June 2015
Mind Healing: iPads won’t give a child social skills
Can you guess the most common reason why parents come to my clinics? They want to know how to limit their children’s screen use. No other issue, it seems, creates as many arguments for today’s families. Thanks to the parents I’ve worked with who’ve willingly tried out various strategies, I’ve created some guidelines. The aim is to limit screen time enough that children get adequate sleep and concentrate well in school – but at the same time, not so much that either they’re teased by friends for being “out of touch”, or that they start lying to their parents.
Telegraph 29/6/2015
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Facebook rainbow profile pictures likely being tracked by social network
Facebook is likely tracking which people changed their profile photo rainbow coloured using the easy to use tool on its site. The social network has tracked the way that support for same sex marriage and other rights have spread among its users before. And while there is no suggestion that the site made the tool as part of an experiment, or that any manipulation has happened, the site does not seem to be denying that those using the tool have been tracked.
Independent 29/6/2015
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Nude rape scene booed by Royal Opera House audience
The opening night of William Tell at the Royal Opera House has been marked by boos over a rape scene with nudity. The Opera House issued a statement after the performance of Guillaume Tell apologising for any distress caused. Director of opera Kasper Holten said: “The production intends to make it an uncomfortable scene, just as there are several upsetting and violent scenes in Rossini’s score.
The Stage gave the production one star. George Hall called it a “dire evening” in which the “gratuitous gang-rape” scene provoked “the noisiest and most sustained booing I can ever recall during any performance at this address”.
BBCOnline 30/6/2015
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BBC3 set to go online only as trust backs plans to scrap TV channel
The BBC Trust has approved the corporation’s plans to scrap the BBC3 TV channel and make it online-only in a move set to save the corporation £30m a year, while disappointing hundreds of stars and producers who fought against the channel’s closure.
In its first major decision since Rona Fairhead was appointed as chair of the trust last September, the regulator recognised the “clear long-term potential” in moving online, but admitted there were clear concerns about the loss of services to the key 16- to 34-year-old demographic as well as the BBC’s ability to try out new ideas and develop new talent.
mediaGuardian 30/6/2015
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Kanye West’s Glastonbury performance: more than 40 complain over swearing
More than 40 viewers have complained about swearing in the BBC’s coverage of Kanye West’s performance at Glastonbury. Broadcasting regulator Ofcom said it has received 44 complaints about the rapper’s expletive-laden set. It will assess the complaints and decide whether or not to move to a formal investigation about a breach in the UK broadcasting code.
The performance was aired by BBC2 after the watershed on Saturday night. BBC2’s coverage on Saturday evening, running from 9.30pm to 1am, drew an average audience of 1.1 million viewers.
mediaGuardian 29/6/2015
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Teenager injects nXT microchip into his own hand
A 15-year-old boy has carried out a DIY operation to insert a microchip into his hand - which can control his mobile phone and even unlock doors. Bryon Wake used a hypodermic needle to implant the transponder, which is the size of a grain of rice and can be read by Android devices.
The chip can be programmed to do everything from unlock doors, share contact details and even operate the Bluetooth on his mobile. Byron ordered the chip and insertion kit online from the United States without the knowledge of parents Lilian, 37, and Nicholas, 42.
Telegraph 29/6/2015
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Facebook revenge-porn poster ‘untraceable’
Facebook says it is unable to comply with a Dutch court order instructing it to help identify someone who posted a revenge-porn video clip on the social-media platform earlier this year. The court said independent experts should be given access to Facebook’s servers to check whether the data was indeed untraceable.
Though removed within an hour of going on Facebook, the video had already been circulated on the net, Reuters reported. Both the 21-year-old woman, known only as Chantal, and her former boyfriend, who also appears in the video, were below the age of 18 when it was filmed.
BBCOnline 29/6/2015
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Disney confirms selfie stick ban at theme parks
Disney has banned selfie sticks from its theme parks over safety concerns, the company has confirmed. The gadgets were already prohibited on rides but now visitors will be asked not to bring them to the parks at all.
BBCOnline 29/6/2015
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Online game ‘may control snacking’
A computer game may help some people control their unhealthy snacking habits, suggests a small study from the University of Exeter. The game trained participants’ brains to cut out calories by telling them to avoid pressing on pictures of certain images, such as biscuits and chocolate. They lost a small amount of weight and appeared to eat fewer calories for up to six months afterwards. The 10-minute game was played four times in one week.
BBCOnline 26/6/2015
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Kenneth Branagh: Playing Wallander left me in ‘permanent state of anxiety’
Kenneth Branagh has described how playing the angst-ridden eponymous hero in TV series Wallander put him in a “permanent, acceptable state of anxiety”.
mediaGuardian 24/6/2015
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Google calls for anti-Isis push and makes YouTube propaganda pledge
Google has issued a call to arms against Isis, arguing that the terror group has engineered a “viral moment” on social networks with propaganda and beheading videos that needs to be challenged. “The challenge for us is to strike this balance between allowing people to be educated about the dangers and the violence of this group,” said Grand. “But not allowing ourselves to become a distribution channel for this horrible, but very newsworthy, terrorist propaganda.”
Guardian 24/6/2015
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Young becoming hostages to handheld devices, says charity
Future generations of young people risk becoming “hostages to handheld devices” and disengaged from physical activity, a sports charity says. The Youth Sports Trust report suggests that nearly a quarter of children see playing computer games with friends as a form of physical activity. The trust called for technology to be integrated with PE in schools.
BBCOnline 23/6/2015
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Fifty Shades rewrite Grey breaks record in first week
EL James’ new Fifty Shades of Grey spin-off novel has broken the first week UK sales record for adult books.
BBCOnline 23/6/2015
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Adult eBooks can only be sold after 10pm, Germany rules
Germans will only be able to buy adult eBooks between 10pm and 6am, after a new law. Other such media have long been banned during the daytime, and real books that are violent or erotic are kept under the counter of bookstores. But a new ruling means that eBooks will be treated like films or TV, and so can only be sold during the night time window.
Indepepdent 22/6/2015
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Taylor Swift: Don’t base your day and your happiness on social media
Taylor Swift says young people shouldn’t base their happiness on what they post on social media. Speaking to ITV News the singer says people are judging their lives by how popular they are on services like Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat. “You have teenagers who are attaching their self worth to how many likes they get on a picture they just posted,” she said. “I don’t necessarily think that’s a healthy way to see yourself.
BBCOnline 22/6/2015
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A shocking analysis by the National Crime Agency reveals that about one in 35 adult males poses a potential risk of being a child abuser or of seeking out child sex images online
Phil Gormley, the deputy director general of the National Crime Agency (NCA), said: ‘We are starting to get a real sense of the scale.’ Calling for an urgent new approach to safeguard children from potential abusers before they strike, he said: ‘If all we have is arrest and incarceration that will not help them come forward.’
Among new measures being developed is a system that would alert minors when they are being groomed by men posing as fellow children when talking to them through Facebook or other social networking sites. Software will look for clues in the pattern of behaviour being used by predators before raising the alarm with a ‘traffic light’ system of warnings.
MailOnline 21/6/2015
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Google takes steps to crack down on revenge porn
Victims of revenge porn will be able to put in requests to Google to take down content from search results. The images will still exist but won’t come up on a list when people look for them. In a blog post the company’s Vice President Amit Singhal said it will apply to “nude or sexually explicit images”. Google has, in the past, resisted attempts for it to take down online content from those search results. The update is expected to come in over the next couple of weeks.
BBCNewsbeat 20/6/2015
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Heinz QR porn code too saucy for ketchup customer
The food company Heinz has apologised after a QR code on a bottle of tomato ketchup directed people to a pornography website. The company said that the code was out of date and that it was taking steps to prevent it happening again. The issue was illustrative of the potential dangers of QR codes, according to one security expert.
The code, which people can scan using a smartphone in order to access content online, was supposed to direct browsers to a site where users could design their own label for a bottle of Heinz Tomato Ketchup Hot, as part of a promotion by the company. Instead, the URL was hosting porn.
BBCOnine 29/6/2015
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Is facial recognition tech really a threat to privacy?
Facebook has decided not to offer its photo-sharing app Moments in Europe because of regulator concerns over its facial recognition technology. And earlier this week, talks between US tech firms and privacy campaigners broke down over fears about how the industry is planning to use the technology.
BBCOnline 19/6/2015
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Too lazy to even use the TV remote? Then use your mind to channel hop: BBC is working on technology that will allow viewers to select channel just by concentrating
It might sound far-fetched, but mind control television could soon become a reality – as the BBC revealed yesterday it is working on technology that could one day replace the remote. In tests of a prototype, users were able to operate a headset that allowed them to navigate through BBC iPlayer and select what they wanted to watch by concentrating or meditating.
Cyrus Saihan, head of business development at BBC Digital, said the technology was at still an ‘experimental’ stage. Writing in a BBC blog, he said a trial run with ten staff members found they could all use the headset to launch iPlayer and start watching a programme.
MailOnline 18/6/2015
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What is Snapchat? CEO explains it all for parents
What is Snapchat? A question asked by a growing number of parents over the past couple of years, as they noticed their children flocking to the social app. Now its chief executive Evan Spiegel has provided an answer.
Guardian 17/6/2015
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When it comes to online gaming, the BBC is slower than the Blue Peter tortoise
The fact is, it was like a scene from W1A: a few weeks ago, I was standing in a breakout space in Broadcasting House, talking about technology. I’m not being funny, right, but I love the BBC. Even when I can practically hear David Tennant’s dry voiceover (“Naomi is about to tell the executives about how zombies can improve fitness”) all I think about the BBC is: yeah, brilliant. They produce so much exceptional content for so little money, they raise the cultural bar in radio and television, even in online provision, given the user-friendly brilliance of the iPlayer.
So that’s all good then. Except it isn’t quite all good. The BBC’s coming up for charter renewal next year. Always a dodgy moment, especially with a Conservative government and a minister for culture who’s iffy about the licence fee. The BBC has to make a case for itself once a decade, and the time has come for that to include the largest entertainment medium in the world: games.
The Guardian 16/6/2015
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Sexting, webcams and naked Whatsapp contests: The secret online lives of children
Technology is developing at a rapid rate. It has changed the way we interact with people and increased the access points to our lives. Nowhere is this more true than in the bedrooms of teenagers and young children all over Britain (and the world). And a growing chorus of voices is now warning of the very real risks they face online.
This week, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has announced it’s launching a campaign to give parents advice on how to respond if their child becomes involved in sexting. It has issued a warning that the practices of sexting and sending nude or explicit photographs over the internet has become “normal” among teenagers - who rarely think through the consequences.
Telegraph 15/6/2015
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BBC spends less than half its cash on programmes
The BBC was last night accused of ‘mind-blowing’ excess after it emerged that it spends less than half of its money on programmes for licence fee payers. Amid warnings that ministers may impose a five-year freeze on the licence fee, it was revealed just £2.4billion of its £5.1billion annual budget went on ‘public service content’ in the year to April 2014. Most of the remaining cash was swallowed up by costs that included running its ostentatious buildings, middle-managers and services such as human resources and marketing.
Mailonline: 15/6/2015
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A letter to … my ex-husband, who preferred pornography to me
Porn ruined you. Ruined us. When people asked, shocked, how I could leave such a funny, clever man, father of my children – “a good earner” as my mother put it – what could I say? I said it was me. My fault. I’d changed. Only it wasn’t me. It was your love of porn that slowly diminished my love and respect for you and destroyed my self-confidence. I couldn’t tell them and I’ve never said it straight to you but you must know, you must remember those conversations. The rows.
Guardian 13/6/2015
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France seeks to extend Google ‘right to be forgotten’
Google has 15 days to comply with a request from France’s data watchdog to extend the “right to be forgotten” to all its search engines. Last year a European Court of Justice ruling let people ask Google to delist some information about them. However, the data deleting system only strips information from searches done via Google’s European sites. French data regulator CNIL said Google could face sanctions if it did not comply within the time limit.
BBC News Online 12/6/2015
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Would sex be better in a world without pornography?
I think that the majority of heterosexual pornography is a massive problem – one of the biggest problems we have. Not just for very young people, but for all of us. The ubiquitous images and films of men degrading, raping and being violent to women, for the sexual pleasure of the viewer, affect us on a profound level. It affects the sex we have, the way we think about our bodies, about men and women, about pleasure, power and desire.
Guardian 11/6/2015
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Five Tory MPs in running for chair of Commons culture select committee
Five white male Tory MPs are vying to become chair of the culture, media and sport select committee following John Whittingdale’s move to culture secretary in May. Damian Green, Jason McCartney, Graham Stuart, Jesse Norman and Damian Collins have all submitted nominations for the job, which is only open to MPs from the governing party. MPs will vote on who gets the job next Wednesday. The job is likely to be busy over the next two years with negotiations over the renewal of the BBC charter to take place later this year, the future of Channel 4 and the ongoing battles around press regulation.
The Guardian 11/6/2015
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Reddit shuts down ‘harassing’ forums
Social news site Reddit has shut down five of its forums because they were being used to “harass individuals”. The closures were announced in a post placed on Reddit, saying the sub-reddits had been banned because they had broken community rules on harassment and the forum’s volunteer moderators had not taken action to stop the behaviour.
The sub-reddits directed abuse towards overweight, black and trans people as well as gamers. The post said Reddit’s operators wanted as “little involvement as possible” in overseeing what people said to each other on the site. However, they said they would intervene when privacy and free expression were threatened or if people suffered abuse.
BBCOnline 11/6/2015
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Kay Burley interview with Alton Towers chief gets more than 1,100 complaints
Media regulator Ofcom has received more than 1,100 complaints about Sky News presenter Kay Burley’s questioning of the chief executive of Alton Towers’ owners following last week’s rollercoaster crash. The regulator said on Wednesday it has received 1,162 complaints about Burley’s interview with Nick Varney, chief executive of Merlin Entertainment, as she grilled him about the accident on the park’s The Smiler ride which left 16 people injured.
mediaGuardian 10/6/2015
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Pope Francis warns parents against the dangers of computers in children’s bedrooms
Pope Francis has warned of the dangers of allowing children to have computers in their bedrooms, saying it can lead to them watching pornography. The Pope spoke in approving terms of “parents who don’t allow computers in their children’s bedrooms, but put them in a communal room in the house. These are small things that parents can do to avoid (the problem)”. Many parents were “very worried” about the risks of their children accessing websites containin sexually explicit or violent material, he said. “There are dirty things, from pornography to semi-pornography, to programmes that are empty and without values - for example programmes that are hedonistic and consumerist. We know that consumerism is a cancer in society.”
The Daily Telegraph 10/6/2015
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Students ‘cannot multi-task with mobiles and study’
Students cannot successfully multi-task in using mobile phones while they are studying, US research suggests. Researchers found that students sending and receiving messages while studying scored lower test results and were less effective at tasks such as note taking. The study examined how a generation of “voracious texters” might be affected by so many online distractions. It found that when students did not use mobiles, they were better at being able to recall information.
BBCOnline 9/6/2015
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Headteacher sets ‘digital detox’ challenge
Smart phones and tablets are everywhere these days, including schools. In fact, one in three children between the five and 15 has their own tablet. One primary school headteacher has got so fed up with children being glued to their electronic devices that he has called for his pupils and their families to go on a ‘digital detox’.
BBCOnline 9/6/2015
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Hundreds of stars sign letter calling to save BBC Three
Hundreds of celebrities including Daniel Radcliffe, Olivia Colman and Jack Whitehall have signed a letter calling for plans to move BBC Three online to be shelved. The letter, which is due to be delivered to BBC bosses on Tuesday June 9, says the move will hinder the chances for new talent. It features around 750 names, including writers, agents and off-screen talent. The BBC is still awaiting final sign-off for the move from the BBC Trust.
BBCNewsbeat 9/6/2015
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Internet ‘Magna Carta’ vote launched by British Library
Thousands of young people have taken part in a UK debate about what should be included in a “Magna Carta” for the digital age. Their most popular priority was safety on the net, followed by protecting freedom of speech and privacy. The public can now vote online for the clauses they suggested, in a project organised by the British Library. The vote marks the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta and the 25th birthday of the world wide web.
BBC News 8/6/2015
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The passwords we never change: One in five people haven’t changed the phrase they use in a decade
One in five of us use online passwords that we haven’t changed in a decade, a study shows. And almost half – 47 per cent – rely on at least one password that has not been changed for five years. Worryingly, a staggering 73 per cent of online accounts are activated by the same password we use for another account. Indeed, on average we have just six unique passwords to protect 24 online accounts.
The Daily Mail 8/6/2015
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DOMINIC LAWSON: Facebook and Google are cashing in on our secrets - and we need to get angry about it
As part of the great cause of defending our privacy, two campaigning MPs — the Conservative David Davis and Labour’s Tom Watson — have mounted a High Court challenge to the Government’s emergency surveillance law, described by its critics as ‘the snooper’s charter’.
The human rights group Liberty, which is bringing the case on behalf of the MPs, declares: ‘People need to understand just how personal this information is that will be taken and retained and what an intimate portrait of their lives it will create’. There is a debate to be had over how much information our security services should be allowed to access in the battle against terrorism; but it is extraordinary how little attention is given to the far greater issue of how companies, almost all based in California, are using the most personal information of internet users for their own commercial purposes — and in a way countless millions who use their services seem scarcely to comprehend.
The Daily Mail 8/6/2015
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Porn addiction: I couldn’t focus on everyday activities
Daniel Simmons is a 23-year-old recovering porn addict. He says he couldn’t have sex or concentrate on everyday things and yet, he says, he couldn’t stop. “I was 15 when I started watching porn after my parents bought me a laptop. I did what pretty much any teenage boy does and look up porn websites,” he tells Newsbeat. “It became an everyday thing very quickly. I was watching porn for two hours a day.” He then moved onto watching pornographic content that disturbed him.
BBCNewsbeat 5/62015
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Facebook criticised by NSPCC over sobbing baby video clip
A leading child protection charity has demanded Facebook and other social networks be held to account following a clash over a “disturbing” video. The NSPCC says the video shows a “terrified, sobbing baby” being dunked repeatedly in a bucket of water and wants the UK government to intervene. It is not clear when or where the video was made or what the context is. Facebook says it does not believe the video breaches its rules and says it will not ban all uses of the footage.
BBC News 5/6/2015
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Britain’s Got Talent: Ofcom complaints exceed 1,000
Complaints to Ofcom regarding the stunt double dog used in the Britain’s Got Talent final have exceeded 1,000. Jules O’Dwyer and her dog Matisse won the talent show on Sunday, but it was later revealed that another dog, Chase, performed the tightrope walk section. A spokesman for Ofcom said it had been contacted by 1,043 disgruntled viewers by Thursday afternoon. The broadcasting watchdog said the complaints would be assessed before it decided whether to investigate. ITV said it had separately received 165 complaints about the show. Both O’Dwyer and judge Simon Cowell have said there was no intention to deceive the audience.
BBC News 5/6/2015
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UK watchdog to investigate children’s online games.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has asked the Advertising Standards Authority to investigate three online games aimed at children. The CMA is concerned that the games, which it has not named, may encourage children to make in-game purchases. The topic is high on government agendas after a series of cases where children spent thousands of pounds on online or app-based games. The European Commission had also asked Apple and Google to address the issue. Both agreed to strengthen payment authorisation and stop manufacturers describing games as “free” if they contain in-game or in-app purchases.
BBC News 5/6/2015
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Youtube could be ‘eclipsed’ if Facebook video tackles piracy - Fullscreen boss
Facebook’s native video features have the potential to “eclipse” YouTube according to the boss of multi-channel network Fullscreen – but only if the social network tackles the issue of videos being uploaded without the permission of their creators. Fullscreen is one of the MCNs that has built a big audience on YouTube, with its network of 70,000 channels accumulating more than 635 million subscribers. In a tweetstorm, chief executive George Strompolos claimed some of his network’s most popular videos are being “ripped” and uploaded to Facebook without Fullscreen’s authorisation.
The Guardian 5/6/2015
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Web whizkids at risk of turning to online crime: Warning children who illegally download films or music could engage in more serious cyber-crime
Youngsters who illegally download films, music and games from the internet could end up engaging in more serious cyber-crime, the National Crime Agency has warned. Andy Archibald, deputy director of the organisation’s National Cyber Crime Unit, said internet piracy – which is rife among the computer-savvy generation – is a ‘gateway’ to other types of offending online, such as hacking. Mr Archibald told the Infosecurity Europe conference in London: ‘If you think about the illegal downloading of music, of videos and DVDs, I think that practice is more common than we might imagine within the youth of today.
The Daily Mail 5/6/2015
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BBC tightens guidelines on sensitive stories after rogue Queen-related tweet
BBC guidelines on staff tweeting about sensitive news stories are being tightened up following the rogue tweet about an obituary rehearsal that led several major international news organisations to report wrongly that Queen Elizabeth had been admitted to hospital.
mediaGuardian 4/6/2015
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BBC licence fee hits the poorest hardest, says Culture Secretary
The BBC licence fee is “regressive” and hits the “poorest people” hardest, the Culture Secretary has in his clearest indication since taking office he wants to scrap the payment. John Whittingdale told MPs that by charging all viewers the same annual fee those families on lower incomes are forced to pay more to watch BBC programmes. It is the first time Mr Whittingdale has revealed his views on the licence fee since moving from the backbenchers – where he was a regular opponent critic – into the Cabinet.
The Daily Telegraph 4/6/2015
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Top Gear: BBC in multimillion-pound James May and Richard Hammond bid
The BBC has made a multimillion-pound bid to keep James May and Richard Hammond on Top Gear following the axing of Jeremy Clarkson. BBC2 chiefs are understood to want May and Hammond to remain on the show alongside a different guest presenter each week. Such a move would scupper the three presenters reuniting on a rival motoring show on another channel, but could pave the way for Clarkson to return as a presenter on a future series. Both BBC2 controller Kim Shillinglaw and the BBC’s creative director, Alan Yentob, have repeatedly stressed that the door was always open for Clarkson to return to the corporation at some point in the future.
The Guardian 4/6/2015
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Yves Saint Laurent ad banned for using ‘unhealthily underweight’ model
An advert by the fashion company Yves Saint Laurent has been banned by the UK’s advertising watchdog for using a model who appeared to be unhealthily underweight. Upholding a complaint that the model looked too thin, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) censured the advert, which appeared in Elle magazine, as irresponsible.
mediaGuardian 3/6/2015
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Spectacular rises for digital readerships as newsprint audiences fall
The print versions of paid-for national newspapers saw further declines in estimated readers in the year up to March 2015, according to the latest set of National Readership Survey (NRS) figures.* But audiences at most titles enjoyed huge, and in most cases, spectacular, rises in digital readerships. The other notable feature in the statistics is the large increase in print readership for the two main free titles, the London Evening Standard - up 25% on the previous year - and Metro, up 8%.
The Guardian 3/6/2015
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BBC licence fee under ‘unprecedented pressure’ from Netflix
Internet television services such as Netflix and Amazon are “challenging the very premise of mandatory fees” for the BBC and other public broadcasters, according to a major study of the global media sector. The rise of streaming is altering the landscape of the television industry, the report by PwC said, contributing to “unprecedented pressure” on “the notion of the public licence fee”. Viewer appetites, patterns of spending in advertising and the competitive responses of traditional pay-TV operators are changing as the internet becomes a more significant delivery system for television, the analysts added.
The Daily Telegraph 3/6/2015
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Rushing in licence fee decriminalisation could mutilate BBC, says Chris Bryant
Shadow culture secretary Chris Bryant has said calls for licence fee non-payment to be decriminalised ahead of BBC charter renewal are in danger of “mutilating” the corporation. The Labour MP said plans to decriminalise non-payment should be discussed as part of the wider charter renewal process alongside other issues such as the cost of free licences for over-75s. Attempts by the Conservative government to force through changes, in particular decriminalisation – which has cross-party support – would be highly detrimental to the BBC, he said.
The Guardian 2/6/2015
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I’ll axe TV shows if licence cheats escape court, says BBC boss: Director of television accused of ‘holding viewers to ransom’ following comments
BBC boss Danny Cohen was accused of ‘holding viewers to ransom’ yesterday after he threatened to axe programmes if licence fee evaders are no longer sent to court. The director of television warned that the Corporation would probably have to cut entire services – such as TV channels or radio stations – if non-payment of the £145.50-a-year licence was decriminalised. In a surprisingly combative move, Mr Cohen also threatened the government over proposals to force the BBC to give the licence fee free to the over-75s.
The Daily Mail 2/6/2015
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YouTube trains its sights on traditional TV: ‘It’s a no-growth business’
YouTube is a decade old, and for the first half of its history at least, was a service for watching online videos on your computer. In 2015, as it looks forward to the next 10 years, YouTube’s emphasis is firmly on a smaller screen. “For us, most of our focus is on mobile: product development for mobile, content development for mobile, making sure mobile video works on carrier networks all around the world. It’s all mobile, mobile, mobile,” says Robert Kyncl, YouTube’s head of content and business operations. Kyncl is talking over a video call – Google Hangouts, naturally – to a small group of European journalists, including the Guardian, about YouTube’s past, present and future. Mobile quickly looms large in the conversation.
The Guardian 2/6/2015
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Use of ‘doggie double’ in talent show causes uproar in UK
LONDON (AP) — Producers and TV executives have apologized for failing to inform viewers ahead of time that a dog trainer who won the season-ending finale of the highly-rated “Britain’s Got Talent” competition used a “doggie double” to perform a risky trick. O’Dwyer triumphed over a Welsh choir and a magician in the competition, which allows viewers to choose the winner via telephone calls and text messages. Some said on Twitter they would have voted differently if they knew two dogs had been used. Broadcast regulator OFCOM said more than 200 complaints have been received. No decision has been made on whether a formal investigation will be launched.
The Press Association 2/6/2015
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Shocking, I know… but could porn be making the world safer?
Should we outlaw smartphones for teenagers? Steve Hilton, a former No 10 policy guru turned author, suggested last week that all children under 18 should be banned from owning them because these devices could make them obsessed with porn. He also said smartphones are a feminist issue: young girls feel pressurised to look perfectly groomed. In Silicon Valley, they’re already banned in many schools – along with tablets – with children under 12 banned from any internet time at all. I agree that readily available porn can be addictive and harmful. But let’s look at what life was like before such devices existed. Growing up, I didn’t even know what a period was. I was never taken bra shopping, or owned a deodorant until I left home. I went to an all-girls school, and I thought boys were terrifying, a different species.
The Daily Mail 2/6/2015
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Porn addiction: I couldn’t focus on everyday activities
Daniel Simmons is a 23-year-old recovering porn addict. He says he couldn’t have sex or concentrate on everyday things and yet, he says, he couldn’t stop. “I was 15 when I started watching porn after my parents bought me a laptop. I did what pretty much any teenage boy does and look up porn websites,” he tells Newsbeat. “It became an everyday thing very quickly. I was watching porn for two hours a day.” He then moved onto watching pornographic content that disturbed him.
Newsbeat June 2015
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