All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links.
Get WIRED's daily briefing in your inbox. Sign up here
Unauthorised drones suspend flights at Gatwick airport
All flights to and from Gatwick airport have been suspended following reports of two unknown drones flying over the airfield (BBC News). The drones were first seen at around 21:00, prompting an immediate shutdown and the redirection of inbound flights, and then reappeared shortly after the airport reopened at 03:01. Gatwick has been closed to air traffic since 03:45 and travellers are advised to check with their airline for details of flight changes.
Facebook explains messenger integrations
Facebook has defended its recently-reported practice of giving companies such as Spotify access to users' private message as part of a legitimate opt-in integration to allow people to easily share and discuss their activities on other platforms (Ars Technica).
However, although this week's New York Times report into the company's various data-sharing practices could be regarded as somewhat hyperbolic, people are increasingly unhappy with Facebook's long-standing lack of transparency. The company now faces a US lawsuit over Cambridge Analytica and a new summons to appear before Parliament in the UK.
Google Play kids' apps accused of exposing children to harm
A coalition of US consumer groups has called upon regulators to investigate the way Google's Play Store markets apps to children (TechCrunch). The key complaint is that Google is not ensuring that apps listed for kids under 13 in its family section abide by privacy and data protection laws, but other factors include manipulative in-game purchases, adverts for alcohol and gambling, and content modelling harmful behaviour such as cleaning eyes with sharp objects.
Forget dot com, 2019 will finally be the year of weird domain names
The latest registration figures released by Verisign, an internet network company that oversees some domain name endings, seem to indicate that after a rocky few years, new generic top-level domain names (gTLDs) may finally be finding their niche in the marketplace against the might of dot-com (WIRED). Registrations for new gTLDs rose by nearly 11 per cent in the last year, compared to an average 3.5 per cent increase across the entire domain landscape, and one in five domain name registrations in the last year were on new gTLDs.
A Tesla has driven around Elon Musk's Boring test track
Boring Company, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has once again revealed his gift for showmanship with the unveiling of a 1.6km underground tunnel loop that a Tesla Model X can drive round using special tracking wheels to keep it in position (The Guardian). It looks very impressive, particularly in video footage captured by the BBC, but Musk has to yet to demonstrate how his underground structures – which he proposes will carry cars – will fundamentally improve on existing underground transport networks.
Podcast 397: Our heroes of 2018
Listen now, subscribe via RSS or add to iTunes.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
