Home Office contractor collected data on UK citizens while checking migrants’ finances

The Home Office has been accused of collecting data on “hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting British citizens” while conducting financial checks on migrants.A report by a private contractor for a routine immigration application was mistakenly sent to a charity by a government official, and contained information on more than 260 people including their names, dates of birth and electoral roll data.Their only connection to the applicant appears to be that they previously lived or worked in the same address or postcode area, but some of the people listed had left as far back as 1986. The document, seen by the Observer, was generated by the credit reporting firm Equifax on 25 June 2024 and was emailed to a caseworker from the Refugee and Migrant Forum of Essex and London (Ramfel) later the same day.It was drawn up for an immigration fee waiver application, which requires financial checks to verify that people cannot afford to pay the normal fee for their visa, immigration or nationality applications

Don’t gift our work to AI billionaires: Mark Haddon, Michael Rosen and other creatives urge government

Original British art and creative skill is in peril thanks to the rise of AI and the government’s plans to loosen ­copyright rules, some of the UK’s leading cultural figures have said.More than 2,000 people, including leading creative names such as Mark Haddon, Axel Scheffler, Benji Davies and Michael Rosen, have signed a ­letter published in the Observer today calling on the government to keep the legal safeguards that offer artists and writers the prospect of a ­sustainable income.The urgent plea, highlighting the impact on books, comes after stars including Sir Elton John, Joan Armatrading and Simon Cowell sounded the alarm about the effect on the music industry of the impending copyright exemption. John predicted the proposal “would devastate our creative community”, while helping “powerful foreign technology companies”.The letter specifically targets a clause of the government’s ­upcoming AI Opportunity Action Plan, which argues that an end to copyright restrictions and intellectual property law is needed to allow greater data-mining of artwork and writing

Crypto and big tech’s backing pays off as Trump makes tech-friendly moves

The millions that US tech companies invested in currying favor with Donald Trump seemed to pay off this week as the new administration issued a flurry of directives that relaxed regulations and dropped lawsuits previously aimed at holding the industry to account. Crypto, AI and social media companies, many of which made donations to Trump, are all expecting to benefit.At the center of the administration’s moves is Elon Musk, the world’s richest man. Over the past week, federal agencies under the president’s authority dropped legal fights against his rocket company and the US’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange. The White House also issued a “deregulatory initiative” aimed at loosening tech-sector regulation by empowering Musk’s Doge

Elton John calls for UK copyright rules rethink to protect creators from AI

Sir Elton John has called on the government to rethink proposals involving the relaxation of copyright rules in the hope of protecting creative talent from AI.The singer and songwriter is among a growing list of public figures to express concerns about plans that would allow tech firms to use online material, including creative work, for AI without permission.Under current government proposals, creators would need to opt out of their work being used, however some of the campaign’s advocates, including Simon Cowell and the author Kate Mosse, have called for an opt-in system to be put in place.“We only achieved that success with the backing of our longstanding copyright protection – the world’s gold standard,” John told the Daily Mail, while highlighting the industry’s impact on creating jobs and economic growth.“The music community has always been quick to adopt new technologies … but adoption of this copyright exception would destroy the UK’s leadership that has been hard won, and what’s worse, it would give it all away

How to navigate apps, from checking safety to remembering passwords

With more and more organisations asking you to download an app to access the best deals, or even use their services at all, you may be wondering how to deal with the technical side of all of this technology. Fear not, our consumer technology editor, Samuel Gibbs, has some tips.Delete unused apps and games.Move photos and videos to iCloud, Google Photos or similar.Clear out your WhatsApp photos, videos and gifs

How poignant to see loved ones frozen in time on Google Street View | Letters

All the overwhelming opposing emotions that Adrian Chiles went through happened to me too when I casually looked at our street on Google Maps (My dad died a year ago – and a photo of him on Google Street View brought me up short, 19 February). There was the palliative care nurse at our front door waiting to be let in, standing by our small red car. My husband had terminal cancer and this amazing nurse was incredibly supportive to all of us. The car was his little runaround while he was still able to drive. The picture must have been taken in 2017, not long before he died