The Guardian

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea says it is checking whether data taken contained residents’s details A London council has urged thousands of residents to be “extra vigilant” when receiving calls, emails or text messages after confirming that data had been taken in a cyber-attack. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC), which has 147,500 residents, said some data had been copie…

Harms include threats to release intimate pictures as charity warns against parents sharing photos or details of children online Nearly one in 10 UK parents say their child has been blackmailed online, with harms ranging from threatening to release intimate pictures to revealing details about someone’s personal life. The NSPCC child protection charity also found that one in five parents know a ch…

Study shows small changes to tone of posts in ‘for you’ feed increase unfavourable feelings towards political opponents Small changes to the tone of posts fed to users of X can increase feelings of political polarisation as much in a week as would have historically taken at least three years, research has found. A groundbreaking experiment to gauge the potency of Elon Musk’s social platform to in…

Amazon Web Services owns the basic infrastructure for other businesses to operate online, turning even governments into its serfs. But now some people are fighting back For the past six years, every Black Friday – that made-up carnival of consumption – Amazon workers and their allies have mobilised across the world in coordinated strikes and protests . At first glance, these disputes look like th…

She has read 57 books this year, whereas I have watched all of Selling Sunset. But we listen to each other – and enjoy it There are some pretty big differences between me and my girlfriend. She is from Aotearoa, I’m from Queensland. She is 10 years younger than me. She loves Marmite and loathes Vegemite; I hold the reverse and correct opinion. But probably our biggest difference is in our attitud…

A new feature on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter allows users to see the location of other accounts. It has resulted in a firestorm of recriminations When X rolled out a new feature revealing the locations of popular accounts, the company was acting to boost transparency and clamp down on disinformation. The result, however, has been a circular firing squad of recriminations, …

MEPs pass resolution to help parents tackle growing dangers of addictive internet platforms Children under 16 should be banned from using social media unless their parents decide otherwise, the European parliament has said. MEPs passed a resolution on age restrictions on Wednesday by a large majority. Although not legally binding, it raises pressure for European legislation amid growing alarm abo…

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster city council investigate whether data has been compromised At least two London councils have been hit by a cyber-attack and have invoked emergency plans as they investigate whether any data has been compromised. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster City council, which share some IT infrastructure, said a number of syst…

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 into force on Tuesday and include…

Tech critic Corey Doctorow explains why for so many the internet – from Amazon to Google to Instagram – seems to be getting worse Do you ever get the feeling that the internet isn’t what it used to be? Well, tech critic Corey Doctorow thinks you’re right – and he has a term to describe it too: ‘enshittification’. Continue reading...

Users posing as rightwing Americans are operating internationally, per the platform’s transparency feature Many of the most influential personalities in the “Make America great again” (Maga) movement on X are based outside of the US, including Russia, Nigeria and India, a new transparency feature on the social media site has revealed. The new tool, called “about this account,” became available on…

Two out of five illegal streamers have fallen prey to fraud, likely via a ‘modded’ USB stick that exposes users to data theft and cybercrime The big fight is on TV on Saturday night but you really don’t want to shell out to watch it on pay-per-view. Luckily, you bought a cheap Amazon Fire Stick online that gives you access to all the sports you want as well as TV streaming services. While the qua…

Tech platforms will need to deactivate accounts for users under 16 and stop teens from making accounts until they are that age, or face fines of up to $50m Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Australia’s world-first social media ban for children under the age of 16 is just weeks away. The tech platforms – large and small – are working on functionality that will kick off e…

An online personality quiz made me feel understood, but it also created a mental cage Sometimes, taking an internet quiz on a random Tuesday night can change your life – first for the better, then for the worse. Are you bothered by intense stimuli, like loud noises, strong smells or caffeine? Are you deeply moved by the arts or nature? Do you become overwhelmed when a lot is going on around you? …

Ill-advised, in which 75-year-old actor doles out advice and his innermost secrets, is fast becoming cult podcast of the year Bill Nighy is single. He has never read a self-help book, had no intention of becoming an actor and briefly went deaf after putting toilet paper in his ears to get to sleep. He has shutters, not curtains, in his bedroom, but has no idea what time he wakes up. If you invite…