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[1/2] 3D printed clouds and figurines are seen in front of the Microsoft Azure cloud service logo in this illustration taken February 8, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 3 (Reuters) - British media regulator Ofcom will this week push for an antitrust investigation into Amazon (AMZN.O) and Microsoft's (MSFT.O) dominance of the UK's cloud computing market, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Between them, Amazon and Microsoft enjoy a combined market share of 60-70% of Britain's cloud computing industry. Ofcom warned the current state of Britain's cloud computing market made it difficult for some existing customers to bargain for a good deal with their provider. Both Amazon and Microsoft previously said they would continue working with Ofcom ahead of the publication of its final report.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Martin Coulter, Foo Yun Chee, Matthew Scuffham, Susan Fenton Organizations: Microsoft, REUTERS, Ofcom, Google, CMA, Thomson Locations: British, EU, U.S, China

The government says the online safety bill passed this week will make Britain the safest place in the world to be online. Here's a closer look at Britain's law:WHAT IS THE ONLINE SAFETY LAW? The government says the law takes a “zero tolerance” approach to protecting kids by making platforms legally responsible for their online safety. Senior managers at tech companies also face criminal prosecution and prison time if they fail to answer information requests from U.K. regulators. The law also sets up a clash between the British government and tech companies over encryption technology.

Persons: They'll, haven’t, Meta Organizations: Google, Facebook, U.S, European Union, Services, IF BIG TECH, Companies, Ofcom, Rights Group, Electronic Frontier Foundation, U.S . Locations: Europe, U.S

☆ UK has not backed down in tech encryption row, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Britain's Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Michelle Donelan walks on Downing Street in London, Britain March 15, 2023. Junior minister Stephen Parkinson appeared to concede ground to the tech companies' arguments on Wednesday, saying in parliament's upper chamber that the Ofcom communications regulator would only require them to scan content where "technically feasible". Tech companies have said scanning messages and end-to-end encryption are fundamentally incompatible. Donelan, however, denied on Thursday that the bill had been watered down in the final stages before it becomes law. She said further work to develop the technology was needed, but added that government-funded research had shown it was possible.

Persons: Technology Michelle Donelan, Peter Nicholls, Michelle Donelan, Stephen Parkinson, Paul Sandle, Helen Popper Our Organizations: State for Science, Innovation, Technology, REUTERS, Junior, Ofcom, Tech, Times Radio, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

☆ How today's data centers marry clean tech with reliability
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Insider Studios With Schneider Electric | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Last summer, two data centers in London experienced heatwave-linked failures, with the incident affecting clinical IT systems at a number of hospitals. Data centers have become "a very important aspect of running entire business models, and even our day-to-day lives. Losing the information processed by data centers would be detrimental not only to companies and individuals, but also governments and society as a whole. This puts the firms that develop and operate data centers in a tricky position, not least because today's facilities are resource hungry. Companies can deploy a range of innovations to put these metrics at the core of tomorrow's data centers.

Persons: Pankaj Sharma, Schneider, we're, it's, Sharma Organizations: Facebook, Secure, Ofcom, US, McKinsey, EU, International Energy Agency, Pact, European Commission . Companies, Amazon Web Services, Google, IBM, Companies, Schneider Electric, Insider Studios Locations: London, Paris, Europe

☆ Exclusive: Snapchat under scrutiny from UK watchdog over underage users
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Martin Coulter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Under UK data protection law, social media companies need parental consent before processing data of children under 13. Social media firms generally require users to be 13 or over, but have had mixed success in keeping children off their platforms. Snapchat declined to give details of any measures it might have taken to reduce the number of underage users. It also found Snapchat was the most popular app for underage social media users. However, other apps take more proactive measures to prevent underage children accessing their platforms.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Snapchat, Martin Coulter, Matt Scuffham, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Inc, Social, ICO, Ofcom, National Society for, Thomson Locations: U.S, Britain

☆ Telecoms giant BT Group appoints Allison Kirkby as CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Kirby has previously served as president and CEO of Swedish telecoms provider Telia, with experience at Virgin Media and Denmark's TDC. She has been a member of the BT Group board for the past four years. His legacy includes BT's push to build a national fibre network, offering discounted wholesale fibre pricing to major broadband providers in exchange for shifting customers to the grid. U.K. telecoms regulator Ofcom in May ruled that BT subsidiary Openreach's Equinox 2 wholesale pricing scheme was allowed. "Based on the evidence available to us, we don't consider Openreach's new pricing discounts to be anti-competitive," Ofcom said at the time.

Persons: Allison Kirkby, Philip Jansen, Kirby, Jansen Organizations: BT Group, Telia, Virgin Media, TDC, BT, Ofcom, Openreach's

☆ UK's Virgin Media O2 to lay off up to 2,000 employees by year end
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 24 (Reuters) - British mobile operator Virgin Media O2 said on Monday it was planning to lay off up to 2,000 employees by the end of this year. The company is a joint venture between the US-listed Liberty Global (LBTYA.O) and Spain's Telefonica (TEF.MC). Its rival BT Group (BT.L), Britain's biggest broadband and mobile provider, had cut 55,000 roles or more than 40% of its workforce in May. Earlier this month, the country's communications regulator Ofcom opened a probe, following complaints from users that the mobile operator was making it tough to cancel services. ($1 = 0.9041 euros)Reporting by Urvi Dugar and Mrinmay Dey in BengaluruOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Urvi Dugar, Mrinmay Dey Organizations: Virgin Media O2, Telegraph, Liberty Global, Spain's Telefonica, BT Group, Britain's, . Liberty Global, Vodafone, Ofcom, Thomson Locations: British, Bengaluru

SummaryCompanies BT boss who spearheaded fibre roll-out to step downJansen simplified former monopoly, retreated from sportsShares nearly halved under his tenureLONDON, July 10 (Reuters) - BT (BT.L) Chief Executive Philip Jansen will step down within the next year, having set plans in motion for Britain's biggest telecoms provider to cut jobs, become leaner and complete the roll-out of a national fibre network. Jansen had informed BT's board of directors that he plans to leave at "an appropriate moment" within the next 12 months, BT said on Monday. Since early 2019, Jansen has steered BT through a crucial period in its 177-year-history, secured funding for a national fibre network for 25 million homes and businesses and handled the arrival of billionaire investor Patrick Drahi on the shareholder register. "We suspect investors will find this transition a little premature given the fruits of BT's fibre investments have still yet to be proven out," analysts at J.P.Morgan wrote in a client note. Analysts named BT's consumer brands boss Marc Allera and Allison Kirkby, a BT board member and chief executive of Sweden's Telia, as possible successors.

Persons: Jansen, Philip Jansen, BT's, Patrick Drahi, J.P.Morgan, Adam Crozier, Marc Allera, Allison Kirkby, Sweden's, Sarah Young, Kate Holton, Sharon Singleton Organizations: BT, Britain's, Discovery, Deutsche Telekom, Ofcom, Thomson Locations: France, United States, Portugal, Israel

☆ Vodafone and Three merger faces scrutiny from competition regulators
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Paul Sandle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The $19 billion tie-up will be scrutinised by Britain's Competition and Markets Authority, the antitrust regulator which made global headlines in April when it blocked Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard. The long-awaited mobile deal reduces the number of networks from four to three, challenging a tenet long held by regulators that four help to keep prices low in major markets. "The government's desire to make the UK a 5G powerhouse requires a lot of investment," he said. One London-based investment banker, who declined to be named, said he put the chance of the deal receiving the green light from regulators at 50%. A major telecoms investor said the deal could be approved, but only with strong remedies, and that could risk undermining its rationale.

Persons: CK Hutchison, Activision Blizzard, Hutchison, Paolo Pescatore, Peter Broadhurst, Moring, James Gray, Sarah Cardell, Robert Finnegan, Gray, Paul Sandle, Amy, Jo Crowley, Sinead Cruise, Kate Holton, Emelia Organizations: Microsoft, Activision, Hutchison, O2, Vodafone, CK, HK, Britain's Competition, Markets Authority, Ofcom, European Commission, Foresight, Hutchison's, UK plc, Victoria, Crowell, CMA, Reuters, National Security and Investment, Britain's, Tesco Mobile, Telefonica, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, Britain, Europe, China, London, Germany

☆ Factbox: Vodafone, Hutchison UK merger to create country's largest mobile operator
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 14 (Reuters) - Vodafone (VOD.L) and CK Hutchison (0001.HK) unveiled the merger of their British operations, creating the country's largest mobile operator. Hutchison will own 49% and Vodafone 51% of the combined group, which will be led by current Vodafone UK boss Ahmed Essam. REVENUEUK represented 14% of group service revenue for Vodafone, and 16% of total revenue for Hutchison, according to latest annual results. RETAIL STORESThree has 311 retail stores in UK, according to its website, while Vodafone UK had 410 stores as of January. SPECTRUMVodafone has spectrum access between 3720-3760 MHz, while Three UK has access between 3460-3480 MHz, according to British telecoms regulator Ofcom.

Persons: CK Hutchison, Hutchison, Ahmed Essam, Eva Mathews Organizations: Vodafone, CK, HK, Hutchison, Ofcom, BT Group, O2, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ UK telecoms regulator says it was affected by MOVEit hack
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, June 12 (Reuters) - Britain's communications regulator Ofcom on Monday said it was one of the organisations affected in a data theft hack centred on the popular file transfer tool MOVEit. "A limited amount of information about certain companies we regulate - some of it confidential - along with personal data of 412 Ofcom employees, was downloaded during the attack," the watchdog said in a statement. Tens of thousands of employees of British Airways, drugstore chain Boots and the BBC were among those whose personal data was exposed following the breach, the companies said last week. Ofcom said it took immediate action to prevent further use of the MOVEit service and to implement the recommended security measures. A limited amount of Ofcom data was downloaded from the MOVEit server during the breach, rather than from Ofcom systems directly, a spokesperson for the regulator said via e-mail.

Persons: Muvija, William James Our Organizations: Ofcom, British Airways, BBC, Thomson

☆ UK's ITV commissions review after presenter resignation row
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, May 31 (Reuters) - British broadcaster ITV (ITV.L) has commissioned an external review of presenter Phillip Schofield's resignation, the company said on Wednesday, after the 61-year-old admitted to lying about a relationship with a young worker. The probe was first reported by PA Media on Wednesday. "As you would expect we take the matter extremely seriously and have reviewed our own records over the weekend," a letter sent by McCall to government said, PA Media reported. The letter was sent to Ofcom, the broadcast regulator, and culture minister Lucy Frazer, PA Media reported. It said ITV had instructed a senior barrister to "carry out an external review to establish the facts".

Persons: Phillip Schofield's, Schofield, Carolyn McCall, McCall, Lucy Frazer, Paul Sandle, William James, Aurora Ellis Organizations: ITV, PA Media, Britain's, Ofcom, Thomson Locations: British, Britain

☆ UK mobile users spending millions on smartphones they've already paid for, Virgin Media O2 says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

But some customers fail to switch contracts after the handset has been paid off, despite being notified by their network. The operator said its survey showed 93% of customers were unaware they could be charged for handsets they'd paid off, with older and lower-income consumers most impacted. Rivals BT's EE, Vodafone and Three said they offered split contracts and provided clear information. "Like VMO2 we offer split contracts with EE Flexpay, while providing all customers with clear end-of-contract notifications, including the best offer for them based on their usage," a BT Consumer spokesperson said. A Three spokesperson said the company already offered split contracts where customers can take out a loan to pay for their device, which is separate to their monthly airtime payments.

☆ WhatsApp and other messaging apps oppose UK's move on encryption
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, April 18 (Reuters) - WhatsApp and other messaging services have united to oppose Britain's plan to force tech companies to break end-to-end encryption in private messages in its proposed internet safety legislation. Britain's Online Safety Bill was originally designed to create one of the toughest regimes for regulating platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. The British government said the bill in "no way represented a ban on end-to-end encryption, nor would it require services to weaken encryption". The letter signatories said this was incompatible with end-to-end encryption, which enables a message to be read only by the sender and recipient. A British government spokesperson said: "We support strong encryption, but this cannot come at the cost of public safety.

☆ Microsoft, Amazon face cloud competition probe as UK regulator raises alarm
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Ofcom said it received evidence showing Microsoft makes it less attractive for customers to run its Office productivity apps on cloud infrastructure other than Microsoft Azure. Microsoft and Amazon were accused by U.K. regulators Wednesday of unfairly restricting competition in the cloud services market, in a significant development that could ultimately lead to an antitrust investigation into their business practices. Ofcom, the British media watchdog, published the initial findings of a market study examining the massive cloud services market. Ofcom opened a review into the sector in September, seeking to find whether firms offering public cloud infrastructure pose any barriers to competition. The regulator proposed referring the case for further investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority, the U.K. regulator tasked with ensuring markets are healthily competitive.

☆ Britain's cloud market needs competition probe, regulator says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, April 5 (Reuters) - Britain's Ofcom said it planned to ask the competition regulator to investigate cloud services, a market dominated by Amazon (AMZN.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O). Amazon and Microsoft have a combined market share of 60-70%, while Alphabet's Google (GOOGL.O) is their closest competitor with 5-10%. "High barriers to switching are already harming competition in what is a fast-growing market," said Ofcom director Fergal Farragher in a statement. "We remain committed to ensuring the UK cloud industry stays highly competitive, and to supporting the transformative potential of cloud technologies to help accelerate growth across the UK economy," said a spokesperson for Microsoft. Ofcom, which launched its probe into cloud services last year, said it would publish a final report setting out its findings and recommendations by October.

☆ Amazon, Microsoft could face UK antitrust probe over cloud services
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Britain’s media and communications regulator Ofcom says it has “significant concerns” that Amazon and Microsoft could be harming competition in the market for cloud services. In a statement Wednesday, Ofcom said it was “proposing to refer” the cloud services market to the Competition and Markets Authority, the UK antitrust regulator, for further investigation. Cloud services are delivered to businesses and consumers over the internet and include applications such as Gmail and Dropbox. According to Ofcom, Amazon (AMZN) Web Services and Microsoft’s Azure have a combined UK market share of 60%-70% in cloud services. “We remain committed to ensuring the UK cloud industry stays highly competitive,” the spokesperson added.

☆ TikTok, Snapchat growing in popularity among UK children, regulator data shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Martin Coulter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 29 (Reuters) - The number of children using TikTok and Snapchat (SNAP.N) rose last year in Britain, according to research published by media regulator Ofcom. “Children of all ages reported choosing to watch ‘dramatic’ content in various forms when selecting TV shows and films to watch," the report said. Ofcom also found the proportion of 3- and 4-year-olds using Snapchat had risen to 17% in 2022, up from 12% the previous year. A TikTok spokesperson said government bans were based on “fundamental misconceptions” around TikTok’s safety protocols. A Snap spokesperson said criticism of its record on underage users misrepresented its efforts, saying it blocks and deletes tens of thousands of attempts by underage UK users to create Snapchat accounts monthly.

☆ UK broadcasters to stay prominent on smart TVs and speakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 29 (Reuters) - On-demand services from Britain's BBC, ITV (ITV.L) and other public service broadcasters must remain easy to find on smart TVs and set-top boxes, the government said as it announced a plan to update media rules for the streaming age. Britain's public service broadcasters have protected positions in electronic programme guides, ensuring viewers can easily find the content they are required to produce, for example in news. But with more people choosing to watch on-demand television through apps on their smart TVs or other platforms, the broadcasters have raised concerns that their on-demand services could become less visible to viewers. Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said changes to viewing habits had put traditional broadcasters under unprecedented pressure. Smart speaker platforms - such as Google and Amazon - will be required to ensure access to all licenced UK radio stations, from major national stations to the smallest community stations, the government said.

☆ UK's Ofcom delays BT fibre pricing decision after CEO remarks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Paul Sandle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Rivals such as Virgin Media O2 and alternative fibre providers known as altnets are investing billions of pounds to build competing networks. 'SIGNIFICANT CONCERN'But comments made by BT Chief Executive Philip Jansen to the Financial Times - headlined "BT chief warns Openreach fibre push will 'end in tears' for rivals" - caused "significant concern", Ofcom said. Ofcom chief Melanie Dawes said in a letter to Jansen, published on Friday, that the regulator was committed to network competition. "They must question why BT Group is reducing its wholesale charges whilst increasing the prices that consumers pay for broadband," INCA said. BT's earlier wholesale pricing, Equinox, was challenged by altnet CityFibre, but Ofcom decided not to intervene.

☆ UK opposition calls for better online protections for children
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Martin Coulter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 6 (Reuters) - Britain's opposition Labour Party has called on the government to enact its long-delayed Online Safety Bill, after Reuters revealed how few underage children Snapchat (SNAP.N) was removing from its platform. Britain, like the European Union and other countries, has been grappling with how to protect social media users, and in particular children, from harmful content without damaging free speech. "Parents are crying out for better protections for children online and especially on social media," said Lucy Powell, Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in a statement issued in response to Reuters' report. In the same period, Snapchat told the watchdog it had removed approximately 60 accounts per month, or just over 700 in total. A Snap spokesperson told Reuters the figures misrepresented the scale of work the company did to keep under-13s off its platform.

☆ Exclusive: Snapchat kicks few children off app in Britain, data given to regulator shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Martin Coulter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

These restrictions are intended to protect the privacy and safety of young children. The regulator also found Snapchat was the most popular app for underage social media users. RISKS TO YOUNG CHILDRENSocial media poses serious risks to young children, child safety advocates say. Richard Collard, associate head of child safety online at the NSPCC, said it was "incredibly alarming" how few underage users Snapchat appeared to be removing. Britain, like the European Union and other countries, has been seeking ways to protect social media users, in particular children, from harmful content without damaging free speech.

☆ Samsung exec says he wouldn't give a smartphone to his daughter until she was 11
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

More than two-fifths (42%) of children have their own phone by age 10. A top exec at South Korean tech giant Samsung said he did not give his daughter her own smartphone before she turned 11 years old. "From my personal perspective, my daughter got a smartphone when she was 11," James Kitto, vice president head of the MX Division for the U.K. and Ireland, told the BBC's "Today" radio show Friday. "I personally wouldn't have given her one early, but it is a parental decision as to when you should get your child a phone," he said. "The current evidence doesn't support a specific age at which a smartphone is or is not recommended," Morena told CNBC.

☆ OnlyFans CEO says it is 'truly the safest and most inclusive social media platform' after claims that child abuse images originated on the site
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

BBC Newsnight reported that child abuse images found on other websites originated on OnlyFans. OnlyFans said the BBC had prevented it from investigating because it didn't hand over evidence. Amrapali Gan, CEO of OnlyFans, told the BBC: "We actively work with law enforcement. We're truly the safest and most inclusive social media platform." The investigator used by Newsnight believed the images were created in the past six months and had OnlyFans watermarks.

☆ Meta and Microsoft can't self-regulate their metaverses, UK regulator warns
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

An avatar of Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc., speaks during the virtual Meta Connect event in New York, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022. The boss of the U.K. media regulator Ofcom warned "metaverse" forays from tech giants like Meta and Microsoft will be subjected to incoming rules forcing platforms to protect users from online harms. "I'm not sure I really see that 'self-regulatory phase,' to be honest, existing from a U.K. perspective," Dawes said. "If you've got young people in an environment where there's user-generated content according to the scope of the bill then that will already be caught by the Online Safety Bill." The Online Safety Bill is a set of legislation that seeks to curb harmful content from being widely shared on the internet.

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