In this insight, we take closer look at the subject of tech companies getting into trouble over antitrust issues, why it happens, what can be done, and what part organisations like the UK ‘Monopoly Commission’ plays. The Monopoly Commission The Monopoly Commission dates back to a previous incarnation of a regulator and is often used and accepted as a…
Video-focused social media platform TikTok has been fined €345m by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) over the privacy of child users. The Processing of Personal Data The fine, as well as a reprimand (and an order requiring them to bring its data processing into compliance within three months) were issued in relation to how the company processed personal data…
A study by the University of Copenhagen and Roskilde University has revealed that computer problems are responsible for us wasting between 11 and 20 per cent of our time. How The Study Worked The study involved 234 participants, in varying jobs (and education) including students, accountants, consultants and IT workers who spent between six and eight hours in front…
London-based Notpla Ltd makes sustainable, biodegradable, and home compostable packaging from seaweed and plants. Naturally ‘Disappears’ Notpla Ltd, a start-up founded in 2014, manufactures different sustainable packaging solutions made from Notpla, a material made from seaweed and plants that disappears naturally. The Problem The company was started by Pierre Yves-Paslier and Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez after they developed an interest in…
FORTRAN Developed : 20th September Q. Why Do Python Programmers Wear Specs? A – Because they don’t see sharp! That’s a programming humour for you. And talking of programming, there’s currently an explosion of code being auto-generated by AI and before long, human-coders may go the way of the early switchboard operators. Hmm, possibly! Yet can you imagine painstakingly…
Microsoft has warned of a new phishing campaign from the “financially motivated” Storm-0324 threat actor which uses an open-source tool to send phishing lures through Microsoft Teams chats. The goal is accessing corporate networks and enabling follow-on attacks like ransomware, i.e. handing off access to compromised networks to other threat actors. The campaign leverages the open-source TeamsPhisher tool to…
If you’ve got a long list of bookmarks in Google Chrome that’s not in order, using ‘Bookmark Manager’ can help get your bookmarks organised and easily navigable. Here’s how to use it: – In Chrome, top right, click on the three dots and select Bookmarks > Bookmark manager. – Your bookmark list, with a border around the outside, will…
In an apparent admission of defeat, the UK government has conceded that requiring scanning of platforms like WhatsApp for messages with harmful content, as required in the Online Safety Bill, is not (currently) feasible. The ‘Spy Clause’ Under what’s been dubbed the ‘spy clause’ (Clause 122) in the UK’s Online Safety Bill, the government had stated Ofcom could issue notices…
In this insight, we look at how, according to an investigation by Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet (SvD), criminals may have been using Spotify to launder money since 2019. How? The reported money laundering process, which was noticed by analysts from the National Operative Unit of the Swedish Police Force, involved a web of activities using a Facebook group, cryptocurrency…
Vienna-based advocacy group ‘Noyb’ has filed complaints against Google-owned Fitbit, alleging that it has violated the EU’s GDPR over illegal exporting of user data. Complaints In Three Countries Noyb, which stands for ‘None Of Your Business,’ (and founded by privacy activist Max Schrems) filed three complaints against Fitbit – in Austria, the Netherlands and Italy. Why? Noyb alleges that…
