Big tech firms like Google, Amazon and Facebook spent a record amount on political lobbying last year January 24, 2019 Google, Amazon and Facebook's bill for lobbying the US government hit record highs last year, as life under the Trump administration put big tech firms in the spotlight. Google parent firm Alphabet said it spent $21.2m (£16.3m) on political lobbying costs in the US last year, topping its previous all-time high of $18.2m achieved in 2012. It [...]
Facebook to invest £3m in targeting spam ads in the UK as Martin Lewis drops lawsuit January 23, 2019 Facebook has said it will invest £3m into targeting fraudulent adverts on its UK platform, after reaching a settlement with Money Saving Expert founder Martin Lewis. Lewis first launched proceedings against Facebook last year over a series of ads appearing on the website which claimed he had backed several investment schemes. Those schemes later turned out [...]
This is the year for businesses to find their purpose in life January 22, 2019 One year ago, BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink called on businesses to define their societal purpose, sending a message to the corporate world that working towards profit alone was no longer good enough. Last week, Fink’s push towards purpose was in the papers again, when a hacker concocted an elaborate hoax in the form of [...]
Whatsapp to fight fake news by limiting forwarded text messages January 21, 2019 Facebook's Whatsapp has said it will roll out curbs on the amount of times a user can forward the same message on its platform, in a bid to fight the spread of global "misinformation and rumours". Whatsapp's vice president for policy and communications Victoria Grand said the app would impose a limit of five messages [...]
EU digital tax could be agreed by March, says French finance minister Bruno Le Maire January 20, 2019 The European Union could reach an agreement on details of a digital tax by the end of March, the French finance minister has said. Talks among EU ministers aimed at aligning the taxation of online businesses broke down in December. A number of smaller member states, including Ireland, Sweden and Denmark, opposed the plan and [...]
Facebook shares lose gains as regulators discuss imposing record fine January 19, 2019 Facebook’s share price lost some of its gains on Friday after a report emerged that US regulators were considering fining the company for privacy violations. Facebook was up 0.25 per cent for the day but lost gains that had seen the company’s price rise by 2.8 per cent earlier in the session. The regulators met [...]
Uber, Lyft, Airbnb: Unicorn IPOs are coming in 2019 January 18, 2019 | City Talk 2019 is set to be an exciting year for IPOs. Some of the biggest floats in history are planned over the coming months. But the problem with IPOs is that the excitement wanes quickly, as 2018 proved. Here’s a look at some of the most hotly anticipated stock market debuts planned for 2019 and the [...]
ITV shares tumble after bearish investor note casts doubt on ad revenues January 17, 2019 ITV led the FTSE 100 fallers today after Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts slashed their target price for the broadcaster amid fears of declining advertising. Shares in ITV fell almost seven per cent after the bank changed its rating from buy to underperform and cut its target price from 210p to 110p. Read more: UK [...]
Facebook to toughen up rules on political ads in countries with major elections January 16, 2019 Social media giant Facebook has said it will toughen up existing rules on political advertising in all countries facing major elections this year, following scrutiny surrounding ads on its platform during previous events. The firm said today that it will also expand some of its tools for curbing election inference, with Nigeria, India, Ukraine and the [...]
Facebook to invest $300m into local news around the world January 15, 2019 Facebook has said it will commit a further $300m (£233.5m) in funding for local news publishers globally over the next three years, with the first round destined for a selection of US organisations. The investment will be separated into two broad segments – supporting journalists and publishers in gathering news, and helping those newsrooms to [...]