San Francisco becomes first US city to ban facial recognition software May 15, 2019 San Francisco officials have voted to ban the use of facial recognition technology by local authorities in the latest regulatory clampdown on tech giants. The city’s board of supervisors voted eight to one in favour of the legislation, which would also require police and government departments to submit surveillance technology policies for vetting. Read more: [...]
DEBATE: Is the Tesco boss right to call for slashed business rates and an online tax to save the high street? May 15, 2019 Is the Tesco boss right to call for slashed business rates and an online tax to save the high street? Robert Palmer, executive director of Tax Justice UK, says YES. Tesco’s Dave Lewis is right: the way we tax high street shops and online firms isn’t working. The tax system benefits companies like Amazon and Google, [...]
Adobe partners with Software AG to personalise customer experiences May 15, 2019 Adobe has teamed up with German software giant Software AG to launch a new data platform that helps businesses create better messaging for their customers. The partnership, which combines the two firms’ software, will allow businesses to access data from different sources in real time to create a personalised customer profile. Read more: Adobe and [...]
Bank of England director calls for ‘collective solution’ to cyber security threats May 14, 2019 The Bank of England has called for a “collective solution” to tackle cyber security threats similar to the "super shield" system used in the US. The US has implemented a private sector initiative called Sheltered Harbour to protect customers and financial institutions in the event that a cyber attack causes critical systems to fail. Read [...]
Foxconn posts fall in first-quarter revenues as demand for smartphones falters May 14, 2019 Apple supplier Foxconn has posted a sharp fall in profits and revenues for the first quarter amid declining demand for smartphones. Read more: Huawei to build 400-person chip plant near Cambridge The Taiwanese firm, which is the world’s largest contract manufacturer, reported revenues of T$1.05tn (£26bn) for the three months to the end of March, [...]
Vodafone commits to using Huawei equipment in its 5G network May 14, 2019 Vodafone will use Huawei equipment in non-core parts of its 5G infrastructure when it launches the high-speed network in July. A spokesperson for Vodafone confirmed the telecoms company will go ahead with plans to use Huawei technology in non-core parts of the network such as radio antennas, but said the Chinese firm would not participate [...]
The lessons from the military that business leaders need to learn May 14, 2019 In today's business climate, you either embrace technology and establish it into the DNA of your company, or fall behind. However, investing in technology alone is not enough. Companies need to have the right talent to make everything sing. Effective, sustained technology skill development is key to ensuring that businesses not only keep up but [...]
UK becomes world’s top fintech hub as startups rake in £4.5bn May 14, 2019 The UK is the world’s top fintech hub with high-growth firms attracting more than £4.5bn in investment over three years, it emerged today. London continues to lead the country in attracting high-growth tech investment, receiving £9bn between 2015 and 2018, followed by Cambridge with £583m, according to a new report by startup body Tech Nation. [...]
Big tech must take the lead against hate May 14, 2019 Tech companies face stiff criticism for their inability to prevent extremism from spreading via their platforms. This became particularly evident after a gunman killed 50 people at two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch back in March, with a live-stream of the attack shared widely on social media. As a result, a meeting of [...]
Honda leads £8.6m fundraising round in smart battery software firm Moixa May 14, 2019 Car maker Honda has led a completed £8.6m fundraising round for smart battery software company Moixa. The firm makes software managing energy storage systems, which can help make home energy systems and electric vehicle batteries more efficient, and recently partnered up with Honda at the Geneva Motor Show in March. The two plan to work [...]
