Most UK web users ‘opt in to see porn’

The vast majority of new broadband customers in the UK are opting out of porn filters when prompted to install them by service providers, according to new research from Ofcom. The study found that only 4% of new Virgin Media customers have signed up to the parental...

Irish govt. genealogy site leaks personal data

An Irish government genealogy site has been criticised by the country’s data watchdog for leaking ID information. The Irish Genealogy site left personal data open to identity thieves, including a date of birth, an area where someone grew up and their...

Google+ ditches real name requirements for YouTube

Google has dropped its requirement for people to use their real names on its social networking service Google+ and its video service YouTube, in a move that suggests the web giant is scaling back its social media ambitions. The requirement has been unpopular since it...

Govt spies named ‘villain of the year’ at web awards

The UK spy agency GCHQ has been named as the biggest “internet villain” at the annual Internet Services Providers’ Association (ISPA) awards. Almost fifty organisations were nominated across sixteen categories in the awards 16th year and the evening ended with the...

YouTube shames ISPs for poor streaming perfomance

Google is following Netflix’ strategy by introducing a new pop-up bar on YouTube that warns users if their videos fail to stream smoothly- reminding them that they should blame their ISPs rather than the video sharing site. The notifications pop up on videos that take...

AVG urges new data laws for Internet of Things

AVG has urged legislators to devise a plan that stops data gathering firms from spying on children by placing limits on how much can be collected from portable devices. Speaking at the Child Internet Safety Summit Yuval Ben-Itzhak, AVG’s CTO, said that there should be...

Facebook investigated for secret experiment

Facebook is being investigated by the Information Commissioner’s Office in the UK after a study showed a psychological experiment influenced what users saw in their news feeds, raising fresh privacy concerns. A company researcher apologized on June 29 for a test in...

Google Glass banned in UK cinemas

Google Glass is facing further bans in the UK ahead of the upcoming commercial launch of its augmented reality eyewear. Although the technology has been available in the US as a prototype for a couple of years, the test version of the device was only brought out in...

Iraqis flock to FireChat app as web censorship rises

More than 40,000 Iraqis downloaded FireChat last weekend, as growing political turmoil and web censorship in the country has lead to users embracing a ‘private internet’ where they can message each other without fear of the government shutting down access...