Tag Archives: Implement

UK Online Safety Law Requires Porn Sites to Implement 5 Million Daily Age Checks | Internet Safety

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Recent statistics indicate that since the implementation of age verification for pornographic websites, the UK is conducting an additional five million online age checks daily.

The Association of Age Verification Providers (AVPA) reported a significant increase in age checks across the UK since Friday, coinciding with the enforcement of mandatory age verification under the Online Safety Act.

“We are thrilled to assist you in maximizing your business potential,” remarked Iain Corby, executive director of AVPA.

In the UK, the use of virtual private networks (VPNs), which allow users to bypass restrictions on blocked sites, is rapidly increasing as they mask users’ actual locations. Four of the top five free applications in the UK Apple Download Store are VPNs, with popular provider Proton reporting an astonishing 1,800% surge in downloads.

Last week, Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, indicated it may initiate a formal inquiry into the inadequate age checks reported this week. Ofcom stated it will actively monitor compliance with age verification requirements and may investigate specific services as needed.

AVPA, the industry association representing UK age verification companies, has been assessing the checks performed on UK porn providers, which were mandated to implement “very effective” age verification by July 25th.

Companies that verified ages were instructed to report “the number of checks conducted today for a very effective age guarantee.”

While the AVPA stated it couldn’t provide a baseline for comparison, it noted that effective age verification measures are newly introduced to dedicated UK porn sites, which previously only required a confirmation check for age.

An Ofcom spokesperson said: “Until now, children could easily stumble upon pornographic and other online content without seeking it out. Age checks are essential to prevent that. We must ensure platforms are adhering to these requirements and anticipate enforcement actions against non-compliant companies.”

Ofcom stresses that service providers should not promote the use of VPNs to circumvent age management.

Penalties for breaching online safety regulations, including insufficient age verification processes, can range from 10% of global revenue to complete blockage of the site’s access in severe cases.

Age verification methods endorsed by OFCOM and utilized by AVPA members include facial age estimation, which analyses a person’s age via live photos and videos; verification through credit card providers, banks, or mobile network operators; photo ID matching, where a user’s ID is compared to a selfie; and a “digital identity wallet” containing age verification proof.

Prominent pornographic platforms, including Pornhub, the UK’s leading porn site, have pledged to adopt the stringent age verification measures mandated by the Act.

The law compels sites and applications to protect children from various harmful content, specifically material that encourages suicide, self-harm, and eating disorders. Advanced platforms must also take action to prevent the dissemination of abusive content targeting individuals with characteristics protected under equality laws, such as age, race, and gender.

Free speech advocates argue that the restrictions on child-related content have caused the classification of X-rated materials to age unnecessarily, along with several Reddit forums dedicated to discussions around alcohol abuse.

Reddit and X have been approached for their feedback.

Source: www.theguardian.com

“Out of Touch”: US Tech Firm Cuts Jobs and Halts Global IT Operations to Implement AI

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The cybersecurity firm that gained notoriety last year for causing a significant global IT outage has revealed plans to partially reduce its workforce by 5% citing “AI efficiency.”

In a memo to employees earlier this week, CEO George Kurtz, who was released to the US stock market, stated that 500 jobs, or 5% of the total workforce, would be eliminated globally due to AI advancements created by businesses.

“We are at a pivotal point in the market and technology, where AI is transforming every sector, accelerating threats, and changing customer demands,” he explained.

Kurtz emphasized that AI “will streamline the adoption process and enable quicker innovation from concepts to products,” adding that it “enhances efficiency in both front and back offices.”


“AI acts as a force multiplier across the enterprise,” he added.

Other factors contributing to the layoffs include the need for sustainable market growth and expanded product lines.

The company anticipates incurring costs of up to USD 53 million due to the job reductions.

CrowdStrike reported a revenue of USD 1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, reflecting a 25% increase from the same period in 2024, despite a loss of USD 92 million.

Last July, CrowdStrike unintentionally promoted an erroneous software update intended to detect cybersecurity threats, which affected 8.5 million Windows systems globally.

The incident caused widespread disruption, impacting airports, hospitals, television networks, payment systems, and individual computers.

Aaron McCann, VP of research and advisory at Gartner, expressed skepticism regarding claims of AI efficiencies amid declining revenue forecasts, as seen with CrowdStrike in March.

“I view it as a justification for workforce reductions, particularly in tech. It’s fundamentally a financial decision,” he remarked, expressing immediate skepticism.

McEwan noted that firms are under pressure to justify significant investments made in AI.

“The productivity improvements we anticipated from AI are not materializing.”


Gartner’s survey indicates that fewer than 50% of employees utilize AI in their roles, with only 8% employing AI tools to boost productivity.

Toby Walsh, a professor of artificial intelligence at the University of New South Wales, described CrowdStrike’s announcement as “somewhat alarming” following last year’s suspension.

“They would be more effective by reallocating these 5% of employees to emergency responses and bug fixes,” he advised.

Walsh suggested that the market should brace itself for more such announcements in the future.

“It’s straightforward. Increased profits for companies, fewer jobs for workers. We should learn from the first industrial revolution. By uniting, we could use these savings to enhance the quality and quantity of work for everyone.”

Niusha Shafiabady, an associate professor of computational intelligence at the Australian Catholic University, stated that AI-induced job displacement is an “inevitable reality.”

“Even with good intentions, this transformation will occur. Regrettably, many will lose their traditional roles due to AI and technology,” she remarked.

“If companies can save costs by leveraging AI and technology, they will do so, resulting in job losses. This is the stark reality.”

The 2023 World Economic Forum report predicted that AI and other macroeconomic factors would affect nearly 23% of jobs globally within five years. While 69 million jobs are expected to be created, 83 million are projected to be eliminated, leading to a net decline of 2%, according to Shafiabady.

McEwan asserted that companies, especially in high-tech sectors, are exploring ways to gradually reduce their workforce through AI.

“I firmly believe that companies are emerging that can effectively shrink their workforce thanks to AI,” he noted.

“It largely depends on the type of product being sold. However, most companies at this juncture would benefit more from enhancing their workforce rather than using AI as a replacement.”

Has your job been lost to AI? Please reach out at josh.taylor@theguardian.com

Source: www.theguardian.com

NASA’s wise decision to implement a backup plan proved crucial in wake of the Starliner grounding

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Whenever a rocket launch or mission goes wrong, experts always say the same thing: “Space is hard.” As advances in the space industry accelerate, this mantra has only grown more important, if not less, as we face—and, for the most part, overcome—the challenges of spaceflight with increasing frequency.

The situation that has unfolded aboard the International Space Station (ISS) over the past few months is a case in point: Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft successfully completed its first manned flight on June 5, but a hardware problem meant that after arriving at the ISS it was unclear whether the two NASA astronauts on board would be able to safely return to Earth as scheduled.

So after ground tests and much deliberation, NASA reversed course, announcing that its astronauts would stay longer and return instead in February 2025 aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft (see “Astronauts stranded on ISS reveal U.S. space program not in peril.”) A potentially catastrophic problem was reduced to a mere inconvenience thanks to NASA’s wise decision a decade ago to hire not one but two companies to build the capsules that would carry astronauts into space. We’d always known space was a tough place, and preparation paid off.

The first ever private spacewalk will likely be the most dangerous one ever.

Hopefully, the thorough preparations will also pay off for the crew of SpaceX’s upcoming Polaris Dawn mission, which, if all goes well, will conduct the first-ever civilian spacewalk, and perhaps the most dangerous one ever (see page 8).

If the flight goes well, it will be another big win for commercial spaceflight, and especially for SpaceX, as it will be the first test of the company’s new spacesuit. Aging spacesuits have been a big problem for NASA and other space agencies for decades. The spacesuits NASA uses are the same ones astronauts wore in the 1980s and are long past their prime. A new spacesuit that is comfortable for civilians to wear, has better mobility, better temperature regulation and is more reliable would be a big win. It would make life in space a little easier.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Multiple nations implement baffling export restrictions on quantum computers

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Exports of quantum computers are restricted in many countries

Saigh Anys/Shutterstock

As a result of secret international negotiations, governments around the world have imposed identical export controls on quantum computers while refusing to disclose the scientific rationale behind the controls. Although quantum computers could theoretically threaten national security by breaking encryption technology, even the most advanced quantum computers currently publicly available are too small and error-prone to achieve this, making the bans seem pointless.

The UK: Quantum computers with more than 34 quantum bits (qubits) and error rates below a certain threshold. The intention seems to be to limit machines with certain capabilities, but the UK government has not stated this explicitly. New Scientist A Freedom of Information request seeking the basis for these figures was denied on national security grounds.

France has also imposed similar export controls. Quantum Bits The numbers and error rates are also improving, as are Spain and the Netherlands. Having the same limits across European countries might suggest EU regulation, but this is not the case. A spokesperson for the European Commission said: New Scientist EU member states are free to adopt national, rather than bloc-wide, measures when it comes to export controls. “The recent quantum computer restrictions by Spain and France are an example of such national measures,” they said. They declined to explain why the figures for the EU's various export bans are completely consistent if these decisions were taken independently.

A spokesman for the French Embassy in London said: New Scientist The limits were set at a level “likely to indicate a cyber risk,” they said. They noted that the regulations are the same in France, the UK, the Netherlands and Spain because of “multilateral negotiations that took place over several years under the Wassenaar Arrangement.”

“The limits chosen are based on scientific analysis of the performance of quantum computers,” the spokesperson said. New ScientistBut when asked for clarification about who carried out the analysis and whether its findings would be made public, a spokesman declined to comment further.

of Wassenaar Agreement The system, which is followed by 42 participating countries including EU member states, the UK, the US, Canada, Russia, Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland, controls the export of items with potential military applications, known as dual-use technologies. The export ban on quantum computers also includes similar language regarding 34 qubits..

New Scientist We wrote to dozens of Wassenaar member states asking whether there was quantum-computer-level research that posed a risk to export, whether it had been made public, and who had conducted it. Only a few countries responded.

“We closely monitor other countries as they introduce national restrictions on certain technologies,” a spokesperson for the Swiss Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs, Education and Research said, “but in specific cases it is already possible to block the export of such technologies using existing mechanisms.”

“We are closely following the Wassenaar discussions on the exact technical control parameters for quantum.” Milan Godin, Belgian Advisor to the EU Working Party on Dual-Use Goods, Belgium. China does not appear to have implemented its own export controls yet, but Godin said quantum computers are a dual-use technology. It has the potential to crack commercial or government codes, and its speed could ultimately enable militaries to plan faster and better, including for nuclear missile attacks.

A spokesperson for Germany's Federal Office for Economics and Export Control confirmed that the export restrictions on quantum computers are the result of negotiations under the Wassenaar Agreement, but Germany does not appear to have implemented any restrictions. “The negotiations are confidential and unfortunately we cannot provide any details or information about the considerations of the restrictions,” the spokesperson said.

Christopher MonroeThe co-founder of quantum computing company IonQ said industry participants have been aware of similar bans and are discussing their criteria, but he doesn't know where they come from.

“I don't know who decided the logic behind these numbers,” he says, but it may have something to do with the threshold for simulating a quantum computer with a regular computer. This gets exponentially harder as the number of qubits increases, so Monroe thinks the rationale behind the ban may be to limit quantum computers that are too advanced to simulate, even though such devices have no practical use.

“It would be a mistake to think that just because we can't simulate the behavior of a quantum computer doesn't mean it's useful, and severely restricting research into advances in this grey area would certainly stifle innovation,” he says.

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  • Quantum Computing

Source: www.newscientist.com

Amazon to Implement Recycled Paper Packaging in North America

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Amazon has announced that it is making a switch from plastic air pillows to recycled paper in its packaging in North America. The company claims that this change is more environmentally friendly and that the paper filling is more efficient.

Amazon stated on Thursday that it has already replaced 95% of its plastic air pillows with paper filling in North America and aims to completely eliminate them by the end of the year.

The company’s goal is to ensure that customers receive their items intact while using minimal packaging to reduce waste and prioritize recyclable materials.

This initiative marks Amazon’s largest plastic packaging reduction effort to date in North America and is expected to eliminate the use of around 15 billion plastic air pillows per year.

For upcoming events such as Prime Day and the Christmas giveaway next month, Amazon has confirmed that plastic air pillows will not be included in the deliveries.

While environmental groups have criticized Amazon for its plastic use in the past, the company’s announcement has been met with some positive feedback. However, there are calls for Amazon to further reduce waste and explore innovative solutions like reusable packaging.

Amazon’s efforts to reduce plastic packaging have been welcomed, but there are ongoing discussions about the need for more sustainable practices and continued progress in waste reduction.

The company has revealed its annual use of single-use plastic for the first time in 2022, following demands from investors for transparency in waste reduction plans.

Amazon began transitioning away from plastic air pillows in October and has successfully implemented paper filling in its packaging, which offers the same or better protection during shipping compared to plastic air pillows.

The company’s ongoing initiatives include shipping products without additional packaging and collaborating with various organizations on recycling programs and waste reduction efforts.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Volkswagen, Porsche, and Audi to implement Tesla charging standards

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Volkswagen Group is the latest automaker to announce it will adopt Tesla’s so-called North American Charging Standard (NACS), and one of the last major automakers to adopt what is now the de facto EV plug in the United States. It becomes.

The German giant announced on Tuesday that future vehicles from its brand portfolio, which includes Audi, Porsche and the group’s emerging EV business Scout Motors, will include NACS charging ports from 2025.

Volkswagen Group was one of the last holdouts, but its charging network, Electrify America, recently announced plans to adopt the NACS standard. This is a strong sign that automakers aren’t far behind.

The announcement comes at the tail end of a queue of other automakers jumping on the charging standard, after Tesla announced last year that it would open up access.

Ford started this trend in May 2023 by announcing that EV owners would soon be the first to have access to approximately 12,000 Tesla chargers through adapters. Ford added that its next-generation EVs will be integrated with Tesla’s charging ports, called the North American Charging Standard (NACS), starting in 2025. Since then, major automakers such as GM, Rivian, Honda, Mercedes, Hyundai, Kia, Toyota, and recently Subaru have made their own announcements leveraging Tesla’s charging standards. Lucid, a small luxury EV company, announced in November that it would adopt the NAC standard.

Stellantis, the parent company of numerous brands including Jeep, Ram, Chrysler and Peugeot, does not participate in the NAC standard. The company previously told TechCrunch that it was evaluating charging standards.

Source: techcrunch.com