ByTechVista

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  • Excessive time spent online linked to stress and worse mood – study

    German study surveyed adults who engage in gaming, pornography and online shopping Spending excessive time online is associated with higher stress levels, worse mood, and greater neglect of other activities, according to analysis. The new study by academics at the University of Duisburg-Essen published in the journal PLOS One, surveyed 900 German adults in 2025…

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  • Bank of England handed powers to regulate key tech firms including Amazon and Google

    Direct oversight of ‘critical third parties’ such as Oracle and Microsoft given to ensure resilient cyber-defences and help safeguard UK economy The Bank of England has been handed powers to regulate important tech firms including Amazon and Google from next week, amid fears that system failures could threaten financial stability and harm consumers. From Monday,…

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  • AI altering meaning of users’ drafts on issues from abortion to climate, study finds

    Researchers say small changes in drafting could spread rapidly and create long-term shifts in public opinion AI tools are twisting online messages on sensitive political topics about everything from abortion to climate change in ways that could snowball to reshape long-term public opinion, experts have said. As tech companies push AI tools as convenient ways…

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  • ‘Crypto v community’: 4,000 local US lenders join forces to fight ‘stablecoins’ law

    Up to 4,000 community banks fear looming legislation to regulate digital cash will deprive rural firms and farmers of $850bn-worth of loans On a quiet summer morning, above a small mid-western town, an American flag is waving in the breeze. The camera cuts to a father helping his son at the wheel of a tractor,…

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  • Two Britons plead guilty to £39m 2024 cyber-attack on Transport for London

    Thalha Jubair and Owen Flowers, linked to the Scattered Spider hacking group, change pleas on first day of trial Two British cybercriminals from the Scattered Spider hacking group have pleaded guilty to a cyber-attack on Transport for London in 2024 that cost £39m and affected 10 million people. Thalha Jubair, 20, and Owen Flowers, 18,…

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  • Attorney general tells department to stop using X amid UK disinformation concerns

    Exclusive: Richard Hermer’s office understood to be first in government to restrict use after recent riots The attorney general for England and Wales has told his office to no longer post on X, making it the first UK government department to stop using the Elon Musk-owned platform amid increasing worries about its use to incite…

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  • Taliban order ban on smartphones as officials shown destroying devices

    Directive aimed at government workers, but reports of wider implementation spark warnings of future Afghanistan-wide prohibition The Taliban have ordered a sweeping ban on the use of smartphones by government officials – in what some analysts say could foreshadow broader, population-level restrictions. In a directive issued by the Taliban’s military courts and reviewed by the…

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  • X accused of giving racists ‘impunity’ after refusing to bar N- and P-word posts

    Site takes no action over hate posts against UK politicians including Kemi Badenoch, Shabana Mahmood and Zia Yusuf X has refused to take down dozens of social media posts reported as “hate, abuse or harassment” in which prominent UK politicians, including Kemi Badenoch, have been racially abused. In May, researchers from the social inclusion thinktank…

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  • Chinese activist in UK told by X that abusive deepfakes do not breach rules

    Apple Peiqing Ni targeted by account portraying her as promiscuous drug addict after posting about Tiananmen Square A high-profile Chinese activist in the UK who was inundated with deepfake posts on X portraying her as a sexually promiscuous drug addict was told that the abuse did not breach the rules of Elon Musk’s platform. Apple…

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  • Child sexual abuse victims in England and Wales to get help to remove online images

    Echo project will help erase images as part of package of support to end ‘prolonged suffering of survivors’ Victims of child sexual abuse in England and Wales will be given help to remove online images of their abuse as part of a wider package of support to end the “prolonged suffering of survivors”. The Echo…

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