Facebook Messenger is testing a dislike reaction button (astonished face!) March 5, 2017 Facebook is playing around with what might just be the most demanded feature ever on the social network – a dislike button. It's not quite a thumbs up to a thumbs down yet, but the tech giant's messaging service is hosting tests of a new dislike reaction, joining others such as love, angry and sad. [...]
Uber used a secret technology called Greyball to hide from regulators and avoid being shut down March 4, 2017 The blows just keep coming for Uber. It's now been revealed that for years the ride-hailing app has deceived regulators in areas where its services were resisted or banned by authorities by using a secret technology. Greyball, a programme that uses data from the Uber app and other technologies, was created to protect the firm from "violations [...]
Taxi for Uber: High Court rules in favour of TfL saying private hire drivers will have to pass a written English exam March 3, 2017 Uber has lost a key part of its High Court case against Transport for London (TfL), after a High Court ruled private hire drivers will be forced to pass a written English exam. The firm did though, win other parts of its case, so it won't have to provide a telephone call centre for passengers open 24 hours [...]
Jeff Bezos is planning Amazon-like delivery to the Moon for “future human settlement” March 3, 2017 That Jeff Bezos vs Elon Musk rivalry can't just be contained to measly planet Earth. Not a week since Elon Musk announced his SpaceX company will be sending two private citizens to the moon next year, the Amazon boss has told The Washington Post, which is owned by Bezos, his plans to set up Amazon-style delivery [...]
Snap shares sparkle and pop on first day of trading as it gets valued at around $28bn March 2, 2017 Shares in tech company Snap, parent of messaging app Snapchat, jumped more than 40 per cent in their first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday, defying doubts about the company’s early-stage business model, losses and slowing user growth. In a frantic day of trading, shares changed hands at more than $25, well [...]
TfL tells court: Our English tests for Uber drivers might be excessive, but it’s the best we have March 2, 2017 Lawyers for Transport for London (TfL) today told a court it is aware the testing it is proposing for private hire drivers, like Uber drivers, might be considered excessive, but it doesn't have a suitable alternative. Uber is challenging the legal basis for rules proposed by TfL which would require private hire drivers to take a [...]
Tuck in: UberEats is expanding to more areas in London March 2, 2017 Uber is expanding its food delivery service, UberEats, to more areas in London. Hungry West Londoners will now be able to order food from restaurants in the area straight to their door. After launching last summer serving zones 1 and 2 in central London, from today it will be available in Ealing, Wembley, Acton and Hounslow, south Richmond, Kingston [...]
Here’s how we build P2P firms that actually service the poor March 2, 2017 Is payday lender Wonga the only alternative finance business that actually addressed credit demand among poor people? A regulatory crackdown on the industry has pushed the most disadvantaged in this country towards hire purchase firms, where they “buy” something on credit, sell it on almost immediately to obtain ready cash, then end up paying back [...]
How health tech is revolutionising the NHS March 2, 2017 Establishing the NHS in 1948 was, in modern speak, a paradigm shift. Much has changed since 1948 however, not least the ageing population: the number of people aged over 65 is predicted to hit 10.8m by 2032, a 39 per cent sector rise since 2012, according to the King’s Fund. With the Government hotly pursuing £20bn of savings [...]
Overzealous EU data protection regulations are more likely to take your job than a robot March 2, 2017 Economist John Maynard Keynes once suggested, tongue only just in his cheek, that if governments want to create jobs, they could fill bottles with cash and bury them, so companies would hire workers to dig them up. The EU’s incoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), its attempt to strengthen and unify data protection laws, looks [...]