Australian prime minister blasts ‘arrogant’ Facebook over news ban February 18, 2021 Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has hit back at Facebook over its decision to block news in the country, saying the company’s actions were “as arrogant as they were disappointing”. The social media site last night cut off access to news pages and links in Australia in retaliation to draft new laws that would force [...]
Epic Games files EU competition complaint against Apple February 17, 2021 Fortnite maker Epic Games has filed an EU antitrust complaint against Apple, ratcheting up its battle with the tech giant over app store payments. The two companies have been locked in a dispute since August, when Epic launched its own in-app payment system in a bid to sidestep Apple’s 30 per cent commission on some [...]
Over-80s now most likely age group to have Covid antibodies February 16, 2021 Over-80s in England are now the most likely age group to have antibodies, according to official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), in the surest sign yet that the nation’s largest ever vaccination programme is starting to pay off. The latest ONS antibody survey found that the highest percentage of people testing positive [...]
Competition watchdog raises concerns over £6.5bn Gumtree takeover February 16, 2021 The competition watchdog has raised concerns over the £6.5bn takeover of Gumtree by Norwegian rival Adevinta, warning it could push up prices and reduce choice for consumers. In July Adevinta struck a cash and stock deal with Ebay that would create the world’s largest online classified ads business. The merger would bring together advertising platforms [...]
Daily Covid cases fall below 10,000 for first time since September February 15, 2021 The UK’s daily coronavirus caseload has fallen below 10,000 for the first time in five months, according to the latest official figures. A further 9,765 coronavirus cases were reported in the past 24 hours — the lowest figure since 28 September, when 9,929 infections were recorded. The number of coronavirus-related deaths also fell to the [...]
UBS quits role in Darktrace listing over Mike Lynch links February 14, 2021 UBS has quit its role in the upcoming £4bn flotation of Darktrace, the UK tech firm, over its links to British entrepreneur Mike Lynch, who is facing fraud charges in the US. The Swiss bank has informed Darktrace that it can not work on the cybersecurity firm’s initial public offering (IPO), according to Sky News. [...]
Bytedance in talks over sale of Tiktok assets in India after ban February 13, 2021 The Chinese owner of Tiktok is said to be in talks over a sale of its Indian assets to rival Glance after the viral video app was banned in the country. The discussions between Bytedance and Glance, which were initiated by Softbank, are complex and in early stages, Bloomberg reported. Google-backed Glance serves news and [...]
Google and Microsoft object to Nvidia’s $40bn Arm takeover February 13, 2021 Google and Microsoft have objected to the $40bn (£29bn) takeover of British chipmaker arm by Nvidia as the deal faces an in-depth competition probe in the US. The two tech giants, as well as semiconductor rival Qualcomm, are among the companies to object to the mammoth merger amid concerns it could harm competition. The US [...]
Rishi Sunak doubles down on 2021 deadline for global tech tax deal February 12, 2021 Rishi Sunak has doubled down on a commitment to establish a new global tax on tech firms in the coming months following years of conflict over a new regime targeting Silicon Valley. In a G7 meeting today the chancellor said the new digital tax framework was a “key priority” and called on member nations to [...]
UK prosecution of Mike Lynch ‘would delay justice’, court hears February 12, 2021 A criminal prosecution of Mike Lynch, the British tech entrepreneur, in the UK would result in severe delays, the US government argued today as it fought to extradite the Autonomy founder to be tried on fraud charges in America. The UK’s Serious Fraud Office has reserved the right to prosecute the case if Lynch is [...]
