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Feature
09 Jan 2019
Interview: Andy Berks, digital product director, Asos
Asos’s digital product director Andy Berks talks about how the online retailer has used AI and machine learning technologies – and why the needs of the customer have to come first Continue Reading
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News
23 Dec 2018
'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 Continue Reading
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Feature
06 Dec 2018
Fashion retail’s sustainability challenge and how technology can help
UK fashion retailers were grilled in Parliament last month on sustainability, so how might technology like blockchain or online recommendation tools help as they look to improve their green credentials? Continue Reading
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News
27 Nov 2018
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 Continue Reading
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News
26 Nov 2018
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 Continue Reading
