Morning Bulletin: Tesla tease, Facebook ushers in social VR & Cyber bullies face criminal prosecutions
The week gets underway today with the prospect of criminal charges being brought to bear on those found guilty of cyber bullying. Elsewhere we look at how we might not have seen anything yet as far as Facebook is concerned and wonder just what Elon Musk has up his sleeves following an inscrutable tweet.
We get the ball rolling this morning with a look at Amazon’s ambitions in ad tech, with AdExchanger reporting that the business has been ‘quietly’ investing in its capabilities with a bustling Ad Platforms recruitment drive and intimations of ‘big things’ happening from partners.
Campaign has published an in-depth look at the ramifications of social VR for Facebook, describing the format as a ‘game-changer’ for the social media giant. Zuckerberg is on a mission to reconnect members for face-to-face interactions courtesy of the Oculus Rift – a seismic shift in the way people will utilise the platform in future.
Online bullies and trolls are to face beefed up sanctions in England and Wales after director of public prosecutions, Alison Saunders, warned social media users that they could fall foul of the long arm of the law should they indulge in offensive behaviour and harassment whilst online.
Tesla’s Ellon Musk has taken to Twitter to suggest that he is on the cusp of making a surprise product announcement, teasing fans of the electric car and space pioneer ahead of a new solar roof unveiling on 28 October.
Betting firms and TV networks are to form an alliance to see off a government bid to ban daytime gambling ads according to the Guardian. It reports that spending on TV advertising by the likes of Ladbrokes, William Hill and Paddy Power Betfair has more than doubled since 2012, hitting £162m this year.
Retail Week advises that that consumer spending ‘rebounded’ in September, driven in large part by a resurgence in online spending as UK households became more profligate on retail and leisure spends.
Snapchat is ready to axe its auto advance stories functionality in favour of playlists as part of an app reorganisation which seeks to prioritise friends’ content.
Facebook has divulged that it received a tax credit in the UK for 2015 worth £11m after ostensibly racking up losses of £52m. Until this year all of the social media firm’s transactions were routed through Ireland, an arrangement designed to minimise its tax exposure.
Protests in Hungary come to the attention of the Guardian as it reports on the temporary closure of the country’s main left-wing newspaper after its publisher Mediaworks said it needed to find a viable business model. However, Some 2,000 demonstrators have described the closure as a ‘coup’.
Samsung has been forced to ‘pause’ production of its flagship Note7 smartphone amidst reports that replacement handsets are still prone to battery conflagration, causing it to delay shipments whilst additional in-depth inspections are conducted.