House of Lords calls for tougher rules on tech firms March 9, 2019 A new report from the House of Lords has called upon tech firms such as Facebook and Twitter to improve their "inadequate" responses to privacy breaches and anti-social content. The report, which comes in the wake of the high-profile data breaches such as the Cambridge Analytica scandal, has also suggested that a digital authority is created to provide laws [...]
Technology can save the high street and future-proof the entire retail ecosystem March 8, 2019 Ever since the first online transaction over a quarter of a century ago, we’ve been bombarded with a growing number of claims that the high street is dead and online is king. The recent downfall of former offline strongholds such as BHS, Toys R Us, and House of Fraser are often cited as evidence that [...]
UK Space Agency joins hunt for Earth-like planets orbiting alien stars March 8, 2019 The UK Space Agency is set to provide £7m to tackle solar winds' impact on Earth communications, as it works with other space agencies to search for more Earth-like planets orbiting alien stars. The space weather mission, called the Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (Smile), will study how solar wind affects the Earth's magnetosphere [...]
International Women’s Day is a reminder to keep breaking down barriers March 8, 2019 As a senior woman in business, I’m often approached to speak at events about the importance of nurturing diversity, in the technology industry and beyond. It is both a privilege and a regret. I long for a world where diverse leadership is simply the norm; where senior female business leaders are just known as “business [...]
China throws weight behind Huawei as telecoms giant sues US government March 8, 2019 Mobile giant Huawei has gained the backing of the Chinese government in its bid to sue the US, in a move which threatens to deepen the countries' ongoing diplomatic rift. China’s top diplomat, state councillor Wang Yi, said on Friday that China supports Huawei Technologies’ bid for legal redress in the United States, adding that [...]
Snap to be hauled in front of MPs for grilling over Breck Bednar murder taunt March 7, 2019 A parliamentary committee has said the parent firm of Snapchat will face questions regarding the reported use of the app by a killer to taunt the family of a child he murdered. The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee today invited Snapchat to provide evidence as part of its inquiry into immersive and addictive [...]
MPs launch inquiry into drone risk after Gatwick travel chaos March 7, 2019 MPs have launched an investigation into the ethical and safety implications of drones in the wake of travel chaos at UK airports. The Science and Technology Committee (STC) has launched a probe into the use of civilian drones across the UK ahead of the government’s so-called Drone Bill, which is expected this year. Read more: [...]
Draper Esprit leads £7m funding round in deep tech firm Hadean March 7, 2019 Venture capital firm Draper Esprit has led a £7m funding round in London deep tech firm Hadean. Hadean has created the world’s first cloud-first operating system to allow programmers to scale up their code and reduce the manpower and time wasted on engineering. Read more: London-listed Draper Esprit to double down on Europe with £100m [...]
Funding Circle shares rise despite widening losses on IPO costs March 7, 2019 Shares in peer-to-peer lender Funding Circle jumped as much as five per cent this morning despite widening losses following the fintech firm’s initial public offering (IPO) last year. The figures Funding Circle fell to a £51.6m operating loss in 2018, 40 per cent up from a loss of £36.9m the previous year. Read more: Funding [...]
The big banks are losing their grip on the market to fintechs and challengers, but can big data save the day? March 7, 2019 Over a year on from the launch of Open Banking, and following last year’s IT catastrophes at Visa and TSB, it is no surprise that many in our industry are considering how effectively the big banks are reacting to this era of transformative technological upheaval. It is estimated that the five biggest UK banks hold [...]