War of the words: Facebook elite hit back at Whatsapp co-founder September 27, 2018 Whatsapp co-founder Brian Acton has found himself at the centre of a public dispute with former and current Facebook executives, after his criticisms against Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg’s leadership style caused discomfort among the social app’s top brass. Facebook deputy David Marcus labelled Acton’s comments, in which the Whatsapp founder claimed Facebook and Zuckerberg pushed [...]
Facebook hit by $11bn wipeout from its market cap after Instagram founders quit September 25, 2018 Shares in Facebook have fallen by more than two per cent as markets opened in the US this afternoon, powered by the sudden exit of the two founders of Instagram. Facebook's share price fell as much as 3.2 per cent in pre-market trading this morning, before opening 2.4 per cent down to a total market value loss [...]
Newspaper industry calls for tech levy to make Facebook and Google fund UK journalism September 25, 2018 The trade body representing most national and local newspaper publishers today called for a levy to be put on tech giants like Facebook and Google to fund UK journalism. It also suggested Facebook should share some revenue with newspaper groups when their stories appear in user's newsfeeds. In its response to the government review of the [...]
Instagram’s co-founders quit their social media app September 25, 2018 Instagram’s co-founders are leaving the firm. Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger are stepping down six years after Facebook bought their social media app for $1bn (£760m). The photo-sharing behemoth today boasts more than 1bn users, up from 30m at the time Facebook bought it, but the co-founders’ departure follows rumours of tensions between them [...]
Don’t be afraid to finance your firm’s growth through equity or debt, there are options out there for British businesses September 21, 2018 Having successfully run and invested in many businesses myself, an aversion to seeking finance to fund business growth is difficult for me to understand. But according to research highlighted in the British Business Bank’s Small Business Finance Markets report earlier this year, 70 per cent of small and medium sized companies in the UK [...]
Don’t let Brexit or political differences create a hostile office environment September 20, 2018 Facebook is “a political monoculture that’s intolerant of different views”, according to a post from Brian Amerige on an internal online group at the social media company called “FBers for Political Diversity”. Amerige claims that although the US company presents itself as welcoming all political perspectives, in reality anyone with a view that opposed left-leaning [...]
Ofcom: Social media giants require regulation September 18, 2018 The boss of media regulator Ofcom will push for greater regulation of tech companies such as Facebook and Google in a speech later on today. Better regulation could protect people on the internet, Ofcom says, as research published today by the broadcaster warns 20 per cent of Brits have been harmed by web content. Sharon [...]
Tech stocks hit as Trump mulls fresh $200bn tariffs on China September 18, 2018 The Trump administration late last night ratcheted up its trade war with China by imposing tariffs on $200bn (£152bn) more of the world’s second largest economy’s goods starting next week. The tariffs will start at 10 per cent, rising to 25 per cent on 1 January, allowing US companies some time to adjust their supply [...]
Alex Jones, brand safety, and the issue of how brands can protect themselves in a murky online world September 17, 2018 To paraphrase Game of Thrones, the internet is dark and full of terrors. We’re all aware of issues on the web: the proliferation of hate speech, fake news, offensive content, easy access to pornography or violent images, even terrorist propaganda. For individuals wanting to safely navigate the online world, it’s easy to avoid the darker [...]
DEBATE: Does the increasingly global reach of the tech giants require a regulatory watchdog? September 13, 2018 Does the increasingly global reach of the tech giants require a regulatory watchdog? Ruth Manielevitch, director of business development EMEA at Taptica, says YES. Even Mark Zuckerberg himself has admitted that some regulation of his industry is necessary. A regulatory watchdog would ensure that the activity of Facebook and other tech titans is scrutinised, to [...]