Review: New tech brings golden age of media 16 Nov 2018 The internet has provided ample fodder for the endless debate over culture versus commerce. In “Digital Renaissance,” business professor Joel Waldfogel says consumers have more good music, movies and television shows than ever to choose from, and haven’t bankrupted industry.
Mark Zuckerberg pushes wrong kind of independence 15 Nov 2018 Facebook’s CEO is setting up an external committee to police fake news and hateful content after more revelations about how he and others dealt with Russian meddling. But outsourcing decisions won’t fix Facebook’s culture. Removing Zuckerberg as chair would be a good first step.
Viewsroom: Europe fights U.S. Big Tech 15 Nov 2018 Digital titans like Alphabet and Apple may rule the roost, but EU rules on data privacy are helping startups flourish on the other side of the Atlantic. Meanwhile, Facebook’s inability to police fake content spreads to Africa. Plus: Mumbai’s ride-share drivers go on strike.
Alphabet ad machine aids Tim Cook’s data case 25 Oct 2018 The Google parent raked in more revenue and profit during the third quarter. The stronger the $730 bln firm gets, the more scrutiny it will attract from watchdogs who want to safeguard consumer data. The Apple boss’s call for tighter privacy restrictions is a telling sign.
Cathay Pacific typifies data-breach turbulence 25 Oct 2018 The $5 bln Hong Kong airline disclosed unauthorised access to personal details of over 9 mln passengers. It also waited seven months to come clean. Though investors should know by now that hacks can happen anywhere, they leave struggling companies like Cathay more exposed.
Google inadvertently makes case for data crackdown 9 Oct 2018 The search giant kept secret a security hole to avoid regulators’ scrutiny, the Wall Street Journal says. The lack of transparency underlines that such disclosures should be out of managers’ hands. U.S. lawmakers eyeing a law similar to Europe’s GDPR have an extra argument.
Data is new beat for transatlantic antitrust cops 28 Sep 2018 The U.S. DOJ’s Makan Delrahim and the EU’s Margrethe Vestager worry concentrations of personal information may be used to stifle competition. She has been the tougher so far, but the shared focus could hurt tech giants like Facebook and Alphabet that depend on data for profit.
U.S. data privacy suffers from too many cooks 26 Sep 2018 Amazon, Apple and other tech executives said a single federal privacy law is needed to avoid fragmented state rules. Different standards also apply to the healthcare and financial industries, while data collection extends beyond tech. Europe has some ideas to offer.
Nielsen’s best option is to rip off the band-aid 13 Aug 2018 Paul Singer’s Elliott disclosed a 5 pct stake in the stumbling $8.5 bln TV-ratings firm and is pushing for a sale. It’s a surer remedy than auctioning one floundering business unit amidst a protracted CEO search. Buyout firms took Nielsen on once before. Maybe they will again.
Tesla gets a lesson in buyout realities 9 Aug 2018 Elon Musk wanting to take the money-losing carmaker private has set Wall Street all atwitter. But Dun & Bradstreet’s $5.4 bln LBO is a reminder of what it usually takes: a mature, mediocre, profitable firm. That’s a better bet than capital-draining dreams of domination.
Blackstone gets “insurance” on $20 bln F&R deal 18 Jul 2018 Its buyout of Thomson Reuters’ financial-data arm comes with features that enhance the seller’s upside if things go very well – but leaves Steve Schwarzman’s investment firm in better shape if things wobble. That ought to help hold the Canadian group’s feet to the fire.
Micro Focus $2.5 bln sale amplifies growth problem 2 Jul 2018 The British tech group’s disposal of an open-source software unit is helping its share price, which halved in March. Yet the source of its problems, a troubled former HP division, now accounts for more of the group’s revenue. A tricky turnaround has become even harder to execute.
Wall Street data merger chases $10 trln dream 21 May 2018 IHS Markit is snapping up Ipreo from Blackstone and Goldman for $1.86 bln to bulk up the information it can sell on alternative assets from private equity to real estate. It’s a booming area crying out for more transparency – and spurring plenty of competition on data.
Breakdown: EU gains new powers for Big Tech fight 21 May 2018 Europe’s new privacy rule, the GDPR, prohibits covert data gathering and allows users to have information moved or deleted. The likes of Google and Facebook may initially find it easier to comply than smaller companies. But over time they’ll face a hostile EU with new weapons.
Facebook dating reality may fall short of fears 1 May 2018 News of a matchmaking add-on to the social network tanked the shares of Match and owner IAC on Tuesday. People are spending less time on Facebook and this could persuade some to linger. But they’d have to believe Mark Zuckerberg’s promiscuous data-sharing days are behind him.
Facebook not Zuckerberg is under fire in D.C. 9 Apr 2018 It will be tempting for U.S. lawmakers grilling Mark Zuckerberg to focus on his all-too-apparent flaws. That would miss the bigger question: whether Facebook is too complex to manage, whoever runs it. That is key to knowing whether the company ought to be regulated.
Mark Zuckerberg could learn from Jamie Dimon 5 Apr 2018 Crises forced both CEOs onto the public stage. Over the past decade, JPMorgan’s boss has regularly confronted issues and explained the firm’s strategy. Social networks, like banks, rely on confidence to survive and thrive. The Facebook founder would do well to recognize that.
Viewsroom: Facebook’s multiplying problems 29 Mar 2018 The social network founded by Mark Zuckerberg is reeling from a data harvest on some 50 million users. It will take time for the $440 billion firm to feel the impact but people are starting to slowly unplug. Plus, the world’s largest consumer-drone maker may go public.
Facebook’s size is its other looming problem 28 Mar 2018 The social network – like Google – collects massive amounts of intel on users to sell advertising. The more Google knows, the better its search results get. But adding ever more data risks making Facebook less entertaining – and its users more wary of compromising their privacy.
Equifax CEO pick has lesson for Facebook 28 Mar 2018 The hacked $14 bln credit-scorer’s new boss is more technocrat than tech nerd. Then again, Facebook’s poor handling of its data woes suggests having a coding genius in charge is no certain solution. Hiring an outside manager willing to ask tough questions is a step forward.