Facebook ‘finalising its own Globalcoin cryptocurrency’, which could launch in March next year May 24, 2019 Facebook is in the final stages of planning the launch of its own cryptocurrency in 2020 which has been dubbed Globalcoin, according to reports. The social media giant, which has thus far steered clear from world of crypto trading, could set up a digital payments system in around a dozen countries as soon as March next [...]
Facebook co-founder joins chorus of voices to break up the company May 9, 2019 Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes has echoed calls to break up the social media giant amid a rise in anti-trust and data privacy concerns surrounding big tech. Hughes, a former roommate of chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, called his power "unprecedented and un-American" in an opinion piece for the New York Times. "We are a nation with [...]
Facebook taps London talent for its global Whatsapp payments drive May 7, 2019 Facebook has chosen London as the global centre of a payments push for messaging platform Whatsapp, as the capital gains another boost in tech workers and post-Brexit confidence. Whatsapp, which is owned by Facebook, will hire around 100 people in an expansion of its workforce by about a quarter, the Financial Times first reported. Read [...]
DEBATE: Could Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook omnipotence be coming to an end? May 7, 2019 Could Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook omnipotence be coming to an end? Greg Consiglio, chief operating officer at Connectt, says YES. Facebook was originally set up to connect friends who share interests, primarily through a news feed that users controlled. Now, algorithms dictate the user experience, and with feeds more crammed than ever, what once was fun and informative [...]
Facebook ditches blue design as CEO Mark Zuckerberg throws focus on privacy May 1, 2019 Facebook has ditched its trademark blue banner as it re-centres its tools around privacy following a year dogged by data scandals. Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg last night revealed plans to up his social network's focus on private messaging and groups, with a raft of redesigned features to pivot the platform towards a more private experience. [...]
Amazon boss Jeff Bezos tops list of Silicon Valley’s best performing tech CEOs April 30, 2019 Amazon’s share price has risen by 83 per cent year-on-year, making boss Jeff Bezos the US’s best performing tech chief executive. The online shopping platform’s share price has jumped $69.53 on average per year during Bezos’ 22-year reign as Amazon’s chief executive. Read more: Investigator accuses Saudi Arabia of hacking Jeff Bezos's phone In 1997, which [...]
Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp down across Europe for more than three hours April 14, 2019 Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp left users frustrated today after going offline across the UK and Europe for more than three hours. The three social network giants, which are owned by Facebook, went down at about 11am, according to monitoring website Down Detector. Facebook is having issues since 6:36 AM EDT. https://t.co/BLSiYCF9KL RT if it's down [...]
Facebook and the tech giants are welcoming government regulation – that’s a panic signal for all of us April 9, 2019 Last year, I met someone who had previously worked for a big tech firm in its “free speech” unit. What had happened to make him come and slum it among us mortals in the (badly paid) policy world? Answer: the unit had been shut down. It’s in this context that you should see the milquetoast [...]
Social Media: Who watches the watchers? April 8, 2019 Social media, and especially its archetype, Facebook, has had a difficult run of publicity over the past few years. The 2016 US presidential election and the rise of “fake news” certainly did it no favours, and the Cambridge Analytica scandal which came in its wake made things worse still. Facebook’s origins as a benign thread [...]
The government must pause for thought before pushing ahead with “online harms” regulations April 8, 2019 A common view of the world goes thus – individuals and businesses do whatever they can to pursue their own self-interest, and must be kept in check by governments. As certain companies get bigger and bigger, greater regulations are required. While not entirely without merit, this dichotomous standpoint is excessively blunt and can result in [...]