Category: Internet
BT introduces home visits from tech experts
BT is to offer home visits by technology experts as part of a new phone and internet plan. The Halo plan will include access to BT Home Tech Experts, who will offer repair services as well as help with any connectivity or other gadget issues around the home. BT said its new home visits scheme…
Calling out online bullying in #GoodMannersEmojis campaign
The organisation responsible for emojis is being urged to introduce a person holding a yellow card and a whistleblower in a bid to counter online bullying and abusive behaviour. Tory parliamentary candidate Penny Mordaunt has launched the #GoodMannersEmojis campaign with six anti-bullying emoji designs, with the backing of the Jo Cox Foundation, a charity set…
Airbnb to review and verify every listing by end of 2020
Airbnb is to verify every listing on its platform, following a string of scams and a deadly shooting at a house party. In a series of tweets on Wednesday, Airbnb co-founder and chief executive Brian Chesky said every home and host on the site would be reviewed and verified by December 15, 2020. A refund…
Tim Berners-Lee warns internet’s power for good ‘under threat’
World Wide Web founder Tim Berners-Lee has warned that the internet’s power for good is being “subverted” by those spreading hatred and threatening democracy, as the technology marked its 50th birthday. Tim Berners-Lee urged governments, campaign groups and individuals to back a new plan from his foundation to make the internet safe, fair and accessible…
Plans for online pornography age checks dropped
Age verification measures designed to prevent children from accessing online pornography have been dropped, the Government has announced. Under the scrapped plans, people would have to prove their age in a number of ways, including using traditional forms of ID such as a credit card or passport, or by buying an over-the-counter card from shops…
7 year olds have seen porn online, BBFC survey reveals
Children as young as seven and eight have stumbled across porn online, according to a survey by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). More than half of children barely in their teens said that they had stumbled across pornography, with the majority saying it was unintentional. Fifty one per cent of those aged 11…
Google answers 11 million questions from British children a day
New analysis shows the internet has never been more popular as a tool for learning with Google answering 11 million questions a day from UK school kids. As children return to school this month, the figures prepared by Internet Association highlight the increase in the use of the internet for learning. New figures showed Google…
Privacy fears risk widening digital divide, study suggests
Heightened privacy fears are putting more non-internet users off and risk worsening the digital divide, new research has warned. Most people who are not online do so because they are not interested, according to the University of Oxford. But a growing number have cited anxiety about widely-reported privacy issues, as well as a lack of…
Yahoo email outage hits thousands of users
Yahoo is currently “working diligently” to resolve technical issues stopping users from accessing their emails. Problems with the service were first flagged at 7am on Thursday as users reported they were unable to log in to their accounts, or that emails were slow and unresponsive. Customers with TalkTalk, Sky and BT were also affected by…
More than half of over-65s now shop online, figures show
More than half of British adults aged 65 and over now shop online, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The data showed 82% of all British adults bought goods or services online this year, an increase of 5% on 2018. The figures, detailing household and individual internet use in Great…