The UK government has announced new powers for police to tackle illegal use of drone technology, including powers to land, seize and search drones. This follows the recent Gatwick drone fiasco when, just before Christmas, a spate of drone sightings near the airport caused a temporary shutdown of the runway, and disruptive misery for thousands of people at one of […]
View More UK police to get more powers to curb drone misuse after Gatwick fiascoCategory: UK government
UK workplace rights reform doesn’t look disruptive to gig economy giants
The UK government has set out a labor market reform package it bills as a major upgrade to workplace rights in the era of disruptive gig economy platforms. The reforms, which include new legislation, are intended to take account of changes in working practices including those flowing from tech platforms. But despite some gig economy platforms standing […]
View More UK workplace rights reform doesn’t look disruptive to gig economy giantsUnion’s human rights challenge to Deliveroo dismissed by UK High Court
A UK union that has been fighting to win collective bargaining rights for gig economy riders who provide delivery services via Deliveroo’s platform has had its claim for a judicial review of an earlier blocking decision dismissed by the High Court today. Six months ago the IWGB Union was granted permission to challenge Deliveroo’s opposition to collective […]
View More Union’s human rights challenge to Deliveroo dismissed by UK High CourtNow eight parliaments are demanding Zuckerberg answers for Facebook scandals
Facebook’s founder is facing pressure to accept an invite from eight international parliaments, with lawmakers wanting to question him about negative impacts his social network is having on democratic processes globally. Last week Facebook declined a invitation from five of these parliaments. The elected representatives of Facebook users want Mark Zuckerberg to answer questions in […]
View More Now eight parliaments are demanding Zuckerberg answers for Facebook scandalsUN warns over human rights impact of a ‘digital welfare state’
The UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights has raised concerns about the UK’s rush to apply digital technologies and data tools to socially re-engineer the delivery of public services at scale, warning in a statement today that the impact of a digital welfare state on vulnerable people will be “immense”. He has […]
View More UN warns over human rights impact of a ‘digital welfare state’Zuckerberg gets joint summons from UK and Canadian parliaments
Two separate parliamentary committees, in the UK and Canada, have issued an unprecedented international joint summons for Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg to appear before them. The committees are investigating the impact of online disinformation on democratic processes and want Zuckerberg to answer questions related to the Cambridge Analytica-Facebook user data misuse scandal, which both have been […]
View More Zuckerberg gets joint summons from UK and Canadian parliamentsFake news ‘threat to democracy’ report gets back-burner response from UK gov’t
The UK government has rejected a parliamentary committee’s call for a levy on social media firms to fund digital literacy lessons to combat the impact of disinformation online. The recommendation of a levy on social media platforms was made by the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee three months ago, in a preliminary report following […]
View More Fake news ‘threat to democracy’ report gets back-burner response from UK gov’tApplied gets $2M to make hiring fairer — using algorithms, not AI
London-based startup Applied has bagged £1.5M (~$2M) in seed funding for a fresh, diversity-sensitive approach to recruitment that deconstructs and reworks the traditional CV-bound process, drawing on behavioural science to level the playing field and help employers fill vacancies with skilled candidates they might otherwise have overlooked. Fairer hiring is the pitch. “If you’re hiring for […]
View More Applied gets $2M to make hiring fairer — using algorithms, not AIUK says Russia’s GRU was behind a spate of chaotic cyber attacks between 2015 and 2017
The UK has directly accused Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU, of being behind a number of cyber attacks that took place between 2015 and 2017, calling them “indiscriminate and reckless” with a range of target types including political institutions, businesses, media and even sport. It says the chaotic campaign of attacks by the GRU […]
View More UK says Russia’s GRU was behind a spate of chaotic cyber attacks between 2015 and 2017License caps and CCTV among ride-hailing rule changes urged in report to UK gov’t
Uber and similar services could be facing caps on the number of licenses for vehicles that can operate ride-hailing services in London and other UK cities under rule changes being recommended to the government. CCTV being universally installed inside licensed taxis and private hire vehicles for safety purposes is another suggestion. A working group in […]
View More License caps and CCTV among ride-hailing rule changes urged in report to UK gov’tUK’s mass surveillance regime violated human rights law, finds ECHR
In another blow to the UK government’s record on bulk data handling for intelligence purposes the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that state surveillance practices violated human rights law. Arguments against the UK intelligence agencies’ bulk collection and data sharing practices were heard by the court in November last year. In today’s […]
View More UK’s mass surveillance regime violated human rights law, finds ECHRUK media giants call for independent oversight of Facebook, YouTube, Twitter
The UK’s leading broadcasters and ISPs have called for the government to introduce independent regulatory oversight of social media content. The group of media and broadband operators in the tightly regulated industries spans both the state-funded and commercial sector — with the letter to the Sunday Telegraph being inked with signatures from the leaders of the BBC, […]
View More UK media giants call for independent oversight of Facebook, YouTube, Twitter