EU imposes tougher AI and data rules to curb tech giants’ power February 19, 2020 The EU has today proposed a raft of new artificial intelligence (AI) rules to curb the power of US tech firms, forcing them to share their data with smaller rivals. The white paper, which is part of a wider digital programme released today by the European Commission, set out ways to limit the perceived dangers [...]
OTB Ventures launches $100m fund for tech investment in Europe February 19, 2020 OTB Ventures has announced the launch of its early growth technology fund with $100m in commitments. The investment vehicle, which specialises in investments in tech companies in Central and Eastern Europe. It focuses on early stage, post-product, start-ups in region and is targeting investment in a total of 16 companies to comprise its portfolio by [...]
Tiktok launches family mode in latest bid to improve user safety February 19, 2020 Tiktok today unveiled a new feature aimed at helping parents and guardians keep their children safe, marking the social media platform’s latest effort to fight off concerns about harmful material. The video-sharing app’s family safety mode will link a parent’s Tiktok account to their teenager’s, allowing them to control a range of features remotely. Parents [...]
US prosecutors overlooked HSBC sanctions breaches in exchange for help targeting Huawei February 18, 2020 US prosecutors overlooked violations of US sanctions against Iran by HSBC in exchange for cooperation with an investigation into Huawei, lawyers for the Chinese tech giant said. “The government agreed to overlook HSBC’s continued misconduct, electing not to punish the bank, prosecute its executives or even extend the monitorship,” Huawei’s lawyers wrote in a 10 [...]
Apple supply chain sinks into red on coronavirus fears February 18, 2020 Shares in Apple slipped more than two per cent in afternoon trading while its suppliers around the globe were dragged into the red after the tech giant warned the coronavirus outbreak would impact its quarterly targets. The iPhone maker last night told investors that it would not meet its revenue forecast of between $63bn (£48bn) [...]
Union slams Amazon over ‘hellish’ warehouse conditions February 18, 2020 More than 600 serious injuries or near misses have been logged at Amazon warehouses in the past three years, according to the latest figures from GMB Union. Between 2016/17 and 2018/19 a total of 622 reports have been made from Amazon warehouses to the Health and Safety Executive, the union said as it called for [...]
Who do you think you are? A conscious AI workforce could lead to a world of slaves February 18, 2020 With artificial intelligence (AI) promising to make huge numbers of people redundant across a swathe of industries, there’s been much discussion of “the world without work”. Some see in that a utopia, in which automation provides us all with limitless free time; others, a nightmarish end to human dignity. But if the machines do take [...]
Klarna and Stripe investor Atomico launches fifth tech fund at $820m February 18, 2020 London venture capital giant Atomico has today revealed the close of its fifth fund, aimed at young European tech startups, at $820m (£630.2m). The investor has previously backed global companies such as Klarna, Stripe and Supercell, as well as British success stories such as Farmdrop, Habito and Graphcore. The closure of Atomico V brings the [...]
The privacy paradox: How we got trapped in a data dystopia February 18, 2020 One of the less encouraging reports to come out of the tech world this month was that Facebook, everyone’s favourite villainous corporation, knew very well about the colossal security flaw that let hackers rob personal data from millions of users long before the breach itself. Facebook employees have said that they felt “guilt” and “hurt” [...]
Apple says it will miss revenue targets because of coronavirus impact February 17, 2020 Apple said today it will not meet its quarterly revenue guidance due to the coronavirus outbreak which has affected production and demand in China. The company had previously forecast $63bn (£48bn) to $67bn in revenue for the quarter ending in March. It did not give a revised forecast today. Apple said that despite the fact [...]