Welcome, all again to – 5-For-Friday – your weekly, tech news roundup.
Get Access to Our No Obligation Free Trial and Verify Checks in Real-Time
1. US Lambast UK Plan for Digital Services Tax.
Political leaders in the United States have stated the UK’s proposal to add a digital services tax for US tech giants would violate tax agreements, warning that this could spark a US retaliation and hurt prospects of a US and UK trade deal.
The move is particularly risky for the UK should any retaliation extend to financial services and pharmaceuticals, two keys industries for the UK.
2. Monzo Raises £85m to Become Uk’s Latest Tech ‘Unicorn’.
Challenger bank Monzo has secured £85m in US venture capital funding to hit a landmark valuation of over £1bn.
This significant investment sees the start-up pass the ‘unicorn’ milestone.
3. Hologram’ Lecturers to Teach Students at Imperial College London.
Imperial College London has showcased hologram technology for use in lectures and believes it will be the first academic body to do so regularly.
The tech will initially be limited to use in its Business School but expects it could eventually become commonplace.
4. Ads Are Coming in Messenger Service WhatsApp.
In app ads are finally making their way into WhatsApp – initially in its ‘Status’ section.
As with Instagram stories, WhatsApp’s ‘Status’ feature allows users to broadcast text, photos, and videos, that then disappears after 24 hours.
WhatsApp’s vice-president Chris Daniels confirmed the move, though he did not provide a timeline for roll out.
5. Twitter to Lose Like Button.
According to a report by the Telegraph, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey told employees at an in-house event last week that he ‘was not a fan of the heart-shaped button’ and that the social service would be eliminating it ‘soon’.
Twitter neither confirmed nor denied a plan to discontinue the like button saying that it is ‘rethinking everything about the service’ in an effort to increase user engagement.
Until next week. We hope you have a great weekend!
#TeamCredas
