Social media giants could face heavy fines for failing to protect users under new draft legislation May 12, 2021 Ofcom will be given the power to fine companies up to £18m or 10 per cent of annual global turnover for failing to comply with rules published today in a new draft online safety bill. The government has published a new draft bill that will see more stringent rules put in place around social [...]
Queen’s speech: Anger over social media safety laws as online scams excluded May 11, 2021 Campaigners have hit out at the government’s decision not to include scams in new legislation aimed at stamping out online harms. Plans to hold tech firms liable for harmful material posted to their platforms moved forward today after the Online Safety Bill was confirmed in the Queen’s Speech. The draft laws will force companies such [...]
The value of maths adds up to Queen’s Award success for Smith Institute May 7, 2021 In an interview shortly after the American economist, Paul Milgrom won the 2020 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats, he said: “People had no clue of how… to even approach it, and so we put together a practical design which has subsequently been used round the [...]
Screenshot: Is Trump’s Facebook ban too hot to handle? May 7, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: Brits love bent coppers **Is Trump’s Facebook ban too hot to handle? **ITV’s Summer of Love (Island) Media Moment of the Week: Brits love bent coppers Ok, so you might not have been the biggest fan of the Line of Duty season finale on Sunday. In fact, you [...]
Ofcom rebuffs BBC Sounds competition concerns in blow to Murdoch May 4, 2021 Ofcom has rejected calls to probe competition concerns over the BBC’s move into on-demand audio in a blow to Rupert Murdoch’s rival media empire. The media watchdog last year launched a review into BBC Sounds, the streaming platform hosting online radio and podcasts from the public service broadcaster, amid concerns about its impact on the [...]
Covid connections: Pandemic narrows digital divide as more Brits go online April 28, 2021 While it may be hard to find silver linings in lockdown, it appears the rapid shift to online services has had its benefits. A surge in demand for internet services over the last year means the UK’s digital divide has narrowed even further, with more and more Brits getting connected. The proportion of homes without [...]
GB News: What is the new TV channel and when will it launch? April 22, 2021 There’s been a flurry of announcements in recent weeks ahead of the launch of GB News, a new opinion-led channel promising the biggest shakeup of British broadcast media for 30 years. The venture has caused a stir, with no shortage of controversy over its promise to take a “boldly different” approach. Plans are still being [...]
Former culture minister Ed Vaizey ‘in the running’ for Ofcom chair role April 12, 2021 Former culture minister Ed Vaizey is said to be under consideration for a shortlist of candidates to chair media regulator Ofcom. Officials and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) will this week start finalising the list of applicants for the position ahead of final interviews later this month, Bloomberg reported. However, it [...]
UK launches new competition watchdog for Big Tech crackdown April 7, 2021 Tech giants such as Facebook and Google are facing a tougher regulatory regime in the UK after a new watchdog aimed at curbing their power launched today. The Digital Markets Unit (DMU) will be charged with setting up new rules to give consumers more control over their data, promote online competition and crack down on [...]
Alastair Stewart latest addition to GB News’ launch roster April 2, 2021 Upstart TV outfit GB News have added another big-name broadcaster to their launch team with the capture of Alastair Stewart OBE. Stewart is the UK’s longest-serving broadcaster, best known for his long stint at the helm of ITV’s nightly bulletins. It is the latest in a series of hires for the new satellite news network, [...]