Sixty eight leading computer science academics have signed an open letter raising serious concerns of the government’s proposed Online Safety Bill. The letter argues the bill allows “surveillance technology to be deployed in the spirit of preserving online safety”. They add “this act undermines privacy guarantees and, indeed, safety online”
Specifically, the boffins are concerned with the proposal to enable the “routine monitoring” of communications – even with the noble intention of preventing the dissemination of child sexual exploitation content. They argue this monitoring is “incompatible” with maintaining the protocols which offer privacy guarantees and say any attempts to sidestep these protocols are “doomed to fail”. The signatories, including 36 UK university professors, finish by saying the safety provided by essential technologies “are now under threat in the Online Safety Bill”. They could at least scrap the EU cookie law to make up for it…
Read the letter in full below:
Last year then-Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan defended the use of taxpayer cash on the Queen’s funeral, saying it represented “value for money”. It seems not all the mourning was value for money, however, as Guido can reveal Donelan chose to bill the taxpayer for her constituency office window tribute to the Queen.
Anyone wandering past Donelan’s Chippenham office last September was greeted with two displayed A3 posters filled with pictures of her late Majesty, accompanied with the Secretary of State’s memorial. Both posters were identical.
Expenses FOIs now reveal she put the two posters on expenses, totalling £84 plus VAT for a total of £100.80. Boris once had to apologise for putting a Remembrance Sunday wreath on expenses – will Michelle apologise?
DCMS have created a 28-song celebratory playlist ahead of King Charles’ coronation in May. Lasting 1hr 45 mins, His Majesty’s mixtape opens with Come Together, before royally rocking to David Bowie, Queen, and the Spice Girls. It wraps up with “King” by Years and Years. Guido leaves it to co-conspirators to decide if it belongs in the Ministry of Sound…
