privacy
Anonymous apps risk fuelling cyberbullying but they also fill a vital role
The explosive popularity of YOLO has led to warnings of the same problem that led to Yik Yak’s shutdown, namely that its anonymity could lead to cyberbullying and hate speech. But in an age of online surveillance and self-censorship, proponents view anonymity as an essential component of privacy and free-speech. And our own research on anonymous online interactions among teenagers in the UK and Ir...[Read More]
Your internet data is rotting
The internet currently accesses about 15 zettabytes of data, and is growing at a rate of 70 terabytes per second. It is an admittedly leaky vessel, and content is constantly going offline to wind up lost forever.
Revolt on the horizon? How young people really feel about digital technology
As digital technologies facilitate the growth of both new and incumbent organisations, we have started to see the darker sides of the digital economy unravel. In recent years, many unethical business practices have been exposed, including the capture and use of consumers’ data, anticompetitive activities and covert social experiments. But what do young people who grew up with the internet think ab...[Read More]
Shortly after Mark Zuckerberg’s “privacy-focused vision” a WhatsApp vulnerability reveals how hard this new direction is for Facebook
That didn’t take long. Facebook's new plan to be more secure lasted just two months since Zuckerberg's pronouncement in early March about this shift after 2018's annus horribilis.
Facebook’s ‘transparency’ efforts hide key reasons for showing ads
Governments and advocates in the U.S. and Europe, as well as elsewhere around the globe, have been pushing Facebook to make the inner workings of its advertising system clearer to the public.
Facebook wants to combat fake news with ID checks – with ‘grave implications’ for our privacy
Facebook started rolling out a new tool in April 2019. Under updated procedures, the social media website would request ID verification for people who wish to advertise or promote political posts or ads. The announcement received very little publicity, but it can be interpreted as Facebook’s latest attempt to curb Russia’s anticipated interference in EU elections and prepare to manage any meddling...[Read More]
What to look for in a VPN, and why you should probably use one
You might feel like you missed the VPN hype that spiked in the pre-local-Netflix years, so what even is a VPN and why do you need one?
WhatsApp now lets you block people from adding you to groups
WhatsApp, the Facebook-owned instant messaging service will now give users the option to control who adds them to groups.
Change your password right now, because Facebook stored millions of them in plaintext
Facebook's found a flaw in its systems that stored user passwords in plaintext. Which means you should change your password immediately.
Facebook CEO’s missive on privacy disturbs as it tries to take over messaging too
If ever Alanis Morrissette wanted a definition of "ironic" it was Mark Zuckerberg's use last week of the word "privacy". He says bizarre things like Robert Mugabe used to, oblivious to the reality on the ground, and how absurd his utterance sound.
Facebook’s ‘pivot’ is less about privacy and more about profits
Facebook’s founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s latest promise is that his social media conglomerate will become a “privacy-focused” one. By turns lauded and lambasted, this move does not quite address users’ primary problems with the company.
WhatsApp is testing an image search tool to fight fake news
The messaging service, WhatsApp, is working on a feature that’ll allow users to do reverse-image searches. This will hopefully help combat fake news -- something WhatsApp has struggled with in the recent past.