Pressure shifts back to Big Tech as Ofcom delays social media ban March 12, 2026 Tech firms have been warned to strengthen protections for young people online after MPs rejected a proposal to ban under-16s from social media this week. Communications regulator Ofcom and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) have written to major platforms, asking for details of how they plan to improve safety measures for children. Companies like Facebook, [...]
GB News loss widens despite revenue jump March 3, 2026 GB News has posted another loss-making year despite sharp growth in viewing figures, with the Paul Marshall-owned broadcaster now burning through some £120m since its launch in 2021. In new accounts filed for the year ending in May 2025, GB News said its loss amounted to just over £22m. That was smaller than in 2024, [...]
Royal Mail owner to be grilled by MPs over delivery performance March 1, 2026 The Czech Billionaire who took over the parent company of the postal service last year is expected to face questions about the company’s failure to meet performance targets. The Business and Trade Committee has called on Royal Mail owner Daniel Kretinsky to present evidence to MPs in response to “significant concerns” raised around the service’s [...]
Instagram to alert parents over teens’ harmful searches February 26, 2026 Instagram will start notifying parents if their teenager repeatedly searches for terms linked to suicide or self-harm, amid mounting political and legal pressure over child safety online. From next week, parents and teens enrolled in Instagram’s parental supervision tools in the UK, US, Australia and Canada will be told that new alerts are being introduced. [...]
Leading German group backs bid for Telegraph Media Group February 21, 2026 A leading German media group has backed a £500m bid for the Telegraph Media Group, which could rival the deal struck by the owner of the Daily Mail to acquire the UK titles. Axel Springer, which owns brand including Politico and Business Insider, said it would support a consortium of bidders led by Dovid Efune, [...]
Starmer orders tech giants to delete abusive content within 48 hours February 19, 2026 Tech companies will be legally required to remove non-consensual intimate images within 48 hours, or face heavy fines and potential UK blocks, under new measures unveiled by the Prime Minister The proposals, introduced through an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, require platforms to act swiftly once content is flagged. Companies that fail to [...]
Musk’s X suffers third outage of the year as thousands report issues February 16, 2026 Social media platform X has been hit by a widespread outage, with thousands of its users reportedly unable to access the site and app. Over 3,000 users in the UK flagged issues shortly after 1pm on Thursday, according to data from Downdetector, while over 40,000 reports were flagged in the US at the height of [...]
UK under-16s social media ban could land before year end February 16, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer is considering banning under-16s from social media within months, as ministers crack down on children’s online activity following a deepfake scandal on Elon Musk’s Grok. The prime minister has insisted that “no platform gets a free pass” on child safety, with a formal consultation on tougher social media protections launching in March. [...]
Starmer closes chatbot loophole in Online Safety Act February 16, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer is set to target AI chatbots with the UK’s Online Safety Act, warning tech titans that “no platform gets a free pass” following a deepfake scandal involving Elon Musk’s Grok. In a speech on Monday, the Prime Minister is expected to confirm plans to amend the Crime and Policing Bill, so that [...]
Landowners hit as government pushes through 5G rent cuts February 9, 2026 Mobile network operators are set to cut rents on around 15,000 existing phone masts from April, City AM understands, dragging decades-old agreements into a new regime that has already allowed payments to landowners to be cut by up to 90 per cent. The move will bring legacy mast contracts, many signed with farmers, schools, hospitals [...]