Category Archives: Microsoft

Much ado about……what exactly?

Posted on February 2, 2013 by

  In a blog I wrote in March, 2011, I quoted Robert Madelin, the then newly appointed Director-General of DG Connect. Speaking about the role of self-regulation as a mechanism for making the internet a better place for children Madelin said … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Consent, Default settings, E-commerce, Facebook, Google, Internet governance, Location, Microsoft, Mobile phones, Privacy, Regulation, Self-regulation

Non-Disclosure Agreements – enforced silence?

Posted on January 16, 2013 by

  Over the years I have worked for many different high tech companies. As I recall in each case under the contractual agreement I entered into there was either an implied or, more often, an express term requiring me to … Continue reading →

Posted in Consent, Default settings, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Privacy, Regulation, Self-regulation

No more low hanging fruit

Posted on October 2, 2012 by

  I have been reflecting on the achievements of the UK’s framework for making the internet a better and safer place for children and young people. We have an impressive record. Yet I was struck by a quite dramatic but … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Age verification, BlackBerry, CEOP, Child abuse images, Consent, Default settings, E-commerce, Facebook, Google, ICANN, Internet governance, Location, Microsoft, Mobile phones, Pornography, Privacy, Regulation, Self-regulation

Child abuse images – record levels of convictions and cautions

Posted on March 19, 2012 by

  I made two Freedom of Information (FoI) requests to the UK’s Ministry of Justice. I asked for the latest official data on offences involving indecent images of children for England and Wales.  The final set of answers arrived last week. … Continue reading →

Posted in Child abuse images, Facebook, Internet governance, Microsoft, Self-regulation | Leave a comment

What next?

Posted on December 30, 2011 by

  About this time of year lots of technology pundits write columns about what they think is going to happen in the upcoming twelve months or so. I have decided to join in. You don’t need to be Einstein to … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Age verification, Apple, Child abuse images, Consent, Default settings, E-commerce, Google, Location, Microsoft, Pornography, Privacy, Self-regulation | Leave a comment

Brussels makes a move

Posted on December 4, 2011 by

  Neelie Kroes is a Vice President of the European Commission. She is responsible for the European Union’s ambitious Digital Agenda. Robert Madelin is her CEO, being the Director-General for Information Society and Media. In an earlier blog I said … Continue reading →

Posted in Apple, Child abuse images, Consent, Default settings, Facebook, Google, Internet governance, Microsoft, Pornography, Privacy, Self-regulation | Leave a comment

Lost in translation

Posted on October 12, 2011 by

  A lie can be halfway around the world before the truth has got its trousers on.  Thus spake Winston Churchill, Mark Twain and many others who used variants of it over the centuries.  In the internet age we have this … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Age verification, Apple, Consent, Default settings, E-commerce, Microsoft, Pornography, Privacy, Self-regulation | Leave a comment

The Internet Governance Forum

Posted on October 8, 2011 by

  I’ve just back from the sixth meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF). It was held in Nairobi. Out of the six IGFs the only one I have missed was the first, in Athens in 2006. I think of … Continue reading →

Posted in Facebook, Google, Internet governance, Microsoft, Self-regulation | Leave a comment

Icons and symbols – a way forward for privacy?

Posted on July 19, 2011 by

  Last week a friend of mine signed up for a new app via his mobile phone. As usual he was asked to say he accepted all of the terms and conditions associated with the app, including its privacy policy. … Continue reading →

Posted in Consent, Default settings, Facebook, Microsoft, Privacy | Leave a comment

Microsoft attacks online child pornography

Posted on July 5, 2011 by

  They say when you walk along the streets of London you are never more than six feet away from a rat. Looking at some of the headlines carried by newspapers in the early days of the internet you could … Continue reading →

Posted in Child abuse images, Facebook, Microsoft, Self-regulation | Leave a comment