New York Times: British Lawmakers Accuse Facebook of Failing to Aid Inquiry Into ‘Fake News’. “A closely watched British parliamentary committee examining Russia’s exploitation of social media to try to influence elections has called for sweeping new regulations on tech companies, and has accused Facebook of providing ‘disingenuous answers’ to some questions while avoiding others ‘to the point of obstruction.'”
UK
TechCrunch: Facebook finally hands over leave campaign Brexit ads
TechCrunch: Facebook finally hands over leave campaign Brexit ads. “The UK parliament has provided another telling glimpse behind the curtain of Facebook’s unregulated ad platform by publishing data on scores of pro-Brexit adverts which it distributed to UK voters during the 2016 referendum on European Union membership. The ads were run on behalf of several vote leave campaigns who paid a third company to use Facebook’s ad targeting tools.”
UK National Archives: Prime Minister’s papers from 1993 released
UK National Archives: Prime Minister’s papers from 1993 released. “Today we have released files from the Prime Minister’s Office and Cabinet Office predominantly covering the year of 1993. The newly released Cabinet Office files (CAB and PREM) shed light on a range of subjects both at home and abroad under John Major’s leadership.” A selection of the files are available online.
Government Digital Service: Why GOV. UK content should be published in HTML and not PDF
Government Digital Service: Why GOV. UK content should be published in HTML and not PDF. “GOV.UK exists to make government services and information as easy as possible to find and use. For that reason, we’re not huge fans of PDFs on GOV.UK.”
British Library: Anglo-Saxon charters online
British Library: Anglo-Saxon charters online. “In anticipation of the British Library’s major Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms exhibition, which opens on 19 October, we are delighted to have added the vast majority of our Anglo-Saxon single-sheet charters to our Digitised Manuscripts site. A full list of the 203 charters currently available can be downloaded here; we plan to add the remaining 8 charters in due course.” This article has a good overview of what Anglo-Saxon charters are if you aren’t familiar.
CNET: Facebook faces UK fine over Cambridge Analytica scandal
CNET: Facebook faces UK fine over Cambridge Analytica scandal. “Facebook is facing by the UK’s privacy watchdog for allowing Cambridge Analytica to improperly access key personal data on millions of its users. The UK Information Commissioner’s Office on Tuesday announced a preliminary fine of 500,000 pounds ($664,000) after finding the social-media giant had failed to protect user data and wasn’t transparent about how the user data was obtained by others. The fine — the maximum amount allowed — comes after revelations that as many as 87 million Facebook users had their data improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica, a digital consultancy with ties to the Trump campaign.” Mark Zuckerberg is worth over $80 billion dollars. With his personal wealth he could pay this fine over 120,000 times.
Google Blog: Celebrating 50 years of the Hayward Gallery
Google Blog: Celebrating 50 years of the Hayward Gallery. “In the early to mid-1900s, few would have imagined that the derelict space between Waterloo and Hungerford Bridge on London’s South Bank would become home to an iconic landmark, an integral part of modern British culture, and an enduring bastion of modern and contemporary art: The Hayward Gallery…. Now to mark the 50th anniversary of its opening, the Hayward Gallery is providing exclusive access to its archives for the very first time with a Google Arts & Culture project called Hayward Gallery at 50: Uncovering the Archive.”
