A US-EU digital ‘grand bargain’ vs Europe’s drive for ‘technological sovereignty’
How fast is 5G? (infographic)
How Joe Biden’s digital team tamed the MAGA Internet. The campaign’s empathetic digital strategy held up surprisingly well against President Trump’s passionate digital following
Cybersecurity under fire: Matt Travis talks about CISA's role in the recent US elections and how President Trump and his surrogates have politicised the security function
Brussels looks to impose two-tier Big Tech regulation. EU leans towards adopting ‘asymmetric measures’ to enforce policing of online content
Salesforce takeover of Slack is a defining moment for cloud software. Combined group is out to challenge Microsoft’s integrated suite of tools
Uber sells self-driving-car unit to autonomous-driving start-up. As part of the deal, Uber will make a $400 million investment in Aurora Innovation. See also Uber abandons effort to develop own self-driving vehicle. Car-booking app transfers its technology at a marked-down price to rival Aurora. Coverage in Competition Policy International
EU considers two-tier regulation for big tech & smaller firms
EU to tell Big Tech to police internet or face large fines. FT Exclusive: Confidential draft regulation sets penalties of up to 6% of annual turnover
The foreseeable, yet largely unforeseen, risks of a tech crash. The next crisis could spring from damage to the digital services we now depend on
Essential platform monopolies: open up, then undo
“A Loaded Weapon”: Francis Fukuyama on the political power of digital platforms
Toyota to unveil solid-state battery EV prototype next year. The technology would break new ground with electric vehicles
Will the market take a bite out of FAANG in 2021?
Tech and Ethics: The World Economic Forum’s Kay Firth-Butterfield on doing the right thing in AI [podcast]
Regulation can get it wrong’: Google’s Sundar Pichai on AI and antitrust. The Alphabet boss has huge ambitions for innovation but spends much of his time dealing with regulators
The Turing Test is obsolete. It’s time to build a new barometer for AI. The head scientist for Alexa thinks the old benchmark for computing is no longer relevant for today’s AI era
Ethical AI expert Genevieve Bell shares six framing questions to broaden our understanding of future technology -- and create the next generation of critical thinkers and doers.
The tech that was fixed in 2020 and the tech that still needs fixing. From video-conferencing to fitness apps, the best tech helped us endure a hard year. But there were also low points
Sky’s the limit as tech investors pile into cloud start-ups. Valuations soar in Silicon Valley with venture capitalists racing to find next big thing
Rana Foroohar: Year in a word: Techopoly. The tech sector has been on a tear even as the biggest companies are under threat from regulators
Amazon, Facebook, Google and the question of trust
Regulating the food supply chain through blockchain. This could help traceability
Forget the streaming wars —pandemic-stricken 2020 lifted Netflix and others. From Hulu to Disney+, largest streaming services are expected to end the year with 50% more U.S. subscribers
Neural network algorithm can interpret and convert whole-body scans into high-resolution, 3D images in seconds, replacing the time-consuming task of analysing complex image data
U.S. and France dispute centres on cross-border revenue at Google, Facebook, Amazon, and other tech firms. France has resumed collecting what is known as its digital-services tax. Other countries, including Italy and the U.K., whose similar taxes went into effect this year, are also set to begin collection in coming months. In retaliation, US increases tariffs on EU products over aircraft subsidies dispute. Trump administration targets plane parts and wines from France and Germany
FTC sues Facebook for illegal monopolization. Agency challenges Facebook’s multi-year course of unlawful conduct
U.S. and States say Facebook illegally crushed competition. Regulators are accusing the company of buying up rising rivals to cement its dominance over social media
Facebook hit with two antitrust lawsuits. It's the most aggressive action against a major tech company in decades [Protocol]
US sues Facebook for ‘years-long’ abuse of monopoly power. Antitrust suits seek redress that could include forced disposal of WhatsApp and Instagram [Financial Times]
The smoking gun in the Facebook antitrust case. The government wants to break up the world’s biggest social network. Internal company emails show why. Also, in antitrust suits, Facebook’s biggest liability is Zuckerberg’s own words. The suits from a coalition of 48 attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission lean heavily on Zuckerberg's emails.
Coverage of the Facebook antitrust suit: Zuckerberg’s deal making for Facebook is central to antitrust cases. Lawsuits filed by FTC and 46 states allege company engaged in campaign to acquire or stymie nascent tech companies that could become rivals [Wall Street Journal]
Facebook lawsuits: the biggest tech battle yet, and one that is long overdue. Analysis: The biggest antitrust case in a generation has been compared to the years-long lawsuit against Microsoft in 1998 [The Guardian]
Facebook breakup would demolish Zuckerberg’s social media empire
What Canada should learn from the FTC’s case against Facebook
Economics in merger control: an invaluable tool at every step of the process
Paper: ‘Scrambled Eggs and Paralyzed Policy: Breaking Up Consummated Mergers and Dominant Firms’ by John Kwoka and Tommaso Valletti
U.S. tech giants face tighter regulation in Europe. The EU is completing rules on content, competition that are likely to apply to Google, Facebook, and Amazon
Five things to know about the EU tech rules. Big tech’s secret sauce for algorithms has become a growing concern, encouraging bias and amplifying fake news
UK watchdog proposes tailored antitrust rules for Google & Facebook
A transatlantic effort to take on Big Tech. The monopoly power of the sector has grown during the pandemic
We need more than antitrust law to tackle big tech. The problem isn’t just that these companies are too big for meaningful competition
When it comes to Facebook, the need for action has been obvious for a long time. It’s not too late for the government to take back power from Big Tech.
The Global Antitrust Institute Report on the Digital Economy is designed to provide a balanced perspective - grounded in economic analysis and empirical evidence - on a wide variety of contemporary issues in antitrust law and economics. The Report features 34 chapters broken down over three sections. §I explains the foundational economic concepts and legal principles that apply to the digital economy. §II gives an overview of the state of competition in digital markets, current antitrust enforcement efforts, competition, concentration, and the role of government in the competitive process. §III analyses contemporary proposals to overhaul the antitrust laws and offers evidence-based proposals for how to improve antitrust institutions to promote competition in the digital economy
How leading economists view antitrust in the digital economy. US and European experts discuss internet giants, and Google's dominance of search and operating practices, writes Romesh Vaitilingam
US House of Representatives passes Antitrust Whistleblower Protections
More States hit Google over alleged monopoly conduct. Case follows probe into search business by Colorado and other states
The antitrust lawsuits against Google just keep coming
Google hit with 2 new antitrust lawsuits from 4 private publishers. Lawsuits allege Google has violated the Sherman Act
Google could face trillions in fines in Texas antitrust suit. Texas and other states allege Google violated state laws against unfair or deceptive business practices, which mandate steep fines for each violation
FTC expands its probes into big tech’s dealings; Nine of the biggest must share detailed information about data practices
Beijing launches antitrust investigation into Alibaba. Probe into China’s biggest tech group is one of the first of its kind for country’s internet sector. China’s antitrust probe zeroes in on vendor claims of Alibaba pressure. Chinese tech companies face both increasing political pressure at home and intensified scrutiny in the U.S.
Why China turned against Jack Ma. The Alibaba chief paid for pushing back against Beijing. But the shift in attitude also speaks to a growing wealth gap and diminished opportunities for the young
Chinese tech giant Alibaba sees shares fall 8% after China’s central bank criticises business practices of Ant Group payments platform
The unlikely new champion of consumer rights: China
On 23 December 2020, President Trump signed into law the Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act, which prohibits employers from retaliating against individuals who report criminal antitrust violations
Building back better requires stronger competition and consumer protection in the digital economy
Big tech and antitrust: a path forward. With so much uncertainty, let’s embrace a policy agenda that is premised on curiosity
European Data Protection Board issues recommendations for exports of personal data from the European Economic Area
How does the CPRA compare to the GDPR? Ask a CPRA lawyer
Canada proposes strict new privacy law framework backed by significant fines. In November 2020, Canada introduced new federal privacy legislation that, if adopted, will create one of the strictest data protection regimes in the world, accompanied by some of the most severe financial penalties, rivalling the standards in Europe and California. Companies with a connection to Canada will need to build the new federal law, and applicable provincial laws, into their global compliance strategy
How the tumult of 2020 will shape the future of ride sharing
UAE was hit by spate of cyber-attacks after Israel deal, top Emirati official says. The country's financial sector was the target
What other countries can learn from the UK’s data strategy
How the Digital Markets Act could reshape the EU’s Digital Economy
A Common Platform: Reimagining Data and Platforms
High Court in India reaffirms the need for an individual’s ‘right to be forgotten’
Amazing: The Melloddy initiative is a first: Merck and nine other pharmaceutical companies are sharing their data treasure troves to accelerate R&D. Digital technologies such as the Cloud, blockchain and neural networks are making this possible
Google, Amazon fined $163 Million as France takes hard line on privacy. Regulator sidesteps EU’s GDPR privacy law to issue its own fines, a record for a privacy case in France
First cross-border GDPR fine of €450,000 on Twitter
Sci-fi surveillance: Europe's secretive push into biometric technology. EU science funding is being spent on developing new tools for policing and security. But who decides how far we need to submit to artificial intelligence?
“My stolen credit card details were used 4,500 miles away. I tried to find out how it happened.” When cybersecurity reporter Danny Palmer found his card was apparently used on another continent, he set out to discover more
Hack suggests new scope, sophistication for cyberattacks. The suspected Russian hack involving SolarWinds software that compromised parts of the U.S. government was executed on a scale that has surprised even veteran security experts
The SolarWinds breach is a failure of U.S. cyber strategy. And SolarWinds breach exposes big gaps in cyber security
'Powerful tradecraft': How foreign cyber-spies compromised America. In 2017, Russian operatives deployed a destructive virus known as NotPetya to knock out government computer systems
EU data governance regulation – A wave of digital, regulatory and antitrust reform begins. Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3
Top privacy tips of 2020
What is data protection?
Dozens sue Amazon's Ring after camera hack leads to threats and racial slurs. Class action claims weak security allowed hackers to take over the smart cameras used on doorbells and in homes
Americans don’t trust the US government (especially) with their data
30+ smartphone apps you should delete before 2021. Start off the new year right by ruthlessly uninstalling apps that stress you out, play games with your privacy, or aren’t worth the money you pay for them.
Why economics needs to wake up to ageing populations. Charles Goodhart and Manoj Pradhan forecast a future of secular stagflation in The Great Demographic Reversal
The unfiltered lessons of Facebook’s bid for Instagram. The winner of the FT/McKinsey Business Book prize shows us the tensions behind the deal in the book, No Filter
Master of cold war spy novel John le Carré dies. Former intelligence officer elevated hard-boiled genre to a literary form exploring ethical and political dilemmas
Maria Popova (of the useful and informative blog, Brain Pickings) shares her book recommendations for 2020
10 CEOs on the books they’re gifting this holiday season. From celebrity memoirs to timely reads on social justice to entrepreneur essentials, these are the books executives are eager to share this year
The best of books 2020 by Foreign Affairs
Adam Grant’s recommendations on the new leadership books to Launch 2021
The 2020 Porchlight Management & Workplace Culture Book of the Year
The 2020 Porchlight business book awards longlist
Britain’s Issa brothers, gas-station entrepreneurs, favoured food over fuel and became billionaires, emphasising retail at filling stations. Now they are expanding in the U.S.
Virgin Atlantic offers last chance to dine aboard historic Boeing 747. As the airline retires the last of its jumbos, it is offering 'the ultimate 747 experience'
L’Oréal has a ‘culture that’s not to everyone’s liking.’ Outgoing chief of the giant cosmetics group on its demands on staff — and why it has yet to appoint a female CEO
Airbnb and DoorDash IPOs leave gig economy issues unresolved. Questions remain over profitability and broader impact on society
Tesla's rise made 2020 the year the US auto industry went electric. China’s drive to reduce dependence on petroleum is compelling automakers to shift investment towards hybrid vehicles
Platforms & Digital Markets Regulation: In Search of New Principles, a virtual conference by Digital Markets Competition Forum can be seen on YouTube
The top 10 eCommerce website design tips [infographic]
e-Commerce and Coronavirus: A boon for emerging markets
With 3 billion packages to go, online shopping faces tough holiday test. The season is adding pressure on retailers, strained by a pandemic surge in e-commerce and limited by shippers, to deliver gifts on time
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls Amazon jobs a 'scam' because more than 4,000 of its employees are on food stamps
3 e-Commerce trends to watch in 2021
Rebuilding the global economy: role of the International Monetary Fund
The crisis opportunity. Jason Furman on what it will take to build back a better economy
Bet on the geeks to boost the economy. Paradoxically, falling productivity in research strengthens the case for increasing spending on it
Understanding the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) and what it means to businesses
Ruchir Sharma on which developing economies will rise after the pandemic
M&A rebounds sharply to hit $3.6tn in 2020. Deals were halted by the coronavirus but big transactions returned in the last few months
Record IPO surge set to roll on in 2021. Despite the Covid recession, companies raised more than $167 billion on U.S. exchanges this year
Jobs of a data scientist. Also, the tentpoles of data science
Elon Musk decries ‘M.B.A.-ization’ of America. Tesla’s chief executive blames business schools for lack of innovation; deans are firing back
What Coursera’s most popular classes reveal about 2020. From how to be a contact tracer to how to find happiness, here’s what everyone wanted to learn this year.
The Queen’s Gambit: Hong Kong-raised grandmaster Anya Corke Allen hopes show can inspire more women to play chess. Like fictional character Beth Harmon, Anya Corke Allen learned chess at a young age, beat older men and went to Russia
Trading Box Office for streaming, but stars still want their money. If studios are no longer trying to maximise ticket sales, what will that mean for often lucrative pay packages tied to a film’s performance in theatres?
Leah Remini accuses Tom Cruise of staging a publicity stunt with his leaked COVID-19 rant
The 20 most underrated movies of the past 20 years
What went wrong for China and Australia, and what will happen next?
China pulls back from the world: rethinking Xi’s ‘project of the century.’ Chinese overseas lending has fallen sharply amid a reassessment of the Belt and Road Initiative
China to overtake US as world's biggest economy by 2028, report predicts. Centre for Economics and Business Research says it expects this to happen half a decade sooner than it forecast a year ago
2020: A year that needed a lot of visual explanation. A few of the graphics produced by USA Today to help educate and inform during this turbulent year
Do you have a solution to a global problem? A pioneering partnership between Hyundai Motor Company and the United Nations Development Programme is looking to grassroots innovators around the world to solve far-reaching sustainability issues
Democratic values are a competitive advantage. The contest with authoritarianism requires the United States to understand its strengths
Brexit trade deal is reached between U.K., European Union. After 1 Jan 2021, the U.K. will no longer be part of the EU’s single market and therefore no longer committed to the bloc’s free movement of goods, services, capital and labour. It will also leave the bloc’s customs union. Accord sets out terms of a much more distant relationship, averts worst fears of economic disruption. What you need to know about the deal. The official EU press release is here
Brexit trade deal explained: the key parts of the landmark agreement. From cars to chemicals and state aid to fish, the new treaty will govern £650bn worth of trade between UK and EU
Here’s how long it takes to catch COVID if you’re in a room with someone who has it
The U.S. has secured 1.01 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses [infographic]
The dangers of vaccine disillusionment. A viable immunisation is good news, but realities won’t match expectations for many months
Where year two of the pandemic will take us. As vaccines roll out, the U.S. will face a choice about what to learn and what to forget
Pfizer, BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is authorised in the U.S. FDA’s thumbs-up—first for coronavirus vaccine in U.S.—will pave way for shots to be administered quickly
Asian Development Bank rolls out $9bn Covid vaccine scheme. Credit facility will support countries’ efforts to procure jabs rapidly
Angus Deaton: “There’s something clearly wrong with our corporate system, in which pharmaceutical companies are allowed to kill people for money”
Doctors discovered a new coronavirus symptom that’s scary but rare
Like most viruses, SARS-CoV-2 has undergone thousands of mutations as it propagated across the globe (see visualisation), with many strains emerging and fading over time. Health officials have stressed there is no evidence the new strain is more deadly or resistant to existing vaccines. Scientists have noted it does contain several mutations in its critical spike protein—though it's unclear whether or how they play a role in increased transmissibility
3 major attributes needed to achieve your goals. Success or failure is within your grasp and no one else's. Get a goal-achieving mindset
Microsoft: Turning Excel into a Turing-complete programming language
Davind Dunning explains the Dunning-Krueger effect and why incompetent people think they’re so amazing
Remaking government as a great place to work. For reasons now buried in history, the OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT has never provided leadership in analysing or tackling workforce problems
And how dozens of Trump’s political appointees will stay in government after Biden takes over
‘Old-school revolving door’: Private-sector ties complicate Biden’s efforts to staff incoming administration. For example, Neera Tanden, Biden’s pick for budget chief, runs a think tank backed by corporate and foreign interests
Nearly a third of workers don’t want to ever return to the office
With 11 short words, United Airlines just shared the perfect leadership message for 2021
How to build a thought leadership brand in 2021
The essence of strategy is now how to change. When environments are complex and dynamic, strategy is about adaptability
A CEO’s challenge to meet stratospheric demand. 3M’s Mike Roman acted quickly when his company’s N95 face masks became the world’s most in-demand item
INSEAD’s best of 2020: leadership between two worlds
Adam Grant on how jobs, bosses and firms may improve after the crisis. A legacy of the coronavirus may be more work satisfaction, more ethical leadership and a deeper sense of trust
Breaking down the 1987 track, ‘Sign o’ the Times,’ that’s still powerfully resonant today, Prince’s closest collaborators offer an exclusive look into his song writing
Paul McCartney is still trying to figure out love. McCartney III is out on 18 December. Lockdown LP has his best songs in years
And here’s an interesting piece on Paul as a management study
Bob Dylan sells his songwriting catalogue in blockbuster deal. Universal Music purchased his entire song-writing catalogue of more than 600 songs in what may be the biggest acquisition ever of a single act’s publishing rights. See also article in Wall Street Journal. Bob Dylan rejected a $400 million Hipgnosis offer before Universal Music’s deal. The singer-songwriter — whose Universal deal is the new crown jewel of the booming song-acquisition market — turned down a deal from high-profile investor Merck Mercuriadis, who owns rights to hits like “Single Ladies” to “Uptown Funk”
‘Evermore,’ Taylor Swift’s ‘Folklore’ sequel, is a journey deeper inward. The singer and songwriter’s July album traded glossy sheen for an acoustic-Minimalistic palette. The second album with the same collaborators moves even further from her pop past
Barack Obama’s favourite songs of 2020: Springsteen, Bad Bunny, Dua Lipa
50 best albums and best songs of 2020. Also, the 50 worst albums and 10 worst songs
The best songs of 2020 ... that you didn't hear. In an unusual year that’s kept us most of us away from live music venues, The Guardian writers pick the songs that deserve to have made more impact
2020 classic rock documentaries: The year in review
The AllMusic year in review – an extensive list by genre
Pakistan looks to new tech to curb crop burning and cut smog
World will emerge from pandemic at terrible cost: Chomsky. Also: Chomsky masterclass
Will Pakistan’s military lose its grip on power? Anger is mounting at the Generals behind the throne
The PM’s honesty. Isn’t it time to move decisively towards an open government system for data transparency?
The death of Zappos’s Tony Hsieh: A spiral of alcohol, drugs and extreme behaviour. The inspirational executive seemed to lose his way after giving up his corporate role, including a starvation diet and fascination with fire
Chuck Yeager, test pilot who broke the sound barrier, is dead at 97. A World War II fighter ace and Air Force general, he was, according to Tom Wolfe, “the most righteous of all the possessors of the right stuff.”
British man who’s second to get vaccine has perfect historic name
Rebekah Jones: a data scientist takes on the Florida governor. An ex-state department of health worker claims she is being intimidated for blowing the whistle on alleged Covid data manipulation
The lives they lived. Remembering some of the artists, innovators and thinkers we lost in the past year
Here’s another list of the people (mostly artists) who left us in 2020
FT people of the year: BioNTech’s Ugur Sahin and Ozlem Tureci
Australia’s new tech code is a road worth exploring. Effort to force Facebook and Google to share revenue with news sites is a novel way of dealing with a global problem
Twitter, Tumblr, Vimeo disagree with new EU content rules
Control shift: why newspaper hacks are switching to Substack. An online platform where journalists sell content directly to subscribers is luring eminent voices away from traditional media
Facebook is facing its 'existential threat' but it's not from the government. It's Apple. The two companies are battling back and forth over how big tech treats your privacy
Facebook’s laughable campaign against Apple is really against users and small businesses
Year in a word: Doomscrolling
Stuck at home, we obsessively checked our phones for more bad news
The children of Pornhub. Why does Canada allow this company to profit off videos of exploitation and assault? And after this article, Mastercard and Visa to block use of cards on Pornhub after child abuse allegations. Companies respond as investigation finds videos of rape and revenge pornography. Also, Mastercard to review Pornhub ties after column spurs outrage
On Mastercard, CEO Ajay Banga on financial inclusion, the digital divide and other thoughts on the future of money
And on children, kids are master manipulators. They play up their charms, pit adults against one another, and engage in loud, public wailing. So it’s your job to keep up with them. Use game theory against them
Why do so many Americans think the election was stolen? Looking for the reasons behind a seemingly unreasonable belief
Trump’s fraud claims died in court, but the myth of stolen elections lives on. For years, Republicans have used the specter of cheating as a reason to impose barriers to ballot access. A definitive debunking of claims of wrongdoing in 2020 has not changed that message.
What really saved the Republic from Trump? It wasn’t our constitutional system of checks and balances
TIME's top 10 photos of 2020
Life in 2025: what will the future look like? From finance and tech to work, consumer trends and energy, FT and Nikkei journalists imagine the world in five years’ time
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