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Politics and policy
The latest political technology news, features and analysis from around the world. Verdict covers the political side of technology, from news on rules, regulation and policy to the role of governments in tech. Be it good, bad or somewhere in between, political technology is now a vital part of the wider world of tech and plays a key role in shaping the political sphere.
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20 Aug
QR code voter ID pilot paves way for future elections
Scanning a QR code may one day be the way in which voters in the UK confirm their identity, following a pilot in Watford, UK.
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19 Aug
Operation Yellowhammer: How could data flow be affected by a no-deal Brexit?
An official document detailing the potential outcomes of a no-deal Brexit, leaked over the weekend, has shed light on the likely aftermath of leaving the EU without a deal.
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19 Aug
No economy is safe from climate change, research finds
Every economy, regardless of size or climate, is set to take a significant hit from climate change unless action is taken, according to research published today.
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15 Aug
ICO “deeply concerned” by King’s Cross facial recognition
The head of the UK’s data regulator Elizabeth Denham has said she is “deeply concerned” by the increasing use of facial recognition in public spaces.
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12 Aug
Elon Musk backs presidential hopeful Andrew Yang and his UBI policy
Technology entrepreneur Elon Musk has given his backing to Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang and reaffirmed his support of universal basic income – a key policy of Yang’s.
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9 Aug
South Wales Police facial recognition trial raises privacy concerns
The South Wales Police has announced that it is embarking on a trial of facial recognition technology to help officers identify crime suspects or vulnerable people.
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2 Aug
Stop trade war restrictions on AI healthcare, experts warn
As two of the world leaders in artificial intelligence (AI), it is perhaps no surprise that the US and China have seen the industry as a key battleground in their ongoing trade war.
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1 Aug
Federal Reserve interest rate cuts: What do they mean for tech?
For the first time since the 2008 financial crisis, the US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates.
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30 Jul
Big tech must be prepared for stricter data privacy regulation: Report
Data privacy regulation will be the biggest threat to the likes of Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple over the next few years, according to a report by data and analytics company GlobalData.
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26 Jul
Moscow rolls out online IDs to provide citizens with “single point of entry” for accounts
The city of Moscow, Russia, has rolled out online IDs that will allow citizens to use a host of online services, including banking, social media, payment of utility bills and access to medical data, through a single set of login details.
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25 Jul
Facebook FTC fine in numbers: How does it compare to past fines, and how will it impact the tech giant?
Facebook has come to an agreement with the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to pay a $5bn fine in order to end an investigation into possible consumer privacy violations.
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23 Jul
What does Boris Johnson as Prime Minister mean for UK tech?
Boris Johnson has been confirmed as the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, having beaten current foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt in the Conservative leadership vote.
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11 Jul
The Facebook transatlantic data transfer case explained
The EU’s top court is deciding whether Facebook’s method of transferring personal data from the European Union to the United States sufficiently protects EU citizens’ right to privacy.
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4 Jul
Met Police facial recognition figures “hugely inflated and deceptive”
An independent report has concluded that facial recognition technology being used by London’s Metropolitan Police is incorrect 81% of the time.
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3 Jul
State intervention won’t hold Facebook back from achieving crypto ambitions, expert says
The United States Congress has asked Facebook to halt the development of its Libra cryptocurrency until it has had time to investigate its potential impact on global financial stability.
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3 Jul
Pro-Leave areas at highest risk of automation, making retraining vital to post-Brexit Britain
The areas of the UK most at risk from automation are overwhelmingly pro-Leave, making tackling digital skills shortages a vital task for the next government, according to a report published today by the thinktank Onward.
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2 Jul
Data sharing beyond borders: Could ring-fencing be consigned to history?
In the past few years a slew of regulations have seen international data sharing increasingly restricted.
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21 Jun
Government data mismanagement could lead to another Windrush scandal, warns NAO
The UK government’s current approach to data management could lead to future scandals similar to Windrush if action is not taken soon, warns the National Audit Office.
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14 Jun
Dominic Raab Facebook ads breached advertising policy, despite spending £56,000
Boris Johnson might be the runaway favourite in the Conservative leadership race, but there is one area in which Dominic Raab is currently leading the pack – Facebook ad spend.
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12 Jun
US tech companies can’t decide whether Huawei poses a security threat
Employees working for the United States’ leading technology companies are unable to agree on whether Huawei poses a threat to the security of the US.
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7 Jun
Did the Microsoft facial recognition database breach GDPR?
Microsoft has taken down a huge facial recognition database containing more than 10 million images of around 100,000 people, raising questions as to whether the technology giant breached data protection laws such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
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4 Jun
Trump’s Huawei hold on UK could help decide next PM
Donald Trump is grabbing the UK by its 5G infrastructure with no intention of letting go – no matter who is prime minister.
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4 Jun
Trump’s Huawei warning to UK an empty threat: Former senior British intelligence officer
The threat by US President Donald Trump to block the UK’s access to the Five Eyes intelligence sharing community unless it bans Huawei technology from being used in its 5G network is very unlikely to be followed through, according to a former senior British intelligence officer.
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3 Jun
Stop Trump urged to focus on trade war as US President’s policies put global jobs at risk
US President Donald Trump’s visit to the UK from today has attracted considerable hostility, with the Stop Trump Coalition leading a “carnival of resistance”, including a national demonstration set to be held in London tomorrow.
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30 May
deVere CEO: Brexit nightmare won’t end after Halloween deadline
With the Tory leadership contest throwing the outcome of Brexit into further disarray, the new October deadline is fast approaching.However, the CEO of of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organisations, deVere Group, believes that the impact of Brexit is far from over, and the Brexit nightmare could go on long after the
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24 May
Happy birthday GDPR. Where are all the fines?
The doomsday data cults were wrong.
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24 May
GDPR one year on — what has changed?
Today marks the one-year anniversary of the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – one of the most important changes to data privacy regulations in the last 20 years.
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23 May
“Not so” Epic Games struggles with GDPR request — has it breached data protection laws?
Video game company Epic Games has come under fire for accidentally sending the personal information of one of its users to a “random person”.
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22 May
Microsoft Huawei ban imminent? MateBook X Pro removed from Microsoft store
United States tech giant Microsoft has removed all references to Huawei’s flagship MateBook X Pro laptop from the Microsoft Store, suggesting that it will follow Google’s lead in cutting ties with the company.
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7 May
Mozilla launches EU Elections Toolkit to tackle voter manipulation
With the European elections taking place on the 23 June, 512 million people are expected to go to the polls, including UK voters who were not previously expected to vote under the original Brexit deadline.