New head of National Cyber Security Centre to warn of risk to infrastructure in first major speech
The UK is underestimating the severity of the online threat it faces from hostile states and criminal gangs, the country’s cybersecurity chief will warn.
Richard Horne, the head of GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre, will cite a trebling of “severe” incidents amid Russian “aggression and recklessness” and China’s “highly sophisticated” digital operations.
Continue reading...Researchers say parent company Meta is failing to remove explicit images on the social media site
Meta is actively helping self-harm content to flourish on Instagram by failing to remove explicit images and encouraging those engaging with such content to befriend one another, according to a damning new study that found its moderation “extremely inadequate”.
Danish researchers created a private self-harm network on the social media platform, including fake profiles of people as young as 13 years old, in which they shared 85 pieces of self-harm-related content gradually increasing in severity, including blood, razor blades and encouragement of self-harm.
Continue reading...He’s said $42.45bn spent by the US for rural internet isn’t efficient. His Starlink company stands to benefit if he reduces that investment
Elon Musk, named by Donald Trump to co-lead a commission aimed at reducing the size of the federal government, is poised to undermine funding for rural broadband services to benefit his satellite internet services company, Starlink.
Musk has long been a critic of the Biden administration’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (Bead) Program, which provides $42.45bn through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill to expand high-speed internet access in rural communities. Starlink, the satellite internet services subsidiary of SpaceX, has largely been shut out of this funding after government agencies deemed it too slow to qualify.
Continue reading...Child safety experts say similar move in Britain would penalise young people for the failings of tech companies
Child safety experts have warned the UK government against enacting an Australian-style social media ban for children under 16, which they called a “retrograde step” that would “do more harm than good”.
On Thursday, Australia became the first country in the world to ban under-16s from using social media platforms. The move was supported by a large majority of the Australian public – but academics, politicians and child rights groups said it could backfire, driving teenagers to the dark web, or make them feel more isolated.
Continue reading...Discussion platform takes fifth place in rankings and is the fastest growing large social media platform in the UK
Reddit, the American online discussion platform, has overtaken X to become the fifth most popular social media platform in the UK, according to the communications watchdog.
Ofcom said Reddit, where users post on discussion threads within topic-based communities, was visited by 22.9 million UK adults in May this year, compared with 22.1 million on X.
Continue reading...Court filing comes after landmark ruling in August and judge will consider arguments from both sides next year
The US Department of Justice has proposed a far-reaching overhaul of Google’s structure and business practices, including the sale of its Chrome browser, in a bid to end its monopoly on internet search.
The DoJ proposals follow a landmark court ruling in August in which a federal judge ruled that Google maintained an illegal monopoly over search services.
Continue reading...Australian Signals Directorate sounds alarm on ‘shifting tactics’ by state-sponsored hackers and cybercriminals, and targeting of critical infrastructure
Cybercriminals are using fake QR codes or sophisticated artificial intelligence scams to trick Australians into giving up their private details or downloading dangerous files, the nation’s signals intelligence agency has warned, as fraudsters take advantage of the technology’s popularity.
The Australian Signals Directorate also sounded the alarm on the “shifting tactics” of state-sponsored hackers and cybercriminals, who they said are burrowing into computer systems of businesses and other organisations and then sitting quietly to avoid detection until they choose to strike.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...Regulator issues online safety ruling after finding weak processes leave networks ‘exposed to terrorist content’
Elon Musk’s X, TikTok and Meta’s Instagram have been ordered by Irish media regulators to take “necessary measures” to prevent terrorist content being platformed in order to comply with sweeping new online safety legislation.
The Irish media regulator, Coimisiún na Meán, said it issued the ruling after its investigations determined that the social media networks were “exposed to terrorist content” due to weak processes.
Continue reading...Edwards taped message that became catchphrase and served as title of 1998 film starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan
Elwood Edwards, who voiced AOL’s “You’ve got mail” greeting, has died, aged 74.
Edwards died on Tuesday at his home in New Bern, North Carolina, his daughter Heather said. The cause was complications from a stroke late last year, she added.
Continue reading...Campaigners say 21% of people at workshops did not disclose on their applications relationships with firms being discussed
More than one in five attenders at EU events on regulating big tech companies did not disclose links to the industry when applying to take part, according to transparency campaigners who say hidden networks are distorting public debate.
Researchers at three NGOs analysed nearly 4,000 registrations at European Commission workshops organised earlier this year to test companies’ compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a law to curb anti-competitive behaviour.
Continue reading...In the age of influencer therapists and mental health apps, experts say the public need to be better informed
From influencer therapists on social media to psychotherapy platforms advertising on TV and radio, going to see a therapist is increasingly mainstream – yet many people know little about who they are seeing and what they are getting.
Experts said more information and awareness among the public of how therapy works was desperately needed, to minimise the risks of making their mental health worse.
Continue reading...Although choosing a venue is not uncommon, northern district stands out because it’s not where X is located
Elon Musk’s X has updated its terms of service to steer any disputes from users of the social media platform formerly known as Twitter to a federal court in Texas whose judges frequently deliver victories to conservative litigants in political cases.
New terms of service that will take effect on 15 November specify that any lawsuits against X by users must be exclusively filed in the US district court for the northern district of Texas or state courts in Tarrant county, Texas.
Continue reading...Coverage with UK-European provider will be in place by end of month, says island’s main telecoms company
Taiwan is expected to have access to low earth orbit satellite internet service by the end of the month, a step the government says is crucial in case a Chinese attack cripples the island’s communications.
The forthcoming service is via a contract between Taiwan’s main telecoms company, Chunghwa, and a UK-European company, Eutelsat OneWeb, signed last year, and marks a new milestone in Taiwan’s efforts to address technological vulnerabilities, particularly its internet access, after attempts to get access to Elon Musk’s Starlink service collapsed.
Continue reading...Former BBC host, with millions of social media followers, was arrested in Australia following alleged attack on woman in Perth hotel room
The British rapper, YouTuber and television personality Yung Filly has been arrested in Australia and charged with rape and assault.
The 29-year-old, born Andrés Felipe Valencia Barrientos, who was on tour in the country, was arrested in Brisbane and taken to Perth where the alleged incidents occurred.
Continue reading...Department of Justice examining ‘structural remedies’ to challenge tech corporation’s internet search monopoly
The US government may ask a judge to force the breakup of Google’s business as it attempts to challenge the tech corporation’s monopoly over the internet search market.
The Department of Justice has filed court papers that say it is considering enforcing “structural remedies” that would prevent Google from using some of its products such as Chrome, Android and Play, which the DoJ argues give the company an advantage over rivals.
Continue reading...Social platform was blocked after tech billionaire failed to name local representatives and pay fines
Brazilians are set to regain access to X after a supreme court judge lifted a ban introduced nearly six weeks ago as a result of Elon Musk’s failure to comply with the South American country’s laws.
X was blocked in Brazil, where it had more than 22 million users, at the end of August in what was the culmination of a months-long arm wrestle between the network’s billionaire owner and the Brazilian supreme court.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...The platform agrees to appoint a legal representative in Brazil, pays fines and takes down user accounts that the court had ordered removed
Elon Musk fought the law. The law appears to have won.
X, Musk’s social media platform, has backed down in its fight with the Brazilian judiciary, after complying with court orders that had blocked users in the country from accessing X.
Continue reading...From crummy pubs to a ‘cheeky Tesco run’, some of the most mundane aspects of British life are going viral
Think of British cultural exports in the 21st century and you might reach for the familiar examples: James Bond, Downton Abbey, Adele.
But in the algorithm-driven universe of TikTok where a trend known as “Britishcore” is one of the most in demand movements of the moment, it’s the mundane aspects of life in the UK which are going viral.
Continue reading...After judge freezes assets of billionaire’s internet service provider, company flip-flops to block social media platform
Elon Musk’s satellite-based internet service provider Starlink backtracked late on Tuesday and said it would accept and enforce a Brazilian supreme court justice’s order to block the billionaire’s social media platform, X, formerly Twitter.
Previously, Starlink informally told the telecommunications regulator Anatel that it would not comply until Justice Alexandre de Moraes reversed course. Now, Starlink has said in a statement posted on X that it will heed de Moraes’s order despite him having frozen the company’s assets.
Continue reading...