Twitter rolls out political ad tracking tools in Europe ahead of EU elections February 19, 2019 Twitter has launched new tools in Europe to make it easier for users to identify ads paid for by political campaigns, ahead of key elections due in May. The news follows similar moves by fellow social media firm Facebook, as tech platforms prepare to face potential regulation and renewed disinformation efforts from hostile actors. The European [...]
Looking to the Future: Publisher bets it will beat full-year guidance as digital audience grows revenue February 19, 2019 Future already predicts it will beat expectations for its new financial year after experiencing strong momentum over the first quarter, it said today. The publisher of Tech Radar, Total Film and What Hi-Fi also believes results will be “significantly ahead of its expectations” for the first half of the year, it said in a trading update that [...]
Bauer Media names BBC boss Richard Dawkins as new head of European radio February 18, 2019 Media giant Bauer has named BBC executive Richard Dawkins as its new European radio boss, the company said today. Bauer, which owns radio stations such as Absolute and Kiss, said Dawkins will join the firm in late spring in the newly-created role of European radio chief operating officer. Read more: British commercial radio revenue breaks [...]
German prosecutors probe Financial Times journalist over Wirecard reporting February 18, 2019 Prosecutors in Munch have launched an investigation into a Financial Times (FT) journalist whose reporting of alleged fraud at Wirecard sparked a frenzy of short selling of the firm’s shares. The FT published a series of stories revealing alleged fraud at Wirecard’s Singapore office and an investigation by local police, causing shares in the fintech company to [...]
Tech giants should be held to compulsory ‘code of ethics’, MPs say February 18, 2019 Facebook and other tech giants should face stricter regulation to tackle the spread of fake news and misuse of personal data, MPs said today. Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg was harshly criticised in the final report on disinformation by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Select Committee, having declined several invitations to attend [...]
Pearson sells US school textbook arm for $250m February 18, 2019 Pearson announced the $250m (£194m) sale of its US school textbook division today as it pursues a simplification strategy as it doubles down on digital. Read more: Pearson's shares fall amid declining US revenues The education publisher expects to net $25m today and the full sum over the next three to seven years from the [...]
Scout24 board approves Blackstone consortium’s €5.7bn takeover February 15, 2019 Blackstone has won the support of Scout24's board with its latest offer of €5.7bn (£5.01bn) for the German online classifieds company. The bid sent Scout24's share price up more than 24 per cent during early morning trading to €46.60, more than the current offer is worth. Read more: Blackstone takes on Bloomberg, paying $20bn for Thomson Reuters [...]
Data regulator pushes for a wider remit in tech giant audits February 14, 2019 Future regulation on the world’s biggest tech companies must include the UK’s data watchdog, information commissioner Elizabeth Denham said today. Speaking at the Institute for Government, Denham described MPs’ calls for regulation of tech giants as a “knee-jerk reaction” that, if excessive, could impinge on freedom of expression. Her comments came as platforms such as [...]
EU agrees draft copyright reform amid clash between publishers and tech giants February 14, 2019 EU negotiators have reached a deal to reform copyright rules in a move that could overhaul intellectual property rights in the digital age and strike a blow against tech giants. The EU Commission late last night secured a draft agreement to force online platforms to take down user-generated content that breaches intellectual property rights. Read [...]
Twitter boss Jack Dorsey admits ‘huge fail’ in not preventing online abuse February 13, 2019 Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey has said that tech firms such as his own have not done enough to protect victims of online abuse. In a conversation with Recode, Dorsey awarded Twitter a 'C' grade for its past efforts, and labelled the current climate a "huge fail" on the part of Silicon Valley. Myself? C. We’ve made [...]