Category Archives: Advertising

Something could be done now?

Posted on June 21, 2020 by

If you click here you will see a copy of a letter I sent today to Information Commissioner, Elizabeth Denham CBE, the UK’s chief privacy enforcement official. In the letter I suggest the fact that the Government called a halt … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Age verification, E-commerce, Pornography, Regulation, Self-regulation

Something to think about

Posted on August 20, 2019 by

All of the early thinking about the internet – thinking which determined how it was set up at a fairly fundamental level – was framed by a belief that overwhelmingly the future users would be highly educated, therefore literate and … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Age verification, Consent, Default settings, E-commerce, Internet governance, Privacy, Regulation, Self-regulation

Children’s privacy moves forward in the UK

Posted on September 23, 2018 by

The UK Parliament adopted the GDPR pretty much as it came out of the EU’s law-making machine. Under Article 8 we agreed 13 as the age at which a child could be considered competent to give consent to their data … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Age verification, Child abuse images, Default settings, E-commerce, Internet governance, Privacy, Regulation, Self-regulation, Uncategorized

The dangers of digital piracy

Posted on July 25, 2018 by

With the school holidays upon us, here is a great report from Internet Matters on the dangers of digital piracy. This is not just about your children getting used to the idea that it is OK to rip off other … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, E-commerce, Regulation, Self-regulation

The case for age verification for pornography sites

Posted on April 29, 2018 by

Judging by the number of emails and phone calls I am getting, around the world there is growing interest in what the UK is doing  to reduce the possibility of children being exposed to pornographic web sites. We are introducing … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Age verification, E-commerce, Pornography, Privacy, Regulation, Self-regulation

Another Requiem for self-regulation

Posted on April 6, 2018 by

As a service to my readers below are a few choice snippets from recent media coverage on the vexed question of regulation and the internet. These have arisen in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Before getting to them … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Default settings, Internet governance, Privacy, Regulation, Self-regulation

Begging a question

Posted on August 18, 2017 by

Amazing statistics emerged last week courtesy of a body called WARC which presents itself as Your global authority on advertising and media effectiveness. WARC was publicising a study carried out by Verto Analytics according to which, between them, Google and Facebook account for 25% of … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, E-commerce, Facebook, Google, Internet governance, Microsoft, Regulation, Self-regulation

Limiting play time

Posted on July 4, 2017 by

Interesting story from China. Tencent Holdings – seemingly China’s biggest gaming and social media business measured by revenues- runs a very popular multi-player game called “Honour Kings”. It is said it now has over 200 million users, mostly in China, … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Age verification, E-commerce, Regulation, Self-regulation

Election 2017 – a Digital Manifesto

Posted on April 30, 2017 by

Age verification for pornography sites was a key measure advocated in the Digital Manifesto published by the UK children’s charities ahead of the 2015 General Election. Earlier this week that proposal was adopted in the Digital Economy Act, 2017. This shows … Continue reading →

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

Towards a new internet strategy for the UK

Posted on March 22, 2017 by

On 27th February Karen Bradley MP, Secretary of State at DCMS announced the Government’s intention to  develop a new internet strategy. As a member of the Executive Board of UKCCIS I was asked for my views.  I reproduce them below. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Age verification, Default settings, E-commerce, Facebook, Google, ICANN, Internet governance, Microsoft, Pornography, Privacy, Regulation, Self-regulation