IBM ditches facial recognition tech business amid racial profiling concerns June 9, 2020 Computing giant IBM has called time on its facial recognition business, after saying that it opposes the use of technology for racial profiling and mass surveillance. IBM chief execuvite Arvind Krishna said the company will no longer sell facial recognition services, as it seeks to “advance racial equality”. In a letter to members of US [...]
South Korean court denies arrest warrant request for Samsung leader June 8, 2020 A court in South Korea has today denied a request for an arrest warrant for Samsung Group heir Jay Y. Lee, after prosecutors sought to charge him with accounting fraud and stock manipulation. Prosecutors had requested an arrest warrant for Lee last week as part of a probe into a controversial 2015 merger of two [...]
Ride-hailing giant Gett chases $60m raise ahead of stock market debut June 8, 2020 Gett, the ride-hailing company part-owned by car giant Volkswagen, is close to raising a $60m (£47m) funding injection as it gears up to go public. The Uber rival is finalising the round which would be its first external fundraise since it secured $200m from investors last year. Sources told Sky News that the new funding [...]
Decision looms on second arrest of Samsung boss on fraud allegations June 8, 2020 A South Korean court is expected to rule today on whether to arrest Samsung Group leader Jay Y. Lee on new allegations including accounting fraud and stock manipulation, two years after completing his last jail sentence. Prosecutors requested an arrest warrant for Lee last week as part of a probe into a controversial 2015 merger [...]
Nokia boosts broadband arm as rival Ericsson flags 5G losses June 8, 2020 Telecoms equipment giant Nokia has said it is seeing a pick-up in orders as providers seek to boost their broadband networks as global lockdown measures raise demand. The coronavirus pandemic has left many people reliant on home broadband connections to continue working, putting a strain on networks. Nokia’s president of fixed networks Sandy Motley said [...]
Why you might never buy a phone again June 8, 2020 | Sponsored In the past few years we’ve ditched DVDs, said goodbye to CDs and realised that owning a car is an expensive inconvenience. Increasingly consumers looking to save time, space and money are streaming, subscribing and leasing their stuff. The next item to lease could be your mobile phone and that’s where London-based startup, www.raylo.com, comes [...]
DEBATE: Should we be worried about the privacy issues around the contact tracing app? June 8, 2020 Should we be worried about the security and privacy issues around the government’s contact tracing app? Silkie Carlo, director of Big Brother Watch, says YES. The government’s contact tracing strategy raises many questions and offers few answers. Why does the UK government, unlike other democracies, want a state-controlled contact tracing app? Why do they want [...]
Astrazeneca approaches Gilead about potential merger June 8, 2020 British pharmaceuticals giant Astrazeneca has approached US rival Gilead Sciences over a potential merger in what would form the biggest healthcare deal on record, Bloomberg reported yesterday. The Cambridge-based firm contacted Gilead last month in a bid to gauge interest in a possible deal, but did not provide details of any transaction, according to Bloomberg. [...]
Coronavirus: BBC calls for right to publish news directly on Whatsapp June 4, 2020 The BBC should be allowed to publish directly on chat platforms such as Whatsapp to help counter fake news about the Covid-19 crisis, one of the broadcaster’s top bosses has said. Jamie Angus, director of the BBC World Service Group, urged tech giants to open their platforms to trusted news providers as part of their [...]
Apple boss Tim Cook pens open letter on racism after ‘senseless’ George Floyd killing June 4, 2020 Apple chief executive Tim Cook has published an open letter admitting that his company must do more to tackle racism. In the letter, published on Apple’s website, Cook spoke out about the “senseless killing” of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed in police custody in Minneapolis. “To create change, we have to [...]