Time Out boss: Tech giants have destroyed internet freedom February 19, 2021 The unbridled power of tech giants such as Google and Facebook has destroyed the concept of freedom on the internet, the chief executive of Time Out has said. In an interview with City A.M., Julio Bruno said that while tech companies had given us “a lot of good things”, they now exerted too much control [...]
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp strikes news partnership deal with Google February 17, 2021 Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp has inked a three-year deal with Google that will see the US tech giant pay to use the publisher’s news content. New Corp, which owns titles such as the Times, the Sun and the Wall Street Journal, said it will provide “trusted journalism from its news sites around the world in [...]
Google and Microsoft object to Nvidia’s $40bn Arm takeover February 13, 2021 Google and Microsoft have objected to the $40bn (£29bn) takeover of British chipmaker arm by Nvidia as the deal faces an in-depth competition probe in the US. The two tech giants, as well as semiconductor rival Qualcomm, are among the companies to object to the mammoth merger amid concerns it could harm competition. The US [...]
Screenshot: Should online harms laws take on the hackers and pirates? February 12, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: Ya boi in Hanoi **Who’s taking on the online hackers and pirates? **Will Big Tech finally cough up for news? Media Moment of the Week: Ya boi in Hanoi Tempted as I was to feature *that* cat lawyer this week, I think perhaps, to borrow Michael Gove’s words, [...]
Australia pushes ahead with online news laws despite Google threat February 12, 2021 Australia is pushing ahead with landmark legislation that will force tech giants to pay publishers for news, despite Google’s threat to pull out of the country. The government will introduce new draft laws next week and they could come into effect this month. If passed, the legislation would make Australia the first country to force [...]
Google to pay UK publishers for news as global pressure mounts February 10, 2021 Google has inked a licensing deal with more than 120 UK publications as pressure mounts on tech giants to pay publishers for news. The launch of Google News Showcase, part of the company’s pledge to invest $1bn (£750m) in news worldwide, means publishers will be paid for excerpts that appear in its search results. The [...]
Screenshot: How Amazon set up shop on cloud nine February 5, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: Parish the thought **How Amazon set up shop on cloud nine **Will BT look to the stars? Media Moment of the Week: Parish the thought Anyone who thinks local politics is boring has clearly never attended a meeting of the Handforth Parish Council Planning and Environment Committee. Or [...]
Google owner Alphabet beats revenue estimates as cloud losses grow February 2, 2021 Google parent company Alphabet beat revenue expectations for the fourth quarter, but revealed hefty losses in its cloud computing division. The tech giant posted revenue of $56.9bn (£41.7bn) in the final three months of the year, up from $46bn in the same period last year. Alphabet said the figures were driven by strong performance from [...]
It’s game over for Alphabet’s Loon balloon broadband adventure January 22, 2021 Alphabet, the parent company of Google, said last night it will shut down its high-altitude broadband connectivity venture Loon. The announcement is at odds with its recent successful endeavours. Loon raised $125m from a SoftBank unit in 2019, and in April 2020 it launched the first balloons to provide commercial connectivity service to Kenyans following [...]
Biden mulls creation of competition tsar amid tech probes January 20, 2021 The administration of incoming US President Joe Biden is said to be mulling the creation of a new White House role focused on competition issues amid a string of probes into tech giants. The Biden administration is still weighing up the role, which could be based in the White House or focus on coordinating actions [...]