Addison Lee launches self-driving taxi trials in Canary Wharf November 7, 2018 Private hire firm Addison Lee has begun trialling self-driving car technology, created by UK startup Oxbotica, on the streets of London. Driving around the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf, Addison Lee's manned cars are creating a three-dimensional street map of the city in order to create the backdrop for future driverless cars. Organised together with Canary [...]
EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager signals decision on Google Adsense investigation November 7, 2018 European competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager has said regulators are close to releasing findings against Google, which could see the tech giant hit with another record-breaking fine. The investigation is the third of its kind into Google and its parent firm Alphabet by the antitrust watchdog in recent years, after the firm was fined €4.3bn (£3.8bn) earlier this year over market [...]
More than £540m wiped off value of cyber security firm Sophos after forecasts cut November 7, 2018 More than £540m has been wiped off the value of cyber security firm Sophos after it cut forecasts for the second half of the financial year. The company said “challenging year-on-year” comparatives meant it now expected only a modest improvement in billings growth through to March 2019. It had previously hoped for “mid-teens” billings growth [...]
DEBATE: Is Tim Berners-Lee right that we need to save the web from abuse? November 7, 2018 Is Tim Berners-Lee right that we need to save the web from abuse? Sven Hughes, chief executive and founder of Verbalisation and Global Influence, says YES. When info.cern.ch went live in 1991, it was the address of the world’s first ever website and web server. Sir Tim Berners-Lee was the man to create that website, and [...]
Hammond’s digital tax is an illogical game of whack-a-mole November 7, 2018 The introduction of a new digital services tax was the most depressingly inevitable part of Philip Hammond’s Budget speech last week. Years of pressure from a pincer movement of corporate tax moralists and traditional retailers have paid off. Starting in April 2020, profitable digital businesses with £500m in global revenues would face a two per cent [...]
Politicians should be wary of regulating the internet November 7, 2018 The internet is under scrutiny like never before. On Monday, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, architect of the world wide web, warned of his invention’s detrimental effect on society and democracy, and launched a “Magna Carta” so people can use it “freely, safely and without fear”. Then yesterday, the UK information commissioner, Elizabeth Denham, gave evidence to [...]
Tesla short-seller David Einhorn warns Elon Musk’s last quarter was its peak November 6, 2018 One of Tesla's most outspoken short-sellers David Einhorn has said its most recent third quarter was "as good as it gets", spurning theories that the electric carmaker had reached a turning point. Einhorn, whose hedge fund Greenlight Capital has consistently shorted Tesla's shares, said in an earnings call this afternoon that Tesla had "exhausted" most of the [...]
‘Self-regulation ship has sailed’: UK data watchdog targets Facebook after Cambridge Analytica scandal November 6, 2018 Facebook showed a “disturbing level of disrespect” for users whose data was stolen in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, according to the head of the UK’s data watchdog. Information commissioner Elizabeth Denham also called for the tech giant to be regulated, saying she was “astounded” at the sheer amount of personal data held by the social [...]
EU leaders split on plans for a European digital tax November 6, 2018 EU member states have failed to reach a consensus on imposing an EU-wide digital services tax, which affects firms such as Facebook and Alphabet, over fears of potential US retaliation. The plan, which requires approval from all 28 EU member states, is opposed by many. The levy would see a three per cent tax placed [...]
Facebook blocks 115 ‘inauthentic’ accounts over election interference fears as midterm elections start November 6, 2018 Facebook has blocked more than 100 accounts displaying suspicious activity on the eve of the US midterm elections, raising concerns of voting manipulation. The social network is investigating whether 30 Facebook accounts and 85 Instagram accounts might be connected to Russia’s Internet Research Agency, which was at the heart of attempts to use social media [...]