Apple reclaims its title as the world’s most valuable public company February 5, 2019 Apple has taken back its crown at the top of the tech heap, becoming the world's most valuable public company for a second time after losing the title last year. Boosted by a small 1.7 per cent share price rise as markets opened this afternoon, Apple's market capitalisation rose to $820.8bn (£633.1bn), up from hitting [...]
European companies suffer 60,000 data breaches in eight months February 5, 2019 More than 59,000 data breaches have been reported across Europe since data protection laws were brought in last year, new figures have revealed. The Netherlands, Germany and the UK topped the list of the most reported breaches in the eight months since new GDPR laws came into force, according to law firm DLA Piper. Read [...]
Google beats estimates on revenue and profit, but shares fall on rising costs February 4, 2019 Google's parent firm Alphabet topped consensus estimates in its fourth quarter results tonight, surpassing expectations for revenue and profit. The tech giant reported net income of $8.9bn (£6.8bn), marking a turnaround from a $3bn loss in 2017 when it recorded a one-off tax charge of $9.9bn. This outperformed the average analyst prediction of $7.7bn, as collated by [...]
Viacom launches on-demand streaming app for MTV reality shows February 4, 2019 MTV owner Viacom has launched a new streaming app aimed at younger audiences as it joins a growing list of broadcasters offering an on-demand service. MTV Play, which will initially be available only in the UK, will offer a range of catch-up and box set programmes, as well as a live feed of MTV’s broadcast channel. [...]
Which advert won the 2019 Super Bowl? February 4, 2019 Microsoft has been named Super Bowl advertising champion with a campaign for an adaptive controller that allows children with disabilities to play video games. The technology giant’s advert was the most popular aired during the New England Patriots’s victory in the iconic American football fixture last night, according to a survey by marketing research firm [...]
Google’s GDPR fine may cost it more than just €50m – it will impact the tech industry too January 31, 2019 Back in December, I wrote an article asking why, six months after the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) had come into force, we had not yet seen any major fines or punishments for firms that had misused or mishandled personal data. The lack of sanctions, I argued, made the new regulatory powers toothless. [...]
Of course AI can be biased – and it’s up to businesses to fix that January 31, 2019 When Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the recently elected US representative, suggested last week that algorithms could be racist, she received a lot of attention. Naysayers derided her for suggesting that inanimate objects can display prejudice, but a number of experts actually supported her. The central premise of the debate is this: machines cannot be biased, but the humans [...]
Social media sites must take legal responsibility for child safety, states tech committee January 31, 2019 Social media sites must take on legal responsibility for the health and wellbeing of children of their platforms, a parliamentary committee has found. The Science and Technology Committee (STC) today said tech giants such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat must be subject to a formal legal duty of care for their users. Read more: Social media [...]
Google and IAB hit with fresh complaints over ‘intimate’ user profiling for adverts January 28, 2019 New evidence emerged today outlining the extent of Google’s collection of ‘intimate’ user data amid a pan-European legal complaint against the tech giant. Mental health, infertility, sexual orientation and religious beliefs are among the categories attached by Google to internet browsers to be used in real-time ad auctions. Read more: Google hit with €50m fine by [...]
Buzzfeed set to slash half its UK editorial roles in restructuring plan January 28, 2019 Buzzfeed will cut its UK editorial team by almost 50 per cent as part of a cost-cutting strategy amid falling advertising revenues. The online publisher is set to reduce its London-based team from 37 to 20 employees as it looks to reduce its global headcount by 15 per cent. Read more: Buzzfeed and Verizon plan to slash [...]