DCMS chair Damian Collins calls for crackdown on fake news spread by ‘wealthy people’ October 10, 2019 A top MP has called for a crackdown on campaign groups funded by “wealthy people” that spread disinformation on social media. Damian Collins, chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee, warned that much of the discourse on social media was not spread organically but rather promoted by shady backers. Read more: [...]
Bank of England sets out strict regulatory conditions for Facebook Libra October 9, 2019 The Bank of England (BoE) has set out the rules of engagement that Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency and other similar digital payment providers would have to satisfy before they can launch in Britain. “Libra has the potential to become a systemically important payment system,” the BoE’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) said in a policy statement released [...]
Paypal first firm to drop out of Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency October 5, 2019 Paypal has pulled out of an alliance attempting to launch Facebook’s digital currency Libra. The payment firm announced its decision on Friday in a statement but did not reveal why the decision has been made. The cryptocurrency and its digital wallet, Calibra, were revealed by Facebook in June. Read more: Libra co-founder hits out at [...]
Facebook can be forced to remove illegal posts worldwide after EU court ruling October 3, 2019 The European Union’s highest court has ruled that courts within the EU can order Facebook to remove worldwide posts by users on the social network that have been declared illegal, in a major blow to the social media giant. The European Court of Justice’s decision came after a former Austrian politician, Eva Glawisching-Piesczek, sought the [...]
Mark Zuckerberg says control over Facebook prevented him being fired October 1, 2019 Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg has admitted he would have been fired on several occasions were it not for his total control over the company. “So one of the things that I’ve been lucky about in building this company is, you know, I kind of have voting control of the company, and that’s something I focused [...]
Google advertising overtakes rival Facebook in app downloads market September 24, 2019 Adverts on Google now drive more app downloads than adverts on Facebook, marking the first time the search giant has overtaken its Silicon Valley rival. Google has increased its share of the app installation sector eightfold in the last five years and is now the largest player in the app marketing space, according to marketing [...]
Facebook’s London accelerator programme expands to startups outside UK September 23, 2019 Facebook has announced the third edition of its London accelerator programme, which will be open to startups from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) for the first time. The scheme is open to high-growth startups and aims to support those that are “harnessing the power of technology to have a positive impact on the [...]
Brits curious about cryptocurrencies but still keen on cash, survey finds September 18, 2019 Members of the public are curious about the possibilities offered by cryptocurrencies, but cash is likely to remain king for the foreseeable future with the vast majority consumers wanting it to remain in use, a new study has found. Just 20 per cent of British people would prefer it if cash no longer existed, according [...]
Facebook Messenger down: users complain as tech issues hit platform September 12, 2019 Facebook’s Messenger appears to be experiencing significant problems in the UK, with users complaining of being unable to send or load messages. Read more: Shares in Angry Birds maker Rovio crash as it lowers outlook Outage website Downdetector has recieved at least 900 reports of the messaging app not working. The site shows a spike [...]
France plans to block Facebook libra in Europe September 12, 2019 France is reportedly planning to block the development of Facebook’s libra cryptocurrency. AFP reported that France will aim to prevent the social media giant expanding its payment project in Europe. Read more: Facebook libra: Could regulators crush Mark Zukerberg’s dream cryptocurrency? Facebook announced the libra project in June this year, saying it will be a [...]