Exclusive: Lawyer warns tech savvy teens could leave Children’s Code efforts futile September 3, 2021 Following a twelve-month grace period, the Age Appropriate Design Code has now come into force. The UK’s new digital privacy regulation will compel social media companies, gaming platforms and video services to protect children’s data online and has been lauded by campaigners as one of the first successful pieces of digital media regulation. The Code’s [...]
Instagram down: Users vent frustration as photo sharing app fails to update September 2, 2021 Photo-sharing app Instagram appears to be down in the UK, with the app unable to update users’ news feeds with a fresh flow of photos. An error message is appearing on people’s app which says that there is an issue with Instagram refreshing It reads: “We’re sorry, but something went wrong. Please try again.” Users [...]
Protesters with inflatable breasts gather outside Facebook’s London office over nipple images September 1, 2021 Protesters with inflatable breasts have gathered outside the London offices of Facebook to voice concerns about how the social network moderates some images containing nipples. The group has said its aim is to enable medical tattoo artists and breast cancer survivors to freely post images of their experience and areola or nipple tattoos, which they [...]
Data watchdog targets social media with new Children’s Code August 25, 2021 The UK data watchdog is setting its sights on social media and gaming companies with new regulations to protect children that come into force next week. The Children’s Code brings in new rules around protecting data for online services such as apps, online games and web and social media sites likely to be accessed by [...]
Facebook secures Afghan accounts as Taliban cements takeover August 20, 2021 Facebook has brought in new safety measures in response to concerns that the Taliban, who have taken over Afghanistan this week, could use social media to target and track individuals, according to reports. The social media giant has temporarily removed the ability for people to see or search the friends lists of accounts based in [...]
SoftBank ramps up exits to fund prolific Vision Fund dealmaking August 18, 2021 The Japanese investment giant sold around $14bn worth of listed stocks last quarter, marking a change in its exit-hesitant strategy in order to fund its Vision Fund’s accelerating investments in tech startups. SoftBank sold an estimated $14bn worth of listed stocks in the last quarter – almost triple that of the previous period, according to [...]
Facebook and Google eye Asia-Pacific markets amid plans for new subsea cable August 16, 2021 Facebook and Google announced today their plans to build a new subsea cable to improve internet connectivity across the Asia-Pacific region. Apricot, the 12,000-kilometre-long subsea cable, will connect Singapore, Japan, Guam, the Philippines, Taiwan and Indonesia. It is expected to be ready for service in 2024, according to Facebook. The US social media group continued [...]
Screenshot: Can the City harness the power of the Netflix model? August 13, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: Victoria Derbyshire’s heels hiccup **Can the City harness the power of the Netflix model? **The CMA goes for GIFs Media Moment of the Week: Victoria Derbyshire’s heels hiccup Late on Wednesday evening prolific BBC presenter Victoria Derbyshire tweeted to say she’d be on air three times in a [...]
Screenshot: Will the digital advertising boom ever end? July 30, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: You are what you tweet **Will the digital advertising boom ever end? **Esports: Britain’s next big thing? Media Moment of the Week: You are what you tweet You know the scenario: someone says something you don’t like on Twitter and you have an overwhelming urge to rise to [...]
Netflix, Google and Facebook to require jabs for return to office July 29, 2021 Netflix, Google and Facebook will require all US employees to be vaccinated against Covid-19 before they can return to work. In an email to staff Google boss Sundar Pichai said the tech giant was pushing back its return to the office from September to mid-October. He added that vaccinations will be compulsory for US staff, [...]