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Disney+ will hit the UK and four other European countries March 31st
Disney+ will officially debut in the US, Canada and the Netherlands November 12th, and Australia and New Zealand a week later. The rest of the world will need to wait a little longer to stream the likes of Avengers: Endgame and The Mandalorian on the service. But Disney fans in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain might want to mark March 31st on their calendars. That's when Disney+ will land in those countries.
YouTube will reduce conspiracy theory recommendations in the UK
YouTube plans to tweak its recommendation algorithm to cut back on conspiracy theory videos in the UK, eight months after it conducted a similar experiment in the US. The platform is in the middle of rolling out the update to its British users, a spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch. It's unclear when exactly the change will occur.
Facebook's Cambridge Analytica woes continue with UK lawsuits
Facebook's Cambridge Analytica troubles are far from over and a new class action lawsuit over the scandal might be on the way. Wired reports today that a group of UK residents has sent the company a letter before claim, in which they highlight the many instances where the social media giant failed to protect its users' privacy and demand answers to a list of questions. Represented by UK-based law firm Irvine Thanvi Natas Solicitors, the UK residents all had their data obtained by Cambridge Analytica, and their attorney says that if their questions aren't answered within 14 days, legal action could be taken.
Trump announces program to test drones beyond FAA regulations
President Trump and Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao announced the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program today -- an initiative aimed at exploring expanded use of drones. While the Obama administration began allowing some drone activity to take place in US airspace, a fair amount of restrictions were still applicable. This new program, however, will allow companies and local governments to use drones in ways that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) currently doesn't allow. That includes "beyond-visual-line-of-sight flights, nighttime operations, and flights over people," as White House advisor Michael Kratsios said today.
US-UK plan would share tech companies’ data with both governments
Companies like Microsoft and Google store some of their data overseas and when US agencies want access to that data, during a criminal case, for example, they often have a fight on their hands. That's because current laws don't require these companies to provide that data, just as they don't require these companies to hand over data stored in the US to foreign agencies. This has posed a problem on both sides because it can slow down investigations being conducted by US or other countries' officials and it puts tech companies in a sort of legal limbo as they've typically chosen to protect users' privacy since there are no laws compelling them to do otherwise.
Equifax data breach is also being investigated by UK officials
While 143 million US residents were affected by the Equifax breach, they weren't the only ones impacted. Nearly 700,000 UK residents also had their information stolen -- including phone numbers, driver's license numbers, email addresses, user names, passwords and partial credit card details -- and UK authorities are now investigating the company.
UK officials want to know if Russia meddled in the Brexit vote
UK officials are wondering if Russia tampered with its Brexit referendum and they've now officially asked Mark Zuckerberg to look into whether Facebook possibly played a role, The Guardian reports. Damian Collins, the UK's chair of digital, culture, media and sport committee sent Zuckerberg a letter saying that the committee was investigating fake news and wanted Facebook to provide them with any information it had on politically-divisive advertisements purchased by Russian actors.
Fingerprints will soon tell cops if suspects are on cocaine
A research team from the University of Surrey in the UK has reportedly developed a new, noninvasive drug test for cocaine that accurately detects its presence in your system through your fingerprints. Specifically, it looks for two common cocaine metabolites: benzoylecgonine and methylecgonine. These can be found in blood, sweat, and urine using a mass spectrometry technique known as Desorption Electrospray Ionisation (DESI). And since the metabolites dissipate from our sweat more quickly than in urine or blood (in which it can persist for up to a week), law enforcement will one day be able tell if a suspect is currently high as opposed to having been high a few nights before. What's more, "we can distinguish between cocaine having been touched," Melanie Bailey, the study's lead author, told Motherboard, "and cocaine having been ingested." Plus since the sweat sample is tied to your fingerprint, it'll be nearly impossible for someone to swap it out for a clean batch.
Swipe into your new home with the Knocker real estate app
A new app, billed as the "Tinder of Real Estate", is allowing homebuyers in the UK to shop for a new home the same way they shop for new partners: by swiping. It's called Knocker and was recently created by a pair of programmers at the Ignite100 accelerator in Newcastle. The app runs atop the British property website Zoopla, allowing users to easily browse the site's enormous database of available homes. And, like Tinder, potential matches are served up based on the user's location. Swiping left cycles through nearby properties while swiping right contacts the listing agent to arrange a viewing. The app is currently free for iOS users, though there's no word yet on when (or whether) it will be coming to Android.
The United Kingdom can manipulate major communication services, from Facebook to phone calls
British intelligence agency GCHQ is able to not just monitor, but also modify many of the world's most widely-used communications services: Facebook, YouTube, and phone calls are just a few of the services affected. The Intercept revealed the documents today (which can be read here), continuing reporter Gleen Greenwald's year-plus of working with whistleblower Edward Snowden on exposing the clandestine surveillance tactics of the United States and Britain. So, what exactly can the GCHQ do to these communications services? Beyond monitoring, of course; it's already been revealed that the GCHQ is doing that.
Hide your stash, heat-seeking drones are helping thugs hijack UK weed crops
Criminals are dicks. That much we all know is true. But now these dicks are using heat-sensing drones to pull off "sophisticated" heists of weed farms (yes, that weed) in the United Kingdom, as local paper Halesowen News discovered. Consider this quote from one enterprising crop hijacker: It is not like I'm using my drone to see if people have nice televisions. I am just after drugs to steal and sell. If you break the law, then you enter me and my drone's world.
Toshiba Chromebook arrives in the US and UK, slightly pricier than expected
Back at CES, Toshiba told us that its new Chromebook would be shipping on February 16th. It appears, though, the company has decided to make it available ahead of time, as the 13-inch Chrome OS laptop is now up for grabs in the US and UK. In a small twist, however, Toshiba is listing the Haswell-powered Chromebook for $300 on its website, a small bump over the $279 price it was announced with earlier this year. That said, retailers like Adorama and Amazon do have it for around $280, so you could still enjoy that lower price after all. Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, Amazon's selling the Toshiba Chromebook for £249, with shipments expected to begin February 10th.
One of the first mass-produced computers getting new life in UK museum
While Howdy Doody and Buffalo Bob Smith were regaling America's youth with Western-themed puppet antics and the Cold War was starting to get serious, British businessmen were employing one of the world's first out-of-the-laboratory computers: the ICT 1301. The massive computer, which resembles a prop from Lost's underground bunker more than something you'd see in modern times, is getting a new life from the National Museum of Computing in the UK's historic Bletchley Park. The University of London is providing the ICT 1301 (last used for grading tests, apparently), which is nicknamed "Flossie." Apparently TNMOC is hoping to have it on display by some point in 2016, and the machine is said to still work. It was purchased by the university back in the '60s, not long after the initial rollout of ICT 1301 computers took place. Just 150 iterations of the machine exist, and Flossie is said to be the last functioning model. It's been a struggle getting Flossie into the museum, despite its history -- the machine spent nine years being rehabbed, among other challenges. Hilariously, other copies of the ICT 1301 were used as props in various UK productions throughout the years, from Doctor Who to James Bond. And the first of you to spot one in an old episode and send us an image gets a banana sticker! And very likely a cat GIF!
Wuaki.tv streaming video service exits beta in the UK
The Rakuten-owned, web-based Wuaki.tv video service announced today it's officially ready for prime time in the United Kingdom. Following what the company's calling a successful beta launch earlier this year, which helped it lure in "tens of thousands" of new subscribers, Wuaki.tv appears ready to go head-to-head with streaming services like Lovefilm, Netflix and, thanks to its flexible pricing scheme, iTunes. Moreover, Wuaki.tv points out that being available in Spain, and now the UK, only marks the beginning of its plans for The Old Continent, where it is aiming to be "fully launched in main European countries by 2015."
86,000 square miles of Great Britain meticulously recreated in Minecraft
There are those with free time, and then there's Joseph Braybrook. This fine bloke managed to recreate some 86,000 square miles of Great Britain within the Minecraft universe, and moreover, it took but a fortnight to concoct. Further justifying his work as more than goofing off, he used Ordnance Survey terrain data in the world's construction, leading Graham Dunlop, OS Innovation Lab Manager, to proclaim the following: "We think we may have created the largest Minecraft world ever built based on real-world data." The new universe contains over 22 billion Minecraft blocks, and once players have downloaded the 3.6GB file, they're free to build at will. Just don't go planting any US flags -- that's just downright rude.
Wikipad's 7-inch gaming tablet coming to the UK on September 27th for £250
Back when it announced the launch date for the US, Wikipad also said its 7-inch slate would become available in more markets soon thereafter. Fast forward to now and the company's announcing that its perplexed tablet is set to reach the United Kingdom on September 27th for £249.99 (roughly $390). Wikipad says the 7-inch, gaming-focused tablet will be found at a number of "well-known retailers" from day one, so UKers interested in snagging one of these should have no problem doing so.
New Nexus 7 reportedly coming to the UK August 28th (update: confirmed)
We were pleasantly surprised by the latest version of the Nexus 7, which landed in the US at the end of July. A little more patience has been required of Nexus fans on the other side of the pond, however, but the wait will soon be coming to an end. According to Pocket-Lint, ASUS has confirmed that the device will launch at midnight on August 28th, and will offer an asking price of £199.99 for the 16GB WiFi model and £239.99 for the 32GB WiFi-only version. There's no word on an LTE unit hitting British shores, but we'll keep you posted if we hear more. Update: ASUS reps have confirmed to us that the Nexus 7 will indeed be available on August 28th for the prices quoted above.
Report: Verizon, Vodafone and BT gave UK government unlimited access to undersea network cables
PRISM isn't just for US agencies -- last month it was revealed that the UK's Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ) has been using the program to collect emails, photos and video content from an assortment of internet providers. Now, a German newspaper claims to know what companies collaborated with the security agency. According to The Gaurdian, Süddeutsche identified Verizon, Vodafone, Global Crossing, Level 3, BT, Interoute and Viatel as firms that participated in Tempora, a program that gave the GCHQ widespread access to the undersea fiber optic cables. The operation was all quite hush-hush, with documents referring to participating outfits by obscure code names: "Dacron" for Verizon, for instance, and "Little" for Level 3. Parliament has already dismissed the agency's snooping as legal, but documents seen by The Guardian suggest that some telecoms may have illegally given the GCHQ access to other companies' cables without permission. Naturally, the firms involved were quick to dismiss foul play, with representatives from Verizon, Interoute and Vodaphone each assuring The Guardian that it was merely complying with UK law. True enough, probably, but we can't help but wonder if the operators weren't coaxed into cooperation with the promise of cool code-names.
UK government issues ultimatum on Google's troublesome privacy policy
A year and a half after Google introduced its new, "simpler" privacy policy, UK regulators have come to a verdict: Mountain View must now change that policy by September 20th or face the possibility of "formal enforcement action." In a statement, the Information Commissioner's Office said: "We believe that the updated policy does not provide sufficient information to enable UK users of Google's services to understand how their data will be used across all the company's products." German and Italian governments have reached much the same conclusion, while France and Spain also wrote strongly-worded letters to Google last month. For its part, Google has the following response: "Our privacy policy respects European law and allows us to create simpler, more effective services. We have engaged fully with the authorities involved throughout this process, and we'll continue to do so going forward." As The Guardian points out however, Google's statement doesn't really explain how its privacy policy can "respect" EU law and yet be considered objectionable by five major EU governments.
Sony Entertainment Network introduces carrier billing in the UK
Sony Network Entertainment and Sony Computer Entertainment are teaming up with payments processor Boku to support carrier billing in the United Kingdom. The new feature, which is reportedly compatible with all UK-based carriers, will enable consumers to top up their account wallets by charging the addition directly to cellular accounts. You'll be able to add funds through Sony's account management website and the PlayStation Store on PS3 by choosing "mobile" as the payment option, typing in your phone number and authorizing the transaction by responding to an SMS. You'll be on your way to charging games, themes, Music Unlimited subscriptions, video content and add-ons in no time.
