Tag: Google
ShinyShiny snippets: Sharing Netflix password details may be illegal, government suggests
Users of online streaming platforms such as Netflix could be breaking the law by sharing their account with other households, a government agency has said. The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) said password sharing may amount to “secondary copyright infringement”. In guidance published this week, the IPO said: “Pasting internet images into your social media without permission, or accessing…
ShinyShiny snippets: Google opens technology centre for disabled
An alarm clock for people who are deaf is on display at the Google tech centre. Image: Google If you design technology with disabled people in mind, you design technology better for everyone. This was the sentiment from Google as it opened its first UK research and development centre dedicated to…
ShinyShiny snippets: Twitch announces partial gambling ban
Twitch has announced a partial gambling ban, targeting slots, roulette and dice games. The Amazon-owned livestreaming platform will bar videos of gambling sites not licensed in the US or "other jurisdictions that provide sufficient consumer protection". The ban includes cryptocurrency gambling sites such as Stake.com, based on the Caribbean island of Curacao. It will take…
ShinyShiny snippets: Google sued for over £20 billion by publishers
Google is being sued for up to €25bn (£21.6bn) over claims it has deprived newspapers and internet bloggers of billions of pounds in advertising revenues. The Big Tech giant is facing class action complaints in the UK and the Netherlands that it used its advertising technology to unfairly sideline publishers while hoovering up ad revenues. …
ShinyShiny snippets: Amazon to put price of Prime up £1 a month
Amazon is to increase the price of its monthly Prime subscription service by 12.5% – or £1 – to £8.99 from September in the latest sign that delivery costs are rising. The company said the cost of an annual Prime package, which includes unlimited deliveries for online shopping, access to its video and music streaming…
ShinyShiny snippets: Dyson working on home robots for household chores
Dyson is moving beyond vacuum cleaners and hand driers and will try to develop robots capable of helping with household chores. The company has announced plans to create a major robotics centre at its facility at Hullavington Airfield, in Wiltshire, that will work on new types of domestic robot. The site will be home to…
ShinyShiny snippets Google sued for using NHS data of 1.6 million Brits ‘without consent’
Google is being sued over its use of confidential medical records belonging to 1.6 million individuals in the UK. The company's artificial intelligence arm, DeepMind, received the data in 2015 from the Royal Free NHS Trust in London for the purpose of testing a smartphone app called Streams. The claim is being brought by Andrew…
ShinyShiny snippets: TikTok leading platform for fake Ukraine videos
TikTok has emerged as one of the leading platforms for snappy false videos about the war in Ukraine which are reaching millions. With a user base of more than one billion people - more than half of whom are under 30 - TikTok is where many young people have been getting updates about the conflict,…
ShinyShiny snippets: Facebook allows calls for violence against Putin
The owner of Facebook and Instagram will allow users in some countries to call for violence against Vladimir Putin and Russian soldiers. Meta says it has temporarily made allowances for some violent speech, like "death to the Russian invaders," that would usually break its rules. However, it says it won't permit calls for violence against…
ShinyShiny tech roundup: Skip ‘Hey, Google’ with Quick phrases
“Quick phrases” is a new feature currently under development for Google Assistant that could one day let you skip having to say “Hey, Google” for common phrases like “What time is it?” or “Turn the lights on,” 9to5Google reports. The feature is yet to be officially announced, and it’s unclear when it might launch or exactly which…
