Breach

Facebook and Instagram owner claims charges should not be calculated based on a company’s global revenueMeta has launched a legal challenge against the UK’s media regulator over the fees and fines regime it is enforcing under landmark digital safety legislation.The Facebook and Instagram owner is claiming that Ofcom’s methodology for calculating the charges is flawed and should not be based on a company’s global revenue. Breaches of the Online Safety Act can be punished by fines of up to 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue (QWR) or £18m – depending which is higher. Continue reading...

• The World Economic Forum and KPMG released "Empowering Defenders: AI for Cybersecurity," a white paper showing organizations using AI extensively in security operations have reduced average breach costs by $1.9 million. • The study found AI deployment shortened breach lifecycles by approximately 80 days, with data from 20 partner case studies including IBM, Accenture, Check Point Software, ING, KPMG, and Saudi energy giant Aramco. • Ninety-four percent of cyber leaders surveyed called AI the defining force in cybersecurity, marking a shift from theoretical promise to quantified operational proof.

Ruling is blow to Office for Students after it issued fine for handling of protests over professor’s trans rights viewsSussex University has overturned a £585,000 fine by England’s higher education watchdog after the high court rejected claims the university had breached free speech regulations involving its former professor Kathleen Stock.The ruling is a damaging blow to the credibility and management of the Office for Students, after the court rejected the regulator’s lengthy investigation into Sussex’s handling of the protests aimed at Stock over her views on transgender rights and her subsequent resignation in 2021. Continue reading...

European Commission says tech company does not have effective measures to keep under-13s off Facebook and InstagramThe tech company Meta has been found to be in breach of EU law for failing to prevent children under 13 from using its Facebook and Instagram platforms.Issuing the preliminary findings of a nearly two-year investigation, the European Commission said on Wednesday that Meta did not have effective measures in place to stop under-13s accessing its services. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Officials warn department will lose access to database of 26,000 verified cases by cutting fundingThe Foreign Office unit tracking potential breaches of international law by Israel in Gaza and more recently Lebanon has been closed because of cuts within the department, the Guardian can reveal.The decision to shut the international humanitarian law cell follows a review by Olly Robbins, the permanent secretary at the Foreign Office dismissed last week by the prime minister over the Peter Mandelson scandal. Continue reading...

Iran seizes two ships in critical waterway as Washington and Tehran maintain separate blockades. Plus, Jodi Kantor on how to find a career you loveGood morning.Iranian forces have seized two ships in the strait of Hormuz as the US and Iran doubled down on imposing separate blockades of the shipping waterway.What has Donald Trump said? The US president announced that the US would extend the ceasefire with Iran until the country’s leaders came up with a “unified proposal” to US negotiating positions amid Tehran’s “seriously fractured” government. He had earlier threatened to renew bombing. White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said Trump was “satisfied” with the US naval blockade of Iranian ports and “understands Iran is in a very weak position”.This is a developing story. Follow the liveblog here.Who took part in the debate? The primetime showdown, hosted by Nexstar Media Group, featured two Republicans – Steve Hilton, the former Fox News host and director of strategy to the former UK prime minister David Cameron, and Chad Bianco, the sheriff of Riverside County – and the four leading Democrats: the billionaire Tom Steyer, the former health secretary Xavier Becerra, the former congresswoman Katie Porter and the San Jose mayor, Matt Mahan. Continue reading...

ECJ says law passed in 2021 discriminatory and ‘contrary to the identity of the union’, in early test for incoming PMThe EU’s highest court has found Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ+ law to be discriminatory, stigmatising and in breach of basic democratic values, setting up an early test for the incoming prime minister Péter Magyar’s government when it takes power next month.In a wide-ranging judgment, the European court of justice said the 2021 law that bans content about LGBTQ+ people from schools and primetime TV was at odds with a society based on pluralism and fundamental rights such as prohibition of discrimination and freedom of expression. Continue reading...

Analysis of six extreme heatwaves found when temperature and humidity were accounted for, all were potentially deadly for older peopleExtreme heat is already creating “non-survivable” conditions for humans in heatwaves that have killed thousands and likely many more, according to new research that warns people are more susceptible to rising temperatures than first thought.Scientists re-examined six extreme heatwaves between 2003 and 2024 and found that when temperature, humidity and the body’s ability to stay cool were accounted for, all were potentially deadly for older people. Continue reading...

Executive complaints unit finding relates to broadcast of N-word during awards ceremonyThe BBC breached its editorial standards by broadcasting a racial slur during the Bafta film awards ceremony in February, the corporation’s executive complaints unit has found.More details soon … Continue reading...

Dozens of videos have gone viral on TikTok and Instagram showing harassment of Palestinians and activistsTikTok has removed an account belonging to an ultranationalist, pro-settlement Israeli influencer for breaching hate speech and bullying rules after the Guardian flagged videos showing him harassing activists in the occupied West Bank.The Guardian has reviewed dozens of videos posted by various social media figures that have gone viral on TikTok and Instagram documenting the harassment of Palestinians as well as physical attacks on Israeli and international activists. Continue reading...

Judge says in verdict against Ben Jamal and Chris Nineham that conditions imposed were lawful and necessaryTwo prominent leaders in the Palestine solidarity movement in Britain have been found guilty of breaching protest conditions.Ben Jamal, 62, the director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), and Chris Nineham, 63, vice-chair of the Stop the War Coalition, were accused of failing to comply with conditions imposed on a protest on 18 January 2025. They were subsequently charged with public order offences. Continue reading...

Apple Distribution International, based in Ireland, made payments worth £635,000 to a Russian streaming serviceThe UK government has fined a subsidiary of Apple £390,000 for breaching sanctions against Moscow over payments it made to a Russian streaming platform.Apple Distribution International (ADI), based in the Republic of Ireland, instructed an unnamed UK-based bank to make two payments to a company owned by a sanctioned Russian entity. Continue reading...

Model posted picture of herself naked and pregnant, standing ‘in her full power’, to celebrate Mother’s Day It is a black-and-white photograph of a heavily pregnant Erin O’Connor touching her baby bump with an expression of maternal bliss on her face.For the 48-year-old model, who has worked for Dior, Versace, Alexander McQueen and Chanel, it conveys the “abundance of life being right there” under her fingertips when she was pregnant. Continue reading...

• Marquis Software Solutions filed a lawsuit against SonicWall, blaming it for a August 2025 cybersecurity breach that exposed data of over 400,000 people. • The suit claims hackers used credentials stolen in a prior SonicWall incident to bypass Marquis' firewall. • Marquis seeks damages for negligence, unjust enrichment, and indemnity, highlighting supply chain vulnerabilities in cybersecurity.

• US equity markets including S&P 500 fell 1.9% last week, breaching the 200-day moving average for the first time since May 2025 amid geopolitical tensions and inflation pressures. • Nasdaq 100 dropped 2.0% and Dow Jones 2.1%, with VIX near 27 and CNN Fear and Greed Index at 15 signaling high investor anxiety. • Persistent inflation data and fading AI optimism drove declines, positioning US Tech 100 below key moving averages with risks of further drops to 23,000.

• Swarms of high-tech drones entered airspace over a U.S. military base housing B-52 bombers and the Air Force's nuclear command, prompting law enforcement warnings of "a significant threat to public safety and national security." • The incident represents an escalation in reconnaissance or potential attack capabilities, occurring during the ongoing conflict with Iran in the Middle East. • Military and security officials are investigating the drone incursion and assessing vulnerabilities to critical U.S. defense infrastructure.

• Law enforcement warns of 'significant threat to public safety and national security' after swarms of high-tech drones entered airspace over a US base housing B-52 bombers and Air Force nuclear command. • The incident heightens tensions amid US military deployments to the Middle East and ongoing Iran conflict, raising fears of escalation or related threats. • This comes as Trump weighs de-escalation in Iran while oil prices surge, potentially linked to broader geopolitical risks affecting US homeland security.

• A hacker claims to have infiltrated a U.S. platform for searching law enforcement hotline messages, accessing over 8 million confidential tips. • The breach exposes sensitive crime reporting data, raising alarms about vulnerabilities in public safety communication systems. • This incident highlights ongoing risks to domestic law enforcement databases amid rising cyber threats.

Reform MP made Valentine’s Day clips for platform despite previous warning about commercial filmingNewly unearthed Nigel Farage videos reveal support for rioter, neo-Nazi event and far-right slogansThe Reform UK MP Lee Anderson has used his parliamentary office to record paid-for personalised messaging videos, in a possible breach of rules that prohibit the commercial use of the Palace of Westminster.Anderson, who had already been warned about commercial filming in Westminster, sold two videos filmed from what he called the “beating heart of democracy in Westminster” in early February 2025. Continue reading...

Experts say Nigel Farage’s party is not being transparent about how it will use data it collects on people’s voting habitsReform UK risks breaching data protection laws with its competition to win free energy bills for a year, lawyers and data experts have warned.Nigel Farage announced the lottery on Tuesday as a way to advertise his latest policy to cut energy bills. The Reform leader encouraged British people to sign up via a website, nigelcutmybills.com, for a chance to have their energy bills paid for a year, as well as those of their entire street. Continue reading...