Kids aren’t using VPNs to watch porn and skirt social media bans, VPN firms say July 13, 2026 Only around one per cent of children use virtual private networks (VPNs) to access age-restricted content, research commissioned by VPN providers suggests, as the industry awaits a key announcement from government this week over how the under-16 social media ban will be enforced. A YouGov survey commissioned by the VPN Trust Initiative, founded by NordVPN, [...]
Kendall blasts ‘unacceptably slow’ online safety laws as VPN loophole grows July 8, 2026 Liz Kendall has admitted parliament is moving “unacceptably slow” on regulating online platforms, as ministers face questions over whether teenagers will simply use VPNs to dodge the UK’s incoming under-16 social media ban. Speaking to the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee on Wednesday, the tech secretary said the eight-year journey from the first ideas behind [...]
Virgin Media slapped with £28m fine for stopping customers cancelling deals July 8, 2026 Virgin Media has been slapped with the media watchdog’s largest ever fine for direct harm to consumers after it was found to have mishandled millions of calls with users looking to switch away to a better deal The telecoms giant has been hit with a £28m fine after it was found to have put customers [...]
ITV says ‘no guarantees’ on jobs after £1.6bn Sky deal July 6, 2026 ITV and Sky executives have said they can make no guarantees on job cuts after the two companies announced a £1.6bn merger on Monday. Employees of ITV have been warned the tie-up between Britain’s two biggest commercial broadcasters could lead to redundancies, and there are “no guarantees” over their jobs. Speaking after the acquisition was [...]
Natwest boss becomes latest City figure caught in AI social media scam July 3, 2026 The boss of Natwest has become the latest City figure to be depicted in an AI scam across social media. Paul Thwaite – the chief executive of the FTSE 100 bank – was posted on X alongside journalist Emily Maitlis in a deepfake picture attempting to create a BBC radio interview. The picture was shared [...]
Lisa Nandy has set a terrible precedent by flouncing off Twitter July 3, 2026 A government that first declares a platform beyond the pale, then withdraws official engagement from it, is constructing the moral case to compel its regulator to act. First you leave; then you police; then, when policing proves “insufficient”, you ban, says James Price When the Roman Senate ordered the burning of Aulus Cremutius Cordus’s histories [...]
4chan ridicules Ofcom again as watchdog chases unpaid £520k fine July 2, 2026 4chan has again mocked Ofcom after the regulator renewed demands for the controversial image generator to pay its £520,000 Online Safety Act fine, prompting its lawyer to respond with another AI-generated hamster. Preston Byrne, the US lawyer representing 4chan, posted on X on Thursday: “Ofcom wrote. Again. Demanding that 4chan pay its fine. Sent us [...]
Will AI trigger the end of net neutrality? July 2, 2026 Since its inception, the internet has worked for one fundamental reason: net neutrality. This is the principle that internet carriers – broadband and mobile providers – must treat traffic equally, regardless of where it comes from. They cannot discriminate. This idea, noble in its intentions, was what spurred the enormous growth of internet services over [...]
Nandy ‘minded to intervene’ in Paramount’s £85bn Warner Bros takeover June 30, 2026 Culture secretary Lisa Nandy will ask the competition and media watchdogs to probe Paramount’s £85bn acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery to ensure the mega-deal doesn’t stifle the breadth of Britain’s media ecosystem. The Wigan MP said on Tuesday that she planned to authorise both the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and Ofcom to examine the [...]
Google ‘disappointed’ as Youtube swept into UK social media ban June 29, 2026 Google has said it is “disappointing” that Youtube has been included in the government’s planned ban on social media for under-16s, warning the measures risk cutting children off from one of the internet’s biggest educational resources. The rebuke forms the firm’s strongest response yet to Keir Starmer’s plans to prohibit children under 16 from using [...]