Latest news with #Canadian-British
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Prime Video, now with ads: Today's digital citizen is paying more for less
Written by Mrinalini Naik The rapid growth of India's digital ecosystem over the last two decades has transformed how millions of people communicate, shop, learn, and entertain themselves. As India continues its digital surge, a growing number of users are facing a strange irony: The more dominant a platform becomes, the worse the experience gets. E-platforms once promised access, speed, convenience, control, a diverse selection and affordability. For a while, they delivered. But somewhere along the way, the user became less of a priority and more of a target. What we're witnessing now is the decay of digital platforms, a process that has earned a fitting name: 'Enshitification'. Coined by Canadian-British journalist Cory Doctorow, the term refers to how online platforms degrade over time: First serving users, then business clients, and eventually just themselves. For instance, recently, Amazon Prime notified its members that starting June 17, 2025, Prime Video will include advertisements, and if the members want to have an 'ad-free experience' on the OTT platform, they'll have to pay an additional fee on top of the standard Prime membership charges. Similarly, a few days back, both Zomato Gold and Swiggy One updated their terms to include 'rain-surge fees' even for premium subscribers. What began as loyalty programs offering free delivery and priority service now resemble subscription traps that add cost while subtracting value. These are not isolated incidents but part of a deliberate business model shift. As user growth plateaus, platforms turn inward, optimising for revenue per user, not user experience. Loyalty is no longer rewarded, it's priced. Coupons dry up for returning customers, free delivery becomes elusive, and core features are throttled behind new paywalls. Customer care has become bot-driven, and live human support is hidden behind multiple steps or unavailable. This phenomenon is plainly visible across India's digital ecosystem. Platforms like Spotify and YouTube constantly flood users with unskippable ads to push premium plans. From e-commerce to grocery and food delivery apps, users are now confronted with an escalating mix of non-negotiable 'platform fees' or 'handling charges' on every order. Multiple layers of fees, like delivery charges for smaller baskets, packaging fees, and surge pricing during peak hours, are added, and membership terms shrink in value over time. If this sounds like paying more to get less, that's because it is. The logic behind this model is simple: Once platforms scale to achieve market dominance and user dependence to become indispensable, monetisation intensifies. Charges once optional become default. However, 'enshitification' is not just limited to fees or the push for paid subscriptions; it's about all the systemic processes that degrade user experience. One such process is device-based price discrimination done by platforms. In 2025, a storm of user complaints and reports revealed that many platforms, specifically quick commerce and ride-hailing apps, were charging more to iPhone users than to Android users for the same route and time, based solely on device data. This profiling, based purely on perceived purchasing power, occurs without consent, transparency, or recourse. From the consumer perspective, it raises serious concerns about fairness, especially in the absence of clear disclosure by platforms. Another issue is that platforms are increasingly relying on dark patterns, that is, manipulative UI/UX to trick users into unwanted choices. Some of these patterns are: Creating 'false urgency', where fake limited stock countdowns push users into hasty decisions; 'basket sneaking', which involves adding unwanted items to the cart or auto-ticking donation boxes without consent; 'drip pricing', where hidden charges appear only at checkout; 'search bias', when platforms prioritise paid listings or ads over more relevant results burying small or local businesses that may offer better value or service; 'nagging', where platforms send continuous notifications or requests to purchase unintended goods or services; and 'subscription trap', making cancellation of paid membership difficult and complex. These patterns are inherently opaque, designed to mislead and extract more without the user actively realising it. To address this issue in 2023, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) issued guidelines under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, identifying a range of such manipulative practices (dark patterns) for prevention and regulation of those. However, the non-binding nature of Annexure-I (which provides specified dark patterns illustrations) offers guidance and not interpretation of the law. This grants the CCPA scope to offer new explanations of the mentioned practices, creating uncertainty and ambiguity in enforcement procedures. This provides a loophole for the digital platforms to continue indulging in dark patterns. Currently, India's legal framework for digital platforms addresses several important areas through the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and E-Commerce Rules, 2020. These mandate transparency in pricing and prohibit unfair trade practices; the Information Technology Rules, 2021 requires platforms to publish terms of use and establish grievance redress mechanisms; the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 ensures user consent and privacy; and the Competition Act,2002, prohibits practices like predatory pricing or market dominance abuse. However, none of these laws directly regulate user experience or interface design. Additionally, all these regulations are reactive, addressing harm after it occurs. What India needs right now is a forward-looking, ex-ante regulatory approach, inspired by global standards for governing user experience on digital platforms. Much like the EU's Digital Markets Act, the proposed Digital Competition Bill in India, if passed, will be an ex-ante regulation addressing some issues like self-preferencing of products by platforms, restricting users from using third-party applications on their core digital services or tying-bundling of non-essential services to those demanded by users. Though it's a welcome move to improve user experience to some extent, to truly address 'enshitification', India still needs legal frameworks on design and algorithm transparency standards, clearer definitions and binding regulations on dark patterns and mandatory UX audits for large platforms. The writer is an advocate at the Supreme Court of India
NDTV
4 days ago
- Sport
- NDTV
Yuki Bhambri Wins, Rithvik Bollipalli Loses In French Open Men's Doubles Opening Round
India's Yuki Bhambri and his American partner Robert Galloway secured a hard-fought victory but Rithvik Bollipalli's search for his maiden win in a Grand Slam main draw continued in the French Open men's doubles opening round, here on Wednesday. Bhambri and Galloway edged out Robin Haase and Hendrik Jebens 6-3 6-7(8) 6-3 in a fast-paced high-quality first round match. However, Bollipalli and his Colombian partner Nicolas Barrientos suffered a tame straight set defeat. Canada's Gabriel Diallo and Briton Jacob Fearnley, who knocked out Stanislas Wawrinka in the singles on Monday, dominated the contest, winning 6-0 6-2 in just 56 minutes. Bhambri was a live wire at the net, dispatching some delectable volley winners and was also solid with his strokes from the back of the court. His court coverage was also tremendous. They saved two set points in the second set tie-break and had a match point but Bhambri's forehand kissed the net. Haase succeeded in stretching the game to the decider. Bhambri and Galloway broke Jebens in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead and consolidated the break. Bhambri ended the match with a angled volley winner. Bollipalli and Barrientos, who won the ATP 250 Chile Open in March, struggled to serve well and make returns, gifting away easy points to their rivals. Often the Indo-Colombian combo left gap on the court for their rivals to exploit. The Indian was broken early with Diallo and Fearnley making some superb returns on his serve. His partner Barrientos too struggled badly to get going and in no time the Canadian-British pair had raced to a commanding 4-0 lead. Fearnley's ferocious forehands from the baseline were already too hot to handle and Bollipalli's lack of control while serving made it too easy for the Canadian-British team. The Indian struggled to pick a half-volley at 15-30 to offer two set points to the rivals and made a volley error on the following point to surrender the opening set. There was no twist in the tale except that Barrientos managed to hold his serve in the second game of the second set while Diallo and Fearnley continued to spit fire. Bollipalli served a double fault to be down by a match point but saved the chance in game eight. Barrientos could not return a powerful Diallo forehand and then sent a ball wide on the next match point. Later in the day, India's Rohan Bopanna and N Sriram Balaji will also be in action in the men's doubles.
The Herald Scotland
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
'One of the most unusual and powerful books I've read'
Allen Lane, £20 One of the most unusual and powerful books I've read in a long time. Chinese Canadian-British writer Alice Mah is Professor of Urban and Environmental Studies at the University of Glasgow. Red Pockets – the red envelopes used in China to give money to family and clan members – describes her return to her ancestral village in South China, and the reverberations of that disturbing visit. In a soul-searching narrative that charts her escalating despair over the global climate emergency, she addresses the ways in which the world's plight is connected with unresolved issues from the past. Drawing on the cultural and economic histories of China, Canada, England, and Scotland, Mah navigates her own fretful response to her family history and her fears for the future. Clear-eyed and sensitive, Red Pockets is a moving and imaginative memoir of facing up to the wrongs of the past, at the same time asking what we owe to previous generations, and to those who will inherit this planet from us. A Granite Silence Nina Allan Riverrun, £20 A Granite Silence by Nina Allan (Image: Rivverrun) The murder in Aberdeen in 1934 of eight-year-old Helen Priestly horrified the nation and had a shattering impact on the overcrowded tenement community where she lived. In this closely researched account, Nina Allan creatively explores the many elements exposed by this dreadful crime. Wild Fictions Amitav Ghosh Faber & Faber, £25 In the run-up to the Iraq War, Indian-born novelist Amitav Ghosh clashed with a well-known American editor, who refused to see the USA as anything but a benign and altruistic force. In the years since, he has produced a drawerful of highly-researched pieces, now brought together in this collection. Covering some of the most pressing subjects in recent decades, from 9/11, the ongoing legacy of imperialism, Hurricane Katrina, the refugee crisis, and disasters such as the 2004 Indonesian tsunami - the natural and the political cannot be separated, he argues - this is an unflinching portrait of our times from a refreshingly original perspective. Room on the Sea André Aciman Faber & Faber, £12.99 Room on the Sea by André Aciman (Image: Faber & Faber) Meeting while awaiting jury selection, New Yorkers Paul and Catherine covertly take stock of each other. She reading Wuthering Heights, he looking every inch the dapper Wall Street type. What starts as nothing more than a brief encounter becomes more serious, and soon a life-changing decision must be faced. André Aciman is a romantic with a melancholy soul and an eye for detail that makes his fiction read as if real. Of Thorn and Briar Paul Lamb Simon & Schuster, £20 "It is during the shortening days of the autumn months, when the September mists return and the morning dew settles on the pastures once more, that the hedger begins his work." So writes Paul Lamb, for 30 years a hedgelayer in the west country, who lives in a converted horse box. An enlightening and beautifully told monthly journal of following an ancient craft, and the benefits it brings to the countryside. Uncommon Ground: Rethinking Our Relationship with the Countryside Patrick Galbraith William Collins, £22 According to popular belief, access to the countryside in England is highly restricted, while in Scotland, with its Right To Roam legislation, the situation is idyllic. In this hard-hitting account, Patrick Galbraith sets out to destroy the clichés surrounding this inflammatory subject. Making a point of talking to "people who are often forgotten" - among them salmon poachers on the Isle of Lewis, grassroots activists, and much-loathed landowners - he shows that land access is much more nuanced than provocative headlines suggest. Not only are things far from perfect here, but in England there is better access than many people realise. Galbraith's informed and passionate analysis of those tussling over the land is essential reading for anyone with opinions on the countryside. Back in the Day Oliver Lovrenski Trans. Nichola Smalley Hamish Hamilton, £14.99 Back in the Day by Oliver Lovrenski (Image: Hamish Hamilton) On publication in Norway in 2023, Oliver Lovrenski's debut novel Back in the Day swiftly became a bestseller. Norway's Trainspotting is a deep dive into the chaos, terror, and black humour of teenagers locked in a cycle of deprivation. Ivor and Marco, who live in Oslo, have been on the downward slope since they were 13 when they started getting high. At 14 they were dealing drugs, and a year later began carrying knives. This bleak tale, told with brio, offers a fresh take on what it is to be young in an environment where a positive future is but a dream. The Einstein Vendetta: Hitler, Mussolini and a Murder That Haunts History Thomas Harding Michael Joseph, £22 Robert Einstein, Albert's cousin, lived with his family in a villa near Florence. One summer's day in 1944, while he was safely in hiding, a unit of soldiers arrived at the villa. When they left, 12 hours later, Robert's wife and children were dead. Their murder has never been solved, but in this scrupulously researched account, Thomas Harding takes on this notorious case, asking who ordered the killings, and why was no-one brought to account? The Eights Joanna Miller Fig Tree, £16.99 In 1920 Oxford University finally admitted female undergraduates. Joanna Miller's debut novel follows a group of young women, all living in rooms on Corridor Eight, who become close friends. From varied backgrounds - privileged, hard-up, politically engaged - all are hopeful of what lies ahead. All, too, are scarred by the recent war. With an influenza pandemic terrorising Europe, their time in Oxford promises to be eventful. Victory '45: The End of the War in Six Surrenders James Holland and Al Murray Bantam, £22 To mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two, James Holland and Al Murray have joined forces to illuminate how peace was finally achieved. Between May and September 1945 there were six surrenders: four in Europe, two in Japan. Describing the events leading to each, and telling the stories of the people involved, from generals and political leaders to service men and women and civilians, Victory '45 memorably brings history, and those who made it, to life.
The Herald Scotland
23-04-2025
- General
- The Herald Scotland
We cherish Scotland's right to roam but our freedom is a myth
Red Pockets: An Offering Alice Mah Allen Lane, £20 One of the most unusual and powerful books I've read in a long time. Chinese Canadian-British writer Alice Mah is Professor of Urban and Environmental Studies at the University of Glasgow. Red Pockets – the red envelopes used in China to give money to family and clan members – describes her return to her ancestral village in South China, and the reverberations of that disturbing visit. In a soul-searching narrative that charts her escalating despair over the global climate emergency, she addresses the ways in which the world's plight is connected with unresolved issues from the past. Drawing on the cultural and economic histories of China, Canada, England and Scotland, Mah navigates her own fretful response to her family history and her fears for the future. Clear-eyed and sensitive, Red Pockets is a moving and imaginative memoir of facing up to the wrongs of the past, at the same time asking what we owe to previous generations, and to those who will inherit this planet from us. A Granite Silence (Image: free) A Granite Silence Nina Allan riverrun, £20 The murder in Aberdeen in 1934 of eight-year-old Helen Priestley horrified the nation and had a shattering impact on the over-crowded tenement community where she lived. In this closely researched account, Nina Allan creatively explores the many elements exposed by this dreadful crime. Wild Fictions Amitav Ghosh Faber & Faber, £25 In the run-up to the Iraq War, Indian-born novelist Amitav Ghosh clashed with a well-known American editor, who refused to see the USA as anything but a benign and altruistic force. In the years since he has produced a drawerful of highly-researched pieces, now brought together in this collection. Covering some of the most pressing subjects in recent decades, from 9/11, the ongoing legacy of imperialism, Hurricane Katrina, the refugee crisis and disasters such as the 2004 Indonesian tsunami - the natural and the political cannot be separated, he argues - this is an unflinching portrait of our times from a refreshingly original perspective. Room on the Sea André Aciman Faber & Faber, £12.99 Meeting while awaiting jury selection, New Yorkers Paul and Catherine covertly take stock of each other. She reading Wuthering Heights, he looking every inch the dapper Wall Street type. What starts as nothing more than a brief encounter becomes more serious, and soon a life-changing decision must be faced. André Aciman is a romantic with a melancholy soul and an eye for detail that makes his fiction read as if real. Read more Of Thorn and Briar Paul Lamb Simon & Schuster, £20 'It is during the shortening days of the autumn months, when the September mists return and the morning dew settles on the pastures once more, that the hedger begins his work.' So writes Paul Lamb, for 30 years a hedgelayer in the west country, who lives in a converted horse box. An enlightening and beautifully told monthly journal of following an ancient craft, and the benefits it brings to the countryside. Back in the Day Oliver Lovrenski Trans. Nichola Smalley Hamish Hamilton, £14.99 On publication in Norway in 2023, Oliver Lovrenski's debut novel Back in the Day swiftly became a bestseller. Norway's Trainspotting is a deep dive into the chaos, terror and black humour of teenagers locked in a cycle of deprivation. Ivor and Marco, who live in Oslo, have been on the downward slope since they were 13, when they started getting high. At 14 they were dealing drugs, and a year later began carrying knives. This bleak tale, told with brio, offers a fresh take on what it is to be young in an environment where a positive future is but a dream. Hitler and Mussolini (Image: free) The Einstein Vendetta: Hitler, Mussolini and a Murder That Haunts History Thomas Harding Michael Joseph, £22 Robert Einstein, Albert's cousin, lived with his family in a villa near Florence. One summer's day in 1944, while he was safely in hiding, a unit of soldiers arrived at the villa. When they left, 12 hours later, Robert's wife and children were dead. Their murder has never been solved, but in this scrupulously researched account, Thomas Harding takes on this notorious case, asking who ordered the killings, and why was no-one brought to account? The Eights Joanna Miller Fig Tree, £16.99 In 1920 Oxford University finally admitted female undergraduates. Joanna Miller's debut novel follows a group of young women, all living in rooms on Corridor Eight, who become close friends. From varied backgrounds - privileged, hard-up, politically engaged - all are hopeful of what lies ahead. All, too, are scarred by the recent war. With an influenza pandemic terrorising Europe, their time in Oxford promises to be eventful. Victory '45: The End of the War in Six Surrenders James Holland and Al Murray Bantam, £22 To mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two, James Holland and Al Murray have joined forces to illuminate how peace was finally achieved. Between May and September 1945 there were six surrenders: four in Europe, two in Japan. Describing the events leading to each, and telling the stories of the people involved, from generals and political leaders to service men and women and civilians, Victory '45 memorably brings history, and those who made it, to life.
The Guardian
28-01-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
I've Never Wanted Anyone More review – Goethe's Werther remade as charming contempo romcom
Johann Wolfgang Goethe's 1774 epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther was one of the most influential books of its age, in part responsible for launching the Romantic movement, shaping ideas about the novel itself, and inspiring some of the earliest instances of copycat suicide. These days of course, it doesn't have anything like the cultural influence that it had in its heyday, eclipsed by Goethe's later plays, poetry and scientific endeavours. So hurrah for the film-makers behind this sweet Canadian-British co-production for their valiant, quixotic efforts to relaunch Werther for the youth of today. Writer-director José Avelino Gilles Corbett Lourenço resets the book's love triangle among the well-to-do in modern-day Toronto, turning it into a kind of wan romantic comedy: part Goethe, part Whit Stillmanesque farce, part shop window for rising stars Douglas Booth and Iris Apatow. Booth, with his fleshy sensuality, makes for a reasonably sympathetic, puppyish Werther, a young man of modest means adrift in the big city with his best friend, Paul (Jaouhar Ben Ayed), whom he ditches once he meets cultured heiress Charlotte (an engaging Alison Pill). Lovestruck, Werther crashes her birthday party and they end up dancing the night away, their shared chemistry obvious. But alas, Charlotte is engaged to kind but dull lawyer Albert (Patrick J Adams). Somehow, Werther manages to infiltrate their domestic menage, attracting the attentions of Charlotte's younger sister Sissy (Apatow). That triangulated configuration is all roughly congruent with the original book. But the scenes where the couple do shots, Werther likens the smell of linden trees to male ejaculate, and when he lowers the stuck zip on Charlotte's dress with his teeth at a boutique sample sale, are Avelino Gilles Corbett Lourenço's own invention. That latter is a very sexy scene, one of the best in a film that feels short on real passion, but big on banter and sharp suiting. I've Never Wanted Anyone More is on digital platforms from 3 February.
