The UK’s Department for Transport has said today that an expansion of drone ‘no-fly’ zones to 5km around airport runways will come into force on March 13. Anyone caught and convicted of flying a drone inside the restricted zones could face a fine and years in prison. Last month the government said it would tighten […]
View More UK’s extended 5km airport drone ‘no-fly’ zones in force next monthCategory: United Kingdom
‘There’s no way the US can crush us,’ Huawei founder claims
Huawei’s founder has come out fighting against the U.S. government after he claimed that “there’s no way the US can crush us.” Ren Zhengfei, who founded the telecom company in 1987, doesn’t often make public statements, but, in a rare interview with the BBC, he defiantly claimed that Huawei’s business is growing stronger amid pressure […]
View More ‘There’s no way the US can crush us,’ Huawei founder claimsNissan’s old Leaf batteries can power this smart pop-up camper for one week
Nissan has turned its old Leaf batteries into an off-grid camping companion. The automaker’s Nissan Energy subsidiary worked with camper manufacturer Opus to create the ultimate “smart” pop-up trailer that integrates cells recovered from its first-generation electric vehicles to provide off-grid power. Add in one to two recharges of the accompanying 400W solar panel accessory and […]
View More Nissan’s old Leaf batteries can power this smart pop-up camper for one weekWhat an American artificial intelligence initiative really needs
The American AI Initiative as it stands does little to blunt the fears that America will fall behind in its technological edge. In fact, its lack of particulars sends exactly the opposite message.
View More What an American artificial intelligence initiative really needsUK parliament calls for antitrust, data abuse probe of Facebook
A final report by a British parliamentary committee which spent months last year investigating online political disinformation makes very uncomfortable reading for Facebook — with the company singled out for “disingenuous” and “bad faith” responses to democratic concerns about the misuse of people’s data. In the report, published today, the committee has also called for […]
View More UK parliament calls for antitrust, data abuse probe of FacebookThe most glorious protest signs from UK kids skipping class for climate change
Thousands of school children in the UK are currently skipping class in favour of marching the streets in a call for world leaders to act on climate change.
Inspired by Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg, who organised her own month-long strik…
Alibaba’s Ant Financial buys UK currency exchange giant WorldFirst reportedly for around $700M
Ant Financial, the financial services behemoth affiliated with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, has made its first big move into Europe. It’s acquired London-headquartered payments company WorldFirst in a deal that sources tell us is valued at around $700 million. (That price would also line up with multiple reports from December claiming the two were in […]
View More Alibaba’s Ant Financial buys UK currency exchange giant WorldFirst reportedly for around $700MManipulating an Indian politician’s tweets is worryingly easy to do
Here’s a concerning story from India, where the upcoming election is putting the use of social media in the spotlight. While the Indian government is putting Facebook, Google and other companies under pressure to prevent their digital platforms from being used for election manipulation, a journalist has demonstrated just how easy it is to control […]
View More Manipulating an Indian politician’s tweets is worryingly easy to doThe UK now has a law against upskirting
A law change that comes into force in the UK today makes the highly intrusive practice of ‘upskirting’ illegal. The government said it wants the new law to send a clear message that such behaviour is criminal and will not be tolerated. Perpetrators in England and Wales face up to two years in prison under the […]
View More The UK now has a law against upskirtingFacebook urged to offer an API for political ad transparency research
Facebook has been called upon to provide good faith researchers with an API to enable them to study how political ads are spreading and being amplified on its platform. A coalition of European academics, technologists and human and digital rights groups, led by Mozilla, has signed an open letter to the company demanding far greater […]
View More Facebook urged to offer an API for political ad transparency researchDating apps face questions over age checks after report exposes child abuse
The UK government has said it could legislate to require age verification checks on users of dating apps, following an investigation into underage use of dating apps published by the Sunday Times yesterday. The newspaper found more than 30 cases of child rape have been investigated by police related to use of dating apps including Grindr and Tinder […]
View More Dating apps face questions over age checks after report exposes child abuseIs Europe closing in on an antitrust fix for surveillance technologists?
The German Federal Cartel Office’s decision to order Facebook to change how it processes users’ personal data this week is a sign the antitrust tide could at last be turning against platform power. One European Commission source we spoke to, who was commenting in a personal capacity, described it as “clearly pioneering” and “a big deal”, […]
View More Is Europe closing in on an antitrust fix for surveillance technologists?