"Home Office officials have drawn up secret plans to lobby the independent privacy regulator in an attempt to push the rollout of controversial facial recognition technology into high street shops and supermarkets, internal government minutes seen by the Observer reveal."
"'Much easier to say no': Irish town unites in smartphone ban for young children
Parents and schools across Greystones adopt voluntary 'no-smartphone code' in bid to curb peer pressure
Rory Carroll Ireland correspondent
@rorycarroll72
Sat 3 Jun 2023 09.00 BST
Last modified on Sat 3 Jun 2023 09.02 BST
On the principle of strength in numbers, parents in the Irish town of Greystones have banded together to collectively tell their children they cannot have a smartphone until secondary school.
Parents' associations across the district's eight primary schools have adopted a no-smartphone code to present a united front against children's lobbying.
"If everyone does it across the board you don't feel like you're the odd one out. It makes it so much easier to say no," said Laura Bourne, who has a child in junior infants. "The longer we can preserve their innocence the better.""