Big Tech Antics: The Data Robber Barons Appear Before Congress

Silicon Valley continues to sprawl in influence, and its modern robber barons bestride the globe with a confidence verging on contempt.  The technology giants that mark that region of California are praised as “virtuosos of ingenuity,” to use Steve Forbes’ words, “creating and supplying products and services that were once unimaginable and that have been […]

Amazon boss Jeff Bezos adds $24bn to fortune

The founder and boss of Amazon has seen his wealth swell by $24bn (£19bn) after soaring demand for online shopping sent the firm’s share price to a new high. Jeff Bezos now has a fortune of $138bn, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, cementing his position as the world’s richest man. Amazon has benefited from […]

Ensuring Accessible Digital Markets

The Legal Officer with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Ebru Gokce Dessemond, says: Competition law and policy can help ensure open and accessible markets with fair and reasonable terms for businesses. Interestingly, digital platforms are at the center of the global economy and the daily lives of consumers. A handful of these […]

Corporate Mammon: Amazon and the Seattle Council Elections

An enduring US political tradition was in evidence in Seattle recently.  Amazon had decided that the city council elections would be too important to leave alone.  Seattle was their city after all.  The aim of the company was much in keeping with the manor lord who prosecutes keen poachers: fund pro-business candidates sympathetic to its […]

Samuel L. Jackson among stars to provide voice to Amazon Alexa

Interactions with Amazon’s virtual personal assistant Alexa could soon become considerably more entertaining – and profane – after actor Samuel L Jackson signed up to lend his voice to the device. The Hollywood star is the first celebrity voice to be rolled out on Alexa, in a feature that will be made available to users later this […]

Brazil sends Army to fight Amazon fires; Donald Trump tweets support

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro said he’s sending troops to battle fires roaring through vast expanses of the Amazon as President Donald Trump offered U.S. support to combat the disaster. Under growing domestic and international pressure, Bolsonaro on Friday promised “zero tolerance” for environmental crimes and pledged “strong action” to control fires — many of them […]

Macron calls Amazon fires an international emergency

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that the fires raging in the Amazon rain forest are an international emergency and called for the situation to be discussed at the G7 summit. “The Amazon rain forest – the lungs which produces 20% of our planet’s oxygen – is on fire. It is an international crisis. […]

Disruptive Effects of Big Tech Firms Take Priority at UNCTAD Meeting

The disruptive effects of big technology companies on digital and offline markets was the subject of intense discussion at a recent UNCTAD meeting on competition law and policy. Governments gathered from July 10-13 at the United Nations’ headquarters in Geneva for a three-day meeting with three main issues in their crosshairs: ·         Competition law and […]

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, wife finalise divorce with $38 bn settlement

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Bezos finalized their divorce to the tune of a USD 38-billion settlement. Under the agreement, MacKenzie Bezos, 49, will receive approximately 19.7 million Amazon.com shares, giving her a four percent stake in the company valued at USD 38.3 billion, and landing her at 22nd on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, […]

E-Books Will Never Replace Print, Because E-Books Are Stagnant and Poorly Designed

Welcome to this week’s Reading List, where you’ll find the best science and technology stories on the internet assembled in one delightful package. This week, we’ll ponder the place books have in our lives, explore urban history, see without realizing it, and remember the birth of online music streaming. We’ll probably never have the same […]