Category Archives: Smartphones

Is your air fryer spying on you? Concerns over ‘excessive’ surveillance in smart devices

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UK consumer group Which? finds some everyday items including watches and speakers are ‘stuffed with trackers’

Air fryers that gather your personal data and audio speakers “stuffed with trackers” are among examples of smart devices engaged in “excessive” surveillance, according to the consumer group Which?

The organisation tested three air fryers, increasingly a staple of British kitchens, each of which requested permission to record audio on the user’s phone through a connected app.

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‘Fear of missing out’ keeping girls and young women online despite sexism

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Almost half of girls aged 11 to 21 in Girlguiding survey say sexism and misogyny makes them feel less safe

Girls and young women are seeing more unwanted sexual images and suffering more cyberstalking online, but still don’t want to take a break from social media because of a fear of missing out, a survey for Girlguiding has found.

“Fomo” is keeping more than half of 11- to 21-year-olds on apps such as TikTok, Snapchat and WhatsApp despite nearly one in five saying they have been being stalked online and more than a third saying they are seeing sexual images they didn’t wish to see, the survey of more than 2,000 girls and young women found.

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Doomscrolling linked to existential anxiety, distrust, suspicion and despair, study finds

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Expert compares doomscrolling to being in a room where people are constantly yelling at you and says media needs to rethink news

Does scrolling your phone give you an existential crisis? That’s the question a team of international experts have sought to answer in a study published in the Journal of Computers in Human Behavior Reports.

Researchers surveyed 800 university students from the US and Iran and found that doomscrolling – or spending excessive time consuming negative news – was linked to feelings of existential anxiety, distrust and suspicion of others, and despair.

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‘Let kids be kids’: LA becomes largest US school district to ban phones in class

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Measure passes 5-2 as Gavin Newsom calls for statewide ban on cellphones for students during the school day

The Los Angeles unified school board passed a resolution on Tuesday banning cell phones from district classrooms. As the second-largest school district in the US, the vote makes it the largest school district in the US to approve such a ban.

As more educators across the US explore similar policies, California governor Gavin Newsom called on Tuesday for a statewide ban on phones in class. The measure in Los Angeles was introduced by board member Nick Melvoin and will be implemented starting in January 2025 after passing in a 5-2 vote. Melvoin said in a statement the measure is meant to support “students’ academic success and wellbeing”, adding that studies have shown smartphones and social media distract kids from learning and stifle their in-person social connections.

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New York governor to launch bill banning smartphones in schools

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Exclusive: Kathy Hochul pushes online child safety, telling social media companies: ‘You’re not going to profit off the mental health of children’

The New York governor, Kathy Hochul, plans to introduce a bill banning smartphones in schools, the latest in a series of legislative moves aimed at online child safety by New York’s top official.

“I have seen these addictive algorithms pull in young people, literally capture them and make them prisoners in a space where they are cut off from human connection, social interaction and normal classroom activity,” she said.

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Stop children using smartphones until they are 13, says French report

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Children should be banned from most social media until 18 amid attempts to ‘monetise’ them, says Macron-commissioned study

Children should not be allowed to use smartphones until they are 13 and should be banned from accessing conventional social media such as TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat until they are 18, according to a report by experts commissioned by Emmanuel Macron.

The French president had asked scientists and experts to suggest screen use guidelines for children with a view to France taking unprecedented steps on limiting their exposure. It was unclear how the government might now proceed after the report’s publication. Macron said in January: “There might be bans, there might be restrictions.”

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Restaurant in Italy offers free bottles of wine to customers who hand in phones

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Owner of Al Condominio in Verona says response to the initiative during meals has been very positive

An Italian restaurant is offering a free bottle of wine to customers who relinquish their mobile phones during meals.

Angelo Lella, the owner of Al Condominio, a restaurant that opened in the northern city of Verona in March, said the aim was to encourage diners chat to each other instead of constantly glancing at their phones.

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Huawei shrugs off US sanctions with fastest growth in four years

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Revenue at Chinese telecom rose 10% as net profit more than doubles

Chinese telecoms firm Huawei grew faster in 2023 than it has for four years, as it shrugged off the impact of US sanctions.

Revenues rose by nearly 10% to 704.2bn yuan (£77bn) as the Shenzhen-based company enjoyed a rebound within its consumer segment, which includes smartphone handsets.

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Fighting the smartphone ‘invasion’: the French village that voted to ban scrolling in public

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Seine-Port is introducing restrictions on phone use in streets, shops and parks – but young people say there’s little else to do

A picture of a smartphone with a red line through it serves as a warning in the window of a hairdresser’s shop in a French village that has voted to ban people scrolling on their phones in public. “Everyone is struggling with too much screen time,” said Ludivine, a cardiology nurse, as she had her hair cut into a bob, leaving her phone out of sight in her bag. “I voted in favour, this could be a solution.”

Seine-Port, in the Seine-et-Marne area south of Paris, with a population of fewer than 2,000 people, last weekend voted yes in a referendum to restrict smartphone use in public, banning adults and children from scrolling on their devices while walking down the street, while sitting with others on a park bench, while in shops, cafes or eating in restaurants and while parents wait for their children in front of the school gates. Those who might check their phone’s map when lost are instead being encouraged to ask for directions.

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China launches tax investigations into Apple iPhone maker Foxconn

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Tax audits and land use inquiries follow company founder announcing run for Taiwan presidency

China’s tax authorities have launched multiple investigations into the company that makes the iPhone, months after its billionaire founder announced he would run in Taiwan’s presidential elections.

Foxconn faces tax audits of its operations in China, as well as investigations into land use in two Chinese provinces, according to reports by local media.

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France halts iPhone 12 sales over radiation exposure levels

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Apple disputing tests by watchdog that showed radio frequency exposure was higher than permitted

Apple is facing a ban on the sale and potential recall of its iPhone 12 in France, as the US company contests a report that the smartphone exceeds radio frequency exposure limits by the nation’s regulator.

Apple said on Wednesday its iPhone 12 was certified by multiple international bodies as compliant with global radiation standards, disputing tests by the French ANFR watchdog that said the model emits more electromagnetic waves susceptible to be absorbed by the body than permitted.

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China reportedly extends iPhone ban to more workers as tensions with US rise

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Apple shares fall as local government and state-owned firms latest to face restrictions on devices at work

China’s government has reportedly expanded its ban of iPhones to local government workers and state-owned companies, a day after it emerged central government employees were forbidden from bringing the devices to work.

Several agencies had begun instructing employees not to bring iPhones to work and the ban was expected to be further extended, Bloomberg reported. Nikkei reported at least one state-owned company had told its employees that anyone working with trade secrets could not bring their iPhones, Apple Watches or AirPods into work from next month.

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‘Put learners first’: Unesco calls for global ban on smartphones in schools

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Major UN report issues warning over excessive use, with one in six countries already banning the devices

Smartphones should be banned from schools to tackle classroom disruption, improve learning and help protect children from cyberbullying, a UN report has recommended.

Unesco, the UN’s education, science and culture agency, said there was evidence that excessive mobile phone use was linked to reduced educational performance and that high levels of screen time had a negative effect on children’s emotional stability.

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First-generation Apple iPhone sells at auction in US for $190,000

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Device launched by Steve Jobs in 2007 with promise to ‘reinvent the phone’ sells for 300 times original price

A 2007 Apple iPhone has been sold at auction for $190,372.80 (£145,416) – 300 times its original sale price.

The 4GB model , originally bought for $599, was still in its factory wrapping and was in exceptional condition, the auction listing said. The auctioneer LCG Auctions described the device as a “popular high-end collectible” and “exceedingly rare”.

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‘Much easier to say no’: Irish town unites in smartphone ban for young children

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Parents and schools across Greystones adopt voluntary ‘no-smartphone code’ in bid to curb peer pressure

On the principle of strength in numbers, parents in the Irish town of Greystones have banded together to collectively tell their children they cannot have a smartphone until secondary school.

Parents’ associations across the district’s eight primary schools have adopted a no-smartphone code to present a united front against children’s lobbying.

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Emergency alert test UK: phone alarm sounds early for some users but others don’t receive it – live updates

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At 3pm BST, every phone in Britain was due to receive a loud alarm as a test for future emergencies

Boston-based Everbridge is one of the companies providing the technology behind today’s alert. Lorenzo Marchetti, the company’s public affairs manager, explained the requirements of any such system:

A public alerting system should encompass three key elements– communication, synchronisation and analysis of data. For example, information might come from a weather forecast, a traffic report or through social media. Analysis of this data gives authorities a broad picture of what could occur and allows them to communicate and synchronise their actions. They can then disseminate this across specific locations or to an entire nation while ensuring that they reach the targeted people in the area. This means that effective public warning platforms can integrate several delivery methods such as radio or TVs, depending on the context of the deployment, in addition to the cell broadcast capacity.

Emergency alerts don’t just benefit citizens but are also essential for giving information and directions to the emergency services, helping them understand where to go and how to direct people away from danger.

If you are concerned you could:

Avoid wearing headphones during the test

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Experts warn of new spyware threat targeting journalists and political figures

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Citizen Lab says victims’ phones infected after being sent a iCloud calendar invitation in a ‘zero-click’ attack

Security experts have warned about the emergence of previously unknown spyware with hacking capabilities comparable to NSO Group’s Pegasus that has already been used by clients to target journalists, political opposition figures and an employee of an NGO.

Researchers at the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto’s Munk School said the spyware, which is made by an Israeli company called QuaDream, infected some victims’ phones by sending an iCloud calendar invitation to mobile users from operators of the spyware, who are likely to be government clients. Victims were not notified of the calendar invitations because they were sent for events logged in the past, making them invisible to the targets of the hacking. Such attacks are known as “zero-click” because users of the mobile phone do not have to click on any malicious link or take any action in order to be infected.

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Supply fears as China lockdown hits world’s largest iPhone factory

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Foxconn plant in Zhengzhou, from which many workers have fled, now under seven-day Covid lockdown

Chinese authorities have announced a seven-day coronavirus lockdown in the area around the world’s largest iPhone factory, stoking concern that production will be severely curtailed ahead of the Christmas period.

Foxconn’s plant in Zhengzhou, which employs about 200,000 people, produces the majority of Apple’s new phones, including the new iPhone 14.

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Apple shifts some iPhone 14 production from China to India

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Move taken against background of China’s Covid lockdowns and geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington

Apple has begun making iPhone 14s in India, as it moves some production away from China for the first time against a backdrop of Chinese Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns and geopolitical tensions between the US and the country’s communist government.

A production line in Chennai has begun operation, assembling the iPhone 14 for the domestic Indian market. The move, which marks the first time the company has assembled iPhones outside of China in the same year they were released, is part of a plan to disentangle its manufacturing operations from the Chinese state.

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Kosher phone dispute grips ultra-Orthodox Tel Aviv suburb

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An opaque council controls smartphone access for Israel’s Haredim population, but many are making forays online anyway

Tel Aviv’s booming science and technology industry, bolstered by graduates of elite army intelligence units, has earned Israel the nickname “start-up nation”.

Yet in Bnei Brak, an ultra-Orthodox suburb just a few miles east of Tel Aviv’s skyscrapers, a vicious fight is being waged over whether smartphones are compatible with traditional Jewish law, and who should have the power to decide on internet access.

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