Budget 2020: Chancellor scraps VAT on digital publications March 11, 2020 Digital publications will no longer be liable to VAT charges under new measures outlined by chancellor Rishi Sunak today. In his inaugural Budget speech, Sunak said the so-called reading tax will be abolished from 1 December. This means that any digital publication, including books, newspapers, magazines and academic journals, will no longer be charged VAT. [...]
Tech giants summoned to Downing Street in coronavirus crackdown March 11, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson has summoned major tech firms to Downing Street tonight as the government cracks down on misinformation about coronavirus. Executives from all big social media companies are set to attend the Tech CEO Round Table, where they will be asked to commit “data, assets and expertise” to the fight against the outbreak. [...]
How mathematical models attempt to predict the spread of disease March 11, 2020 The various pronouncements on coronavirus are a source of puzzlement to many. On the one hand there are lurid predictions of millions of cases and hundreds of thousands of deaths. On the other, while the actual numbers are growing, they seem tiny so far compared to the scale of the predictions. Almost 100 years ago, [...]
NBCUniversal quietly offloads $500m Snapchat stake March 9, 2020 NBCUniversal has quietly offloaded its $500m (£381m) stake in Snapchat as the US media giant ramps up preparations for its new streaming service. Parent company Comcast acquired the shareholding in March 2017 when Snap completed its initial public offering. The investment was passed to NBCUniversal, which then quietly sold off the stake last year. NBCUniversal [...]
Twitter boss Jack Dorsey keeps jobs after firm strikes deal with activist Elliott March 9, 2020 Twitter boss Jack Dorsey will hold on to his position after the social media firm struck a deal with an activist investor that mounted a dramatic coup attempt. Hedge fund Elliott Management, which is led by billionaire Paul Singer, has built a stake of roughly four per cent in Twitter and pushed for an overhaul [...]
Amazon to sell check-out free store tech to other retailers March 9, 2020 Amazon has launched a new business to sell its check-out free store technology to other retailers. The tech giant launched a website this morning inviting customers to inquire about the service. Amazon, which uses similar technology in its own chain of convenience stores, said it has already signed several deals. The ‘Just Walk Out’ technology [...]
Facebook sued by Australian data watchdog over Cambridge Analytica scandal March 9, 2020 The Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) is suing Facebook over alleged privacy breaches related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. In a case filed with the Federal Court today, the watchdog alleged that the personal data of more than 300,000 Australian Facebook users had been exposed to be sold and used for purposes including political profiling. The [...]
New government cyber unit to grill social media firms over coronavirus fake news March 9, 2020 The government has set up a new cyber team to crack down on the spreading of fake news linked to the coronavirus outbreak on social media platforms. Departments across Whitehall have been brought in to form a new unit aimed at assessing the potential extent, scope and impact of fake news. The team will also [...]
How better competition policy can restore public trust in capitalism March 6, 2020 Competition policy is not something most people spend much time thinking about. It’s a dry, legalistic area of policy that even elected officials themselves have largely preferred to delegate to technocratic regulators. Yet competition policy is an integral part of the lifeblood of capitalism. At a time when trust in the market economy is under [...]
Airbnb signs data sharing partnership with European Commission March 5, 2020 Airbnb has signed a data sharing partnership with the statistical office of the European Commission. The agreement with Eurostat will give European public authorities access to independently published data on short-term rentals on Airbnb. “The agreement will for the first time permit access to reliable data about holiday and other short-stay accommodation offered via these [...]