Having some form of anonymity online offers many people a kind of freedom. Whether it’s used for exposing corruption or just experimenting socially online it provides a way for the content (but not its…
The average citizen may not feel that they have anything to fear from the rise of apps that promise to identify sex offenders in their area but they are part of a worrying trend that should act as a warning…
Web founder Sir Tim Berners-Lee wants an online “Magna Carta” to protect and ensure the independence of the internet. He’s also created a Web We Want campaign, calling on people to generate a digital bill…
You might have seen this week that there’s a campaign regarding the future of the internet. Its chief proponents? NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, inventor of the web Tim Berners-Lee, journalist Glenn…
Just ahead of the 25th anniversary of the World Wide Web, Edward Snowden has sent what he hopes will be a strong message to the powers that control the internet in a video link streamed live to South by…
What does privacy mean in an age of ongoing privacy breaches? With new privacy law coming online in Australia on March 12, our Privacy in Practice series explores the practical challenges facing Australian…
What does privacy mean in an age of ongoing privacy breaches? With new privacy law coming online in Australia on March 12, our Privacy in Practice series explores the practical challenges facing Australian…
Joyriding – stealing a car just for the fun of it – is a signature act of troublemaking teenagers seeking excitement and a chance to show off their bravado. But while car theft is among the most common…
Facebook’s Community Operations team has announced it is changing the privacy settings on accounts for deceased users to reflect the settings they chose in life. Before the new policy, Facebook automatically…
After a long investigation, Google has finally reached a settlement with the European Commission about how it presents search results. The Commission had started investigating Google in the first place…
Although it might sometimes seem that your Facebook feed is overrun with chatter about babies, research from Microsoft has suggested that mums actually spend less time on the site after they have had children…
In the run up to the introduction of the NHS care.data programme, there is an urgent need for a debate about what we, and our healthcare providers, mean by the term “consent”. So far, the plans for care.data…
A debate is brewing after a report submitted to MPs suggested that GCHQ has been breaking the law by conducting mass surveillance on UK citizens. In the red corner sits public law barrister Jemima Stratford…
It was reported this week that the NSA and British intelligence agency GCHQ have been gathering information from popular apps including David Cameron’s favourite game, Angry Birds. According to the Guardian…
Social media presents many challenges for the world of work. One is the potential for employees’ online comments when off-duty to become a fertile source of evidence for allegations of misconduct and grounds…
It’s as easy as “123456”, or so we’ve learned from Splashdata’s annual worst password of the year list. Slipping down to number two in this most recent list was last year’s favourite, the ever-popular…
President Obama faced a difficult task in his speech on reform of the NSA’s surveillance activities. As an accomplished orator, crafting a well-received speech was obviously within his capabilities, but…
Are corporate and academic research ethics up to the task of dealing with the “cool but creepy” dilemmas of big data? A recent paper, Self Censorship on Facebook, shows that Facebook wants to know why…
To my amazement, the latest Eurobarometer survey on Cyber Security across Europe received very little attention in the UK, despite its quite revealing findings. The report shows in no uncertain terms that…
Big Data has a reputation for being creepy; the domain of “Big Business” and “Big Government”. At best it’s the driver of relentless advertising, uniquely targeted and eerily reminiscent of our most recent…