Facebook to trial new ad control tools to tackle harmful content January 29, 2021 Facebook is to build and trial new tools that will give brands greater control over what content appears alongside their ads. The social media platform said its new advertiser topic exclusion controls will initially be trialled with a small group of advertisers. The new tools mark efforts by Facebook to reassure advertisers amid concerns their [...]
Competition watchdog opens probe into Facebook’s Giphy takeover January 28, 2021 The UK competition watchdog has launched a formal investigation into Facebook’s takeover of popular gif search engine Giphy. Facebook last year announced it planned to merge the gif-maker with Instagram in a deal worth a reported $400m (£321m). The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) served an initial enforcement order in June, forcing the social media [...]
Facebook revenue beats analyst expectations and rises to £28bn in fourth quarter January 27, 2021 Revenue at Facebook rose to $26.44bn in the fourth quarter of 2020, up some $7bn on the same time last year. Facebook beat analysts’ estimates for quarterly revenue on today, powered by increased ad spending by businesses to capitalise on a holiday shopping season driven online by the pandemic. Total revenue, which comprised primarily of [...]
Under the influence: How reality stars’ Dubai trips could sink social media marketing January 27, 2021 While online fitness guru Sheridan Mordew has undoubtedly succeeded at influencing people, she may be struggling to make friends. When the social media influencer, who posts workout videos for her thousands of online followers, insisted that her much-documented trip to Dubai was essential business travel, she was met with little sympathy. In fact, Mordew is [...]
Apple set to break $100bn quarterly sales record as tech boom continues January 27, 2021 Apple’s bullish run shows no signs of slowing down, with the tech giant expected to join an exclusive club of companies to have earned revenue of more than $100bn (£730m) in a single quarter. Analysts have predicted quarterly revenue of $102.6bn for the iPhone maker, which would mark year-on-year growth of 12 per cent — [...]
Before the Bell: Investors look to the Fed and zoom in on Apple and Facebook January 27, 2021 Markets in Europe look set to continue to be driven by the prospect of further restrictions being imposed by governments concerned about seeing further increases in coronavirus cases, from speculation about a third lockdown in France, which could come by the weekend, to the prospect of further restrictions here in the UK in the form [...]
Facebook launches UK news service in boost for publishers January 26, 2021 Facebook will today start rolling out its dedicated news feed, marking a major boost for publishers in a long-running tussle over online advertising revenue. Facebook News will offer users a selection of curated stories alongside news personalised to their interests from hundreds of national, local and lifestyle outlets. The social media site today said it [...]
Bar-a-Lago: Facebook to review Trump ban January 21, 2021 Facebook’s independent oversight board will review the company’s decision to ban former US president Donald Trump’s social media accounts. Both Trump’s Facebook and Instagram profiles will remain suspended while the review is underway, the company announced. In the first move of its kind, Mark Zuckerberg’s company suspended the former president earlier this month in the [...]
Biden mulls creation of competition tsar amid tech probes January 20, 2021 The administration of incoming US President Joe Biden is said to be mulling the creation of a new White House role focused on competition issues amid a string of probes into tech giants. The Biden administration is still weighing up the role, which could be based in the White House or focus on coordinating actions [...]
Screenshot: Is social media heading for a new era of privacy? January 15, 2021 A weekly column from City A.M. bringing you all the biggest stories and trends in technology, media and telecoms This week **Media Moment of the Week: CNN’s crowbar correction **Whatsapp’s privacy exodus **Music touring: A victim of Brexit? Media Moment of the Week Given the extent of the carnage at the Capitol last week, reporters [...]