The LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr in Norway was issued an £8.5m penalty for the alleged sharing of users’ sensitive personal data with third-party advertisers without obtaining appropriate consent. Complaint The fine is the result of a legal complaint by the Norwegian Consumer Council (Forbrukerrådet) last year, where it expressed concern that users of the app may not have been…
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has asked the UK Treasury to consider increasing the maximum contactless payment to £100. Changing Payment Behaviour The move away from handling cash due to its potential infection-passing risk, and the lockdowns making consumers less likely to visit ATMs or town centres have led to a move away from cash towards contactless. Figures For…
A survey by Citizens Advice has found that more than one in six people are struggling to afford their broadband during the third lockdown and that poorer people are locked out altogether. Certain Groups Worst Hit Citizens Advice, which also conducted a similar survey during the first lockdown, found that the groups struggling most with their broadband bill were…
Australia’s intention to introduce a new law to make tech companies like Google and Facebook pay publishers for news content has prompted Google to threaten to withdraw its search engine from Australia. What Law? The proposed law is currently a Bill for an Act to amend the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 in relation to digital platforms, and for related purposes. …
With mobile computing, software-as-a-service (SaaS), and now remote working moving the focus of IT security away from the traditional perimeter, this article looks at what a Zero Trust approach is and how it can help. More Complex Demands The belief among many IT security experts is that a traditional perimeter-based security approach may no longer be enough to cope…
Google has announced that to make it faster and easier for users to find what they are looking for, a major visual redesign of Google’s mobile search results is to be rolled out shortly. Challenges Some of the challenges that Google has tried to address with the new changes are the diversity in the types of content and information that…
Billionaire Tesla founder and SpaceX boss, Elon Musk, has pledged to give a $100 (£73 million) prize to whomever comes up with the best technology to remove carbon dioxide (which are generated from fossil fuels) from the air. Jan 21st Tweet In a Tweet on January 21, Elon Musk said, “Am donating $100M towards a prize for best carbon capture…
Cambridgeshire County Council’s pilot scheme to allow electric vehicles to use bus lanes from December 2020 has caused safety concerns among cyclists, who also use the bus lanes. December Decision Under an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO), a pilot scheme running from 14 December 2020 until 13 June 2021 (with the option to extend up to 18 months), Cambridgeshire…
In this article, we look at not just the story of how a staggering 400,000 police records were accidentally deleted but also at the wider picture of what information is held about us UK citizens by the authorities, and what powers we have over that data. Deleted After first being reported in the Times newspaper, momentum has grown around…
With more than 30 million people joining the non-profit, end-to-end encrypted communications app ‘Signal’ in just a few days, users of the app have (understandably) been experiencing a few technical issues. Mass Sign-Ups The announcement that WhatsApp would be changing its privacy policy and terms to force users (outside Europe) to share their data with WhatsApp’s parent company Facebook, coupled…
