US outlines new global plan to tax tech titans April 8, 2021 The US has put forward a new plan on global corporate taxes in an effort to resolve disagreements over upcoming tech tax reforms. President Joe Biden’s administration has submitted proposals that would see tech giants and other large multinational corporations pay higher taxes in countries in which they operate, regardless of their physical presence in [...]
Facebook forced to delay results as tech giants size up Super Thursday July 27, 2020 Facebook has been forced to push back its second-quarter results due a scheduling clash, putting the earnings of all four major US tech giants on the same day. Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Google will now all report their quarterly earnings after markets close on Thursday. The chief executives of the four companies are also set [...]
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 [...]
iPhone absence offers Apple chance to show increasingly diverse portfolio at new product launch September 12, 2020 Apple’s product launch next week will be missing an iPhone for the first time in almost a decade. The latest instalment of the company’s most successful product has had its launch delayed until October due to coronavirus-related supply chain disruption. At the “Time Flies” event on Tuesday, Apple will unveil its sixth generation Apple Watch, [...]
Public may need immunity passport for ‘restaurants, bars, and cinemas’, says vaccine minister November 30, 2020 The government is looking at ways to enable businesses to establish whether customers have received a coronavirus vaccine before allowing them onto their premises, the vaccine minister has announced. Nadim Zahawi, the business minister who was appointed vaccine tsar over the weekend, told BBC Radio 4’s World at One: “We are looking at the technology, [...]
Are politicians tech-savvy enough to tackle social media giants? February 22, 2021 The news has been full of tech stories in what little we’ve seen of 2021: Facebook’s decision to ban news content on its site in Australia, Google’s threat to withdraw its service altogether from Australian users in light of legislation which would oblige tech platforms to pay for news, and Twitter’s intervention by suspending former [...]
Big tech must do more on financial fraud, Starling boss says February 11, 2021 The chief executive of Starling Bank, Anne Boden has accused social media platforms of supporting financial fraudsters. “A vast number of people in the world at present are being scammed… some of that scamming is being supported by big tech because they’re hosting these scams,” Anne Boden said. “The world is moving faster and [...]
India’s Reliance to woo Amazon with $20bn retail stake September 10, 2020 Indian digital giant Reliance is said to be considering offering Amazon a $20bn stake in its retail arm, as it tries to recruit more major tech brass to its roster of backers. Reliance is willing to sell a stake of up to 40 per cent in its retail business to the e-commerce giant, a person [...]
Zoom kicks off $1.5bn share issue as vaccine threat looms January 12, 2021 Zoom is set to raise $1.5bn (£1.1bn) in a mammoth share sale as it looks to maintain momentum following a bumper year of growth. The video conferencing app launched the fundraising today, adding that it could be expanded by a further $225m. Zoom did not say what it plans to do with the fresh capital. [...]
Fintech Curve closes $95m Series C round as it eyes US expansion January 12, 2021 London-based fintech Curve has secured $95m in its latest fundraising round to fuel its expansion into the US and launch a new credit product. Founded in 2015, the startup allows users to consolidate all their credit and debit cards into one smart card and app. The Series C round was led by IDC Ventures, Fuel [...]