Facebook has launched a news feature in the UK which will pay publishers for stories “not already on its platform,” across hundreds of national, local, and lifestyle outlets. The social media platform said that the move would gives publishers more advertising and subscription opportunities, and that the it the beginning of a series of international investments in news.
A SpaceX rocket has launched 143 satilities into space, hitting a new record for the most spaceships sent to space in a single mission. The launch is part of SpaceX’s SmallSat Rideshare Programme, designed to give smaller satellite operators affordable access to space.
Elon Musk has promised a $100 million prize for whoever develops the “best” carbon capture technology. The billionaire tweeted: “Am donating $100M towards a prize for best carbon capture technology.”
Google has said it will block its search engine in Australia if the government goes ahead with a new code that will make it pay for content from media companies. Australia is introducing a mandatory code of conduct called the News Media Bargaining Code which has been developed to address bargaining power imbalances between Australian news media and digital platforms, specifically Google and Facebook.
The UK government urgently needs to establish an ambitious new digital operation model for a green future and better connectivity, a report backed by Huawei has said. The report by Public Policy Projects, which was put together in collaboration with Chinese tech company Huawei and co-written by Anderson Strategy, outlines recommendations to the UK government for a broad new digital overhaul that will help local, regional, and central governmental bodies hit connectivity and sustainability targets.
58 per cent of UK business decision makers identify security concerns as their biggest barrier to adopting public cloud. Research by Centrify, which surveyed 200 business decision makers, also found that 35 per cent of organisations who have already adopted cloud are less than 80 per cent confident that it’s completely secure.
Retail giant Amazon is suing EU antitrust regulators after they allowed an Italian competition authority to carry out its own case against it. Amazon argues that the case should be part of an EU investigation, reported Reuters.
Mercedes-Benz is taking on Tesla with its new EQA electric compact SUV. The electric car, which launched in February, will at first have a range of 426 kilometres.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is investigating how algorithms can reduce competition in digital markets and harm consumers if they are misused. The authority is gathering information from academics and industry experts on the potential harms to competition and consumers caused by the deliberate or unintended misuse of algorithms.
The president of the European Union has called for the international regulation of technology giants in a speech on the inauguration of president elect Joe Biden. In her statement to the European Parliament Plenary, EU president Ursula von der Leyen said that democratic limits must be imposed on the “untrammelled and uncontrolled political power of the internet giants.”
Half of all IT directors admit to destroying hardware as opposed to having data erased because of a fear it won’t be done properly, according to a survey by DSA Connect. The research found that three in 10 IT directors admit to mothballing IT hardware for the same reason.
Two hospitals in South Warwickshire are using blockchain to track the storage and supply of COVID-19 vaccines. Distributed ledger provider Hedera Hashgraph and digital asset tracking and monitoring company Everyware are working with the NHS facilities to monitor the cold storage equipment being used to store COVID-19 vaccines.
NASA tested its Space Launch System (SLS)rocket on Saturday, hitting a snag when engines shut down only a minute into the trial. The trial needed the rocket’s engines to fire for just over eight minutes, the same length of time it would take to send it up into space following launch.
One of two former Obama administration officials are likely to take on the top antitrust job at the US Department of Justice. Whoever is chosen for the role will be responsible for tackling Big Tech and other antitrust issues, which has been identified as a key issue for the upcoming Biden administration.
Google has announced the completion of its $2.1 billion buyout of Fitbit. The digital health business first entered an agreement with Google in November 2019.