Is the romance boom a recession indicator? From Mills & Boon to BookTok Life&Style From Mills & Boon to BookTok, romance fiction has thrived for more than a century. But what makes it so economically resilient?
Ofcom launches probe into Telegram over child safety failures Tech The UK’s communications regulator has launched a probe into Telegram after evidence emerged that child sexual abuse material was being shared on the platform. Ofcom announced on Tuesday that it has also opened investigations into teen chat sites Teen Chat and Chat Avenue, assessing whether the platforms are meeting their legal duties to protect children [...]
Starmer targets social media giants as Kendall faces AI legal threat Tech Sir Keir Starmer has called senior executives from Snap, Tiktok, Snap and Meta into Downing Street, as ministers double crack down on Big Tech’s effects on child safety. The meeting comes as tech secretary Liz Kendall faces mounting scrutiny over the government’s use of AI in the same consultation process. Starmer will tell the firms [...]
Meta trial lawyer to advise UK as scrutiny of social media design grow April 12, 2026 A US trial lawyer who led a landmark case against Meta is set to advise the UK government, as ministers consider tougher action on the impact of social media platforms. Matthew Bergman, who represented a young claimant in a high-profile Los Angeles lawsuit, is expected to be consulted as part of ongoing discussions around online [...]
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, [...]
Why you should put your CEO on Tiktok (from someone who’s done it) March 4, 2026 After a viral Tiktok video led to a spike in business enquiries, Riannon Palmer tells us about the power of founder-led storytelling.
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. [...]
Why influencers could blow traditional broadcasters out of the water February 13, 2026 The tidal wave of influencers continues to come in-land, and they could be the key to unlocking fan bases that broadcasters cannot. Staying awake past midnight and into Monday morning for a four-hour American football game, knowing the alarm will ring in a few hours, used to be a niche obsession in Britain. Now it [...]
Tiktok parent Bytedance joins race to build in-house AI chips February 11, 2026 China’s Bytedance is stepping up its own silicon push with plans to produce at least 100,000 AI chips this year. The move comes as tech giants scramble to cut their reliance on market leader Nvidia, and lock in scarce computing power. The Tiktok creator is reportedly in talks with Samsung Electronics to manufacture the processor, [...]
Meta and Google face first trial over child safety claims February 9, 2026 The world’s largest social media giants are heading into a series of lawsuits in the US, accusing them of harming children with their addictive algorithms. The opening arguments begin this week in LA County Superior Court in the first case to be heard in front of a jury, alleging that Meta’s Instagram and Google’s YouTube [...]