Screenshot: Will Tim Davie win the generation game? October 30, 2020 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: A sorry soy saga ** Tim Davie and the BBC’s tug of war ** The tech titans’ tumultuous year Media Moment of the Week This week it’s another [...]
Facebook revenue jumps as pandemic drives up traffic October 29, 2020 Facebook today posted better-than-expected revenue for the third quarter as higher user numbers during the coronavirus pandemic helped drive up revenue. The social media platform posted revenue of $21.5bn (£16.6bn) in the three-month period, up from $17.7bn last year. Net income rose from $6.1bn to $7.8bn. The bulk of the revenue was generated by advertising [...]
EU to ban tech firms from promoting their own services in new crackdown October 29, 2020 Tech giants will be banned from unfairly promoting their own services and will have to do more to crack down on harmful content under new rules being prepared by the EU. Competition chief Margrethe Vestager today proposed a raft of tough new laws and promised greater powers for enforcement bodies in a bid to tackle [...]
Tech earnings: What to look out for in a bumper day of Silicon Valley results October 29, 2020 All eyes will be on Silicon Valley tonight as the tech giants prepare to unveil their earnings for the third quarter. Google owner Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Twitter are all set to update investors on their trading during a turbulent period dominated by the coronavirus crisis. Earnings season for the so-called FAANG companies kicked [...]
Tech bosses blasted by US politicians over content moderation October 28, 2020 The bosses of Facebook, Twitter and Google faced attacks from US Senators this afternoon during a fiery hearing over how tech firms moderate content on their platforms. The tech chiefs were grilled by a US Senate committee for more than three and a half hours over Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects [...]
Facebook sued over Cambridge Analytica data scandal October 28, 2020 Facebook is being sued over its misuse of data during the Cambridge Analytica breach, opening the social media firm up to further fines for its role in the scandal. A group action lawsuit representing 1m users in England and Wales was filed today to gain “redress and compensation for the persistent mass misuse of personal [...]
US election: Where do Trump and Biden stand on tech issues? October 28, 2020 The bosses of Facebook, Twitter and Google are this afternoon appearing in front of a US Senate committee to face questions over key issues of tech regulation. With tech titans facing increased scrutiny in their home country, the topic is likely to be a key policy issue in the run-up to the presidential election. So [...]
Tech bosses to defend key internet law in front of US Senate October 27, 2020 The bosses of the world’s biggest tech giants will tomorrow launch an impassioned defence of a key law, arguing that it is crucial to maintaining freedom of expression online. During an appearance in front of the Senate commerce committee, the chief executives of Facebook and Twitter will defend Section 230, a provision of the 1996 [...]
Tech firms demand legal safeguards over content moderation October 26, 2020 Tech giants including Google and Facebook have called on the EU to introduce a “legal safeguard” to limit their liability when proactively tackling harmful content. Brussels is currently drafting rules under its upcoming Digital Services Act that would increase companies’ responsibility for removing illegal material posted to their platform. But in a report released today, [...]
Facebook takes on Google and Amazon with cloud gaming launch October 26, 2020 Facebook has launched a free cloud gaming feature on its platform, becoming the latest tech giant to move into the lucrative games market. The social media site today said users will be able to stream games such as Asphalt 9: Legends and PGA Tour Golf Shootout on the Facebook app and browser with no download [...]