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  • Bank of England handed powers to regulate key tech firms including Amazon and Google

    Direct oversight of ‘critical third parties’ such as Oracle and Microsoft given to ensure resilient cyber-defences and help safeguard UK economy The Bank of England has been handed powers to regulate important tech firms including Amazon and Google from next week, amid fears that system failures could threaten financial stability and harm consumers. From Monday,…

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  • ‘Crypto v community’: 4,000 local US lenders join forces to fight ‘stablecoins’ law

    Up to 4,000 community banks fear looming legislation to regulate digital cash will deprive rural firms and farmers of $850bn-worth of loans On a quiet summer morning, above a small mid-western town, an American flag is waving in the breeze. The camera cuts to a father helping his son at the wheel of a tractor,…

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  • Starmer adviser held 16 undisclosed meetings with top US tech bosses

    Exclusive: Varun Chandra’s talks with Google, Meta, Apple and others raise fears of ‘lobbying behind closed doors’ An influential government adviser close to Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves held 16 undisclosed meetings with top US tech executives, the Guardian can reveal. The No 10 business aide Varun Chandra discussed regulatory changes, AI and Donald Trump’s…

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  • Private health records of half a million Britons offered for sale on Chinese website

    Technology minister tells Commons ‘de-identified’ information from UK Biobank advertised for sale on Alibaba The confidential health records of half a million British volunteers have been offered for sale on Chinese website Alibaba, the UK government has confirmed. The “de-identified” data, belonging to participants in the UK Biobank project, was found for sale on three…

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  • Newly unsealed records reveal Amazon’s price-fixing tactics, California attorney general claims

    Exclusive: A trove of previously redacted documents was filed as part of the tech giant’s anti-trust battle with the state of California. Amazon denies it engages in price-fixing Hundreds of previously redacted records reveal how Amazon has put pressure on independent sellers using its platform into raising their prices on the sites of competitors such…

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  • World’s oldest tortoise caught in viral crypto death scam

    Fake X account posing as his vet sparked global false reports of Jonathan’s death while soliciting crypto donations At 194 years old, Jonathan the giant tortoise was a youngster when Queen Victoria ascended to the throne – and has now lived long enough to fall victim to a crypto scam. News outlets including the BBC,…

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  • I was paid to write fake Google reviews – then my ‘bosses’ tried to scam me

    Undercover reporter gets a taste of the sprawling fraud industry in which cryptocurrencies play a crucial role Five firms including Autotrader and Just Eat investigated over fake review failings The holiday flat near(ish) the Roman ruins of Pompeii was “disgusting”, and smelled of “a mix of dampness and sewage”, according to one reviewer on Google…

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  • Leave big tech behind! How to replace Amazon, Google, X, Meta, Apple – and more

    A handful of companies monopolise the web, with unprecedented access to our data. But there are many more ethical – and often distinctively European – alternatives There’s not much to love about big tech these days. So many ills can be laid at its door: social media harms, misinformation, polarisation, mining and misuse of personal…

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  • Hail our new robot overlords! Amazon warehouse tour offers glimpse of future

    At its new Stone Mountain, Georgia, facility, Roomba-like robots shuffle between stacks, another adds shipping labels while another arranges packages in pallets One of the reasons Amazon is spending billions on robots? They don’t need bathroom breaks. Arriving a few minutes early to the public tour of Amazon’s hi-tech Stone Mountain, Georgia, warehouse, my request…

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  • Amazon tells workers it will cut 16,000 jobs worldwide in second big wave of layoffs

    Workers informed after message erroneously said affected employees in US, Canada and Costa Rica had already been told Business live – latest updates Amazon has told workers it is cutting 16,000 jobs around the world to streamline its operations, hours after sending out a message to staff about the layoffs apparently in error. It is…

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