Amazon shares sink as EU hands down record €746m EU data privacy fine July 30, 2021 Amazon has been hit with a record €746m (£635m) fine for breaking EU rules over how it processed customers’ personal data, the tech giant disclosed today. In a regulatory filing Amazon said the Luxembourg National Commission for Data Protection (CNPD) had issued the ruling against it for breaches of EU data protection rules on 16 [...]
Deliveroo set to pull out of Spain following gig economy law changes July 30, 2021 Deliveroo is set to shut down its operations in Spain, months after the government announced changes to the legal status of gig economy workers. The British company, which listed in London earlier this year, said it would consult on pulling out of the market due to the high levels of investment needed and uncertainty over [...]
New frontier: UK renews outdated space policies as giants seek commercial travel July 29, 2021 The UK is set to start regulating commercial space travel from today, as an increasing number of companies look to capitalise on the race to the stars. Before appointing its first-ever space travel regulator, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (UK CAA), the global legal framework surrounding commercial space travel appeared a relic of the Cold [...]
Inmarsat takes on Elon Musk and Oneweb with satellite network launch July 29, 2021 British satellite giant Inmarsat is launching a new network of satellites to offer global broadband and 5G services, joining an escalating space race alongside rivals Elon Musk and Oneweb. The project, dubbed Orchestra, will bring together the company’s existing geosynchronous satellites (Geo) with low-earth orbit satellites (Leo) and land-based 5G services to create a single [...]
Met Office warns of climate change as UK weather hit record levels last year July 29, 2021 The Met Office has warned that last year was the first in history to have temperatures, rains and sunshine hit record levels. The effects of climate change continue to be felt across the UK, the Met Office said in a report today, during a July which brought both heat-health warnings and flooding to London. “This [...]
Netflix, Google and Facebook to require jabs for return to office July 29, 2021 Netflix, Google and Facebook will require all US employees to be vaccinated against Covid-19 before they can return to work. In an email to staff Google boss Sundar Pichai said the tech giant was pushing back its return to the office from September to mid-October. He added that vaccinations will be compulsory for US staff, [...]
Robinhood valued at $32bn as it prices shares ahead of IPO July 29, 2021 Popular trading platform Robinhood has been valued at $32bn (£23bn) after pricing its shares at the lower end of the guidance range ahead of its stock market debut. Robinhood priced its shares at $38 each — the bottom end of its $38 to $42 range — as it gears up for an eagerly-anticipated initial public [...]
MPs and peers launch ‘super committee’ to scrutinise online harms laws July 29, 2021 A joint committee of MPs and lords has been launched today to scrutinise controversial government plans to tackle online harms. The new super committee will be tasked with seeking views on the online safety bill, which was published in draft form in May. The bill is designed to hold tech giants such as Facebook and [...]
Google hit with £920m UK lawsuit over ‘unlawful’ app store charges July 29, 2021 Google has been slapped with a £920m class action lawsuit in the UK over claims charges on its Google Play Store are “excessive and unlawful”. The claim, filed in the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London, alleges that the tech giant shuts down competition in its Play store and hits out at its 30 per cent [...]
Spotify beats forecasts as paid subscribers hit 165m July 28, 2021 Spotify has beaten expectations for the second quarter as the streaming giant saw its paid subscriber numbers grow by a fifth. The Swedish company said premium subscribers jumped 20 per cent year on year to hit 165m in its latest quarter – towards the upper end of its guidance and modelty ahead of forecasts. Monthly [...]