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Northern Ireland police kept inspectors in dark over surveillance of journalists | Computer Weekly

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Northern Ireland police kept inspectors in dark over surveillance of journalists | Computer Weekly


Northern Ireland police failed to disclose two covert surveillance operations against journalists to the UK’s independent surveillance watchdog in breach of their statutory obligations.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland kept inspectors from the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office (IPCO) in the dark about two covert operations against  journalists in 2018 and 2023, it has been disclosed.

Brian Leveson, the investigatory powers commissioner, confirmed in a letter to Northern Ireland’s policing board that the PSNI only informed IPCO about the covert operations in 2025, after they had become public.

The disclosure, in letters published in the Northern Ireland Policing Board’s annual human rights report, first reported by The Detail, comes as the PSNI is preparing to publish a review by barrister Angus McCullogh KC into police surveillance of journalists and lawyers in Northern Ireland.

Covert surveillance in 2018

In August 2018, the PSNI authorised an unlawful surveillance operation in a failed attempt to identify a confidential journalistic source suspected of supplying information to journalists Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney.

The then chief constable of the PSNI authorised a Directed Surveillance Authorisation (DSA) to allow the PSNI to monitor an individual suspected of leaking information to the two journalists.

But according to Leveson, the PSNI failed to disclose the existence of the surveillance operation against the journalists to IPCO inspectors during the watchdog’s annual inspection in spring 2019, in breach of its statutory obligations.

“There is no indication in the 2019 inspection report for PSNI that my inspectors were notified of any covert activity conducted against journalists, or with the intention of identifying a journalistic source,” he wrote in a letter to the Policing Board.

Leveson said that he had received no explanation for the PSNI’s omission. “The question remains why the DSA was not specifically brought to my inspectors’ attention in 2019, given its stated objective of identifying a journalistic source,” he said.

The PSNI did not inform IPCO of the surveillance operation until after the Investigatory Powers Tribunal disclosed it publicly in its judgment in favour of the two journalists in 2024, awarding them costs.

Independent inquiry

Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney told Computer Weekly that the PSNI had consistently failed to take oversight seriously during the journalist’s legal battle with the PSNI.

“It’s quite clear that the PSNI is incapable of acting honestly with any of these oversight bodies. They don’t take it seriously at all, or they show them complete disrespect by failing to properly and honestly interact with them,” said McCaffrey.

He said that the only way of getting to the truth was to hold an independent public enquiry.

 “We now see with Brian Leveson that they have withheld evidence even when IPCO was asking for it and we fear that there are going to be more incidents of this when the McCullough review comes out,” he added.

2023 operation spied on Twitter

The PSNI also failed to disclose a surveillance operation against another unnamed journalist in 2023 to IPCO inspectors.

The operation targeted the covert monitoring of social media posts on X by investigative journalist Dónal MacIntyre.

In a letter to the policing board, Leveson said that the PSNI had failed to alert inspectors to the operation despite being asked to do so.

“This authorisation was not brought to my inspectors’ attention, despite their specific enquiry regarding any operations involving confidential journalistic or legally privileged material” he added.

The inspection was led by judicial commissioner Declan Morgan, the retired former Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, who sought specific assurances from IPCO on surveillance authorisations issued agaist journalists. He reported that he identified no issues on non-compliance with the management of confidential information.

As Lord Chief Justice, Morgan ruled in 2019 that the Durham Police, which was assisting the PSNI, had unlawfully used search warrants in an attempt to identify Birney and McCaffrey’s sources.

Boutcher: journalistic risk not identified

 PSNI Chief constable, Jon Boutcher told the policing board that he had no explanation why the PSNI had not disclosed the 2018 surveillance operation to IPCO inspectors.

“No reason or record can be located to explain why this was not highlighted to IPCO as intended,” he said.

He said that the PSNI had not reported the later 2023 surveillance operation to IPCO as it had not identified that it related to journalistic material.

 “As this application had not been highlighted correctly in conjunction with journalistic material, it was not identified when preparing for the 2024 inspection and not highlighted to the IPCO inspectors,” he added.

 He said that the material sought was limited to “public tweets” and did not seek private communications.

Barry McCaffrey (left) and Trevor Birney (right)

 Up to 16 BBC journalists targeted

Following the IPTs’ ruling in favour of Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey, other journalists have made complaints that they were unlawfully spied on.

Former BBC journalists, Vincent Kearney has filed a complaint against the PSNI, and up to another 16 BBC journalists have also raised concerns about unlawful surveillance by the PSNI or MI5, according to the policing board.

Computer Weekly reported in July that the PSNI engaged in sustained surveillance of BBC journalists in Northern Ireland from at least 2006 to 2022.

Surveillance against BBC journalists allegedly took place during multiple PSNI operations, codenamed Operation Oxbow in 2009, Operation Settat in 2011, Operation Basanti in 2014 and Operation Grimmicaeie in 2022.

Data published by the policing board, shows that the number of complaints to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal relating to the PSNI’s use of surveillance powers, rose from 9 in 2022, to 16 in 2023 and 33 in 2025.

The PSNI received “notifications to disclose” information in 3 cases in 2022, raising to 6 cases in 2023, and 19 in 2024, which according to the policing board “might indicate that these are not hopeless cases.”

Oversight mechanism ‘not working’

 Amnesty International said the admission that the PSNI covert surveillance operations targeting journalists, including one later ruled unlawful, were withheld from the UK’s surveillance watchdog is “deeply concerning”.

 “The PSNI not only authorised covert surveillance designed to identify journalists’ confidential sources, in flagrant violation of press freedom, but then withheld details of those operations from the very watchdog charged with holding them to account,” said Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland Director.

  “There must now be an overhaul of the mechanisms designed to provide oversight of police surveillance activities across the UK,” he said. 

Daniel Holder of the Belfast-based human rights group the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) called for the  government to  implement the 1999 Patten Commission’s recommendation for a dedicated Commissioner for Covert Law Enforcement in Northern Ireland.

 “We cannot continue with an oversight system that is dependent on the PSNI and other bodies here exercising such covert powers voluntarily telling the oversight body what they are doing, or hope that such matters are turned up in limited dip-sampling,” he said.

 IPCO ‘not dependent on voluntary disclosures’

 A spokesperson for IPCO said that the investigatory powers commissioner Brian Leveson will personally raise the issues with the PSNI chief constable, Jon Boutcher.

 In response to the failures, the PSNI had enhanced its central record of surveillance authorisations and would implement training on the “acquisition and management of information relating to journalists,” the spokesperson added.

 IPCO said that its oversight regime is not dependent on voluntary disclosures.

 “Inspectors use proactive techniques, including ‘dip sampling’ of authorisations, to identify compliance issues and verify responses to requests for information,” the spokesperson said.

  “The requirement for PSNI to highlight journalist-related authorisations provides an additional layer of assurance in the oversight process,” the spokesperson added.

 Policing board “open to all courses of action’

The chair of the Northern Ireland policing board, Mukesh Sharma, said that the Board has expressed its serious concerns regarding the use of covert surveillance.

“The Board awaits the findings of the McCullough Review and remains open to all courses of action to ensure proper accountability,” he said.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland’s deputy chief constable, Bobby Singleton said that the PSNI welcomed the policing board’s human rights report.

“We will continue to work closely with the Policing Board’s Independent Human Rights adviser as we consider and respond to the content and recommendations of this wide-ranging report,” he said.



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I Tried the Best Captioning Smart Glasses, and Only One Leads the Pack

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I Tried the Best Captioning Smart Glasses, and Only One Leads the Pack


Unlike the other glasses I tested, Even doesn’t sell a subscription plan; everything’s included out of the box.

The only downside I could find with the G2 is that it is largely devoid of offline features, so the glasses have to be connected to the internet to do much of anything. Considering the G2’s capabilities, it’s a trade-off I am more than happy to make.

Other Captioning Glasses I Tested

There are plenty of capable captioning eyeglasses on the market, but they are surprisingly similar in both looks and features. While many are quite capable, none had the combination of power and affordability that I got with Even’s G2. Here’s a rundown of everything else I tested.

  • Photograph: Christopher Null

  • Photograph: Christopher Null

  • Photograph: Christopher Null

Leion’s Hey 2 is the price leader in this market, and even its prescription lenses ($90 to $299) are pretty affordable. The hardware, however, is heavy: 50 grams without lenses, 60 grams with them. A full charge gets you six to eight hours of operation; the case adds juice for up to 12 recharges.

I like the Leion interface, which lays out caption, translation, “free talk” (two-way translation), and a teleprompter feature on its clean app. You get access to nine languages; using Pro minutes expands that to 143. Leion sells its premium plan by the minute, not the month, so you need to remember to toggle this mode off when you don’t need it. Pricing is $10 for 120 minutes, $50 for 1,200 minutes, and $200 for 6,000 minutes. There’s no offline use supported, and I often struggled to get AI summaries to show up in English instead of Chinese (regardless of the recorded language).

  • Photograph: Christopher Null

  • Photograph: Christopher Null

You’re not seeing double: XRAI and Leion use the same manufacturer for their hardware, and the glasses weigh the same. The battery spec is also similar, with up to eight hours on the frames and another 96 hours when recharging with the case. XRAI claims its display is significantly brighter than competitors’, but I didn’t see much of a difference in day-to-day use.

The features and user experience are roughly the same, though Leion’s teleprompter feature isn’t implemented in XRAI’s app, and it doesn’t offer AI summaries of conversations. I also didn’t find XRAI’s app as user-friendly as Leion’s version, particularly when trying to switch among the admittedly exhaustive 300 language options. Only 20 of these are included without ponying up for a Pro subscription, which is sold both by the month and minute: $20/month gets you a max of 600 upgraded transcription minutes and 300 translation minutes; $40/month gets you 1,800 and 1,200 minutes, respectively. On the plus side, XRAI does have a rudimentary offline mode that works better than most. For prescription lenses, add $140 to $170.

  • Photograph: Christopher Null

  • Photograph: Christopher Null

AirCaps

AirCaps Smart Glasses

AirCaps does not make its own prescription lenses. Instead, you must purchase a pair of $39 “lens holders” and take them to an optician if you want prescription inserts. I was unable to test these with prescription lenses and ultimately had to try them out over my regular glasses, which worked well enough for short-term testing. Frames weigh a hefty 53 grams without add-on lenses; the company couldn’t tell me how much extra weight prescription lenses would add to that, but it’s safe to say these are the bulkiest and heaviest captioning glasses on the market. Despite the weight, they only carry two to four hours of battery life, with 10 or so recharges packed into the comically large case. Another option is to clip one of AirCaps’ rechargeable 13-gram Power Capsules ($79 for two) to one of the arms, which can provide 12 to 18 extra hours of juice.

The AirCaps feature list and interface make it perhaps the simplest of all these devices, with just a single button to start and stop recording. Transcriptions and translations are available for free in nine languages. For $20/month, you can add the Pro package, which offers better accuracy, access to more than 60 languages, and the option to generate AI summaries on demand (though only if recordings are long enough). As a bonus: Five hours of Pro features are free each month. Offline mode works pretty well, too. The only bad news is that these bulky frames just aren’t comfortable enough for long-term wear.

  • Photograph: Christopher Null

  • Photograph: Christopher Null

The most expensive option on the market (up to $1,399 with prescription lenses!) weighs a relatively svelte 40 grams (52 grams with lenses) and offers about four hours of battery life. There’s no charging case; the glasses must be charged directly using the included USB-connected dongle.

The glasses are extremely simple, offering transcription and translation features—with support for about 80 languages, which is impressive. I unfortunately found the prescription lenses Captify sent to be the blurriest of the bunch, making the captions comparatively hard to read. And while the device supports offline transcription, performance suffered badly when disconnected from the internet. I couldn’t get translations to work at all when offline. For $15/month, you get better accuracy and speaker differentiation, and access to AI summaries of conversations. Prescription lenses cost between $99 and $600.



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Top Western Digital Promo Code 2026

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Top Western Digital Promo Code 2026


Started more than 50 years ago, data storage company Western Digital is one of the world’s largest computer hard disk drive manufacturers, and produces solid-state drives (SSDs) and flash memory devices. Western Digital makes all the essentials for home office and business digital storage, whether you want to back up via cloud storage, easily take your presentation on a USB flash drive to your next important meeting, or upgrade your home security surveillance’s storage system, Western Digital has what you need—and we have promo codes to help you save.

Recycle and Save 15% Off With Western Digital Promo

One of the biggest issues of our modern life is how to responsibly recycle e-waste. That’s why Western Digital makes it easier to recycle your old, broken, or defunct electronics. With Western Digital’s Easy Recycle program, you can safely dispose of NAS systems and internal or external HDDs and SSDs. Plus, they recycle devices from any manufacturer—not just Western Digital products. And when you go green and recycle through their program, you’ll get a 15% off Western Digital promo code that counts towards your next purchase of $50 or more when you shop online at Western Digital.

Get 10% Off With a Western Digital Coupon Code

Right now, you can save 10% on your first order when you sign up to receive emails from Western Digital. All you need to do is head to Western Digital’s promo page, where you’ll input your email to sign up for special offers, promotions, and that Western Digital promo code for 10% off. The code will be sent to your inbox where you can use it to save on tech essentials.

Does Western Digital Have Free Shipping?

Western Digital has even more ways to save, with free standard shipping on eligible orders of $50 or more for non-members. Western Digital members receive free standard shipping on all eligible orders in the lower 48.

Additional Western Digital Deals

Western Digital has education discounts, where students and teachers can get up to 15% off purchases after verifying their status with Youth Discount. Once their identity is verified, they’ll get a voucher code sent to their inbox to use at checkout. Western Digital also has a 15% discount for seniors 55 years or older. Seniors just need to verify their status with Senior Discount. Once age is verified, folks will get a Western Digital promo code sent to their email to save.

In a commitment to sustainability, Western Digital has a program with Easy Recycle, where you can safely dispose of NAS systems and internal or external HDDs and SSDs. (They’ll also recycle devices from any manufacturer, not just Western Digital). As a token of appreciation for participating in their initiative for a greener future, participants can get 15% off their next purchase of $50 or more.

Choosing the Right Western Digital Product

It’s hard to know which is the right digital storage system for you—in fact, we even made a handy guide on How to Back Up Your Digital Life, and have a whole roundup of some of our favorite WIRED-tested external hard drives. In a similar vein, Western Digital created a FAQ webpage on how to choose the right storage drive for your needs, like budget and data. A Western Digital Hardrive is a budget-friendly option that delivers the capacity needed to store years of photos, videos, backups, workloads, and archives. While a Western Digital SSD offers fast and reliable responsiveness for more large-scale operating systems and active projects.



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The Best LED Skincare Deals I’ve Seen This Mother’s Day Are at Megelin

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The Best LED Skincare Deals I’ve Seen This Mother’s Day Are at Megelin


The red-light therapy market shows no signs of slowing down. According to Fortune Business Insights, the industry is projected to grow from $1.21 billion in 2026 to $1.76 billion by 2034. Riding that wave is Hong Kong-based Megelin, which is currently running its largest Mother’s Day sale yet, offering major discounts on most of its LED devices and select electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) tools.

I’ve been testing the Duo Lux Laser & LED Light Therapy Mask for the past two weeks as part of a six-week trial. While I’m still forming my final verdict, I already have some early thoughts (more on that below). In the meantime, check out the standout deals because some of these discounts might be too good to pass up while they’re live.

This Laser & LED Light Therapy Mask Is $270 Off

Megelin

Duo Lux Laser & LED Light Therapy Mask

The Megelin Duo Lux Laser & LED Light Therapy Mask combines 660-nanometer (nm) and 1,064-nm lasers with a 660-nm LED light for a more intensive treatment. The brand claims it can help smooth wrinkles, soothe inflammation, reduce pigmentation, and minimize redness. After two weeks of testing, I haven’t noticed any visible changes in my skin just yet, though to its credit, I also haven’t experienced any irritation or adverse reactions.

My biggest issue was the initial unboxing experience: The mask had a strong chemical odor that reminded me of formaldehyde. For a device that sits against your face and doesn’t have a mouth opening, that’s not exactly reassuring. Wiping it down and letting it air out significantly reduced the smell, but it definitely made for a less-than-ideal first impression.

That said, the mask itself is extremely comfortable. The soft, flexible silicone contours well to the face, and the dual-strap design keeps it secure without feeling restrictive. Treatments are quick and easy to customize thanks to four different modes, all controlled through an attached remote. And because it’s cordless, you’re free to move around while using it.

At full price, it’s a steep investment compared to its competitors. But with the current $270 discount, it becomes a much more compelling option, especially given the added laser therapy component, which isn’t as common at this price point. I’ll continue testing through the full six-week period before sharing my final verdict, but if you’re tempted to take advantage of the sale now, Megelin does offer a 60-day money-back guarantee and a one-year warranty.



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