Latest news with #TechDecoded
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Yahoo
Meta AI searches made public - but do all its users realise?
How would you feel if your internet search history was put online for others to see? That may be happening to some users of Meta AI without them realising, as people's prompts to the artificial intelligence tool - and the results - are posted on a public feed. One internet safety expert said it was "a huge user experience and security problem" as some posts are easily traceable, through usernames and profile pictures, to social media accounts. This means some people may be unwittingly telling the world about things they may not want others to know they have searched for - such as asking the AI to generate scantily-clad characters or help them cheat on tests. Meta has been contacted for comment. It is not clear if the users know that their searches are being posted into a public feed on the Meta AI app and website, though the process is not automatic. If people choose to share a post, a message pops up which says: "Prompts you post are public and visible to everyone... Avoid sharing personal or sensitive information." The BBC found several examples of people uploading photos of school or university test questions, and asking Meta AI for answers. One of the chats is titled "Generative AI tackles math problems with ease". There were also searches for women and anthropomorphic animal characters wearing very little clothing. One search, which could be traced back to a person's Instagram account because of their username and profile picture, asked Meta AI to generate an image of an animated character lying outside wearing only underwear. Meanwhile, tech news outlet TechCrunch has reported examples of people posting intimate medical questions - such as how to deal with an inner thigh rash. Meta AI, launched earlier this year, can be accessed through its social media platforms Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp. It is also available as a standalone product which has a public "Discover" feed. Users can opt to make their searches private in their account settings. Meta AI is currently available in the UK through a browser, while in the US it can be used through an app. In a press release from April which announced Meta AI, the company said there would be "a Discover feed, a place to share and explore how others are using AI". "You're in control: nothing is shared to your feed unless you choose to post it," it said. But Rachel Tobac, chief executive of US cyber security company Social Proof Security, posted on X saying: "If a user's expectations about how a tool functions don't match reality, you've got yourself a huge user experience and security problem." She added that people do not expect their AI chatbot interactions to be made public on a feed normally associated with social media. "Because of this, users are inadvertently posting sensitive info to a public feed with their identity linked," she said. Meta urged to go further in crackdown on 'nudify' apps WhatsApp defends 'optional' AI tool that cannot be turned off Sign up for our Tech Decoded newsletter to follow the world's top tech stories and trends. Outside the UK? Sign up here.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Yahoo
Meta sues app-maker as it cracks down on 'nudifying'
Meta has taken legal action against a company which ran ads on its platforms promoting so-called "nudify" apps, which typically using artificial intelligence (AI) to create fake nude images of people without their consent. It has sued the firm behind CrushAI apps to stop it posting ads altogether, following a cat-and-mouse battle to remove them over a series of months. In January, the blog FakedUp found 8,010 instances of ads from CrushAI promoting nudifying aps on Meta's Facebook and Instagram platforms. "This legal action underscores both the seriousness with which we take this abuse and our commitment to doing all we can to protect our community from it," Meta said in a blog post. "We'll continue to take the necessary steps - which could include legal action - against those who abuse our platforms like this." The growth of generative AI has led to a surge in "nudifying" apps in recent years. It has become such a pervasive issue that in April the children's commission for England called on the government to introduce legislation to ban them altogether. It is illegal to create or possess AI-generated sexual content featuring children. Meta said it had also made another change recently in a bid to deal with the wider problem of "nudify" apps online, by sharing information with other tech firms. "Since we started sharing this information at the end of March, we've provided more than 3,800 unique URLs to participating tech companies," it said. The firm accepted it had an issue with companies avoiding its rules to deploy adverts without its knowledge, such as creating new domain names to replace banned ones. It said it had developed new technology designed to identify such ads, even if they didn't include nudity. Nudify apps are just the latest example of AI being used to create problematic content on social media platforms. Another concern is the use of AI to create deepfakes - highly realistic images or videos of celebrities - to scam or mislead people. In June Meta's Oversight Board criticised a decision to leave up a Facebook post showing an AI-manipulated video of a person who appeared to be Brazilian football legend Ronaldo Nazário. Meta has previously attempted to combat scammers who fraudulently use celebrities in adverts by the use of facial recognition technology. It also requires political advertisers to declare the use of AI, because of fears around the impact of deepfakes on elections. How BBC investigation led to Apple removing AI 'nudify' apps Call for ban on AI apps creating naked images of children Sign up for our Tech Decoded newsletter to follow the world's top tech stories and trends. Outside the UK? Sign up here.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Yahoo
4chan and porn site investigated by Ofcom over online safety
The online message board 4chan is being investigated by the UK communications regulator over failure to comply with recently introduced online safety rules. Ofcom says it has received complaints over potential illegal content on the website, which has not responded to its requests for information. Under the Online Safety Act, online services must assess the risk of UK users encountering illegal content and activity on their platforms, and take steps to protect them from it. Ofcom is also investigating porn provider First Time Videos over its age verification checks, and seven file sharing services over potential child sexual abuse material. 4chan has been contacted for comment. Ofcom says it requested 4chan's risk assessment in April but has not had any response. The regulator will now investigate whether the platform "has failed, or is failing, to comply with its duties to protect its users from illegal content". It would not say what kind of illegal content it is investigating. Ofcom has the power to fine companies up to 10% of their global revenues, or £18m - whichever is the greater number. 4chan has often been at the heart of online controversies in its 22 years, including misogynistic campaigns and conspiracy theories. Users are anonymous, which can often lead to extreme content being posted. It was the subject of an alleged hack earlier this year, which took parts of the website down for over a week. How can you keep your child safe online? Seven file sharing services also failed to respond to requests for information from the regulator. They are Krakenfiles, Nippybox, Nippydrive, Nippyshare, Nippyspace and Yolobit. Ofcom also says it has received complaints over potential child sexual abuse material being shared on these platforms. Separately, porn provider First Time Videos, which runs two websites, is being investigated into whether it has adequate age checks in place to stop under-18s accessing its sites. Platforms which host age-restricted content must have "robust" age checks in place by July. Ofcom does not specify exactly what this means, but some platforms have been trialling age verification using facial scanning to estimate a user's age. Social media expert Matt Navarra told BBC News earlier this year facial scanning could become the norm in the UK. Two porn sites investigated for suspected age check failings Pornhub leaves France over age verification law Sign up for our Tech Decoded newsletter to follow the world's top tech stories and trends. Outside the UK? Sign up here.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NatWest apologises as banking app goes offline
NatWest has apologised after customers were left unable to use its mobile banking app in the UK, preventing some from accessing their bank accounts. More than 3,000 people have reported problems on outage-checking site Downdetector since the issues first emerged at 0910 GMT. The firm said on its service status website that its online banking service was still working normally - though this has been disputed by some customers. Card payments are unaffected. "We are aware that customers are experiencing difficulties accessing the NatWest mobile banking app this morning," a NatWest spokesperson told the BBC. "We're really sorry about this and working to fix it as quickly as possible." Customers have taken to social media to complain about the impact the IT failure is having on them. One person said they had to "put back my shopping because of it", while another said they were "waiting to go shopping" but couldn't transfer money to do so. NatWest has advised customers on social media that it has "no timeframe" for a fix, but said its team is "working hard" to resolve it. Customers are being advised to access their accounts in other ways if they can - such as through online banking. However, some people have reported problems with NatWest's online service too, with one sharing an error message which they said was displayed when they tried to make a payment. Others have expressed frustration with the bank's response, with one saying it was "disgraceful" there was no timeframe, while another called it "very poor service". "What I don't get is the bank closes loads of branches 'to save money' and forcing people to rely on the app and online banking... but clearly hasn't invested in a system that works properly," one angry customer said. This is the latest in a long line of banking outages. In May, a number of major banks disclosed that 1.2m people were affected by them in the UK in 2024. According to a report in March, nine major banks and building societies have had around 803 hours - the equivalent of 33 days - of tech outages since 2023. Inconvenient for customers, outages come at a cost to the banks, too. The Commons Treasury Committee found Barclays could face compensation payments of £12.5m over outages since 2023. Over the same period, Natwest has paid £348,000, HSBC has paid £232,697, and Lloyds has paid £160,000. Other banks have paid smaller sums. Banks to pay customers millions after month's worth of IT outages Cyber-attack threat keeps me awake at night, bank boss says Sign up for our Tech Decoded newsletter to follow the world's top tech stories and trends. Outside the UK? Sign up here.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NatWest apologises as banking app goes offline
NatWest has apologised after customers were left unable to use its mobile banking app in the UK, leaving some unable to access their bank accounts. More than 3,000 people have reported the problem on outage-checking site Downdetector since the issues first emerged at 0910 GMT. The firm said on its service status website that its online banking service was still working normally, as were card payments. "We're sorry for any inconvenience caused and we're working hard getting everything back up and running for you," it said. The BBC has approached NatWest for comment. Customers have taken to social media to complain about the impact the IT failure is having on them. One person said they had to "put back my shopping because of it", while another said they were "waiting to go shopping" but couldn't transfer money to do so. NatWest has advised customers on social media that it has "no timeframe" for a fix, but said its team is "working hard" to resolve it. Customers are being advised to access their accounts in other ways if they can - such as through online banking. It is the latest in a long line of banking outages. It emerged in May that 1.2m people were affected by them in the UK in 2024. Banks to pay customers millions after month's worth of IT outages Cyber-attack threat keeps me awake at night, bank boss says Sign up for our Tech Decoded newsletter to follow the world's top tech stories and trends. Outside the UK? Sign up here.
