Phone News

People's medical records will be combined with social and smartphone surveillance to predict who will pick up bad habits and stop them getting ill, under radical government proposals.

Matt Hancock, the health secretary, is planning a system of predictive prevention, in which algorithms will trawl data on individuals to send targeted health nags to those flagged as having propensities to health problems, such as taking up smoking or becoming obese.

The creepy plans have already attracted privacy concerns among doctors and campaigners, who say that the project risks backfiring by scaring people or being seen to be abusing public trust in NHS handling of sensitive information.

A representative for games developer EA has announced on an online forum that The Sims mobile game The Sims: Freeplay would no longer be available in seven countries: China, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and Egypt.

A spokesperson said that in light of regional standards the game would no longer be updated.? EA did not confirm the exact nature of these regional standards, prompting many fans to speculate that the ban was caused by the game's explicit LGBT content. The EA spokesperson wrote:

We've always been proud that our in-game experiences embrace values as broad and diverse as our incredible Sims community. This has been important to us, as we know it is to you.

Users who had already downloaded the game would still be able to use it, however, the game will not be updated and may eventually be rendered obsolete. Players will also not be able to make in-game purchases.

The popular EA life simulation video game includes diverse elements such as same-sex weddings and gay adoptions, and male pregnancies. The game let players pick whether the sim had a feminine or masculine frame and allowed players to decide whether their sim stood to use the toilet.

The use of 'mobile phone extraction' tools enables police forces to download all of the content and data from people's phones. This can apply to suspects, witnesses and even victims -- without their knowledge.

With no clear policies or guidance on the use of this technology, individuals are unaware of their legal rights in terms of:

• whether data is only taken when necessary and proportionate;

• getting the police to delete this data when there is no legal reason to retain it, particularly if they are innocent of any crime;

• ensuring data is held securely to prevent exposure of their personal data as a result of loss of records, misuse or security breach.

As the use of this technology is unregulated, we don't know how this data is used, how it is stored and secured, and if it's ever even deleted.

Privacy International is calling for:

• the use of this intrusive technology is properly regulated, with independent oversight so that abuse and misuse does not go undetected;

• a proper warrantry regime to be implemented, so that the technology cannot be used arbitrarily;

• people to be informed of their rights if the police want to search their phone.