Monthly Archives: May 2021

Twitter has listed a new subscription service on app stores, in an indication that the social media giant is preparing to trial the offering soon. “Twitter Blue” is listed as an in-app purchase, priced at £2.49 in the UK and $2.99 in the US. Twitter has given no further details, and declined to confirm online […]

Clearview AI, a US firm with a database of three billion facial images from the internet, is facing a new legal challenge from privacy campaigners. Privacy International and others argue its methods of collecting photos and selling them to private firms and the police “go beyond what we could ever expect as online users”. Clearview […]

WhatsApp is suing the Indian government over new digital rules that will force the messaging service to violate privacy protections. It said rules that require tracing the origin of chats were the equivalent of keeping a “fingerprint of every single message sent on the service”. In February, the government introduced new guidelines to regulate content […]

A court in Norway has fined Tesla after a software update issued in 2019 slowed down battery charging speeds and affected the number of miles some of its vehicles could travel between charges. The case was brought by 30 customers, reports Norwegian news platform Nettavisen. The fine amounts to 136,000 Norwegian Krone (£11,500) for each […]

It’s been three years since the introduction of Europe’s data privacy and security law on 25 May 2018. GDPR governs the way organisations that operate within the EU can use, process and store consumers’ personal data. At first smaller firms and start-ups feared they did not have adequate resources to fully comply with its rules. […]

Sniffer dogs could contribute to efforts to prevent the spread of Covid as society reopens, according to scientists. As part of a trial, dogs were trained to recognise a distinctive odour produced by people with the virus, but undetectable to the human nose. This could come in useful for screening at airports or mass events. […]

It is probably the world’s most digital government, with just about every state service online. But did that mean Estonia was better prepared than other nations to deal with the coronavirus? On this week’s Tech Tent the Estonian President gives us her verdict on how an e-nation battled Covid-19. The tiny Baltic state has just […]

A cyber-crime spree wreaking havoc around the world has reignited calls for governments to ban ransom payments to hackers. Ransomware criminals are holding computer systems hostage on a daily basis, demanding large payments from victims to restore order. The CEO of Colonial Pipeline has admitted his company paid hackers nearly $4.5m last week after their […]

YouTuber Jake Paul is being investigated after posting a video on social media apparently showing him driving around a protected beach in Puerto Rico. Driving is illegal on some of the island’s beaches, as turtles nest in the sand. The local Department of Natural and Environmental Resources said it would investigate whether the law had […]

News that Jeff Bezos has bought a “superyacht” has revived interest in the secretive world of the uber-rich globetrotters who enjoy these ultimate status symbols. Experts say the superyacht industry has been booming for years, even during the global economic slowdown caused by the pandemic. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and the world’s richest […]