Google workers listen in on private conversations via smart speakers July 12, 2019 Google has admitted its contractors listen in on conversations people have with its smart speaker system, Assistant. The tech giant yesterday said its contractors can access recordings made by the system. It made the admission after the leak of several Dutch language recordings. Google Assistant starts to record audio when it hears a so-called wake [...]
Give me a fulcrum and lever long enough: London’s engineers are moving the world July 12, 2019 British ideas continue to move the world. Irrespective of the political developments around Brexit, the soft power and influence of our industrial intellectual property and engineering innovation benefits not just Britain, but transforms lives around the world. Today, London and the rest of the UK celebrate the fiftieth anniversary winner of the Royal Academy of [...]
DEBATE: Will Instagram’s new anti-bullying features help to make the social media platform safer? July 12, 2019 Will Instagram’s new anti-bullying features help to make the social media platform safer? Derek Roga, chief executive of EQUIIS Technologies, says YES. Instagram has been under a lot of pressure to tackle online bullies after a few highly publicised cases. With the government taking action against online bullying and finding ways to prevent it, the [...]
UK ploughs ahead with digital services tax despite US backlash July 11, 2019 The UK has vowed to plough ahead with a digital services tax on large tech companies, just hours after the US launched a probe into France for a similar levy. The government today published draft legislation for its next finance bill, which includes a new tax aimed tech giants such as Facebook, Amazon and Google. [...]
France passes digital services tax despite US investigation July 11, 2019 France has given final approval to a new digital services tax on tech giants, despite protests from the US that the move unfairly targets American companies. The three per cent levy will apply to digital revenue earned in France by multinational tech giants such as Facebook, Google and Amazon. Read more: France will tax Amazon [...]
Microsoft opens flagship London store on Oxford Circus July 11, 2019 Microsoft opened its flagship store on Oxford Circus today, marking the US tech giant’s first major retail location in Europe. The new store offers a string of hands-on customer experiences, including a McLaren Senna racing car experience, a gaming lounge and a digital learning hub offering coding lessons for children. Read more: Microsoft and Oracle [...]
Allowing Huawei into 5G networks would be fatal, warns former US security chief July 11, 2019 Allowing Chinese tech firm Huawei to participate in the UK’s 5G network would be fatal, a former US security chief has warned. Tom Ridge, former secretary of homeland security, said the incoming prime minister must sit down with American security officials to review the UK’s approach to the controversial company. Read more: US to grant [...]
Diversity of senior leadership in British venture capital fails to improve July 11, 2019 The number of women in senior leadership positions at venture capital (VC) firms in the UK has failed to increase in two years, despite a renewed focus on diversity. Read more: Women-led IPOs need to triple, and here’s why Representation of women at senior levels remains flat at 13 per cent compared to 2017, according [...]
Plans for internet regulation ‘could lead to censorship’ July 9, 2019 Government plans to crack down on internet firms over online harms could lead to the UK having the highest level of online censorship of all major democracies, a City law firm has warned. In its response to a recent government white paper, RPC said plans to hold businesses accountable for material posted to their platforms [...]
US to grant licences for sales to Huawei if national security is protected July 9, 2019 The US government will issue licences to American companies looking to sell to Huawei as long as there is no threat to national security, commerce secretary Wilbur Ross has said. Read more: Huawei will not pass information to Beijing, says Chinese ambassador President Donald Trump last month appeared to row back on his clampdown against [...]
