Ofcom: Pandemic pushes UK to spend over £110bn online for the first time June 9, 2021 The UK’s adults, after spending more time online than other European countries, have racked up a digital shopping bill of more than £110bn for the first time since records began. With more time spent in front of desktops, smartphones or tablets in 2020 than in other European countries, more than 3.5 hours a day Ofcom [...]
Ofcom boss recruitment to be rerun as Paul Dacre runs afoul of big tech May 27, 2021 The process to select the next chair of the UK’s media regulator will be rerun amid big tech complaints about the potential appointment of former Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre. Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has written to the Public Appointments Commissioner to restart the process to decide who should take OfCom’s top chair, according to [...]
EU set to open antitrust probe into Facebook’s classified ads business May 26, 2021 The EU is said to be on the brink of opening a formal antitrust investigation into Facebook following complaints from rivals about the platform’s classified ads business. Regulators have already sent questions to Facebook and its competitors asking whether the social media site distorted the classified ads market by promoting its Marketplace services for free [...]
Instagram for kids: Boss defends plans for new under-13s app May 26, 2021 The boss of Instagram has defended his company’s plans to develop a new version of the app for under-13s, saying it could help protect children from online harms. Earlier this year it emerged Facebook was working on a spin-off version of the popular photo-sharing app targeting a younger demographic. Currently the platform does not allow [...]
Facebook and Google lobby UK to block Paul Dacre as Ofcom chair May 25, 2021 Facebook and Google are said to have ramped up their lobbying of the UK government amid fears Paul Dacre could be appointed as the next chair of Ofcom. Dacre, the former editor of Daily Mail, has been tipped as the frontrunner to lead the UK’s media watchdog. He is one of four final candidates set [...]
Soggy sandwich: Food firm Greencore sinks to first-half loss May 25, 2021 Convenience food producer Greencore has sunk to a loss in the first half, but there is “cause for optimism” as people head back to the office. The FTSE 250 firm reported a group loss before tax of £1.8m in the first half of the year down from a group profit of £27.3m a year earlier. [...]
Ofcom calls for BBC to take on ‘independent’ expertise as part of editorial review May 24, 2021 Broadcasting watchdog Ofcom has tonight written to the BBC urging it to take on independent advice from broadcasting experts as part of its review of its editorial policies and governance following the Martin Bashir scandal. The broadcaster today announced that it would carry out the review to make sure the scandal could “never happen again”. [...]
BBC ‘covered up’ failings over Martin Bashir’s bombshell Diana interview May 20, 2021 The BBC has been blasted over its handling of a 1995 interview of Diana after reporter Martin Bashir used “deceit” to gain access to the Princess of Wales. A damning report into the incident, published today, concluded that the broadcaster had covered up the tactics used by the journalist to secure the interview. It said [...]
On the Brightside May 17, 2021 As COO at Brightside, Rachel Pigott CA helps young people access education and career mentoring. She tells Ryan Herman why the pandemic has made the charity’s work more important than ever. This article first appeared in ICAS’ CA magazine. Pre-pandemic, if you came from a professional family, you were more than twice as likely to [...]
BT results: Will the telecoms giant ring the changes after Covid? May 12, 2021 The City will turn its attention to BT tomorrow morning, when the blue-chip telecoms giant will announce its results for the full year. The former state monopoly has seen its share price recover in the last year, but it’s been a tough year as the pandemic took its toll on revenue and profit. Here’s what [...]