Tag: Government

Home Office accused of Phorm collusion

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The UK Home Office has been accused of being in bed with Phorm after emails have come to light that show the government asking if the ad-targeting firm would be “comforted” by its position.

The Home Office appears to have been in discussion with the company over the advice it was drawing up for the public in relation to targeted advertising, though it has denied that it has provided “any advice to Phorm directly relating to possible criminal liability for the operation of their advertising platform in the UK”.

The emails, which were obtained by a member of the public following a freedom of information request, show Phorm repeatedly asking the department if it “has no objection to the marketing and operation of the Phorm product in the UK”.

Liberal Democrat spokeswoman on Home Affairs, Baroness Sue Miller, said:

“My jaw dropped when I saw the Freedom of Information exchanges. The fact the Home Office asks the very company they are worried is actually falling outside the laws whether the draft interpretation of the law is correct is completely bizarre.”

Meanwhile, the company has launched a website – http://www.stopphoulplay.com/ – which it says aims to stop the misinformation surrounding the technology.

Phorm (via BBC)

Duncan Geere Websites

Digital Britain report: a summary

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So, the Government has just released its Digital Britain green paper. It discusses a number of
different things that the government wants to do for the future of Britain’s digital industry, ranging from telecoms, through radio, television, broadband and, as we discussed this morning, intellectual property.

It’s an interesting read. There’s some positive aspects, and some negative ones. Some bits of the report are very ambitious, but others show no ambition at all. I’ll go through each sector in order over the break.

Duncan Geere Broadband, Computers, Intellectual Property, Mobile phones

Commission urges action over nanotechnology pollution

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Here’s something new for the tabloids to get angry about without understanding. The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution has recommended “urgent regulatory action” over the microscopic materials present in sun creams, sports clothing and medicine.

The commission warns that although hundreds of consumer products are already in the marketplace that use nanoparticles, we have an ‘almost complete lack of knowledge’ regarding their long-term effects on human health and the environment. The report says many nanoparticles are so poorly understood that scientists don’t even know how to check their safety.

Duncan Geere Science

UK government not making democracy easy or fun – no "e-voting" for the UK

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If you want to exercise your demographic right to say you’d rather have a blue politician representing you than a red one, you’re going to have to carry on with the tiresome old ‘ticking boxes with a pen’ system – there will be no “e-voting” for the likes of us any time soon.

Michael Wills, the minister for justice, told parliament that “The Government does not plan to introduce e-voting for the 2009 European or local elections,” meaning it’s off to the local primary school with your little postcard of power…

Gary Cutlack Intellectual Property, Internet, Software, Web 2.0

Opinion: Government paedophile plans are a confusing web of ideas

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Jonathan Weinberg writes…

OK, so let’s do a straw poll. What do you think would stop a sex offender abusing children? I know this is not a comfortable topic but it is an extremely important one in tech and Internet terms. Stiffer sentences maybe? The threat of castration? A life term in jail? Perhaps even death by lethal injection?

We’ve all had those “If I were Home Secretary” moments and this is one of them because the plans today released by the UK’s Home Secretary Jacqui Smith seem the worst kind of limp proposals for such a serious matter…

Jonathan Weinberg Columns & Opinion, Internet, Web 2.0