We want the organ grinder not the monkey, Facebook November 27, 2018 Another day, another scandal. Today, Facebook executive Richard Allan is to appear at a crucial hearing about disinformation and fake news. You know, Richard Allan? The bloke who… isn’t Mark Zuckerberg. Lined up in front of the parliamentary firing squad, Not Zuckerberg is facing a grilling by 22 Members of the International Grand Committee on [...]
Five reasons why tech stocks are in trouble November 27, 2018 For months, technology stocks have been the holy grail for growth, with valuations reaching dizzying heights. So, considering that what goes up must come down, perhaps it’s not surprising that stocks started tumbling last week. Share prices for each of the five tech giants – Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google (the so-called Faangs) – [...]
Mark Zuckerberg is a modern wartime chief executive November 26, 2018 Facebook was meant to revolutionise and make everything better wasn’t it? It was a friendly social networking platform that would allow us to share photos and videos, and stay in touch with those we needed to: friends, family, and the loved ones we were separated from by distances in time and geography. But the revelations [...]
WPP to merge JWT and Wunderman as part of streamlining plan November 26, 2018 Advertising giant WPP is merging its J Walter Thompson (JWT) and Wunderman agencies as the company attempts to streamline its complex business structure. The deal to combine the two subsidiaries will create a new entity called Wunderman Thompson, which will have headquarters in New York and London. The new company will employ roughly 20,000 people in 200 [...]
Russian watchdog opens civil case against Google November 26, 2018 Russia's communications watchdog has formally opened a civil case against Google for failure to comply with state requirements to remove search results for banned websites. The watchdog Roskomnadzor said Google had not yet joined the state registry that lists all banned websites which the Kremlin believes could contain illegal information. As this leaves Google in contravention [...]
Tech giants criticised for lack of transparency over political lobbying November 26, 2018 Tech behemoths Amazon, Facebook and Google are among the worst companies for failing to offer transparency over their political lobbying efforts, according to Transparency International UK. The organisation's report into corporate political engagement, published today, included assessments of UK companies’ political contributions and lobbying, as well as the so-called revolving door between corporations and politics. Transparency [...]
MPs and businesses urged to boycott Google and Facebook over alleged failure to tackle UK terror November 22, 2018 Tech firms such as Google and Facebook have come under fire from the UK's parliamentary security committee, as a report published today urged businesses to boycott the social media platforms until they do more to tackle extremism. The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) said continuous appeals to social media firms to stop their systems from being [...]
Google updates European policy on political ads to fight fake news ahead of elections November 22, 2018 Google has said it will roll out new features and policies across Europe to provide deeper transparency around companies who take out political advertisements on its platform, ahead of the European Parliament elections next year. Google's director of EU public policy Lie Junius said Google will now require any ads that mention a political party, candidate [...]
Buzzfeed founder hints at media mega-merger as the publisher launches new membership scheme November 20, 2018 Buzzfeed’s chief executive has said he would consider a merger with other media organisations as the publisher launches a shake-up of its business model. Jonah Peretti, who co-founded the website in 2006, said on Monday a series of mergers between online media companies could be the answer to the current challenges faced by news organisations. [...]
Meet London’s 25 under 25 up and coming tech stars November 20, 2018 Industry network Tech London Advocates has today launched its first 25 under 25 list, highlighting the best and brightest of the UK's next generation of tech talent. Gathering insight and nominations from its community of over 6,000 technology leaders, founders and investors, the list aims to recognise the breadth of tech expertise in the UK and [...]