Youtube halts monetisation on Russell Brand’s channel September 19, 2023 Youtube has suspended monetisation on Russell Brand’s channel for “violating” its creator responsibility policy, following sexual assault allegations against the comedian. Over the weekend a joint investigation by the Times, the Sunday Times and Channel 4 levelled accusations at Brand, which include accounts of rape, sexual assaults, and abuse spanning several years. The criminal allegations, which Brand [...]
Naked Wines: Chair apologises after economy corks revenues September 19, 2023 In a letter to shareholders, the chairman of Naked Wines apologised after the online booze supplier reported disappointing full year results. In a trading update the British wine supplier said new customer investment dropped by 48 per cent, while repeat customer contribution stayed roughly flat. Shares dropped ten per cent on Tuesday morning. New sales [...]
Right-wing think tank claims digital markets bill is a ‘recipe for disaster’ September 19, 2023 Proposed legislation to regulate digital markets is a “recipe for disaster” and risks spooking tech companies by handing Britain’s competition watchdog unbridled power, according to a new paper by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA). The right-wing think tank has today published a paper which warns the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers bill (DMCC) will [...]
New AI principles hint at pro-innovation future of UK regulation September 19, 2023 Britain’s competition watchdog has set out guidelines to steer the development of artificial intelligence (AI), which lawyers suggest could be a blueprint for a pro-innovation future of AI regulation. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has proposed seven principles to guide the use and development of the foundation models that underpin AI giants like OpenAI’s [...]
Cambridge chip designer Riverlane aims to be the next Arm with quantum game-changer September 18, 2023 A Cambridge start-up aiming to rival chip designer Arm said it has made a significant breakthrough that could accelerate the development of quantum computers. Riverlane, which was spun out from Cambridge University and is valued at £150m, has created a “quantum decoder chip”, which it claims can fix high error rates — a problem that [...]
AI will grab jobs from people working from home first, warn Oxford professors September 18, 2023 Artificial intelligence (AI) is more likely to replace the jobs of people working from home, a study by two Oxford professors has warned. Work that can be done remotely is the most susceptible to automation, Oxford University AI academics Carl-Benedikt Frey and Michael Osborne have suggested in a draft paper. And AI is less likely [...]
Share price plummets: Sorrell’s S4 Capital downgrades outlook as tech slowdown bruises ads market September 18, 2023 Shares in Sir Martin Sorrell’s S4 Capital plunged as much as 27 per cent at market open after it reported a mix bag of updates for the first half of 2023, with a strong technology division failing to make up for a slow ads market elsewhere in the business. The firm reported an operating loss [...]
Proton boss: UK banks won’t function if encryption disappears September 17, 2023 The issue of encryption has become a pressing conundrum for both tech companies and lawmakers involved in the UK’s Online Safety Bill in recent months. Now at least they agree that there is currently no viable technology to access messages without compromising user privacy. Encryption is a crucial way of turning messages into an unreadable [...]
BBC Studios relaunching international news site amid licence fee freeze September 17, 2023 The BBC is gearing up for an expansion in the US market as it seeks to bolster its revenues amid challenges at home. BBC Studios, the broadcaster’s main commercial arm, is preparing to relaunch its advertising-supported news website in North America, ahead of next year’s US presidential election. Following its debut there, the revamped website [...]
‘The Czech Sphinx’ sets sights on the Telegraph September 17, 2023 Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský has thrown his hat into the ring in a high-profile auction for the UK’s Telegraph Media Group, set to begin very soon. Křetínský, known for his energy ventures and European dealmaking, has recently joined the auction by signing a non-disclosure agreement, according to the Financial Times. The parent company of The [...]