France to force tech giants to remove harmful content within the hour May 13, 2020 Social media companies will be forced to remove the most harmful content from their platforms within an hour or face hefty fines under new French laws passed today. Firms such as Facebook, Google and Twitter could be fined up to four per cent of their global revenue if they fail to comply with the new [...]
Google removes 2.7bn bad ads as it launches Covid-19 taskforce April 30, 2020 Google removed roughly 2.7bn so-called bad ads last year as the tech giant ramps up its efforts to block misleading and malicious campaigns actors on its platform. The search engine’s crackdown, which equates to 5,000 ads per minute, is an increase on the 2.3bn adverts removed in 2018. In addition, Google suspended nearly 1m advertiser [...]
Alphabet earnings: Five key takeaways as Covid-19 hits Google April 29, 2020 Shares in Google parent company Alphabet were up almost eight per cent in after-hours trading last night after the tech giant reported its first-quarter earnings. The closely-watched report was the first in a string of major US tech results set to be published this week, and give a key indication of how the coronavirus crisis [...]
Google to cut marketing budgets by up to half and freeze hiring April 24, 2020 Google is said to be slashing its marketing budgets by as much as half as the tech giant begins to feel the impact of the coronavirus crisis. In internal emails seen by CNBC, Google told marketing employees the budgets would be cut in the second half of the year, while new hiring would be frozen [...]
Google forces advertisers to prove identity in transparency push April 23, 2020 Google today said it will require all advertisers to complete a verification process before buying ad space on its platform as the tech giant looks to improve transparency. In a blog post published today, Google said advertisers will need to submit personal identification, business incorporation documents or other information that proves who they are and [...]
Tech giants urged to pre-screen content to stop child sexual abuse March 12, 2020 Tech giants should be forced to pre-screen all content uploaded to their platforms in a bid to stem the “explosion” of online child sexual abuse, an inquiry has found. In a damning report published today the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) said tech giants had failed to do everything they could to prevent [...]
Facebook and Google ad revenue to surpass TV for first time February 27, 2020 Brands are set to splash out more advertising dollars on tech titans Facebook and Google than the entire global TV sector this year, according to figures released today. Advertising revenue for Facebook and Google parent company Alphabet is forecast to reach $231.9bn (£185bn) in 2020, according to industry body Warc. TV ad spend is set [...]
Online harms laws will not harm free speech, vows Ofcom boss February 27, 2020 The rollout of new laws to tackle so-called online harms will not lead to censorship or damage free speech, a top Ofcom executive has said. Earlier this month the government said it would appoint Ofcom as Britain’s first internet watchdog, tasked with crackdown down on illegal and harmful material on social media sites. The beefed-up [...]
France warns of tech tax chaos if global deal not reached this year February 23, 2020 Failure to reach a global agreement on how to tax tech giants such as Google and Facebook would lead to a chaotic mix of different tax regimes, France’s finance minister has warned. Bruno Le Maire today called on international leaders to reach a consensus over tax reform by the end of the year or risk [...]
Google gets the green light for $2.6bn Looker acquisition February 13, 2020 Google today completed its $2.6bn (£2bn) acquisition of analytics firm Looker after the deal was approved by the competition watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) opened an investigation into the merger in December amid concerns it could damage competition in the UK’s cloud computing market. However the regulator today said it had cleared the [...]