Huawei predicts ‘difficult’ 2020 as US sanctions bite December 31, 2019 Huawei has cut its full-year revenue forecasts, with the Chinese tech giant’s chairman saying 2020 is likely to be a “difficult year” for the company after US trade blacklisting disrupted growth and its ability to source key parts. The world’s biggest maker of telecom network equipment and second largest smartphone manufacturer said its full-year revenue [...]
Brazil fines Facebook over data breach December 30, 2019 Brazil has fined US tech giant Facebook 6.6m reais (£1.24m) for improperly sharing data after the information of more than 400,000 users was made available to app developers. Brazil’s Ministry of Justice said it found that data from 443,000 Facebook users was made improperly available to developers of an app called “thisisyourdigitallife”. Read more: Facebook [...]
Google workers exposed to chemical that causes birth defects December 29, 2019 Google has admitted that some of its employees have been exposed to harmful chemicals than can cause birth defects. Factory workers making Google products, but hired by an outside supplier, have been exposed to N-Methylpyrrolidone, which can cause birth defects and serious skin and respiratory irritation. Read more: France fines Google over anti-competitive behaviour The [...]
Spotify to suspend political ads in 2020 December 28, 2019 Music streaming service Spotify has said it will pause selling political advertising in early 2020. The world’s most popular music subscription service, which according to latest figures has 141m users listen to its ad-supported platform, said the pause would include its original and exclusive podcasts. It comes as campaigns for the presidential election set for [...]
UK cyber security chief to step down next year December 28, 2019 The head of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has announced he will stand down next summer. The government said that Ciaran Martin would leave his post in 2020 on Friday evening, almost four years after founding the organisation. The 45-year-old said it had “been the privilege of a lifetime” and warned the challenge [...]
Softbank board loses dissenting voice as Uniqlo founder leaves December 27, 2019 The founder of clothes company Uniqlo will resign from the board of Softbank after 18 months in the job. Tadashi Yanai, who is chief executive of Uniqlo, will leave the Softbank independent board member post at the end of the month to focus on his fashion business. Read more: Softbank ‘tightening governance’ at firms it [...]
US National Security Advisor warns UK over using Huawei in 5G networks December 24, 2019 Robert O’Brien, the US National Security Advisor, has warned the UK over using Huawei for its 5G networks, saying that using the Chinese firm’s technology would put the UK’s intelligence services at risk. In an interview with the Financial Times, O’Brien said: “They are just going to steal wholesale state secrets, whether they are the [...]
Softbank’s Wework financing talks stall December 23, 2019 Softbank’s attempts to secure $3bn from three Japanese banks have stalled, creating a hurdle for the firm’s $9.5bn rescue plan for Wework. Softbank is now likely to start the new year without the funding for the office sharing company in place, after two of the lenders hit internal lending limits to the firm. Read more: [...]
Broadband speeds are increasing but rural towns lag behind December 20, 2019 Rural areas of the UK are lagging behind cities and towns as Boris Johnson’ government brings the nation’s digital divide into focus. A report by Ofcom, the UK’s telecoms regulator, showed that around 155,000 UK properties can not access decent broadband. These homes will be able to request coverage from BT from March 2020, the [...]
France fines Google €150m over anti-competitive behaviour December 20, 2019 France’s competition authority has fined Google €150m (£123m) for anti-competitive behaviour and mistreating advertisers who bought keyword adverts on its search engine. The search engine giant was accused of “brutal and unjustified” suspension of some advertisers by French authorities, which accused Google of abusing its dominance in the sector. Read more: Amazon, Apple and Google [...]