The Guardian

Iran has shown how plausible blackouts now are, with far-reaching consequences for the internet as we know it During the height of Iran’s blackout in January, people could still access a platform that, in some senses, was like the internet. Iranians could message family members on a government-monitored app and watch clips of Manchester United on a Farsi-language video-sharing site. They could re…

Freedom.gov appears to be administered by a branch of the Department of Homeland Security The US has built a portal that will allow Europeans to view blocked content including alleged hate speech and terrorism, according to Reuters . The portal, “ freedom.gov ”, will allow worldwide users to circumvent government controls on their content. The site features a graphic of a ghostly horse galloping …

Programme that funds groups building tech to evade oppressive government controls under serious threat For nearly two decades, the US quietly funded a global effort to keep the internet from splintering into fiefdoms run by authoritarian governments. Now that money is seriously threatened and a large part of it is already gone, putting into jeopardy internet freedoms around the world. Managed by …

PM says measure, also applied to deepfake nudes, is needed owing to a ‘national emergency’ of online misogyny Deepfake nudes and “revenge porn” must be removed from the internet within 48 hours or technology firms risk being blocked in the UK, Keir Starmer has said, calling it a “national emergency” that the government must confront. Companies could be fined millions or even blocked altogether if…

Readers respond to an article by Frances Ryan on whether it is ethical to use social media apps, given they can be rife with toxic rhetoric Frances Ryan is right to point out the dangers of social media apps ( Given the toxicity of social media, a moral question now faces all of us: is it still ethical to use it?, 14 February ), but she also acknowledges how beneficial they can be. In my early da…

His gonzo argot of ‘mogging’ and ‘jestermaxxing’ masks a malign chauvinist philosophy, and his audience keeps growing How’s your “jestermaxxing” game? Have you been “brutally frame-mogged” lately? If you’ve been finding this kind of online discourse even more impenetrable than usual, a 20-year-old content creator calling himself Clavicular is probably to blame. Born Braden Peters, Clavicular is a…

We are raiding the Guardian long read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors. This week, from 2022: Idealising the past is nothing new, but there is something peculiarly revealing about the way a certain generation of Facebook users look back fondly on tougher times By Dan Hancox. Read by Dermot Daly Continue reading...

National Crime Agency says rise in child sexual abuse being driven by technology and online forums Child sexual abuse in the UK is soaring, police have said, with 1,000 paedophile suspects being arrested each month and the number of children being rescued from harm rising by 50% in the last five years. The National Crime Agency said the growth in offending across the UK was driven by technology a…

Its ‘fibre checker’ tool confirmed I could have a connection, but a month later it changed its mind My internet provider informed me by email that full fibre broadband had become available for my property, confirmed by Openreach’s “fibre checker” tool. After a month, Openreach declared the connection uneconomical due to blockages in the conduits below the road . Continue reading...

By trusting the US, we handed Trump a kill switch. Yet Europe’s digital sovereignty is an achievable goal The French judge Nicolas Guillou knows exactly how deep Europe’s dependence on US tech is. Guillou and his colleagues at the international criminal court are under US sanctions. They can no longer use e-commerce, book hotels online or hire a car. Their home smart devices ignore them. Credit c…

Fraudsters use stolen personal details to send out products, then post a fake verified and positive online review A package arrives but you can’t remember ordering anything. When you open it, you find some cheap, flimsy jewellery. Continue reading...

With so many platforms rife with racism, misogyny and far-right rhetoric, there must be a point where decent people walk away In a week during which Keir Starmer has been under pressure to resign, cabinet ministers took to X to show their support. “We’ve all been made to tweet,” one Labour figure told a political journalist. The irony is hard to escape: as the prime minister is embroiled in the s…

Move is a ‘backwards step’, company spokesperson says, amid concerns Kremlin is seeking more state control via messaging apps such as Max Russia has attempted to “fully block” WhatsApp in an attempt to push users towards its own state-sponsored communications app, Max, a spokesperson for the Meta-owned company has said. The company did not reveal more detail on what extent the attempt succeeded o…

Clive Selley, who oversaw £12bn rollout of full fibre broadband to 25m homes, will lead international division Business live – latest updates The head of BT’s infrastructure arm Openreach is to step down after almost a decade, having almost completed a £12bn rollout of full fibre broadband to 25m homes. Clive Selley, who was tasked by former BT chief Philip Jansen to “build like fury” to address …

Cyber-espionage campaigns are targeting employees directly, including through hiring processes, report claims Defence companies, their hiring processes and their employees have become a key target of state-sponsored cyber-espionage campaigns, according to a report from Google released before the Munich Security Conference. The report catalogues a “relentless barrage of cyber operations”, most by …