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 [...]
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism secures £800,000 to fund growth January 25, 2019 The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has secured a new round of fundraising, bucking the trend after a torrid week of job cuts among digital media outlets. The not-for-profit news organisation said it has received £800,000 over two years from global charity Luminate, which was set up by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar. Read more: Buzzfeed and Verizon [...]
Buzzfeed and Verizon plan to slash hundreds of jobs in grim day for digital media January 24, 2019 Online publishers Buzzfeed and Verizon Media have announced plans to cut hundreds of staff members as digital media faces a squeeze on advertising revenues. Buzzfeed said it plans to reduce its global headcount by 15 per cent, believed to amount to roughly 200 members of staff, as it looks to cut costs. Read more: Murdoch eyes [...]
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 [...]
Blue Monday is behind us, and managers must learn there’s more to employee wellbeing than office pets January 22, 2019 Well done, everyone. The UK has survived yet another Blue Monday – allegedly the most depressing day of the year, according to a holiday company that came up with the idea in 2005. To mark the occasion, journalists across the UK were bombarded with pitches about Blue Monday and how to stay happy, upbeat, and [...]
Google hit with €50m fine by French data regulator in GDPR battle January 21, 2019 Google has been served with a €50m (£44.1m) fine by the French data regulator for breaching the EU's rules on consumer data protection. CNIL's restricted committee laid down the judgement this afternoon, finding Google responsible for a "lack of transparency, inadequate information and lack of valid consent regarding ads personalisation" under General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) [...]