WhatsApp probe casts shadow ahead of Meta earnings Tech Meta heads into a crucial earnings week under mounting regulatory pressure, after the UK watchdog, Ofcom, opened a formal investigation into WhatsApp’s data handling. This comes just days after Meta paused access to its AI chatbots for teenagers worldwide, Britain’s communications regulator, Ofcom, said it is looking into whether the social media giant provided “incomplete or inaccurate” [...]
Six of the top business books of 2025 Life&Style Yes, dear reader, it’s that time of year again. What to buy for that special high-flying City exec in your life? I’ve read nearly 50 books this year – most of them new, and most about business. Some were good, others have since found their way to Oxfam. Here are a few of my favourites. [...]
Meta to launch paid ad-free option on Facebook and Instagram in UK Tech Meta is preparing to roll out a new subscription service in the UK that will allow users to pay to remove ads from Facebook and Instagram, raising questions about the future of ‘free’ social media. Over the coming weeks, UK users will see notifications explaining the change. Those who want to avoid ads can subscribe [...]
Gianni Infantino, Jay Shah and the rise of sport’s super-execs August 5, 2025 Infantino at Fifa and Shah at the ICC are styling themselves as super-execs like Musk and Zuckerberg but it won’t end well, warns Matt Readman. In sport, the best referees go unnoticed. They quietly manage the game, letting play flow and leaving the athletes to shine. Occasionally they must enforce the law, but they are [...]
Meta’s Llama: the strategic play behind the promise to democratise AI July 15, 2025 Meta has long promised to democratise AI, with Mark Zuckerberg frequently doubling down on his vision to make it “open and accessible” so that “everyone in the world benefits”. Yet instead, it’s been executing one of the most strategic power plays in Silicon Valley – wrapping its race for AI supremacy in the language of [...]
Meta launches UK hub for AI-powered Ray-Ban smart glasses July 9, 2025 Meta has opened a new £12m audio research lab in Cambridge, aimed at improving the sound capabilities of its AR and AI glasses, including the Ray-Ban Meta and the newly announced Oakley Meta. The move strengthens Meta’s focus on wearable technology that responds intelligently to users’ surroundings. The lab is built to simulate a wide [...]
Meta nabs Apple AI chief – a win for Zuckerberg or a sign of Apple’s weakness? July 8, 2025 Meta has reportedly secured another coup in the escalating race for AI dominance, poaching Apple’s head of AI models, Rooming Pang, in a deal said to be worth tens of millions of dollar a year. While Pang’s defection might be viewed as a clear win for Mark Zuckerberg’s much-hyped ‘super intelligence’ project, it also casts [...]
Meta’s billion-dollar AI talent hunt sparks broader jobs reckoning June 30, 2025 Meta is offering some of the most lucrative recruitment packages in tech history, as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg leads an aggressive hiring push to reposition the firm as a leader in generative artificial intelligence (AI). The member of the so-called magnificent seven has offered signing bonuses of up to $100 (£79m) to lure top talent [...]
Cannes Lions: Ad agencies are subsidising their own AI displacement June 24, 2025 It may have been all smiles at Cannes, but behind closed doors the future of AI poses a huge threat to ad agencies, writes Paul Armstrong.
Inside the privacy risks of Meta’s new AI app June 16, 2025 Meta’s push into consumer-facing AI has triggered a wave of concern among privacy experts and regulators, as its new chatbot app quietly exposes sensitive user data through a public-facing feed – an issue that has surfaced in multiple jurisdictions, including the UK. Launched in April, the standalone Meta AI app integrates directly with users’ Facebook [...]