US-based FIS buys Worldpay at $43bn valuation, creating payments giant March 18, 2019 British payment processor Worldpay was snapped up this morning by US-based Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) in a deal which values the firm at $43bn (£32bn). Excluding the target’s debt, the valuation comes to $34.83bn, the companies said. Read more: BT names payment services veteran as its new CEO It creates a company which had [...]
Lyft set to court investors ahead of Wall St float March 17, 2019 Ride-hailing platform Lyft is launch its investor roadshow today, ahead of the company’s upcoming debut on the New York Stock Exchange. The firm is seeking to raise as much as $2bn (£1.5bn) and be valued at more than $20bn, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Lyft will be meeting with investors across the US [...]
Labour hits back at social media giants over Christchurch attack footage March 17, 2019 Social media firms must be better at reacting quickly to take down live broadcasts, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said today. A gunman attacked two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand on Friday, killing 50 Muslims. He live-streamed the attack on Facebook for 17 minutes, with footage of the event quickly spreading to other platforms such as [...]
Junk food ads set to be banned on TV and online before 9pm watershed in government crackdown March 17, 2019 Junk food advertisements could be banned from appearing on TV and online before 9pm, as the government today launched a consultation on measures to tackle the UK's growing obesity rate. Currently, ads for foods that are high in fat, salt or sugar are forbidden during broadcasts of TV programmes specifically aimed at children. The consultation by [...]
Google braced for EU fine over advertising competition breach March 15, 2019 The EU’s competition commission is set to hit Google with another fine following an investigation into its advertising business. Commissioner Margrethe Vestager will announce the fine next week following a probe into Google AdSense, the Financial Times reported, citing three people familiar with the case. Read more: Google removed 2.3bn ‘bad ads’ last year Google [...]
Apple slams Spotify for wanting ‘benefits of a free app without being free’ March 15, 2019 Apple has hit back at Spotify’s EU competition complaint, saying the streaming service wants “all the benefits of a free app without being free”. Earlier this week Spotify filed a complaint with EU competition authorities over the way the tech giant’s App Store works. Read more: Spotify reports Apple to EU commission over antitrust concerns [...]
Facebook blames server problem after 14-hour outage cripples social media sites March 15, 2019 Facebook has blamed a “server configuration change” for the outage that affected its social media platforms for more than 14 hours yesterday. “We've now resolved the issues and our systems are recovering. We’re very sorry for the inconvenience and appreciate everyone’s patience,” the company said in a statement. Read more: Facebook restores service after worst [...]
Facebook loses two top technology execs after Zuckerberg adopts privacy shift March 14, 2019 Two senior Facebook technology executives have left the social media giant, days after its chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said the company would be moving towards a “privacy-focused future”. Zuckerberg said in a blog post that chief product officer Chris Cox, one of the firm’s earliest employees, and Whatsapp vice president Chris Daniels had resigned. “As Mark has [...]
Mobile bank N26 targets UK expansion with general manager appointment March 14, 2019 European mobile bank N26 has appointed a new general manager to drive forward UK expansion as it steps up competition against rivals such as Monzo and Revolut. Former Morgan Stanley investment banker Will Sorby has joined the Berlin-based digital bank, which operates in 24 markets across Europe, following its UK launch in October last year. Read [...]
Netflix to set its own age ratings for streaming shows and movies in new partnership with BBFC March 14, 2019 Netflix will be granted powers to set the official age ratings for its film and TV programmes as part of a new partnership with the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). The streaming giant will use an automated rating algorithm, alongside a manual tagging system, to apply official UK age ratings to its original films [...]