Monthly Archives: July 2021

Once again, social-media companies are facing criticism as their platforms are used to racially abuse football players, following the dramatic conclusion of the Euro 2020 men’s tournament on Sunday night. And make no mistake, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the technology giants to defend these incidents. How can they not be held more responsible […]

The free and open internet is under attack in countries around the world, Google boss Sundar Pichai has warned. He says many countries are restricting the flow of information, and the model is often taken for granted. In an in-depth interview with the BBC, Pichai also addresses controversies around tax, privacy and data. And he […]

At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, governments around the world decided the smartphone could be a key weapon in their battle to stop the spread of Covid-19. On this week’s Tech Tent, we ask whether their various approaches, from Bluetooth contact-tracing apps to smartphone surveillance, have made a difference. Listen to the latest Tech […]

A recent crackdown on LGBT accounts on Tencent’s popular WeChat platform has divided Chinese social media. Dozens of such accounts, mostly run by university students, had been deleted on Tuesday night – sparking fears of a tightening control over gay content. The closures have garnered a wave of online support for the LGBT community, with […]

Microsoft has issued a fix for a critical bug dubbed PrintNightmare. It says, hackers are using the bug, accidentally disclosed by researchers. It can help them “install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights” remotely on all versions of Windows. It affects the Windows Print Spooler, software that […]

British Airways has settled a legal claim by some of the 420,000 people affected by a major 2018 data breach. The breach affected both customers and BA staff and included names, addresses, and payment-card details. The Information Commissioner’s Office handed BA its largest fine to date, of £20m, over the “unacceptable” failure to protect customers. […]

About 200 US businesses have been hit by a “colossal” ransomware attack, according to a cyber-security firm. Huntress Labs said the hack targeted Florida-based IT company Kaseya before spreading through corporate networks that use its software. Kaseya said in a statement on its own website that it was investigating a “potential attack”. Huntress Labs said […]

A coding error has been spotted in a video displaying the original source code for the world wide web, used to advertise a $5.4m (£3.9m) auction sale. Creator Sir Tim Berners-Lee sold a non-fungible token – a certificate of ownership of a digital asset, of the code – through Sotheby’s, on Wednesday. The NFT included […]

Amazon is launching a child-friendly version of its Echo Dot smart speaker in the UK, several years after it was made available in the US. The speaker – which comes with either a panda or tiger design – is billed as a learning tool, allowing children “to have fun and learn with Alexa”. But critics […]