Instacart poaches top Facebook executive as new boss July 8, 2021 US grocery delivery giant Instacart has tapped one of Facebook’s most senior executives as its new boss ahead of a potential stock market float. Instacart today announced that Fidji Simo will take over as chief executive from Apoorva Mehta, who will take on the role of executive chairman and still be involved in day-to-day activities. [...]
US tech giants could face $28bn bill from global tax reforms July 5, 2021 US tech giants such as Google and Facebook could face a $28bn (£20bn) bill as part of radical plans to overhaul global corporation tax, new research has revealed. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) last week agreed on a new tax model to ensure companies pay tax in countries where they earn revenue, [...]
Facebook, Google and Twitter threaten to quit Hong Kong over new data laws July 5, 2021 Facebook, Google and Twitter have reportedly threatened to withdraw from Hong Kong if authorities push ahead with planned changes to laws around sharing private information online. The Hong Kong government is considering new rules that could make platforms liable for the malicious sharing of individuals’ information — a practice known as doxing. An industry group [...]
Saturday essay: It’s easy to hate social media, to truly make it work we need to learn to love it July 3, 2021 It’s fashionable to be irrationally critical of social media. Almost every policy relating to social media serves to restrain, rather than nurture it. The image of online platforms, amongst politicos and policymakers, is often that it is nothing more than an inflammatory cesspit of trolls and creeps who debase every conversation with racist and sexist [...]
OECD: Ireland snubs global tax deal July 2, 2021 Ireland refused to sign a major agreement to overhaul the global corporation tax regime on Thursday. 130 countries and jurisdictions agreed to the deal brokered by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which paves the way for sweeping international changes. The new regime will see a global tax for 100 of the world’s largest [...]
Screenshot: Who will win the summer TV ratings war? July 2, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: Rob Beckett’s Wembley wisdom **Who will win the summer TV ratings war? **Kantar’s boardroom carousel Media Moment of the Week: Rob Beckett’s Wembley wisdom We all had a great time on Tuesday, didn’t we, but arguably no one had a better time than Rob Beckett. Fortunately, the comedian [...]
Watch: Facebook’s value hits $1 trillion for the first time June 30, 2021 The value of social media giant Facebook has soared to over $1 trillion. Why? A US judge dismissed federal and state antitrust complaints against Facebook that sought to force the social media company to sell Instagram and WhatsApp, saying the federal complaint was “legally insufficient.” Watch the full report.
Facebook’s value tops $1 trillion after judge throws out US lawsuits June 29, 2021 Facebook last night joined an exclusive club of companies worth more than $1 trillion after a US judge dismissed two antitrust lawsuits brought against the social media company. A federal judge ruled that the legal challenges, which were brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a coalition of states, were “legally insufficient” and did [...]
Instagram tests desktop feature in professional push June 25, 2021 Instagram is testing a new feature that will allow users to upload posts from their desktops in an effort to woo professional photographers and influencers. The Facebook-owned app, which was founded in 2010, has long resisted developing a web version of its app as the platform is designed for mobile users to post photos on [...]
Lina Khan: How America’s answer to Margrethe Vestager plans to take on Big Tech June 16, 2021 Since taking over as European Commissioner for Competition in 2014, Margrethe Vestager has made her mission clear: to crack down on the ballooning power of Big Tech. The ruthless competition czar has undoubtedly delivered on those ambitions, handing down high-profile fines running into the tens of billions of euros against the likes of Facebook, Apple, [...]