Twitter beats revenue expectations after advertising revamp July 23, 2021 Twitter has reported better-than-expected revenue growth in its second quarter as the social media site reaped the rewards of an overhaul of its advertising service. The tech firm posted total revenue of $1.19bn in the three months to the end of June, up 74 per cent on the same period last year and ahead of [...]
Visa to buy London payments firm Currencycloud for £700m July 22, 2021 Visa has inked a deal to buy London payments group Currencycloud in the latest move by a US buyer to swoop on the booming British tech sector. The financial services giant today said the deal builds on an existing partnership between the companies and values Currencycloud at £700m inclusive of cash and retention incentives. However, [...]
Online harms laws pose threat to free speech, Lords committee warns July 22, 2021 The government’s plans to crack down on harmful online content pose a threat to freedom of speech and would be ineffective, peers have warned. In a report published today, the House of Lords communications and digital committee slammed plans to address “legal but harmful” material, saying the issue should instead be addressed through tougher law [...]
Space-tech: Billionaire Bezos’ flight to space to draw in starry-eyed investors July 21, 2021 Following Amazon boss Jeff Bezos’ 10-minute venture into space yesterday, space-tech investment may be set to rocket, space-fund boss Mark Boggett has said. Just last week Boggett’s space investment firm Seraphim Space listed on the London Stock Exchange after rallying £178.4m from starry-eyed investors in mid-July. “Branson, Musk and Bezos initially cracked open the [...]
Apple to double down on 5G for 2022 iPhone line-up July 21, 2021 Apple will reportedly release only 5G-enabled iPhones from next year and revamp its budget handset for the first time in two years as the company looks to boost sales of its flagship product. The tech giant will not introduce any new 4G models in 2022 and will instead begin selling a 5G version of its [...]
Power of 10: UK more than doubles number of $10bn companies amid tech boom July 21, 2021 The number of UK tech businesses worth at least $10bn (£7.3bn) has more than doubled in the last six months, marking the latest sign of a boom in the British tech sector. Fintech darling Revolut, recently-listed Wise and online grocery giant Ocado are among the businesses to gain the title of decacorn in the first [...]
Pegasus spyware data leaks spark political rows from Delhi to Mexico July 20, 2021 Politicians, journalists and human rights activists are believed to be targeted by Israeli spyware company NSO Group in the interest of its government clients, media reports on Monday. A list of more than 50,000 phone numbers was allegedly selected for potential surveillance as those of people of interest by government clients of NSO Group since [...]
Amazon boss Jeff Bezos completes Blue Origin space flight July 20, 2021 Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos has landed safely back on Earth following the inaugural space flight aboard his company Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket. The world’s richest person and three crewmates were launched to the edge of space on a voyage that lasted roughly 10 minutes and 20 seconds. They blasted off from Blue Origin’s Launch [...]
China calls US, UK cyber attack allegations ‘groundless and irresponsible’ July 20, 2021 China has denied US-led accusations of orchestrating a global cyber hacking campaign against tech giants including Microsoft. The US and a coalition of allies, including the UK, EU, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and Nato, on Monday accused China behind the “systematic cyber sabotage”, including a major hacking of Microsoft earlier this year. China hit [...]
Ministers urged to include online adverts in new safety bill July 20, 2021 The government has been urged to include paid-for online adverts in its new online safety bill amid concerns the pandemic has led to a “devastating” surge in scams. Ministers have outlined plans to hold tech companies liable for harmful material posted to their platforms, with the new laws set to be presented to pre-legislative scrutiny. [...]