Sir Nick Clegg summoned in front of MPs over social media abuse February 5, 2019 Sir Nick Clegg has been asked to appear in front of a parliamentary committee to answer questions about the harassment of MPs on social media. The Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) has written to Clegg, who is head of global affairs and communications at Facebook, asking him to give evidence as part of its inquiry [...]
Every day, we vote with our clicks that we value Facebook February 5, 2019 With front-page headlines including “Facebook paid kids and spied on them”, “Generation of web addicts”, “Wild West Web firms facing ban”, and “Stop online giants who help kill our kids”, it’s fair to say that it has not been the best UK press week for social media firms. Poor old Nick Clegg must have thought that [...]
Facebook shares soar as it beats estimates on revenue and user numbers January 30, 2019 Shares in Facebook jumped more than eight per cent in after-hours trading tonight, boosted by a welcome set of positive fourth quarter results for the beleaguered social media firm. Revenue at Facebook rose to $16.9bn (£12.9bn) in the three months to 31 December, up 30 per cent compared to the same period last year and [...]
Facebook is set to merge messaging services across Instagram, Whatsapp and Messenger January 25, 2019 Facebook is planning to streamline its messaging services by integrating Whatsapp, Instagram and Facebook messenger. All three will remain separate apps, but underneath the surface they will all be inter-linked, allowing messages to travel between services, according to a report in the New York Times. The paper claims it is the personal project of the [...]
Here are all the predictions I got wrong in 2018 December 21, 2018 I should have given up making predictions in June 2017. Three months earlier, I had spoken at a conference on Brexit and suggested that the best way forward for Theresa May would be to call a snap election and strengthen her negotiating hand. I don’t know how the Prime Minister got word of my advice, [...]
Facebook documents: Four things we learned from 250 pages of confidential emails December 5, 2018 Parliament today published a tranche of confidential Facebook documents it seized as part of an inquiry into fake news. The release of nearly 250 pages of internal documents, seized from a tech firm suing the tech giant, includes emails sent between chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg. Damian Collins, chair of the Digital, [...]
US judge seizes laptop of app boss who leaked Facebook info to British MPs December 2, 2018 The software company co-founder who released a trove of sensitive documents about Facebook to a parliamentary committee has been ordered by a US judge to turn in his electronic devices for inspection. San Mateo County judge V. Raymond Swope ordered Ted Kramer, the founder of Six4three – a now-defunct bikini-related app company – to pass [...]
MPs and international ministers blast Facebook’s Zuckerberg over non-appearance November 27, 2018 Lawmakers have criticised Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for not appearing in a hearing today, which accused the social media platform of undermining international parliaments and regulators. A grand committee consisting of representatives from several countries including the UK, Canada, France and Belgium met in Westminster today, convened by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, to [...]
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 [...]
DEBATE: Was it right for MPs to use obscure parliamentary powers to seize Facebook documents? November 27, 2018 Was it right for MPs to use obscure parliamentary powers to seize Facebook documents? Kevin Craig, chief executive and founder of communications agency PLMR, says YES. There is something poetic about British politicians using one of the most archaic parliamentary powers to tackle a very modern policy challenge. Since the Cambridge Analytica story broke, Facebook has [...]