EU court adviser throws spanner in the works for telcos consolidation October 20, 2022 A top EU lawyer has undermined hopes of consolidation in the telcos sector after it backed a 2016 ruling that blocked a major £10.3bn merger. It comes after Advocate-General for the EU Court of Justice (ECJ) Juliane Kokott said this morning that a previous ruling involving Telefónica’s O2 and CK Hutchison’s Three, which went against [...]
AT&T’s pivot away from media and towards telcos starts paying off October 20, 2022 Shares soared for AT&T this afternoon as the firm’s enhanced focus towards telecoms appears to be paying off. The telcos giant posted an adjusted profit of 68 cents per share on revenue of $30bn in its third quarter, topping to the 61 cents and $29.86bn analysts had predicted. The third largest provider of mobile phone services in the US [...]
Kudos for OnlyFans: Watchdog says smaller video platforms need to do more to protect kids October 20, 2022 New research from Ofcom has found that smaller adult video-sharing platforms need to do more to prevent children from accessing porn. In a report published today, the media regulator said it was concerned that whilst smaller companies had some age verification measures in place, they did not go far enough. One unnamed adult platform told [...]
Amazon could fork out £900m in compensation over favouring own products October 20, 2022 Amazon could be forced to fork out £900m in compensation after the tech giant was accused of unlawfully favouring its own offers. The collective action lawsuit alleges that Amazon breached competition law and caused tens of millions of Brits to pay higher prices for products by obscuring better-value deals. The lawsuit, which is headed by [...]
Environmental terms confuse Brits and make them wary of greenwashing says ad watchdog October 20, 2022 The advertising regulator has called for greater standardisation of environmental terms after it found that many Brits struggled to understand what terms like “net zero” actually mean. In a report published by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) this morning, it said that while “carbon neutral” and “net zero” were the most familiar phrases, there was [...]
Amazon pushes into world of home insurance October 19, 2022 Just when you thought Amazon sold pretty everything, the tech firm announces that it has launched a new home insurance shop. The new offering will allow customers to request and review insurance quotes, select a policy, and then checkout—all on amazon.co.uk The e-commerce giant firm only has three insurers signed up so far, including Ageas [...]
Microsoft cuts more staff as Big Tech slowdown continues October 18, 2022 Microsoft continued to cull its workforce this week as the software giant feels the sting of stagnating growth, with sources telling the Business Insider that 1,000 people lost their jobs in a fresh wave of cuts. Impacted teams within the software giant included the Xbox division, the Strategic Missions team, and the office of the Chief [...]
Next 15 clears regulatory hurdles in M&C Saatchi takeover October 18, 2022 NEXT 15 cleared its final regulatory hurdle this morning as the London media firm hopes to finalise a deal to takeover M&C Saatchi after months of turbulence. The media firm said it had received confirmation from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), paving the way for a successful takeover. It follows [...]
Gambling regulator chief says growth has plateaued for booming sector October 18, 2022 Growth in the betting sector has plateaued in recent years as a result of cost of living concerns and safety measures, says top gambling regulator. Speaking at an awards ceremony today in Melbourne, Gambling Commission chief Andrew Rhodes said that the sector is still feeling a pandemic hangover — despite popular belief that betting giants [...]
Police shut roads near Cannon St after man climbs on Starbucks roof and throws rocks at building October 18, 2022 Roads between Cannon St and the City Magistrates’ Court has been closed off after a man climbed on top of a building and started throwing rocks. The individual was filmed smashing rocks on the roof of a Starbucks in the centre of the City, on Wallbrook, before throwing them at an adjacent building. At about [...]