Lords urge government to take immediate action against online misinformation June 29, 2020 Ministers have been urged to beef up regulation of digital and social media to stub out a “pandemic of misinformation and disinformation” that is destroying public trust and leveraging power to big tech companies. A new report by the Lords Democracy and Digital Technologies Committee, chaired by Labour peer and film director David Puttnam, proposes [...]
Children’s exposure to TV adverts halves over last decade amid rise of streaming May 22, 2020 Children’s exposure to TV adverts has almost halved in the last decade as young people increasingly tune in to streaming services. Children aged four to 15 saw an average of 115.9 ads per week last year, down more than 47 per cent compared to 2008, according to new figures from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). [...]
BBC Three could return as on-air channel after Normal People and Fleabag success May 20, 2020 BBC Three could be brought back on air as the broadcaster looks to capitalise on a string of recent hits that have resonated with its vital youth audience. The channel was taken off linear TV and became online-only four years ago to save £30m, with the BBC arguing that young people were increasingly watching shows [...]
BT shares surge on possible sale of £20bn stake in Openreach May 15, 2020 BT’s share price jumped in early trading today following reports the telco is preparing to sell a £20bn stake in its fibre rollout arm Openreach. The telecom giant’s shares, which have been trading at a record low this year, rocketed 9.25 per cent to 111.6p on a Financial Times report that discussions were underway. BT [...]
France to force tech giants to remove harmful content within the hour May 13, 2020 Social media companies will be forced to remove the most harmful content from their platforms within an hour or face hefty fines under new French laws passed today. Firms such as Facebook, Google and Twitter could be fined up to four per cent of their global revenue if they fail to comply with the new [...]
Facebook and Instagram launch digital gift cards for small businesses May 11, 2020 Facebook and Instagram users will now be able to support local businesses during the Covid-19 crisis by purchasing digital gift cards on the social media platforms. From today businesses will be able to promote gift cards on their Facebook pages and in news feed posts, as well as in Instagram stories and on their profiles. [...]
How the O2-Virgin Media merger will reshape the telecoms sector May 7, 2020 O2 and Virgin Media this morning confirmed they will join forces in a mammoth merger that will create a new £31bn telecoms powerhouse. The deal — reports of which first emerged last week — came as little surprise to industry watchers, though the timing of the deal in the middle of a global pandemic has [...]
Facebook earnings: Shares leap despite lowest growth since 2012 April 30, 2020 Facebook’s shares jumped almost 10 per cent in after hours trading following a surprisingly upbeat set of first quarter results from the tech giant. Following Alphabet’s figures earlier this week, all eyes were on Facebook to see how the Covid-19 crisis has hit social media. Here are three key takeaways from the numbers: 1. The [...]
Facebook poaches top social media regulator from Ofcom April 29, 2020 Facebook has ramped up its defence against upcoming social media regulation by poaching a top executive from media watchdog Ofcom. Tony Close, Ofcom’s director of content standards, has been closely involved in drawing up rules to regulate tech giants such as Google and Facebook amid rising concern about online harms. The government is set to [...]
John Lewis could permanently close some stores when coronavirus lockdown ends April 27, 2020 John Lewis is reportedly considering permanently closing some department stores after the UK’s coronavirus lockdown restrictions are lifted. All John Lewis department stores closed last month after the government ordered all non-essential retailers to shut during the coronavirus lockdown. However, some of the less viable John Lewis stores could remain shut after the lockdown restrictions [...]