DEBATE: Was it right for MPs to use obscure parliamentary powers to seize Facebook documents? November 27, 2018 Was it right for MPs to use obscure parliamentary powers to seize Facebook documents? Kevin Craig, chief executive and founder of communications agency PLMR, says YES. There is something poetic about British politicians using one of the most archaic parliamentary powers to tackle a very modern policy challenge. Since the Cambridge Analytica story broke, Facebook has [...]
Airbnb pinches new finance chief from Amazon ahead of expected IPO November 26, 2018 Airbnb has hired a former Amazon executive to head up its finance team as it looks towards an expected listing in 2019. Dave Stephenson, a 17-year veteran of the online retail giant who most recently served as chief financial officer of the worldwide consumer unit, will join the accommodation platform in January next year. He also [...]
Spain’s ‘Airbnb for long-term rentals’ taps King’s Cross as its new global headquarters November 26, 2018 Spanish property tech startup Spotahome has picked out London’s King’s Cross as its new global headquarters, thanks to the UK’s reputation as a great source of highly-skilled digital talent. Spotahome’s chief executive Alejandro Artacho told Morning Wire that he believes the capital to be the best place to channel growth and take the business global. [...]
Crypto mining firm Bitmain hit with $5m class action lawsuit November 26, 2018 The world's largest cryptocurrency mining hardware-maker Bitmain is facing a class action lawsuit in California, which is seeking $5m (£3.9m) in damages over allegations of unauthorised mining. Filed by lead plaintiff Gor Gevorkyan in California this month, the suit has alleged Bitmain used power from its customers during the initial set-up of its ASIC mining device to mine currencies without their knowledge [...]
Monzo confirms record-breaking UK fintech crowdfunding round November 26, 2018 Digital bank Monzo has today announced it will be heading back to the crowd for the last chunk of its series E fundraising round, with a target of up to £20m. The raise, first reported exclusively by Morning Wire in August, will be the largest fintech crowdfunding round in the UK to date. Going live [...]
Mark Zuckerberg is a modern wartime chief executive November 26, 2018 Facebook was meant to revolutionise and make everything better wasn’t it? It was a friendly social networking platform that would allow us to share photos and videos, and stay in touch with those we needed to: friends, family, and the loved ones we were separated from by distances in time and geography. But the revelations [...]
Barclays fights off cyber attack attempts every day, says digital defence head November 26, 2018 Barclays fights off attacks from cyber criminals every single day, according to the head of the bank’s cyber security operations centre. Former Europol cybercrime centre head of operations Paul Gillen told Morning Wire that the number of attempts against the lender each day was “substantial”. However, the attacks vary in degree with the most common [...]
Russian watchdog opens civil case against Google November 26, 2018 Russia's communications watchdog has formally opened a civil case against Google for failure to comply with state requirements to remove search results for banned websites. The watchdog Roskomnadzor said Google had not yet joined the state registry that lists all banned websites which the Kremlin believes could contain illegal information. As this leaves Google in contravention [...]
Tech giants criticised for lack of transparency over political lobbying November 26, 2018 Tech behemoths Amazon, Facebook and Google are among the worst companies for failing to offer transparency over their political lobbying efforts, according to Transparency International UK. The organisation's report into corporate political engagement, published today, included assessments of UK companies’ political contributions and lobbying, as well as the so-called revolving door between corporations and politics. Transparency [...]
The new face of piracy: cyber crime is threatening the shipping industry November 26, 2018 When you think of the word pirate, you probably start to imagine the yo ho ho, Jack Sparrow-sort of buccaneer from Disney movies. Modern-day piracy comes in two varieties. There’s the digital kind: people illegally downloading music or films from the internet. Then there’s the more traditional kind: groups who hijack sea vessels to steal [...]