Tech companies retaliate against Theresa May's claim they offer a 'safe space' for extremists
Following the attacks on London over the weekend, prime minister Theresa May made calls for further regulation of the internet -- despite having already ushered in the snooper's charter, one of the most invasive pieces of online legislation in the world.
Speaking about the attacks, May said: "We cannot allow this ideology the safe space it needs to breed. Yet that is precisely what the internet, and the big companies that provide internet-based services provide." Google, Facebook and Twitter have all lashed out, saying they already do a great deal to combat terrorist and extremist content on their networks.
Police ask people not to share London Bridge and Borough Market attack footage on social media
Last night saw two attacks in London leading to the deaths of seven people and dozens of injuries. A van driven at pedestrians on London Bridge, and stabbings in Borough Market have been labelled as terrorist attacks, and Facebook Safety Check was activated for the incident.
The social network was not just used by people to let loved ones know that they were safe following the attacks, but also to share footage of the shocking aftermath. While police are keen for witnesses to come forward with footage they may have shot on mobile phones, they are pleading with people not to share videos on social media.
Fake News: Half of Donald Trump's Twitter followers are bots
This story isn’t actually "Fake News", but rather news about fakes. We all know Donald Trump loves Twitter (more than covfefe itself!), and with over 31 million followers it appears the 45th President of the United States of America is hugely popular on the social site.
Except, well, his 31 million followers aren’t quite what they seem.
Twitter now handles DMs from strangers differently
Taking a leaf out of Facebook's, er, book, Twitter has introduced a new filtering system for Direct Messages. Now if you receive a DM from someone you don’t follow, it will be channeled to a new Requests folder rather than appearing in your Inbox.
The new system gives you a chance to review messages from unknown senders before you decide whether to continue the conversation. It's a simple system that's very similar to Facebook Message Requests, and it's in the process of rolling out at the moment.
OnePlus 5 photography sample sparks a mixed reaction
OnePlus continues to drip-feed us snippets of information about its upcoming OnePlus 5. We've already learned that the company has teamed up with DxO to improve the photography side of things, and now we have been treated to the first official sample photo shot on a OnePlus 5.
On both Facebook and Twitter, OnePlus shared a split-screen photograph, one side taken on an unknown camera, the other on the OnePlus 5. The company asked, "Can you tell which photo was taken with the OnePlus 5?" -- and the reaction was rather mixed.
British Airways cancels flights after massive global computer system failure [Updated]
A "major IT system failure" has caused serious problems for British Airways. The airline has been forced to cancel all flights from Heathrow and Gatwick airports while it works to resolve the issue.
It is not believed that the computer failure was caused by a cyberattack or hackers but this has not lessened the impact. Both of the affected airports have become "extremely congested" as a "global system outage" wreaked havoc with travellers' holiday weekend plans.
Time to check your Twitter settings as company updates its privacy policy and personal data usage
Fire up the Twitter app on your phone or tablet, or visit the Twitter website, and you'll probably be greeted by a message inviting you to check your settings. And you may well want to do so. Twitter is introducing key changes to its privacy policy which will enable it to use more personal data to personalize the user experience. In other words, ads and data sharing.
At the same time, the company is adding new controls which enable you to stop tailoring content to you based on your location, interests and other data. A new Your Twitter Data is a nod to increased transparency which not only shows you what data Twitter is storing about you, but allows you to control how it is used -- to a certain extent.
Emmanuel Macron hit by EMLEAKS email hack ahead of French election head-to-head with Le Pen
Left-wing French presidential hopeful Emmanuel Macron has been hit by a "massive and coordinated" hack attack just before voters go to the polls. A 9GB cache of emails and photos was dumped as a torrent on Pastebin by a leaker by the name of EMLEAKS. The torrent was initially hosted on Archive.org.
It was quickly pulled offline, but not before it had spread far and wide on social media. Released just before midnight on Friday night, the leak was timed to prevent Macron from responding. French election rules forbid candidates from engaging in any form of campaigning immediately before polls open.
Twitter announces 16 live streaming partners including Bloomberg for 24-hour news
Twitter continues to place ever-increasing importance on video on its network, and the company has announced a new batch of partners that will bring a host of live-streamed programming to the service.
There are 16 streaming partners in total, including Bloomberg which will bring a 24-hour rolling news services to Twitter. Other partners include Live Nation which will deliver live concert performances, and NBA, PGA and MLB to cater for the sports side of things.
Secure your Twitter account with two-factor authentication
There are not many well-known online services that don't offer two-factor authentication (2FA) nowadays, but Twitter is very late to the party. Well, that might not be strictly true. Twitter recently added support for third-party authenticator apps, but failed to make any sort of song and dance about it.
The change means that it's now possible to make use of the likes of Google Authenticator and Authy with Twitter -- but you'd be forgiven for not having found the option by accident already.
Snapchat reminds Scottish voters to register to vote
With council elections due to be held throughout Scotland next month, steps are being taken to ensure that as many people as possible are registered to vote. The Electoral Commission has turned to Snapchat to remind people to register ahead of the cut-off deadline next week.
Using social media tools as election reminders is not a new tactic -- Facebook has been used for some time -- but in using Snapchat, an entirely different section of voters is being targeted. This is the first time 16- and 17-year olds will be eligible to vote in Scottish council elections, and Snapchat seems like the sensible way to connect with late-millennials.
Government drops demands to unmask @ALT_USCIS after Twitter files lawsuit
Just one day after Twitter filed a lawsuit to block the US government from forcing it to reveal the identity of who is behind the @ALT_USCIS account, the government has dropped its request.
News of the lawsuit saw the account's follower count more than quadruple as Twitter users jumped to see what was being posted by what are believed to be United States Citizenship and Immigration Services employees. As a result of the government dropping its request, Twitter has stopped the lawsuit.
Twitter sues US government for trying to reveal identity of anti-Trump user, @ALT_uscis
A lawsuit filed by Twitter shows that the US government has been trying to force the company to reveal the identity of a user behind an account that is critical of Donald Trump and government policies.
The lawsuit reveals that Customs and Border Patrol hit Twitter with a summons in the middle of March relating to the @ALT_uscis (Alt US Citizenship and Immigration Services) account. The account is one of many "alt" accounts that sprang up after Trump inauguration, purportedly set up by disgruntled civil servants, and it is critical of immigration policy and plans to build a wall on the Mexican border.
Twitter Lite offers a faster Twitter experience on slow connections with Data Saver mode
After the launch of the data-saving YouTube Go beta by Google, Twitter has announced the launch of Twitter Lite. In a similar vein to YouTube Go, Twitter Lite is an acknowledgement that a huge number of people around the world are getting online using a 3G -- or even a 2G -- connection.
Twitter Lite is not an app, but a lighter version of the mobile version of the Twitter website. With no app to download, it can be used on any smartphone or tablet and an additional Data Saver mode further reduces bandwidth requirements and helps to speed up the overall experience.
Twitter enables direct message location sharing for businesses
Social media can be a fabulous tool to help businesses engage their customers. Nowadays it isn't enough to simply offer a quality product or service -- it is about creating memorable experiences. By offering outreach from services like Facebook and Twitter, a business can seem more friendly -- something that may have a positive impact on sales or brand opinion. Not to mention, young adults that grew up with text messaging may be turned off to making voice calls, making social media indispensable for millennials.
Today, Twitter is improving the customer interaction experience for businesses with a really cool new feature -- location sharing through direct messaging. A business can now more easily share its location with a customer, or request a location from them, using the direct message functionality.
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