ShinyShiny snippets: Samsung ad criticised by women’s running groups
Samsung’s latest advert has been criticised by some women’s running groups and safety campaigners for being “unrealistic”. The film shows a young woman getting up at 02:00 to go for a run through the streets of a city alone. Samsung says the aim was to show runners working to their own schedules. But women’s safety group Reclaim These Streets has described it as “tone deaf” in light of the death of Ashling Murphy who was killed on a run in January. The 23-year-old’s death in Tullamore, Ireland, opened up the conversation about how unsafe some women feel running alone, especially at night. BBC
Facebook’s parent company has reported its weakest revenue growth for a decade but witnessed a partial recovery in its share price following a torrid 2021 to date for the company. Meta Platforms recorded revenue of $27.9bn between January and March – slightly below what Wall Street had expected. The company had warned at the time of its 2021 annual results in early February that revenues during the first quarter of 2022 would not meet market forecasts for several reasons, including increased competition. Sky News
BT is to be phased out as a “flagship” brand for millions of consumers as the former state-owned phone monopoly seeks to see off rivals in the fierce broadband market. The BT Group has said that it will instead focus on promoting its EE division, in sweeping reforms that will spark fears the company’s much-loved BT television adverts are to be consigned to history. It is keeping BT as the primary brand for business customers and a spokesman said that there are no plans to change the company’s name. Telegraph
Streaming services are set to be regulated by Ofcom for the first time, under new government proposals. Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and other streamers will be given new rules that will bring them in line with traditional broadcasters. The culture secretary said the move would protect audiences from harmful material. The government also reiterated its intention to proceed with the privatisation of Channel 4. The broadcasting reforms have been set out in a White Paper – a policy document – by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). BBC
Chinese telecoms equipment and smartphone maker Huawei‘s sales fell 14% in January-March from a year earlier as it pumped money into research and development while grappling with U.S. sanctions, according to figures released by the company Thursday. Huawei Technologies said its revenue was 131 billion yuan ($19.8 billion) in the first quarter of 2022, compared to 152.2 billion yuan a year earlier. Its net profit margin for the quarter was 4.3%, down from 11.1% in the same quarter of 2021. Huawei’s rotating chairman, Ken Hu, said the figures were “in line with forecasts.” Independent
Russia’s relentless digital assaults on Ukraine may have caused less damage than many anticipated. But most of its hacking is focused on a different goal that gets less attention but has chilling potential consequences: data collection….The hacks, paired with prewar data theft, likely armed Russia with extensive details on much of Ukraine’s population, cybersecurity and military intelligence analysts say. It’s information Russia can use to identify and locate Ukrainians most likely to resist an occupation, and potentially target them for internment or worse. AP News
