Category Archives: E-commerce

No room for complacency

Posted on February 20, 2020 by

My last blog was fairly upbeat about the UK Government’s interim response to the consultation on Online Harms. True the response was light on concrete proposals but much of the language was excellent. The overall tone was tough and purposeful. … Continue reading →

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

The long and winding road

Posted on February 13, 2020 by

It has been a busy week in the UK. Yesterday the Government finally published  its “initial response” to the Online Harms consultation. That’s the consultation which was concluded in July last year (admittedly a lot has happened since then e.g. … Continue reading →

Posted in Age verification, E-commerce, Internet governance, Regulation, Self-regulation | 1 Comment

Is the cure worse than the disease?

Posted on December 23, 2019 by

In a blog which focuses on the meaning of “privacy” in the modern world, Privacy International published an excellent summary of key international instruments which address the subject. At the end they announce their conclusion Privacy is a qualified, fundamental … Continue reading →

Posted in Apple, Child abuse images, Default settings, E-commerce, Internet governance, Privacy, Regulation, Self-regulation

Age verification for porn sites. How we got here.

Posted on October 22, 2019 by

Online gambling in the UK began to take off in the early 2000s. It sprang out of the rapid growth of the consumer oriented internet. I was soon getting calls from distressed parents whose children, typically 14/15 year old boys, … Continue reading →

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

Journalism and wishful thinking

Posted on October 21, 2019 by

Today there is much concern about the accuracy of words appearing on the internet. That being the case is it unreasonable to hope journalists make clear when they are offering an opinion about, or an interpretation of, events? If that … Continue reading →

Posted in Age verification, Default settings, E-commerce, Pornography, Regulation, Self-regulation | 1 Comment

Facebook moving in the right direction

Posted on September 19, 2019 by

That is not a headline I thought I would write any time soon. However, I have to say I applaud Facebook’s announcement earlier this week concerning the company’s plans to address the standards they will adopt in relation to content … Continue reading →

Posted in Default settings, E-commerce, Facebook, Internet governance, Privacy, 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