The Guardian

Move follows Guardian revelations of Israel’s mass surveillance of Palestinians using Microsoft cloud Irish authorities have been formally asked to investigate Microsoft over alleged unlawful data processing by the Israeli Defense Forces. The complaint has been made by the human rights group the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) to the Data Protection Commission, which has legal responsibi…

The demand for use in cooling in Sydney alone is expected to exceed the volume of Canberra’s total drinking water within the next decade Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here As Australia rides the AI boom with dozens of new investments in datacentres in Sydney and Melbourne, experts are warning about the impact these massive projects will have on…

Once home to gold and prospectors, the Nevada desert is now the site of a new kind of expansion: tech data centers Driving down the interstate through the dry Nevada desert, there are few signs that a vast expanse of new construction is hiding behind the sagebrush-covered hills. But, just beyond a massive power plant and transmission towers that march up into the dusty brown mountains, lies one o…

The new Data (Use and Access) Act, which criminalises intimate image abuse, is a huge victory won fast in a space where progress is often glacially slow For Jodie*, watching the conviction of her best friend, and knowing she helped secure it, felt at first like a kind of victory. It was certainly more than most survivors of deepfake image-based abuse could expect. They had met as students and bon…

AVS Group, which runs 18 websites, has 72 hours to make changes required by UK’s Online Safety Act A pornography company that runs 18 adult websites has been fined £1m by the watchdog Ofcom for not having strong enough age checks. AVS Group Ltd has been hit with the fine, plus a further £50,000 for failing to respond to information requests. Continue reading...

As the Grand Theft Auto co-writer launches a new project, he reflects on his hugely successful open-world adventures and where game design might go next • Don’t get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up here It is hard to think of a more modern entertainment format than the open-world video game. These sprawling technological endeavours, which mix narrative, social connectivity and the…

Tech companies including Apple and Google made it clear they would not comply due to privacy concerns India’s government has backtracked on an order for all smartphones to be pre-installed with a state-owned security app after a mass outcry over privacy concerns and refusal by technology companies to comply. The department of telecommunications confirmed it had revoked its previous order for all …

PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox; Eyes Out/Blumhouse Games Psychedelic visuals and a promising premise are let down by tired game design in this first-person horror with an appearance from the synthpop pioneer Video games have delivered a feast of singular and wondrous sights in 2025: ecological fantasias teeming with magical beasts; stunning, historically obsessive recreations of feudal Japan . But here …

Researchers uncovered 354 AI-focused accounts that had accumulated 4.5bn views in a month Hundreds of accounts on TikTok are garnering billions of views by pumping out AI-generated content, including anti-immigrant and sexualised material, according to a report. Researchers said they had uncovered 354 AI-focused accounts pushing 43,000 posts made with generative AI tools and accumulating 4.5bn vi…

Australia’s under-16s social media ban might take weeks to work but all platforms are on notice, government says Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast YouTube will comply with the federal government’s under-16s social media ban, but its parent company Google has warned the laws “won’t keep teens safer online” and “funda…

Independent senator David Pocock asked the eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, in Senate estimates last night about Guardian Australia’s investigation into Roblox and what children may experience on the platform. With Roblox not subject to the under-16s social media ban, Pocock asked whether Roblox was deemed as a gaming platform or a platform that is 'actually enabling social interactions'.…

Nintendo Switch/Switch 2 (version tested); Retro Studios/Nintendo The bounty hunter – Nintendo’s most badass and most neglected hero – returns in an atmospheric throwback sci-fi adventure that’s entirely untroubled by the conventions of modern game design In a frozen laboratory full of cryogenically suspended experimental life forms, metal boots disturb the frost. A lone bounty hunter in a famili…

From TheraGuns to koala breathing lights, here are good gizmos for mom, whether your budget is $20 or $220 The 163 best holiday gift ideas for 2025, vetted by the Guardian US staff Sign up for the Filter US newsletter, your weekly guide to buying fewer, better things The best gift you can give a mom this holiday season is some time to herself. A day with no responsibilities where everyone else ha…

The use of ‘nudify’ apps is becoming more and more prevalent, with hundreds of teachers having seen images created by pupils, often of their peers. The fallout is huge – and growing fast ‘It worries me that it’s so normalised. He obviously wasn’t hiding it. He didn’t feel this was something he shouldn’t be doing. It was in the open and people saw it. That’s what was quite shocking.” A headteacher…

As the Xbox 360 turns 20, we celebrate its most influential and memorable games – both exclusives, and those that came to the console first Originally featured as a minigame in Project Gotham, this 80s-style twin-stick shooter was rebuilt as a standalone digital-only release, attracting a huge new fanbase. Fast, frenetic and super stylish, with lovely vector visuals, it was the game that first sh…