UK tech sector to be hit harder than France or Germany in 2020 July 23, 2020 Technology spending is set to be hit harder in the UK than in France or Germany, new research revealed, as different approaches to the pandemic weigh on the sector. Research from Forrester said the UK will be most heavily impacted, with an expected tech decline of up to 9.3 per cent in 2020, followed by [...]
Facebook takes aim at Zoom with Messenger live broadcasts July 23, 2020 Facebook today revealed a new feature for its Messenger chat service, which allows users to live-stream their video meetings to Facebook with up to 50 other people. The update poses a direct challenge to video conferencing app Zoom, which charges its users to broadcast meetings to other platforms. Combining Messenger Rooms with Facebook Live, users [...]
Apple co-founder Wozniak files bitcoin scam lawsuit against Youtube July 23, 2020 Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is leading a lawsuit launched by tech entrepreneurs against Google and its video site Youtube, over a series of bitcoin scams which use his name and image. Wozniak has accused Youtube of failing to deal with the problem, and ignoring his requests to have the videos taken down. The scam, which [...]
Twitter suffers advertising revenue slump amid pandemic and US protests July 23, 2020 Twitter suffered a 23 per cent slump in advertising revenue in the second quarter due to the coronavirus pandemic and civil unrest in the US. The social media giant said today that advertising revenue was $562m, down 23 per cent year-on-year. The company said it had seen a “gradual, moderate recovery” compared to March, however [...]
From Mad Men to micro-targeting: The internet has democratised advertising July 23, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic has shown that the internet is something we can no longer live without. It has helped us to connect with loved ones we have been unable to physically meet, build communities and groups online to provide help to those who needed it most, and crucially it has enabled small businesses to continue [...]
Tesla shares bounce on fourth consecutive quarterly profit July 22, 2020 Tesla has beat analyst estimates to report its fourth consecutive quarterly profit, inching it closer to entering the S&P 500 index. It posted earnings per share of 50 cents for the second quarter, compared to a loss of $2.31 a year earlier. Tesla is now able to qualify for entry into the S&P 500. At [...]
Microsoft surprises investors in sales and profit beat July 22, 2020 Microsoft topped analyst estimates for both sales and earnings in its fourth fiscal quarter, but shares still dropped slightly in after-hours trading. Microsoft reported earnings per share of $1.46 in the three months to the end of June, compared to an average estimate of $1.34. However overall its net income was $11.2bn, down 15 per [...]
Facebook and Instagram to examine algorithm in racial bias investigation July 22, 2020 Facebook has said it is establishing two new groups to assess whether its policies and algorithms are racially biased, following a major advertising boycott against the social media giant. Facebook will set up an Inclusive Product Council, with a similar Equity Team at its sister app Instagram, to explore whether there are “potential biases” across [...]
Slack files formal EU antitrust complaint against Microsoft July 22, 2020 Slack has filed a complaint against Microsoft with the European Commission, arguing its bundling of its Teams messaging service and Office 365 is anti-competitive. Workplace messaging app Slack is a rival of Teams, which also offers video conferencing services. The complaint, filed this afternoon, accuses Microsoft of “illegal and anti-competitive practice” in abusing its market [...]
Twitter to suspend 150,000 accounts in QAnon conspiracy theory crackdown July 22, 2020 Twitter is taking action against more than 150,000 accounts in a widespread crackdown on the QAnon conspiracy theory movement. The social media network said it would also block QAnon URLs from being shared and cease recommending content linked to the growing movement. QAnon has grown from a fringe conspiracy theory on the edges of the [...]