Social media firms to crack down on Covid-19 vaccine disinformation November 9, 2020 Major social media platforms have agreed a package of measures with the government in an effort to limit the spread of disinformation about any Covid-19 vaccine. Following a meeting with health secretary Matt Hancock and digital secretary Oliver Dowden, Facebook, Twitter and Google endorsed the principle that no company should profit from false or misleading [...]
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 [...]
Google parent Alphabet returns to growth as advertisers flock back October 29, 2020 Google parent company Alphabet reported a return to growth in the third quarter as advertisers flocked back in their droves after a coronavirus-induced slump. The tech giant, which also owns Amazon, reported revenue of $46.2bn (£35.7bn) in the three months to the end of September, up 14 per cent on the same period last year. [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Apple steps up search engine efforts amid Google antitrust probe October 28, 2020 Apple is reportedly ramping up efforts to develop its own search engine technology as US antitrust authorities put Google’s market dominance under the spotlight. In iOS 14, the company’s latest iPhone software, Apple now shows its own results when users type queries into the search bar on the home page. The changes, which are likely [...]
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, [...]
Google has until 19 December to respond to antitrust lawsuit October 23, 2020 Google has until 19 December to respond to a major antitrust lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice earlier this week. A court filing today revealed the date by which the tech giant would have to answer the case that officials have brought. The lawsuit accuses the $1 trillion company of breaking the law [...]