Judge Timothy Fancourt ruled that Mirror newspapers had hired private investigators to snoop for personal information and engaged in illegal phone hacking for well over a decade.
It’s the latest chapter in a tale of tabloid power and attempts to tame it stretching back years — but it’s unlikely to be the end of the story.
WHAT IS PHONE HACKING?
In the pre-digital era, Britain’s fiercely competitive tabloid newspapers sold millions of copies a day and would go to great lengths to get scoops, including by using underhanded techniques.
One method was phone hacking — calling someone’s number and punching in 0000 or another default PIN number in hope that would give access to their voice messages. Often, it did.
Targets included members of the royal family, politicians, athletes, celebrities, friends and family of famous people and ordinary citizens who found themselves caught in the public eye.
Fancourt said in his ruling that phone hacking was “habitual” at Mirror newspapers as far back as 1998, and went on until at least 2011.
WHEN DID THE PUBLIC FIND OUT ABOUT IT?
The first most people knew about phone hacking was when the royal editor of the News of the World and a private investigator for the paper were jailed in 2007 for eavesdropping on messages left by Prince William and others on the phones of royal aides.
The paper’s owner, Rupert Murdoch, dismissed the wrongdoing as the work of two rogue employees. Then, in 2011, it emerged that the News of the World had hacked the phone of Milly Dowler, a 13-year-old girl who was abducted and later found murdered.
The outcry opened the floodgates on a scandal that forced Murdoch to shut down the 168-yearold tabloid, Britain’s best-selling newspaper.
Denne historien er fra Techlife News #634-utgaven av Techlife News.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra Techlife News #634-utgaven av Techlife News.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
CALIFORNIA SUES EXXONMOBIL AND SAYS IT LIED ABOUT PLASTICS RECYCLING
California sued ExxonMobil this week, alleging the oil giant deceived the public for half a century by promising that the plastics it produced would be recycled.
STRIKE BY MORE THAN 1,000 SAMSUNG WORKERS ENTERS A THIRD WEEK IN INDIA
A strike by more than 1,000 workers at a Samsung India Electronics plant has entered its third week, and management is at an impasse over their demands for recognition of the employees’ union and higher pay, a workers union spokesman said,
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION SEEKS TO BAN CHINESE RUSSIAN TECH IN US AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES
The Commerce Department said this week it’s seeking a ban on the sale of connected and autonomous vehicles in the U.S. that are equipped with Chinese and Russian software and hardware with the stated goal of protecting national security and U.S. drivers. `
GOOGLE BEGINS ITS DEFENSE IN ANTITRUST CASE ALLEGING MONOPOLY OVER ADVERTISING TECHNOLOGY
Google opened its defense against allegations that it holds an illegal monopoly on online advertising technology with witness testimony saying the industry is vastly more complex and competitive than portrayed by the federal government.
PHONE DEAL FOR VISITING FANS AT 2026 WORLD CUP PART OF VERIZON SPONSOR PACT WITH FIFA
Soccer fans arriving in North America for the 2026 World Cup have been promised help with their cell phone coverage from Verizon as part of a sponsor deal with FIFA announced this week.
UN EXPERTS URGE UNITED NATIONS TO LAY FOUNDATIONS FOR GLOBAL GOVERNANCE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
A high-powered U.N. advisory body said that global governance of artificial intelligence is “imperative” and urged the United Nations to lay the foundations for the first inclusive global institutions to regulate the fast-growing technology.
CALIFORNIA BECOMES LATEST STATE TO RESTRICT STUDENT SMARTPHONE USE AT SCHOOL
School districts in California will have to create rules restricting student smartphone use under a new law Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed this week.
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE SUES VISA. ALLEGES 7 THE CARD ISSUER MONOPOLIZES DEBIT CARD MARKETS
The U.S. Justice Department has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Visa, alleging that the financial services behemoth uses its size and dominance to stifle competition in the debit card market, costing consumers and businesses billions of dollars.
ALMOST ALL SMALL BUSINESSES ARE USING A SOFTWARE TOOL THAT IS ENABLED BY AI
As the use of artificial intelligence is expands, more small firms say they’re harnessing AI to help their businesses.
APPLE BEGINS TESTING AI SOFTWARE DESIGNED TO BRING A SMARTER SIRI TO THE IPHONE 16
Apple is giving more people the chance to test a software update that will implant artificial intelligence into its virtual assistant Siri and automate a variety of tedious tasks on the latest iPhone coming out.