UK advertising market not set to recover until 2022 after Covid-19 crash October 29, 2020 The UK advertising market will not recover until 2022 after sinking to record lows this year as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. Ad spend is set to come in at £21.5bn this year, marking a fall of £3.6bn — or 14.5 per cent — compared to 2019. The figures come ahead of the crucial [...]
Tech bosses blasted by US politicians over content moderation October 28, 2020 The bosses of Facebook, Twitter and Google faced attacks from US Senators this afternoon during a fiery hearing over how tech firms moderate content on their platforms. The tech chiefs were grilled by a US Senate committee for more than three and a half hours over Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects [...]
Facebook sued over Cambridge Analytica data scandal October 28, 2020 Facebook is being sued over its misuse of data during the Cambridge Analytica breach, opening the social media firm up to further fines for its role in the scandal. A group action lawsuit representing 1m users in England and Wales was filed today to gain “redress and compensation for the persistent mass misuse of personal [...]
Full-fibre broadband failings ‘disproportionately’ hit small businesses October 28, 2020 A failure to meet targets of bringing full-fibre broadband to all parts of the UK in the next five years would “disproportionately” impact small businesses, the government has been warned. In a letter to culture secretary Oliver Dowden, a dozen small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) stated that high-speed broadband provisions were “critical” to their [...]
US election: Where do Trump and Biden stand on tech issues? October 28, 2020 The bosses of Facebook, Twitter and Google are this afternoon appearing in front of a US Senate committee to face questions over key issues of tech regulation. With tech titans facing increased scrutiny in their home country, the topic is likely to be a key policy issue in the run-up to the presidential election. So [...]
Apple steps up search engine efforts amid Google antitrust probe October 28, 2020 Apple is reportedly ramping up efforts to develop its own search engine technology as US antitrust authorities put Google’s market dominance under the spotlight. In iOS 14, the company’s latest iPhone software, Apple now shows its own results when users type queries into the search bar on the home page. The changes, which are likely [...]
Tech resale site Music Magpie plots London stock market float October 28, 2020 Resale site Music Magpie is plotting an initial public offering in London after enjoying a bump in revenue during the coronavirus lockdown. The company has tapped investment banks Peel Hunt and Shore Capital to lead the float, which is expected to take place next year. Music Magpie allows customers to exchange their old electronic devices, [...]
Post-furlough job losses hit young and minority workers hardest, study shows October 27, 2020 One in five young people and more than one in five black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) workers who were furloughed during lockdown have since lost their jobs, according to a new report. A survey of more than 6,000 Brits by the Resolution Foundation think tank showed that while the furlough scheme curbed unemployment levels [...]
Microsoft beats revenue forecasts on cloud computing growth October 27, 2020 Microsoft posted a rise in revenue for the first quarter as the ongoing shift to home working helped drive up demand for its cloud computing services. Microsoft reported revenue of $37.2bn (£28.5bn) for the three months to the end of September, up 12 per cent on the same period last year and ahead of analysts’ [...]
Carlsberg raises full-year outlook as beer sales recover October 27, 2020 Carlsberg today lifted its expectations for the full year after posting a better-than-expected beer sales in the third quarter. The Danish brewer said it now expected operating profit to decline by a mid-single-digit percentage, compared to previous guidance of a high-single-digit percentage. It came after the company posted a 2.4 per cent rise in total [...]