Why Big Tech’s rap sheet matters more than its product pipeline October 1, 2025 Big Tech has shifted from a focus on genuine innovation to a model of value extraction, where massive fines for manipulative and monopolistic practices are now treated as a routine cost of doing business, says Paul Armstrong Amazon’s $2.5bn fine for dark patterns and Google’s courtroom escape from monopoly charges reveal how much the industry [...]
The knifemakers going a cut above September 30, 2025 From social media influencers to top chefs, artisan knives are slicing across the UK’s culinary scene. Carys Sharkey meets the makers behind the metal Translucent wafers of sea bass are topped with diaphanous slivers of grape; chives are chopped into oblivion; and steak is sliced bloody. If you’ve spent any time watching social media chefs, [...]
Liz Kendall wraps cyberflashing into Online Safety Act September 29, 2025 Social media giants will be forced to crack down on cyberflashing under new duties to be announced by technology secretary Liz Kendall at the Labour Party conference. The move will see unsolicited nude images and videos classified as a “priority offence” under the Online Safety Act, placing strict new obligations on platforms to detect and [...]
Trump signals TikTok deal as US operations hinge on agreement September 15, 2025 President Donald Trump has suggested that the United States and China have reached a deal on the future of TikTok, the viral video platform owned by Chinese firm ByteDance. Trump said on his own social media platform, Truth Social, that trade talks in Spain “went very well”, and that a deal was reached regarding “a certain company [...]
Businesses are Reform-curious on eve of Birmingham conference September 4, 2025 Nigel Farage’s poll-topping party has attracted more businesses than ever to its annual conference this week. But, writes Ali Lyon, some corporations and industry bodies are still steering clear of the party, citing its unpredictability and the conference’s unorthodox format. With his party boasting a consistent poll lead, and a general election just weeks away, [...]
TikTok sheds London staff in major AI push August 22, 2025 TikTok is set to lay off hundreds of staff in its content moderation and security team in London, a decision that has sparked concern just as the UK’s Online Safety Act comes into force. The company, owned by ByteDance, is centralising its “trust and safety” operations globally and plans to increasingly rely on artificial intelligence [...]
The luxury market’s betrayal of Gen Z August 16, 2025 In 2022, Gen Z and Millennials accounted for the entirety of the luxury market’s growth. The latest data, however, shows something of an exodus of younger buyers: Around 50m customers – about an eighth of the base – left the market last year, “in particular” the younger ones, according to Bain’s latest luxury report. A [...]
How the wellness bro came to rule the City July 31, 2025 As finance bros roam the City clutching pink smoothies, Anna Moloney examines the changing culture of health and rise of the wellness bro.
Tiktok gives retailers a headache with boom in returns culture July 18, 2025 Retailers are facing a conundrum. Their customers are searching for and buying clothes via Tiktok and Instagram, but those same social media customers are increasingly less likely to keep the clothes they buy. A surge in the number of clothes sent back to retailers has caused issues with both costs and with environmental goals, but [...]
British and Irish Lions get trendy with TikTok partnership June 20, 2025 The British and Irish Lions have stepped into the modern age, announcing a partnership with social media giant TikTok. The deal will see the touring rugby team use TikTok to reach a new generation of rugby fan. The team’s social presence on the Chinese-owned brand is healthy but lower than many other sports teams. They’ve [...]