Month: July 2022

Scammers and cyber-crooks beware: what’s next for the online safety bill

The much-contested legislation is about to get its day in parliament – but MPs are still fighting over who gets control Don’t get TechScape delivered to your inbox? Sign up for the full article here Respect can be a rare commodity online, depending on what Twitter threads or Facebook groups you are in. But the …

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Decision on sale of UK’s biggest chip maker to Chinese-owned firm delayed

New national security legislation used to allow more time to scrutinise £63m deal for Newport Wafer Fab The British government has delayed the decision on whether the UK’s largest producer of semiconductors can be bought by a Chinese-owned manufacturer by another month and a half. The business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, had been expected to make …

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Families sue TikTok after girls died while trying ‘blackout challenge’

Parents blame platform’s algorithms for choking deaths of eight- and nine-year-old The families of two young girls who allegedly died as a result of a viral TikTok challenge have sued the social media platform, claiming its “dangerous” algorithms are to blame for their children’s deaths. Parents of two girls who died in a 2021 “blackout …

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UK could force messaging apps to scan for child sexual abuse images

Home secretary says new powers could require tech firms to remove encrypted abuse material would bring privacy and security Heavily encrypted messaging services such as WhatsApp could be required to adopt cutting-edge technology to spot child sexual abuse material or face the threat of significant fines, under new changes to UK digital safety legislation. The …

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UK subscribers will soon be able to leave Amazon Prime in two clicks

The move follows changes across the EU that made it simpler for users to quit the subscription service Quitting an Amazon Prime membership is a confusing business that can often feel like it takes longer than the next-day delivery the service promises. By the end of next month, however, UK subscribers will be able to …

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Legislation aims to shield UK internet users from state-backed disinformation

Changes to online safety bill require tech firms to minimise people’s exposure to ‘hostile online warfare’ Tech firms will be required to shield internet users from state-sponsored disinformation posing a threat to UK society and democracy, under changes to a landmark online safety bill. The legislation will require social media platforms, video streaming services and …

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NHS to test using drones to fly chemotherapy drugs to Isle of Wight

Trial will take treatments from Portsmouth to St Mary’s hospital and health service plans similar drops elsewhere in England The NHS plans to use drones to fly chemotherapy drugs to cancer patients in England to avoid the need for long journeys to collect them. The devices will transport doses from Portsmouth to the Isle of …

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Could new countries be founded – on the internet? | Sam Venis

Google’s former chief technology officer wants to use social networks to create states. What doesn’t fit into his vision are things like poverty, illness and ageing In The Network State, a buzzy new book by Balaji Srinivasan, the former chief technology officer of Coinbase poses a devious question: how do you Larp a country into …

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‘Frankly it blew my mind’: how Tron changed cinema – and predicted the future of tech

From cyberspace to AI, Steven Lisberger’s 1982 sci-fi classic was way ahead of its time. The team behind it explain how they made a game-changer Back in 1982, computers meant one of two things in the popular imagination. Either they were room-sized machines used by the military-industrial complex to crunch data on stuff like nuclear …

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