We don’t need to break up big tech to make a better internet – we just need more competition March 19, 2019 Last week saw the release of the government-commissioned Furman Review into digital competition. The commission, chaired by former Obama administration chief economic adviser Jason Furman, found that Google, Amazon, and Facebook don’t face enough competition. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, given the recent attention on tech giants’ business models by governments across the world. [...]
MPs call for social media regulation to protect children from online ‘wild west’ March 18, 2019 The “lawless landscape” of social media must be regulated to ensure young people are protected from graphic content that could damage their mental health, a group of MPs has said. A report into the impact of social media on young people’s mental health concluded firms such as Facebook and Instagram should face a 0.5 per [...]
UK home secretary Sajid Javid warns tech giants over footage March 16, 2019 Home secretary Sajid Javid has warned social media companies to "clean up their platforms" after the attack by a gunman in New Zealand, killing 49 people at two mosques, was live streamed on Facebook. Javid told these firms they would face the "force of the law" if they did not more, with the video lasting 17 [...]
Facebook blames server problem after 14-hour outage cripples social media sites March 15, 2019 Facebook has blamed a “server configuration change” for the outage that affected its social media platforms for more than 14 hours yesterday. “We've now resolved the issues and our systems are recovering. We’re very sorry for the inconvenience and appreciate everyone’s patience,” the company said in a statement. Read more: Facebook restores service after worst [...]
Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp emerge from worst outage in tech giant’s history March 14, 2019 Facebook showed signs of recovery this morning after suffering a partial outage that affected users across the world for more than 14 hours. The outage, believed to be the longest in the social media site’s history, began yesterday afternoon and also affected Instagram, Messenger and Whatsapp. Read more: Global outages cripple Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram The [...]
Why brands like Burger King are using internet troll tactics in their marketing campaigns March 10, 2019 Trolls have a bad reputation, deservedly so. In case you’ve been living under the proverbial rock and are unfamiliar with the term, an internet troll is someone who deliberately tries to provokes an argument or reaction online, usually by saying nasty or offensive things. Read more: DEBATE: Was Facebook right to ban Tommy Robinson? Trolling [...]
House of Lords calls for tougher rules on tech firms March 9, 2019 A new report from the House of Lords has called upon tech firms such as Facebook and Twitter to improve their "inadequate" responses to privacy breaches and anti-social content. The report, which comes in the wake of the high-profile data breaches such as the Cambridge Analytica scandal, has also suggested that a digital authority is created to provide laws [...]
Like the myth that the Earth is flat, the socialist conspiracy theory never dies March 6, 2019 The idea that the Earth is flat is a rapidly growing trend on social media. The Flat Earth Society’s Twitter feed has the best part of 100,000 followers. The fact that the planet is a sphere has been known since at least the time of the ancient Greeks. The astronomer Eratosthenes demonstrated it with a simple [...]
Bugatti unveils €11m supercar to mark 110th anniversary March 5, 2019 Luxury car brand Bugatti has unveiled a €11m (£9.5m) supercar, but will not name the wealthy mystery buyer. La Voiture Noire, which was created for the French firm’s 110th anniversary, was snapped up by an unnamed Bugatti fan and is thought to be the most expensive new car of all time. The one-off supercar, unveiled [...]
Michael Cohen testimony live: Former lawyer makes explosive claims against ‘racist’ and ‘cheat’ Donald Trump February 27, 2019 Donald Trump’s former lawyer has labelled the President a "racist" and a "cheat" in an explosive testimony in front of Congress this afternoon, adding that the real estate mogul directed plans for a Russian skyscraper even during his White House campaign. At a blockbuster House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing today, erstwhile aide to the [...]