Latest posts

  • Ofcom urges social media platforms to combat abuse and limit online ‘pile-ons’

    New guidance from UK regulator aims to combat misogynist abuse and ‘revenge porn’ Social media platforms are being urged to limit internet “pile-ons” under new guidelines to protect women and girls online. The guidance from Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, to combat misogynist abuse, coercive control and the sharing of intimate images without consent comes…

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  • Father of teen whose death was linked to social media has ‘lost faith’ in Ofcom

    Ian Russell says watchdog lacks ‘urgency’ and is not willing to use its powers ‘to the extent required’ The father of Molly Russell, a British teenager who killed herself after viewing harmful online content, has called for a change in leadership at the UK’s communications watchdog after losing faith in its ability to make the…

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  • Don’t argue with strangers… and 11 more rules to survive the information crisis

    Feeling overwhelmed by divisive opinions, endless rows and unreliable facts? Here’s how to weather the data storm We all live in history. A lot of the problems that face us, and the opportunities that present themselves, are defined not by our own choices or even the specific place or government we’re living under, but by…

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  • EU investigates Google over ‘demotion’ of commercial content from news media

    Officials say some content created with advertisers is in effect not visible, which could mean unfair loss of revenue The EU has launched an investigation into Google Search over concerns the US tech company has been “demoting” commercial content from news media sites. The bloc’s executive arm announced the move after monitoring found certain content…

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  • EU investigates Google over ‘demoting’ commercial content from news media

    Officials say some content created with advertisers is in effect not visible, which could mean unfair loss of revenue The EU has launched an investigation into Google Search over concerns the US tech company has been “demoting” commercial content from news media sites. The bloc’s executive arm announced the move after monitoring found certain content…

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  • Meta could face millions in fines for not signing content deals in Australia

    Labor’s proposed media bargaining incentive to apply to platforms with Australian-derived revenue of at least $250m, according to Treasury Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Meta and other tech companies refusing to sign content deals with Australian news outlets face millions…

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  • Meet gen X: middle-aged, enraged and radicalised by internet bile | Gaby Hinsliff

    Who is driving the populist insurgency? It’s not grumpy pensioners or vulnerable teenagers – it’s my generation If in doubt, we used to talk about the weather. Or if not that, then why the trains were late again, or how sweet someone’s baby was: the kind of routine bland nothings you exchange with strangers on…

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  • ‘The chilling effect’: how fear of ‘nudify’ apps and AI deepfakes is keeping Indian women off the internet

    Widespread adoption of artificial intelligence has been accompanied by new ways to harass women online Gaatha Sarvaiya would like to post on social media and share her work online. An Indian law graduate in her early 20s, she is in the earliest stages of her career and trying to build a public profile. The problem…

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  • Bereaved families call for inquiry into UK failure to act on pro-suicide forum

    Report found coroners raised concerns over suicide forums at least 65 times to three government departments since 2019 Bereaved families and survivors of a pro-suicide forum have called for a public inquiry into the government’s failure to prevent harm linked to the online platform. The calls came as a report found that coroners had raised…

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  • Italian news publishers demand investigation into Google’s AI Overviews

    Newspaper federation says ‘traffic killer’ feature violates legislation and threatens to destroy media diversity Italian news publishers are calling for an investigation into Google’s AI Overviews, arguing that the search engine’s AI-generated summaries feature is a “traffic killer” that threatens their survival. FIEG, the Italian federation of newspaper publishers, said it has submitted a formal…

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