Zoom and Instagram brand values jump as tech firms get Covid-19 boost October 20, 2020 Zoom, Instagram and Youtube have all swept into the rankings of the world’s 100 most valuable brands for the first time this year as the pandemic sparked a major boost for tech companies. Social media and streaming companies have enjoyed booming demand as millions of people have been forced to stay at home during the [...]
EU opens probe into Instagram over exposure of children’s data October 19, 2020 The EU has launched an investigation into Instagram over its handling of children’s data following accusations the platform exposed the contact details of millions of under-18s. The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) today said it was opening two probes into Facebook, which owns Instagram, over claims that users’ phone numbers and email addresses were made [...]
UK watchdog ramps up pressure on tech giants as it sets one-year ultimatum October 19, 2020 The UK competition watchdog has urged the government to step up plans for a new digital regulator as it warned it is preparing to take action against tech giants such as Facebook and Google. Andrea Coscelli, chief executive of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), said his organisation was “actively considering” potential enforcement cases in [...]
Swipe card: Social media accounts for quarter of all online purchases October 14, 2020 Almost a quarter of all online purchases are now made through social media, new data has revealed, as more and more people use their favourite messaging platforms for shopping. Research by Visa showed almost a fifth of Brits use social apps to shop, while one in 10 has made a purchase this way since the [...]
Facebook donates £1m to Bletchley Park after Covid-19 hit October 13, 2020 Facebook has donated £1m to Bletchley Park to help the World War Two code-breaking hub survive the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The social media platform described Bletchley Park as “one of the UK’s national treasures” and said its donation aimed to help keep it open to the world. During the Second World War Bletchley [...]
EU regulators draw up ‘hit list’ of tech giants to share data with smaller rivals October 12, 2020 European Union regulators have reportedly drawn up a “hit list” of around 20 tech giants, potentially including Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Google, to reduce their market power. The internet platforms will be hit with tougher regulations than their smaller rivals under the new rules. They will be forced to share data with competitors and be [...]
Facebook issues temporary ban on political ads after US election October 8, 2020 Facebook will stop running political ads in the US after polls close on 3 November in a bid to prevent “confusion or abuse” in the aftermath of the presidential election. The social media giant said the temporary ban marked its efforts to “protect the integrity of the election by fighting foreign interference, misinformation and voter [...]
Big tech faces break-up as Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google accused of ‘monopoly power’ October 7, 2020 Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google have all abused their market power and could face a potential break-up, according to a damning new report backed by US Democratic politicians. In a 449-page recommendation released yesterday, the US House Antitrust Committee set out a roadmap for cracking down on the tech giants. The report follows a 16-month [...]
Citigroup fires employee who ran QAnon conspiracy website October 7, 2020 Citigroup has sacked an employee in its technology department after it emerged he ran a popular website dedicated to the QAnon conspiracy theory. Jason Gelinas, who worked as an information technology specialist, was identified by fact checking website Logically.ai as the operator of the website QMap.pub. He was initially placed on leave from the investment [...]
Facebook removes Trump post claiming flu is more deadly than Covid-19 October 6, 2020 Facebook today removed a post by US President Donald Trump in which he falsely claimed that seasonal flu was more deadly than coronavirus. The social media site removed the post as it breached its policies on misinformation related to Covid-19. In the post Trump falsely claimed that the flu sometimes killed more than 100,000 Americans [...]