Rumour mill: Musk takeover spells mass job cuts for Twitter staff October 21, 2022 Elon Musk has told prospective investors that he plans to axe nearly 75 per cent of Twitter’s staff, as the billionaire continues to push forward with a takeover deal. According to reports from the Washington Post, although HR teams have reassured employees that mass layoffs were not coming any time soon, documents showed that plans [...]
YouTube bets on personalisation as the online video giant copies Twitter handles October 21, 2022 Youtube said it would be introducing handles in the coming weeks to make it easier for members of the community to find and connect with each other. In an announcement today, the Google-owned video site said handles will be unique to each channel and will be how people mention each other in comments, community posts, [...]
Advertising cuts continue to sting Snapchat October 21, 2022 Snapchat’s growth continued to plateau this quarter as the advertising slump continues for the social media company. Falling well below most Wall Street estimates, Snap’s said revenue climbed a humble six per cent to $1,13bn, while net losses widened from $72m to $360m. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation was $73m, compared to [...]
Pressure mounts to save end-to-end encryption cull in online safety laws October 21, 2022 The rallying cry to block new laws that could undermine end-to-end encryption have grown louder today, as free speech groups urge the government to rethink its strategy to online safety. In a fresh call this morning, the Global Encryption Coalition, which includes anonymity network Tor and Open Rights Group, said the online safety bill should [...]
AT&T’s pivot away from media and towards telcos starts paying off October 20, 2022 Shares soared for AT&T this afternoon as the firm’s enhanced focus towards telecoms appears to be paying off. The telcos giant posted an adjusted profit of 68 cents per share on revenue of $30bn in its third quarter, topping to the 61 cents and $29.86bn analysts had predicted. The third largest provider of mobile phone services in the US [...]
IT industry is ‘recession-proof’ as businesses look to cut costs October 20, 2022 The IT industry is “recession-proof”, according to a top analyst at market research giant Gartner, despite economic downturns pushing businesses to trim costs. Global spending on IT, which includes software, devices, communications services and data centres, is forecast to total $4.6 trillion in 2023 – a jump of more than five per cent in comparison [...]
Government committee launches inquiry to regulate AI in the UK October 20, 2022 A government Committee has launched an inquiry into artificial intelligence in a bid to regulate it as it become an increasingly appealing avenue for businesses. “AI is already transforming almost every area of research and business. It has extraordinary potential but there are concerns about how the existing regulatory system is suited to a world [...]
Nokia tech sales dragged by expired licences as it warns on consumer spending October 20, 2022 Nokia’s tech sales have continued to be dragged down by “expired licences that are in litigation” and pending renewal, the company said today. The Finnish telecoms company, which also warned of weaker spending from consumers amid a global economic downturn, reported today that sales from its technologies business has fallen nearly 20 per cent in [...]
Kudos for OnlyFans: Watchdog says smaller video platforms need to do more to protect kids October 20, 2022 New research from Ofcom has found that smaller adult video-sharing platforms need to do more to prevent children from accessing porn. In a report published today, the media regulator said it was concerned that whilst smaller companies had some age verification measures in place, they did not go far enough. One unnamed adult platform told [...]
UK will miss net zero target if it fails chips industry, says Cognizant exec October 20, 2022 The government will miss its net zero target by 2050 if it fails to prioritise its semiconductor industry, the UK boss of US tech giant Cognizant has warned. Chips, used in most of today’s electronics, are critical in the green transition – from smart metres to windfarms – but are currently in short supply worldwide [...]