Woman sues over fake Facebook page

8 October 2014 Last updated at 13:16

A woman is suing the US government after it created a fake Facebook page containing photos of her, including one that showed her half-clothed.

The Department of Justice acknowledged that one of its agents had created the page without telling Sondra Arquiett.

But it initially suggested that Ms Arquiett had "implicitly consented" to the action because she had granted officers access to her mobile phone.

The DoJ said it was now reviewing if the bogus page had been a step too far.

A trial is scheduled for next week in New York, with the US government and the Drugs Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent, Timothy Sinnigen, both named as defendants.

The case dates back four years, but was first reported by the news site Buzzfeed.

Pictures of children

The fake Facebook page was created after restaurant waitress Ms Arquiett was arrested in July 2010, and accused of being involved in a drugs ring.

She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, and was later sentenced to six months of weekend incarceration.

At the time of her arrest, Ms Arquiett surrendered her mobile phone and consented to officers accessing its data to help them with related criminal investigations.

This included an investigation into her boyfriend, Jermaine Branford, who was suspected of co-ordinating drug sales. He later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

Ms Arquiett said she was not, however, notified that this operation would involve the creation of a "publicly available" Facebook page in the name of Sondra Prince, an alias she used.

It included photographs of her as well as images of her son and niece.

One photograph, her lawyers said, featured "the plaintiff in her bra and panties".

"When plaintiff learned of Sinnigen's actions, she suffered fear and great emotional distress because, by posing as her on Facebook, Sinnigen had created the appearance that plaintiff was wilfully co-operating in his investigation of the narcotics trafficking ring, thereby placing her in danger," they added.

Ms Arquiett said the action had breached her rights to privacy, equal protection under the law and due process, and has demanded more than $250,000 (£155,560) in damages.

The US government acknowledged that Mr Sinnigen had created the page and had used it to send a "friend" request to a wanted fugitive as well as accepting requests from others, but denied it had been made "publicly available" in a wider sense.

However, Buzzfeed and the Associated Press news agency were both able to access the page before it was taken offline.

The US government also recognised that one of the photos included showed Ms Arquiett "wearing either a two-piece bathing suit or a bra and underwear," but denied that the photograph should be characterised as being "suggestive".

'Laughable'

Regarding the wider allegation, the US government stated that Ms Arquiett had "relinquished any expectation of privacy she may have had to photographs on her cell phone" when she agreed to let officers search and use information on the device.

However, it acknowledged that she "did not give express permission for the use of photographs contained on her phone on an undercover Facebook page".

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a US-based online privacy campaign group, has described the government's rationale as being "laughable".

But legal experts have said that the case might hang on exactly what Ms Arquiett had consented to.

Facebook's terms and conditions state that users cannot create accounts for others without permission, but a spokeswoman for the firm declined to comment on this specific instance.

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ATM hack 'gives out wads of cash'

8 October 2014 Last updated at 14:28 By Dave Lee Technology reporter, BBC News

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WATCH: Kaspersky Lab published this clip showing the hack. Each attack requires a unique code on a pre-infected machine. Repeating the steps here will not produce the same result.

A flaw in cash machines that allows criminals to quickly steal wads of cash has been discovered.

Interpol has alerted countries in Europe, Latin America and Asia known to have been targeted - and is carrying out a widespread investigation.

Security firm Kaspersky Labs discovered the hack, which is enabled by entering a series of digits on the keypad.

Infected cash machines can be instructed to dispense 40 notes at once, without a credit or debit card.

Kaspersky Labs produced a video showing how the hack was carried out. More details were provided in a blog post.

Prior to trying to obtain the cash, targeted machines are infected with malicious software via a boot CD.

To do this, criminals need physical access to the workings of the machine.

Once the malware - known as Tyupkin - has been installed, the "mule" sent to collect the cash must enter a code on the machine's key pad.

But Tyupkin then requires a second unique code - randomly generated by an algorithm at a remote location - to unlock the machine and dispense the cash.

It is this part of the process that ensures the criminal who has this algorithm retains control over when and how often these illegal withdrawals occur.

'Known security weaknesses'

"Over the last few years, we have observed a major upswing in ATM attacks using skimming devices and malicious software," said Vicente Diaz, principal security researcher at Kaspersky.

"Now we are seeing the natural evolution of this threat with cybercriminals moving up the chain and targeting financial institutions directly."

Kaspersky carried out its initial investigation at the "request of a financial institution" - although it would not say which.

The attack does not affect individual customers, instead simply instructing the machine to dispense notes, with no link to bank accounts.

The weaknesses of cash machines are routinely under the spotlight in the security industry. Many machines run outdated software, which is hard to update for logistical and financial reasons - there are lots of cash machines, and money needs to be spent upgrading their hardware.

"The fact that many ATMs run on operating systems with known security weaknesses and the absence of security solutions is another problem that needs to be addressed urgently," Kaspersky wrote.

Earlier this year another malware strain, known as Ploutus, allowed hackers to command machines to dispense cash by sending a text message to them.

In 2010, hacker Barnaby Jack discovered a technique he dubbed "Jackpotting" - in which a cash machine could be made to spew out money.

His demonstration on stage at security conference Black Hat provoked a standing ovation.

Mr Jack died of a suspected accidental drugs overdose in 2013, just days before he was due to give a presentation on the weaknesses in medical devices.

Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC

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EE launches home TV service in UK

8 October 2014 Last updated at 10:33

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The BBC's Rory Cellan-Jones caught up with EE's chief executive Olaf Swantee at the launch

Mobile network EE has announced a TV service that lets up to three phones or tablets be used to watch different live programmes in the home simultaneously, while a television screens a fourth.

The facility is powered by a set-top box, which also lets content broadcast over the past 24 hours be replayed, even if recordings were not scheduled.

The service is included in the price of EE's broadband and landline packages.

One expert called the move "hugely significant".

EE TV includes more than 70 Freeview channels, including BBC One, ITV, Channels 4 and 5, Sky News and Al Jazeera.

In addition, it offers apps for YouTube, Daily Motion and Rakuten's subscription TV and movie service Wuaki.tv, among others

The set-top box contains a one terabyte (TB) hard disk, which the firm said could store up to 25 days worth of standard definition content and five days worth of high-definition shows.

Mobile customers of the UK network who did not previously subscribe to another service from the firm but who want EE TV will need to sign up for a broadband package.

The cheapest one on offer is £9.95 a month plus a further £15.75 a month for a required telephone line, all for a minimum of a one-and-a-half year duration.

The company hopes this will provide them an incentive to switch to its service.

"With EE TV, not only can you watch different streams of live and recorded content, on multiple screens simultaneously, but your mobile becomes the remote," said EE's chief executive Olaf Swantee.

"This gives each viewer the chance to watch, queue and view what they want, when they want."

Analysis: Rory Cellan-Jones, technology correspondent

When I ask EE's chief executive Mr Swantee what potential customers are getting if there isn't any unique content, his answer is "a user interface that stands out."

Somehow I doubt that viewers across the land are going to be wowed by that promise.

Technology firms, from Microsoft to Google to Apple, have all been trying to change the way we use television for a decade or more.

But the viewers have been stubbornly resistant to change.

Read more of Rory's thoughts on the EE TV launch on his blog.

One industry watcher said he expected the firm's competitors to respond in kind.

"It's a logical move from EE and one that's in direct response to BT launching its mobile service next year," said Paolo Pescatore from the consultancy CCS Insight.

"With EE's broadband business posting good quarterly subscriber growth it has a strong subscriber base to cross-sell to, and puts it in a far stronger position than other quad-play providers - Virgin Media and TalkTalk.

"Today's announcement [also] puts the pressure on others to accelerate their own quad-play plans."

However, he added that he believed EE TV needed to offer a better range of content if it wanted to succeed.

"EE has taken a sensible approach with its TV service as it doesn't want to be embroiled in bidding wars for premium content," Mr Pescatore said.

"However given the exclusion of Netflix, EE must strongly consider forging agreements with other key rights owners including BSkyB for its Now TV service.

"The company must also strengthen the range of on-demand services as this is becoming increasingly important to consumers as underlined by Netflix's growth."

EE said its platform would "include an ever growing range of content applications" over time.

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Twitter news head quits after a year

9 October 2014 Last updated at 03:00

Twitter's inaugural head of news Vivian Schiller has announced that she is stepping down after less than a year in the job due to a larger reorganisation.

Ms Schiller said in a series of Tweets that she was leaving so that the company's new media boss Katie Stanton 'can reorganise as she sees fit'.

There have been several management changes at Twitter this year.

Its former chief operating officer, head of North American media and head of music all recently quit.

Twitter replacement

Former C-Span executive producer Adam Sharp, who first joined Twitter in 2010 and used to lead its government and elections team, will replace Ms Schiller.

In her Twitter announcement, Ms Schiller thanked both former chief operating officer Ali Rowghani and head of North American media Chloe Sladden, who handed in their notice on the same day in June.

She said her two former colleagues had convinced her to work at the San Francisco-based social media giant.

"It was a fascinating experience," she tweeted.

Ms Schiller arrived at Twitter with a long and impressive resume, which included stints as NBC News' first chief digital officer and the chief executive of NPR, formerly known as National Public Radio.

She also used to work as the head of CNN Production and ran operations at the New York Times's news website, according to her LinkedIn profile.

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HTC handheld camera to rival GoPro

8 October 2014 Last updated at 23:01 By Leo Kelion Technology desk editor

HTC has announced a waterproof, wide-angled digital camera, the RE, capable of taking still photographs and videos.

The RE's cylindrical design includes a sensor that automatically turns the device on when it is picked up and only two button controls.

An app lets wirelessly connected smartphones and tablets stream the footage live and play it back later.

Experts said the device would compete with GoPro's products, but that it compared unfavourably to them.

However, HTC suggested its gadget had the potential to "change the face of mobile photography".

"Combining incredible hardware with unrivalled software, HTC is reinventing the way we think about imaging," said the Taiwanese firm's chief executive Peter Chou.

"We are taking you out from behind the viewfinder and putting you back where you belong, at the heart of the action."

The company also unveiled an Android smartphone with 13 megapixel (MP) front and rear cameras at a New York launch event.

HTC recently reported net income of $640m New Taiwan Dollars ($21m; £13m) for its last quarter, reversing a loss from the previous year. However, its sales were lower.

No viewfinder

The RE features a 16MP camera and is capable of shooting in 1080p "full high-definition" video at normal speed, and 720p in slow motion.

A tap of its shutter button, at its base, takes a photo, while a longer press starts a video recording. A switch on its side allows users to change the video mode between real speed, slow motion and time lapse.

It does not feature a screen of its own, but can record to a SD memory card, stream material to a live YouTube channel and send footage to an associated Android or iOS app.

The suggestion is that owners use it in situations that they do not need to monitor framing - freeing them up to watch events directly as well as record them - thanks to the inclusion of a lens that captures a 146 degree field-of-view.

The machine has an IPX7 waterproof rating, meaning it can be submerged in water to a depth of 1m (3.3ft) for up to half an hour.

An add-on case can protect it to depths of 3m for two hours, and HTC is also releasing clip-on and suction mounts to allow the RE to be attached to bicycles, cars and other kit.

"My big question is the form factor," commented Francisco Jeronimo, from the tech research firm IDC.

"It's weird - it looks like an asthma inhaler.

"This is a very niche product and it's going to be very difficult for HTC to compete against GoPro.

"GoPro is a very established brand in this segment and has recently announced a cheaper product that will likely cost less than what HTC will decide to charge for the RE."

He added that HTC had told him it planned to pitch the RE to a wider audience than that of GoPro, and would play up its ability to rapidly go from dormant to active states.

But he added that in his opinion, a smartphone would suit most people's needs.

GoPro recently announced new models, including the top-end Hero4 Black, which can capture video in 4K - four times the resolution of the RE - and is waterproof to 40m, has a 12MP sensor and comes with a remote control. It costs £370.

The firm's new basic Hero model costs £100, records video in 1080p - the same as the RE - is also waterproof to 40m, and has a 5MP sensor.

GoPro sold 3.8 million cameras last year, up 66% on 2012.

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WATCH: GoPro's chief executive tells the BBC "We're just getting started"

Roberta Cozza, from the Gartner tech consultancy, was also nonplussed by HTC's attempt to enter the market.

"The digital camera sector is crowded and very tough to get into," she said.

"While GoPro targets a very specific segment of the market, HTC has said it expects the RE to be more mainstream, used for things like capturing the first steps of your child.

"But I fail to grasp the convenience of it, and I think HTC could have done a better job with the design."

Selfie phone

The analysts were, however, more positive about the company's new handset, the HTC Desire Eye.

The smartphone's 13 megapixel front camera is the highest resolution on the market today.

It also features face-tracking software that can monitor up to four people at once.

This can be used to identify, crop and position each person's face so that they can all take part in a Skype video chat without having to worry about exactly where to stand.

"It's much better for taking selfies than rivals as no-one else has a 13MP camera," said Mr Jeronimo.

"And it could also prove interesting to the corporate world for video conferencing as the video image quality is good."

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Driveclub hit by last minute setback

8 October 2014 Last updated at 16:34 By Leo Kelion Technology desk editor

Computer server problems have marred the launch of Sony's high profile racing game Driveclub.

Buyers of the game have had problems logging in, while subscribers to the PlayStation Plus service have been told that the release of a promised cut-down version has been put on hold for the time being.

Sony said it had to "ease the load and traffic" being sent to its systems.

It is the latest in a series of launches affected by such a problem.

Grand Theft Auto Online, Sim City, Battlefield 4 and Diablo 3 are among other titles that have suffered server issues at launch, which sometimes persisted for weeks.

Part of the problem is that developers are increasingly making co-operative play, part of the core experience.

In Driveclub, six players can form a "club" and then race rival teams to boost their status and unlock further content.

The issue is that when lots of new players sign up at once, there is not enough capacity to deal with all their demands.

Some titles, such as Activision's Destiny, have sought to solve this problem by hosting large-scale public beta tests in advance, when lots of people can play an unfinished title for free for a limited amount of time, on the understanding that glitches might occur.

This allows a developer to measure both how their servers cope, and get an indication of the amount of interest in their title.

While Evolution Studios, the England-based, Sony-owned studio behind Driveclub, did hold beta tests, they were "private" - meaning only a select limited number of people were invited to join in.

The title was originally supposed to have been a launch game for the PlayStation 4 last November, but has suffered multiple delays to give Evolution more time to tackle an unspecified "huge technical issue".

Exceeded expectations

In a statement published on Facebook, Sony said it had decided to prioritise players who have paid for the full version of the title.

"We are seeing a lot of activity and new social behaviours right now, but unfortunately this is pushing the servers to their absolute limits.

"We are sorry if you are having a hard time getting online as we know many of you are.

"To our PS Plus fans, we're sorry you're having to wait longer to play, but we want to ensure that when you come on board, you get the best experience possible."

PS Plus is a subscription service that provides its members with "free" PlayStation games and discounts, and is required by PS4 owners if they wish to use the multiplayer sections of titles.

The taster edition - which offered access to a restricted number of cars and tracks - had been due to launch on PS Plus alongside the full version.

When questioned by the BBC, a company spokesman provided more detail.

"The problem is with the Driveclub servers, it isn't related to the PSN [PlayStation Network]," said Hugo Bustillos.

"We did a significant amount of testing pre-launch with a closed beta and while we were confident with the way it ran, we are currently experiencing high levels of engagement which exceeded what we were able to test prior to launch.

"There's no further information at this time on when a free PS Plus version will be released. PS Plus members who have bought the upgrade to the full game are still able to download the full game in the meantime."

One expert warned that the problem was likely to happen again with future launches on all types of console.

"Even though overloaded server capacity is a disaster, an even bigger disaster would be building server capacity that is too vast for how popular a game is," explained Rob Crossley, UK news editor at Gamespot.

"If only 100,000 people are playing a game and you've built capacity for one million people, you will be losing money on infrastructure.

"So, the reason companies do this is because they are trying to play it as safe as humanly possible, and it's going to be even more of an issue in the future because games evermore are going online."

Earlier this week a rival multiplayer racing game, Ubisoft's The Crew, also had its launch date postponed in order to hold a second "closed console beta".

It is now due to go on sale on 2 December.

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Bionic arm restores sense of feeling

9 October 2014 Last updated at 02:56 By James Gallagher Health editor, BBC News website

Advances in bionic hands have restored a sense of touch to two patients for more than a year, report US scientists.

The men can now delicately pluck the stalks out of cherries.

Sensors on the artificial hand are used to send signals directly to the nerves, the study, published in Science Translational Medicine, said.

Meanwhile, a Swedish team has made a separate breakthrough in artificial limbs - anchoring bionic arms directly on to the bone to improve control.

One of the beneficiaries of the American work was Igor Spetic, who lost his right hand in an accident four years ago.

He was fitted with a bionic replacement, but it was incapable of feeling the world around him.

He had to carefully watch what he was doing and judge by eye whether he was squeezing too hard.

A team at Case Western Reserve University attached sensors to the bionic hand and in surgery fitted "cuffs" around the remaining nerves, which were capable of delivering electronic stimulation.

The team could send different patterns of electronic stimulation to the nerves using a computer. These were interpreted in the brain as different sensations.

The team "mapped" these sensations to 19 different locations on the hand, from the palm to the tip of the thumb, and matched the sensors to the different electronic patterns of stimulation.

They then moved on to pressure and textures. Mr Spetic can tell, while blindfolded, whether he is handling different materials such as Velcro or sandpaper.

He has been using the sensing hand for two-and-a-half years. Another patient has been using the system for one and a half years.

Lead researcher Prof Dustin Tyler told the BBC: "They can do really fine delicate tasks now.

"We believe within five to 10 years we will have a system completely implanted so we would see a person in the morning, they would have the procedure to put electrodes on each nerve and a device for their pocket, so that when they turn it on they can feel their hands."

Mr Spetic said: "I would love to feel my wife's hand, just to hold hands would be the ultimate."

In both patients the modified hand had the added bonus of eliminating "phantom limb pain", in which patients still feel pain from the hand that is no longer there.

Meanwhile, scientists at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden say they have implanted the first bone-anchored bionic arm.

The technique known as "osseointegration" involved connecting the arm directly to the bone, nerves and muscles in the residual stump of the patient's arm.

It gave the patient better control.

Dr Max Ortiz Catalan said: "We have used osseointegration to create a long-term stable fusion between man and machine, where we have integrated them at different levels.

"The artificial arm is directly attached to the skeleton, thus providing mechanical stability.

"Then the human's biological control system, that is nerves and muscles, is also interfaced to the machine's control system.

"Reliable communication between the prosthesis and the body has been the missing link for clinical implementation of neural control and sensory feedback, and this is now in place."

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Phones held by police remotely wiped

9 October 2014 Last updated at 13:30 By Jane Wakefield Technology reporter

All the data on some of the tablets and phones seized as evidence is being wiped out, remotely, while they are in police custody, the BBC has learned.

Cambridgeshire, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Durham police all told BBC News handsets had been remotely "wiped".

And Dorset police said this had happened to six of the seized devices it had in custody, within one year.

The technology used was designed to allow owners to remove sensitive data from their phones if they are stolen.

"If a device has a signal, in theory it is possible to wipe it remotely," said Ken Munro, a digital forensics expert with Pen Test Partners.

Romance fraud

A spokeswoman for Dorset police told the BBC: "There were six incidents, but we don't know how people wiped them.

"We have cases where phones get seized, and they are not necessarily taken from an arrested person - but we don't know the details of these cases as there is not a reason to keep records of this," she added.

A spokeswoman for Derbyshire police confirmed that the force had had one incident of a device being remotely wiped while in police custody.

"We can't share many details about it, but the case concerned romance fraud, and a phone involved with the investigation was remotely wiped," she said.

"It did not impact upon the investigation, and we went on to secure a conviction," she added.

Meanwhile Cleveland police told the BBC that it too had had a case of a phone that had been wiped but it was not clear "whether it was wiped prior to coming into police hands".

Asked whether the police felt that the issue had damaged their investigation, the spokeswoman said: "We don't know because we don't know what was on the phone."

Other police forces affected by the issue include:

• Cambridgeshire - one incident between August 2013 and August 2014
• Durham - one incident during the same period
• Nottingham - one incident

Microwave help

Mr Munro, who analyses hundreds of laptops, tablets, phones and other devices for corporate clients, said: "When we seize a device for digital forensics, we put it immediately into a radio-frequency shielded bag, which prevents any signals from getting through.

"If we can't get to the scene within an hour, we tell the client to pop it in a microwave oven.

"The microwave is reasonably effective as a shield against mobile or tablet signals - just don't turn it on."

SecureDrives, which develops hard drives for the military, is releasing one next year that can be physically destroyed just by sending a text message.

The hard drive -which will cost more than £1,000 - is also immune to the radio-frequency blocking bags.

"The hard drive is constantly looking for GSM [Global System for Mobile Communications] signals, if it is starved of them it it would destroy itself. It would see such a bag as a threat," said James Little, head of sales at SecureDrives.

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Plans to create 'gaming' school

9 October 2014 Last updated at 15:20 By Dave Lee Technology reporter, BBC News

British games industry veteran Ian Livingstone has formally applied to launch a free school with lessons built using video gaming.

Mr Livingstone told the BBC he wanted to use games-based learning rather than relying on "relentless testing".

"I'm passionate about children who have been born into the internet. I think they learn in a different way."

The school, which could open in 2016, would be based in Hammersmith, west London.

The application to the Department for Education, submitted this week, was backed by Mr Livingstone's several trustees including Barnaby Lenon, former headmaster at Harrow, and Marion Gibbs, head teacher at James Allen School for Girls in East Dulwich.

Also on the board is David Cramer, who owns international rights for the Rubik's Cube.

By bringing gaming elements into the learning process, Mr Livingstone argued, students would learn how to problem-solve rather than just how to pass exams.

A Department for Education spokesman said: "Free schools are giving parents real choice and children of all backgrounds the chance to achieve excellence. We welcome all innovative and exciting free school proposals.

"The application process is very competitive and all proposals are rigorously assessed before they are approved."

Angry Birds

Mr Livingstone is best known for being the man behind huge franchises such as Tomb Raider and tabletop game Warhammer.

In the 80s, his Fighting Fantasy books brought an interactive element to reading that proved extremely popular.

Speaking to the BBC about the plans, Mr Livingstone said he wanted to bring those interactive principles to schooling, but stressed the school would provide learning across all core subjects.

"We're not trying to be radical in any sense," he said.

"Of course, you have to have a broad and balanced curriculum and make sure there's rigour in all subjects. But it's using a discipline like computer science to have hopefully a deeper understanding of the subjects that you're learning."

He criticised other schools for relying on tests that he argued were more about assessing the school than the children in it.

"There needs to be a shift in the pedagogy of learning in classrooms because there's still an awful lot of testing and conformity instead of diversity.

"I'm not saying knowledge is bad - I'm just trying to get a bit more know-how into the curriculum."

He said he considers the trial-and-error nature of creating games as a key model for learning.

"For my mind, failure is just success work-in-progress. Look at any game studio and the way they iterate. Angry Birds was Rovio's 51st game.

"You're allowed to fail. Games-based learning allows you to fail in a safe environment."

School expansion

Free schools are a major part of the government's plan to find more school spaces around the country.

In London alone, 90,000 more spaces are said to be needed by 2016.

However, some oppose the growth of free schools, saying it makes it harder to launch state-funded community schools.

In response to the freeing up of land for nine more free schools in the capital, Bob Stapley from the National Union of Teachers said: "London certainly needs more school places, what we don't need is lots of free schools which are state-funded, independent schools.

"The crisis we've got is because the government is ideologically obsessed with free schools.

"Local authorities can no longer open community schools, they can't plan provision of school places and it is left to market forces.

"It simply isn't an effective way of providing education."

Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC

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Comedy club charges 'per laugh'

9 October 2014 Last updated at 15:41 By Jane Wakefield Technology reporter

A comedy club in Barcelona is experimenting with charging users per laugh, using facial-recognition technology to track how much they enjoyed the show.

The software is installed on tablets attached to the back of each seat at the Teatreneu club.

Each laugh is charged at 0.30 euros (23p) with a cap of 24 euros (£18). Takings are up so far.

The project was developed to combat falling audience numbers.

Partnering with advertising agency The Cyranos McCann, the experiment was a reaction to increased government taxes on theatre tickets, which in turn led to drastic drops in audience numbers.

The results of the experiment have so far proved positive with overall ticket prices up by 6 euros, according to the theatre.

The system is now being copied in other theatres around Spain.

The comedy club has also launched a mobile app as a method of payment, as well as its first pay-per-laugh season ticket.

James Woroniecki, director of London's 99 Club, said: "Sounds fun, just so long as all the facial recognition data doesn't get forwarded to the NSA [US National Security Agency].

"It'd be a big technical challenge - as people laugh so often at the 99 we'd have to install a cash machine by every seat."

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