A new research paper written by a team of academics and computer scientists from Spain and Austria has demonstrated that it’s possible to use Facebook’s targeting tools to deliver an ad exclusively to a single individual if you know enough about the interests Facebook’s platform assigns them. The paper — entitled “Unique on Facebook: Formulation […]
Ex-minister predicts ‘huge battleground’ over UK’s plan to set Internet content rules
The former UK minster of state for what is now the digital and culture department, DCMS, has warned of the looming battle in parliament over the exact shape of incoming online safety legislation. In an interview with TechCrunch, Ed Vaizey — a former Conservative Party MP, now Lord Vaizey of Didcot, who was head of […]
Tech giants’ slowing progress on hate speech removals underscores need for law, says EC
Tech giants have gotten worse at removing illegal hate speech from their platforms under a voluntary arrangement in the European Union, according to the Commission’s latest assessment. The sixth evaluation report of the EU’s Code of Conduct on removing illegal hate speech found what the bloc’s executive calls a “mixed picture”, with platforms reviewing 81% […]
Habitual is using digital support plus food replacement to help reverse type 2 diabetes
London-based Habitual, a healthtech startup which offers a weight loss program aimed at people with type 2 diabetes (or prediabetes) that combines “evidence-based” food replacement with digital support to help people manage and even reverse the condition (so they can be medication free), has closed a $2.3 million seed round. The round was led by […]
Leak shows Facebook’s business model needs regulating, says MEP
The European Parliament’s lead and shadow rapporteur for a major reboot of the bloc’s digital rulebook have called for an investigation following the Facebook whistleblower leaks. One of the MEPs has also called for incoming EU rules to directly tackle business models that favor “disinformation and violence over factual content”. In a joint statement, the […]
Made of Air, a maker of ‘carbon negative’ thermoplastics, locks in $5.8M
Berlin-based climate tech startup Made of Air has closed a €5 million (~$5.8 million) seed funding round, led by Norwegian sustainability-focused family fund, TD Veen. Also participating are Patrick Pichette (former CFO of Google and chairman of the board of Twitter), EQT Group, Thomas Von Koch (CEO & co-founder of EQT Group), Tuesday Capital, the […]
Clubhouse, Vimeo, DoubleVerify and others set to sign up to beefed-up disinformation code in the EU
Audio social network Clubhouse, video sharing platform Vimeo and anti-ad fraud startup DoubleVerify are among a clutch of tech companies and organzations preparing to sign up to a beefed-up version of the European Union’s Code of Practice on Online Disinformation, the Commission said today. Back in May the EU’s executive said it would be strengthening […]
SquadPal is a social app to help remote working teams gel
The future of office work, post-COVID-19, is driving plenty of startup activity. Not just around core business needs like comms (Zoom, Slack et al.) — but entrepreneurs are also competing to come up with the perfect tool to recreate the social serendipity of office life in order to make dispersed workers feel a bit more […]
UK class action-style suit filed over DeepMind NHS health data scandal
A U.K. law firm is bringing a class-action style claim over a patient health data scandal that dates back to 2015 and involves the Google-owned AI company DeepMind, after it was quietly passed medical information on more than a million patients by an NHS Trust as part of an app development project. Law firm Mishcon […]
EU considers single rules for regulating vacation rental platforms
European Union lawmakers are consulting on how to regulate the short term rental market across the bloc — asking whether a single set of pan-EU rules or something more locally flavored is needed to rule over platforms like Airbnb. The Commission says it wants to support an expansion of competition and players in the sector […]