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  • Warning over risky electric blankets sold online

    Warning over risky electric blankets sold online

    Illegal electric blankets are being sold online which could cause electric shocks, a consumer group warns.

    Which? found some of the products being sold are made “so poorly” they could pose “a serious risk”.

    Separately charity Electrical Safety First says it found “highly dangerous” electrical products for sale by third party sellers online.

    It wants new regulations to bolster consumer protection.

    The cost of living crisis has seen a huge rise in the popularity of electric blankets as people try to minimise use of their central heating.

    Nine out of the 11 electric blankets, throws and shawls Which? bought from third-party sellers on AliExpress, Amazon, eBay and Wish should not be sold legally in the UK.

    The consumer champion group identified problems with how the products are made, the packaging, markings and instructions.

    Which? found some products with electric wires that could easily be pulled out and others lacked the proper safety standard marks. 

    In addition to safety concerns, some of the blankets were incredibly inefficient and did not work properly. 

    All those flagged by Which? as having issues have now been removed by the online marketplaces.

    Which? is calling for sites to bear more legally responsibility for allowing unsafe and illegal products to be sold on their platform.

    The current approach puts most of the responsibility on the third-party sellers.

    Sue Davies, head of consumer protection policy at Which? said buying these products cheaply on online marketplaces can put people’s safety at risk. 

    “The government must urgently act to give online marketplaces greater legal responsibility for unsafe and illegal products sold on their sites so that consumers are no longer put at unnecessary risk of harm,” she said. 

    Last week a Private Member’s Bill was tabled by Labour MP for Gateshead, Ian Mearns, to implement more regulation in this area.

    The Bill, supported by the charity Electrical Safety First, aimed to “close a gap in the law” which has allowed online marketplaces to operate “without any responsibility” for ensuring that the products sold via their sites are actually safe. 

    Electrical Safety First found “highly dangerous” electrical products for sale by third party sellers across major online marketplaces, including Amazon Marketplace, eBay, Facebook Marketplace and Wish.com.

    Boss Lesley Rudd said: “Households are perpetually being left at risk from products, such as dangerous electric blankets, as people seek to keep heating costs down. 

    “Without changes to the law, people will continue to be left exposed and vulnerable.”

    AliExpress, Amazon, eBay and Wish.com all said they take safety very seriously and removed the listings that Which? flagged to them.

    None of the third-party sellers of the products provided a comment to Which?

  • Photo of a man posing with a Coca-Cola bottle in 1981 symbolized a cultural shift in China

    Photo of a man posing with a Coca-Cola bottle in 1981 symbolized a cultural shift in China

    A young man stands grinning in Beijing’s Forbidden City. It’s the dead of winter, and one of his hands is buried deep into the pockets of his long overcoat to protect it from the chill. The other grasps the unmistakable contours of a glass Coca-Cola bottle.

    Today, Coke is the world’s most famous soft drink and can be found just about anywhere. But back in 1981, when the image was shot by Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Liu Heung Shing, it was only just getting into the hands of ordinary Chinese people.

    Liu, who was in his late 20s when he began working for Time magazine in Beijing, felt the country was on the cusp of a great cultural shift following the death of Mao Zedong in 1976.

    “The changes (at first) were subtle, and unless you lived there, you wouldn’t have noticed,” he recalled during an interview at his home in Hong Kong.

    He had earlier photographed people grieving for Mao along the banks of the Pearl River in Guangzhou. It was here that he was struck by how differently people carried themselves compared to what he had seen in late-1950s China, where he grew up during the disastrous Great Leap Forward campaign — a series of failed industrialization policies — before moving back to Hong Kong as a child.

    Under Mao, the country went on to suffer from widespread famine and poverty, and the tumultuous years of the Cultural Revolution. But in the aftermath of the Chinese leader’s death, Liu said, “suddenly, people’s steps looked a little bit lighter, they dropped their shoulders and their faces looked more relaxed.”

    It would prove to be a relatively liberal period in Chinese history — politically, economically, and in terms of everyday life, which Liu captured in candid shots. One photo from the time showed a plastic surgeon and his client after a cosmetic procedure. Another depicted people gathering at a “Democracy Wall” in Beijing, where they wrote now-unthinkable criticisms of the government.

    One of Liu’s most iconic images was captured on his way into the Time bureau after he had a strange feeling that something was “missing.” He turned his car around and, sure enough, a large portrait of Mao that had once hung prominently on a building had been freshly taken down. He quickly shot images of workers gathered around the depiction of the late Chairman, with some of their scaffolding visible in the frame.

  • Government promises robust crypto regulation

    Government promises robust crypto regulation

    The government has published proposals for crypto-asset regulation it hopes will “manage” the risks of the “turbulent industry”. 

    The sector has had a calamitous year, with assets collapsing in value by an estimated 75% from their peak of about $3 trillion in November 2021.

    Ministers estimate up to 10% of UK adults now own some form of crypto.

    They plan to use existing regulations for the industry, rather than creating a bespoke regime.

    The Treasury says that will allow crypto to benefit from the “confidence, credibility and regulatory clarity” of the existing system for financial services, as set out in the UK’s Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA).

    It wants to create a level playing field between traditional and emerging financial services, where the principle is “same risk, same regulatory outcome”.

    But it also acknowledges some crypto businesses may simply choose to continue operating in offshore jurisdictions that “do not impose equivalent market-abuse rules”.

    The Treasury says its proposals – which it’s now consulting on – will:

    • lay down rules on crypto-asset promotions which are fair, clear and not misleading
    • enhance data-reporting requirements, including with regulators
    • implement new regulations to prevent so-called pump and dump, where an individual artificially inflates the value of a crypto asset before selling it

    Ministers say the measures will “mitigate the most significant risks” of crypto technologies, while “harnessing their advantages”. 

    Economic Secretary to the Treasury Andrew Griffith said the government remained “steadfast in our commitment to grow the economy and enable technological change and innovation – and this includes crypto-asset technology”.

    “But we must also protect consumers who are embracing this new technology – ensuring robust, transparent and fair standards,” he added.

  • Madison Square Garden CEO doubles down on the use of facial recognition tech

    Madison Square Garden CEO doubles down on the use of facial recognition tech

    The chief executive of the Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corporation has doubled down on using facial recognition at its venues to bar lawyers suing the group from attending events.

    Speaking to Fox 5 on Thursday, MSG Executive Chairman and CEO James Dolan said Madison Square Garden is a private company and therefore entitled to determine who is allowed to enter its venues for events.

    “At Madison Square Garden, if you’re suing us, we’re just asking of you – please don’t come until you’re done with your argument with us,” he said. “And yes, we’re using facial recognition to enforce that.”

    His comments come after New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday sent a letterto MSG Entertainment requesting information regarding its use of facial recognition technology to prohibit legitimate ticketholders from entering venues. The letter said the attorney general’s office has reviewed reports MSG Entertainment has used facial recognition to identify and deny entry to multiple lawyers affiliated with law firms involved in ongoing litigation with the company. The letter indicates thousands of attorneys from around 90 law firms may have been impacted by the policy and said the ban includes those holding season tickets.

    attorney general’s letter raised the concern that banning individuals from accessing venues over ongoing litigation may violate local, state, and federal human rights laws, including laws prohibiting retaliation. The letter also questions whether the facial recognition software used by MSG Entertainment is reliable and what safeguards are in place to avoid bias and discrimination.

    In a press release, James said, “MSG Entertainment cannot fight their legal battles in their own arenas. Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall are world-renowned venues and should treat all patrons who purchased tickets with fairness and respect. Anyone with a ticket to an event should not be concerned that they may be wrongfully denied entry based on their appearance, and we’re urging MSG Entertainment to reverse this policy.”

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