Today is National Get Online Day – honest…! It’s an initiative from the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills. Mmmm. There’s the first mistake – to separate universities and skills from the Department of Education (now called the Department for Children Schools and Families). Do you get the picture? Here’s

The UK’s Children’s Minister was launching the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS)yesterday. In essence, it seems a good idea, but as ever the politicians have failed to think deeply enough. We already have the Internet Watch Foundation and the NSPCC, which does significant amounts of work for children

So, Whitehouse-hopeful Sarah Palin has had her email account attacked by hackers. It’s no surprise that some people might want to do this; after all she represents an extreme viewpoint in the USA. What is surprising and troubling is that a public figure had two email accounts on a public

Everton fan Andy Burnham is “in charge” of the media in the UK since he is the Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport. However, rumours reach me that he is considering setting up the equivalent of the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) for the Internet. The PCC is an

Ed Balls, the Secretary of State for Education in the UK, wants “cyberbullying” of teachers to be a disciplinary offence. Apparently, school pupils sometimes ridicule their teachers in online chat rooms and on social networking sites. Well knock me down with a feather, there’s a shock. Look, Mr Balls, children

Alistair Darling’s first budget didn’t make good reading for anyone who drinks, smokes, drives cars or goes shopping. If you’re a 90-year-old clean-living, self-sufficient hermit, though, you’ll be OK as you’re getting a heating handout. Year in, year out Chancellors produce budgets that we all moan about. And every year

So, the British Government is suggesting that people who download things illegally should have their Internet access cut. Whoopee doo, let’s deal with those naughty people. Cracked it. Er…not. Firstly, people can easily hide their illegal downloads. Even if ISPs could ban people from using their systems, they’d have to

Hundreds of thousands of Internet shoppers are disappointed this week because Tesco has had to take down its online house sales section. It may sound daft, but people do go “shopping” for the biggest purchase in their life – a house – online. Internet estate agency is big business. However,