Image caption Estate agents face a clampdown on the fees they charge renters Campaigners say new laws going through parliament will not go far enough to stamp out all hidden fees and charges for renters. Charlotte Von Crease, a 27-year-old renter, says: “When we moved into our last property we were hit with nearly £3,500 …
Image copyright Smart Energy GB There is “no realistic prospect” of the government meeting its own deadline to install smart meters, according to the National Audit Office (NAO). The public accounts watchdog has joined a chorus of voices – including a group of MPs and Citizens Advice – which say the target is impossible to …
Image copyright Getty Images Dolce & Gabbana products have been pulled from Chinese e-commerce sites as the backlash against a controversial ad campaign grows. The firm posted videos this week showing a Chinese model struggling to eat pasta with chopsticks. The brand also apologised for social media posts criticising Chinese people, saying it had been …
Image copyright PA The advertising regulator has warned consumers that some Black Friday deals may be misleading. Guy Parker, chief executive of the Advertising Standards Authority, said that the rapid pace of change online is “fuelling people’s concerns about whether everything they see and read is true”. “It becomes more difficult to establish whether the …
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Black Friday could provide “prime pickings” for cyber-crime, warns the security agency Black Friday sales could be targeted as “prime pickings” for cyber-crime, the UK’s cyber-security defence agency has warned shoppers. The National Cyber Security Centre, part of the GCHQ intelligence service, is issuing advice to shoppers of the …
Image copyright WSUP Image caption Dhaka, Bangladesh: Community leader Nasima shows off her village’s new community toilet Hi-tech loos that use little or no water and can recycle waste products safely and sustainably promise to give billions of people around the world access to much-needed sanitation. So why do so many still lack this basic …
Fitness trackers – those things you put around your wrist to measure your physical activity and your health – have been on the mass market for fewer than 10 years. Nowadays, hundreds of millions are sold every year. But a lot of the technology inside these hi-tech gadgets was developed as long as a century …
Image copyright HTH Studios Image caption The game features sexy furry creatures The website of an adult video game featuring sexualised animals has been hacked, with the information of nearly half a million subscribers stolen. Hack monitoring website Have I Been Pwned said the data breach had happened in August. The compromised information, including email …
Image copyright Getty Images/BBC A campaign group advocating the break-up of Facebook has subverted the social network’s advertising tools to tempt its employees into leaking information. Freedom from Facebook says it targeted ads at the technology company’s staff, promoting a “safe space” website where they can anonymously submit “whistleblower tips”. Facebook declined to comment. But …
Image copyright EPA Conspiracy videos suggesting that the California wildfires were lit by government laser beams have clocked up millions of views on YouTube. News site Motherboard found conspiracy theories and fake news topped search suggestions, when looking for clips of the California wildfires. It said YouTube had “not adequately stopped these conspiracy theories from …