Big Tech, Digital Economy Archives

Facebook’s Server Goes Down As Firm Faces Congressional Heat, Widespread Criticism

4Oct

By Srinidhi RajagopalNo Comments

Big Tech, Digital Economy, Types of News: Brief

Facebook’s Server Goes Down As Firm Faces Congressional Heat, Widespread Criticism

Facebook Whistleblower Reveals Identity, Testifies on TuesdayOctober 4, 2021—Francis Haugen, a former Facebook employee who gave a series of interviews and internal documents to the Wall Street Journal about the company's practices, is seeking whistleblower protection from the Securities and Exchange Commission, the paper reported on Sunday. As the company faces perhaps its highest level of criticism yet since the disclosures released around the 2016 U.S. election, Facebook suffered a worldwide outage on Monday along with its Instagram and WhatsApp platforms. As of Monday afternoon, it was not clear what caused the massive outage. Facebook Exposed Haugen exposed explosive information about the social media giant. Her interviews on WSJ and CBS News revealed shocking details a...

Fintech’s Fast Growth in SE Asia Attracts Consumers And Investors

3Sep

By Frank McMullinNo Comments

Big Tech, Digital Economy, Finance, Banks, Cryptocurrency, Metals, Types of News: Analysis

Fintech’s Fast Growth in SE Asia Attracts Consumers And Investors

In The Last Decade Fintech Provided Access To Banking For Millions Of Southeast Asians September 3, 2021--Consumer and investor activity in e-commerce is disrupting the way transactions take place across the globe and reaching Southeast Asia’s massively underserved populations without access to formal banking or credit institutions. As the pandemic evolves and economies reopen, the result is a boom in e-commerce investment in the area is booming. Meanwhile, it is further supported by local governments. Today Southeast Asian economies are primed hotbeds for financial technology, also known as fintech, and investors are taking notice. What Is Fintech? Fintech is an emerging class of technology that supports banking and financial services. This ranges from cryptocurrency to e-w...

House Panel Wraps Up Antitrust Investigation On High Tech Giants

7Oct

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Big Tech, Digital Economy, Domestic Politics, Types of News: Brief

House Panel Wraps Up Antitrust Investigation On High Tech Giants

October 7, 2020-After a 16-month antitrust investigation of high-tech giants Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Google, a U.S. congressional committee suggests the companies wield extraordinary power in the economy and use their dominance to cut off competition. According to Democrats on a House Judiciary Subcommittee, the "market power of the dominant platforms risks undermining both political and economic liberties." Not since the "era of oil barons and railroad tycoons" have firms commanded extensive monopoly power in the market, they asserted in a 450-page report released by subcommittee this week. "By controlling access to markets, these giants can pick winners and losers throughout our economy. They not only wield tremendous power, but they also abuse it by charging exorbitant fees, ...

As US-China Digital Battle Begins, Global Tech Firm Tencent Holdings Hires U.S. Lobbyist

18Aug

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Big Tech, Digital Economy, Globalization, Disintegration, Nationalism, Populism, Types of News: Brief, United States

As US-China Digital Battle Begins, Global Tech Firm Tencent Holdings Hires U.S. Lobbyist

August 18, 2020--As the United States and China begin to battle over the use digital technologies by consumers, Tencent Holdings, a Chinese-based multinational technology company that owns the social media app WeChat, hired a law firm to lobby the U.S. government. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison a global law firm headquartered in New York, filed a lobbying disclosure filed on August 7 with the Senate. According to the disclosure, the firm intends to represent Tencent, its largest shareholder Naspers Limited, and WeChat in the areas of consumer issues/safety/protection, media and trade. The firm's chief lobbyist on behalf of Tencent is Roberto Gonzalez, an attorney specializing in high-stake litigation, economic sanctions and export controls. Gonzalez has held senior posi...

Microsoft Fast-Tracks Plans to Purchase TikTok from China-Based ByteDance Amid Possibility of U.S. Ban

3Aug

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Big Tech, Digital Economy

Microsoft Fast-Tracks Plans to Purchase TikTok from China-Based ByteDance Amid Possibility of U.S. Ban

August 3, 2020--The Microsoft Corporation announced it plans to "move quickly" to purchase the widely popular video-sharing app TikTok from its China-based owner Bytedance. The announcement came on Sunday after Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has threatened to ban the app over national security concerns. Microsoft said it intends to complete negotiations by September 15. The fast-moving talks come as public officials are paying closer attention to digital apps that collect data from billions of users. It also highlights the current economic integration of the world's two superpowers: the United States and China. Data Collection and Security Concerns With more than 2 billion downloads to date, TikTok is the among first Chinese internet-se...

Tech Giants Face Investigations, Scrutiny

17Jul

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Big Tech, Digital Economy, Types of News: Brief

Tech Giants Face Investigations, Scrutiny

UPDATE: The European Union settled its 2019 investigation with a legally binding agreement with Amazon in December 2020. That agreement covered the online retail giant's use of non-public seller data and access to its Buy Back and Prime programs. July 17, 2019--As some of the largest tech companies in the world grow in value and market share, they face increasing scrutiny in both the United States and the European Union that they are using their platforms to favor their products over their competitors, collect and use data to their advantage and buyout competitors. The European Union launched a formal investigation into Amazon's use of data on independent retailers selling on its platform to see if it violates competition rules. The investigation will focus on "Amazon's business prac...

France to Impose ‘GAFA’ Tax on Digital Giants

11Jul

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Big Tech, Digital Economy, Europe, EU, Eurozone, and United Kingdom, Types of News: Brief

France to Impose ‘GAFA’ Tax on Digital Giants

July 11, 2019--The French Parliament enacted new legislation today to tax digital companies, including Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon, earning over €750 million ($844 million) a year. The GAFA tax marks the first time a national government would be garnering income from high-tech's increasing use of data collection and targeted online advertising. Moreover, it might pave the way for international efforts to tax the digital, global economy. Revenue Raiser The tax, known as "GAFA" for the four highest-revenue tech companies, is expected to generate about €400 million in revenue for France this year and €650 million in 2020 ($450 million in 2019 and $730 in 2020). It applies to companies with total annual revenues of €750 million globally with €25 million of that earned in...

Online Retail Giant Amazon.com Stock Hits 2,000

10Jul

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Big Tech, Digital Economy, Types of News: Brief

Online Retail Giant Amazon.com Stock Hits 2,000

July 10, 2019--Online retail giant Amazon.com reached new heights today as its stock rose above 2,000 on the NASDAQ stock exchange. Just a week before company executives are scheduled to appear before a congressional committee investigating the dominance of top tech companies, the stock price reached a new high, reflecting the company's massive scale. The mile-marker in the company's stock price came amid peaks U.S. equities after Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell suggested the Fed might cut interest rates. It also comes as tech giants enter the field of finance, posing new risks to consumers, traditional banks and financial markets. Amazon Stock: From $324 in 2014 to $2,024 Today Amazon Sales & Revenue Though Amazon does not pay a dividend and is priced at ...

Big Tech May Pose Big Risks for Finance Firms, Consumers

25Jun

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Big Tech, Digital Economy, Finance, Banks, Cryptocurrency, Metals, Types of News: Analysis

Big Tech May Pose Big Risks for Finance Firms, Consumers

June 25, 2019 -- As big technology firms expand their services to include finance, it is poses new risks to consumers, competitors and financial systems. With large customer bases, access to massive amounts of data and the ability to scale-up quickly, technology-service providers like Alibaba, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Groupon and Tencent are poised to change the financial-services industry, international analysts say. A Ripe Opportunity for Growth Currently earning just 11 percent of their revenues from their financial services, many tech firms are eyeing the field as a means to make big profits. New services include payments systems, digital money, money management, insurance and lending. "Big techs have the potential to loom large very quickly as systemically relev...

Global Leaders Assert Competing Visions on the Digital Economy

31Jan

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Big Tech, Digital Economy, Types of News: Analysis

Global Leaders Assert Competing Visions on the Digital Economy

Round-Up on Davos Nothing epitomizes the global elite more than the annual meeting of business tycoons and political leaders in Davos, Switzerland. The annual meeting held high up on the mountain resort provides a view of the world economy like none other. Even observers from afar can catch a real glimpse into the state of the world. Today, leaders not only have to contend with a backlash against globalization at home, they also have to compete with one another to define the technologically-powered global world. [soliloquy id="7904"] Europe Digs Deep Last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping took the stage to assert that China would guide and adapt to economic globalization, even if others retreat from it. This year, Xi sent an underling, leaving the stage open primarily to W...