Reports out of Saudi Arabia, and sourced to the Saudi attorney general’s office in the kingdom, say that Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, currently detained with about 95 other individuals, will be tried on alleged corruption charges. The reports say that detainees who have not agreed on financial settlements in order to close their cases will […]
Six out of 10 broadband consumers experienced slow service or had their connection stop working entirely in the last year, disrupting the ability of some consumers to work or study (24 per cent), pay bills or online bank (16 per cent), or connect with friends and family (21 per cent), new polling from Citizens Advice […]
Members of the UK House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee have said that maintaining access to talent, UK production tax credits, and getting clarity around regulatory equivalence with the EU are vital to resolving concerns about Brexit. The Committee’s report, The potential impact of Brexit on the creative industries, tourism and the […]
John Whittingdale, who was the UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport between May 2015 and July 2016, has called for a crackdown on illegal streaming, or risk throttling the UK’s creative industries. Writing an opinion piece in the i newspaper, Whittingdale notes that January always brings a “treasure trove” of film or […]
Randall Stephenson, AT&T Chairman and CEO, says that Congressional action is needed to establish an ‘Internet Bill of Rights’ that applies to all Internet companies and guarantees neutrality, transparency, openness, non-discrimination and privacy protection for all Internet users. Writing an open letter published on the AT&T website, Stephenson notes that Government rules for the Internet […]
UK media regulator Ofcom has fined Dubai-based Arabic news channel Al Arabiya with a significant fine. Al Arabiya (translated as ‘The Arabic One’) is the main competitor to Al Jazeera and is owned by Saudi Arabia-backed Middle East Broadcasting (MBC). Ofcom received a complaint concerning unfair treatment and “unwarranted infringement of privacy” over a transmission […]
The European Commission has launched a public consultation to establish its first world-wide ‘Counterfeit and Piracy Watch-List’. The aim is to identify the marketplaces outside the EU where counterfeiting, piracy or other forms of intellectual property abuse are common practice. The initiative is part of the Commission’s strategy announced in the 2017 Communication, A balanced […]
You would think just making it to 86 years-old would make a man reasonably pleased. Add billions of dollars of wealth and being married to Jerry Hall and you’d think a grin would be in order. But Rupert Murdoch is all about the grimace just now. And he has some reason. The family empire he […]
UK competition watchdog the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) has published the provisional findings from its in-depth examination of the proposed acquisition of Sky Plc by 21st Century Fox, advising that Fox taking full control of Sky is not in the public interest because of media plurality concerns, but not because of a lack of a […]
The Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) is a truly wonderful organisation. Its self-proclaimed role is to work to promote competition for the benefit of consumers. Its decision on January 23rd to “provisionally find that the Fox/Sky deal is not in the public interest” seems wholly contrary to that mission statement. With the world – and […]