Citigroup fires employee who ran QAnon conspiracy website October 7, 2020 Citigroup has sacked an employee in its technology department after it emerged he ran a popular website dedicated to the QAnon conspiracy theory. Jason Gelinas, who worked as an information technology specialist, was identified by fact checking website Logically.ai as the operator of the website QMap.pub. He was initially placed on leave from the investment [...]
Bill Gates issues warning over spread of ‘titillating untruths’ on social media October 6, 2020 Bill Gates today took aim at social media platforms for allowing the spread of misinformation relating to the coronavirus pandemic. The business mogul said the Covid-19 crisis had highlighted the “urgent” need to crack down misleading and false information online, which he said spread “so much faster than the truth”. “There’s certainly a human weakness [...]
Facebook removes Trump post claiming flu is more deadly than Covid-19 October 6, 2020 Facebook today removed a post by US President Donald Trump in which he falsely claimed that seasonal flu was more deadly than coronavirus. The social media site removed the post as it breached its policies on misinformation related to Covid-19. In the post Trump falsely claimed that the flu sometimes killed more than 100,000 Americans [...]
Software mogul John McAfee arrested on US tax evasion charges October 6, 2020 Controversial tech millionaire John McAfee has been arrested in Spain on US charges of tax evasion. The anti-virus mogul, who founded software company McAfee, allegedly failed to file tax returns despite earning millions from promoting cryptocurrencies, speaking engagements and selling the rights to his life story for a documentary. McAfee faces extradition to the US [...]
Nvidia to build UK’s largest supercomputer after $40bn Arm takeover bid October 5, 2020 Nvidia today announced plans to build the UK’s largest supercomputer, just weeks after the US tech group tabled a controversial $40bn (£31bn) offer for British chip designer Arm. The £40m supercomputer — dubbed Cambridge-1 — will be made available to healthcare researchers using artificial intelligence to find cures for a range of medical challenges, including [...]
Crowdfunding platforms Seedrs and Crowdcube announce plans to merge October 5, 2020 Crowdfunding platforms Seedrs and Crowdcube have announced plans to merge, creating one of the world’s biggest private equity marketplaces. In a statement this morning the companies said the deal would create a “more robust” firm, allowing it to help fund more businesses. Crowdcube will acquire all of the outstanding share capital of Seedrs, with existing [...]
NZX information boss departs after four-day cyberattack October 5, 2020 New Zealand Exchange (NZX) is replacing its chief information officer after the stock exchange was forced to shut down for four days as a result of a major cyberattack last month. David Godfrey, who had been with the NZX for more than a decade, will leave at the end of this year, the company confirmed. [...]
US senate votes to subpoena tech bosses to testify October 1, 2020 US tech bosses will be hauled in front of congress after a senate committee voted to compel them to testify. Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, Google chief executive Sundar Pichai and Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey will be questioned on reforming Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The act shields social media firms from [...]
Tech Nation bolsters board as it seeks to help economy recover from Covid-19 September 28, 2020 Tech Nation has bolstered its board as it seeks to help the UK economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic. The tech entrepreneur network has appointed former Palamon Capital finance chief Annette Wilson, Impact X Capital Partners founder Eric Collins, Hoxton Ventures partner Hussein Kanji and Benevolent AI senior vice president Trecilla Lobo to its board [...]
Boris Johnson’s gigabit broadband target will be ‘missed by years’, warns BT boss September 27, 2020 Boris Johnson’s target for delivering gigabit broadband across the UK will be missed by eight years without £9bn worth of tax and red tape cuts, BT has warned ministers. BT claims the industry is on course to deliver gigabit speeds across the nation by 2033, significantly later than Johnson’s election pledge of full coverage by [...]