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Purchase by rapper, who changed name to Ye in 2021, expected to be completed by end of yearKanye West is buying the rightwing social network Parler for an undisclosed sum, the site has announced.The purchase by the rapper, who legally changed his name to Ye last year, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year. Continue reading...

The former penal colony has been the sandstone-and-steel backdrop for art shows, concerts and festivals – but nothing quite like Mode

World’s richest man’s company previously said it could not pay for satellite internet in country indefinitelyElon Musk on Saturday announced that his company would continue to pay for Starlink satellite internet in Ukraine, a day after suggesting he could not keep funding the project, which he said was losing around $20m a month.“The hell with it,” the world’s richest man wrote on Twitter. “Even though Starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we’ll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free.” Continue reading...

Texts released in the legal wrangle between Elon Musk and Twitter are ‘astoundingly unastounding’ – apart from the sycophancyHow do tech billionaires talk when they think nobody’s listening? Usually, the only people who know are the National Security Agency and waiters at Manresa, Silicon Valley’s sole three-star Michelin restaurant. But now, courtesy of the court of chancery in the state of Delaware, we lesser mortals have had an opportunity to tune in to recent conversations between Elon Musk (of Tesla, SpaceX and PayPal fame) and some of his buddies.How come? Well, the court is the arena in which a legal battle is currently being fought between Twitter and Musk. You will recall that in April the Tesla boss offered to buy Twitter outright for $54.20 a share, valuing the company at $43.4bn, which seemed, er, generous at the time. Shortly afterwards, shares in both Twitter and Tesla (the main source of Musk’s fortune) tanked, leading to a bad attack of buyer’s remorse and a search for a way of backing out of the deal. Twitter was not amused by this and sued in the Delaware court, which is the prime boxing ring for these contests because more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies are registered there. The two sides then assembled small armies of high-priced lawyers (I see that Musk’s regiment, Messrs Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, has nearly 300 lawyers, none of whom comes cheap) and battle commenced.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 300 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at guardian.letters@theguardian.com

Re-energized this election cycle, the tech entrepreneur joins other mega-donors apparently out to undercut the political systemPeter Thiel is far from the first billionaire who has wielded his fortune to try to influence the course of American politics. But in an election year when democracy itself is said to be on the ballot, he stands out for assailing a longstanding governing system that he has described as “deranged” and in urgent need of “course correction”.The German-born investor and tech entrepreneur, a Silicon Valley “disrupter” who helped found PayPal alongside Elon Musk and made his fortune as one of the earliest investors in Facebook, has catapulted himself into the top ranks of the mega-donor class by pouring close to $30m into this year’s midterm elections. Continue reading...

BT customers face £113 rise as providers such as EE and TalkTalk prepare controversial ‘inflation-plus’ mechanismBroadband bills could surge by as much as £113 next year if a number of the UK’s biggest telecoms firms push ahead with inflation-busting price increases next spring, says consumer watchdog Which?Many of the country’s main internet providers – including the largest player BT, along with TalkTalk, EE, Plusnet and Vodafone – use a mechanism to increase the cost of bills annually by the rate of inflation as measured by the consumer prices index (CPI) in January, plus 3.9%. Continue reading...

The actor’s name check of the cocktail becomes a meme, creating an instant drinks trendIt is the impossible-to-pronounce Italian word that is on everyone’s lips in line at the bar – or, more likely – while making do with what’s in the fridge. “Sbagliato” – meaning “bungled” or “mistaken” – has suddenly become the all-important addendum in ordering a negroni.

Hackers are increasingly taking users’ data hostage and demanding huge sums for its release. They have targeted individuals, businesses, vital infrastructure and even hospitals. Authorities have been slow to respond – but there is help out there Continue reading...

A US court has imposed a huge fine for lies he spread about a school shooting. But he and others like him will continue to sow mayhemI assume every reader of the Guardian will cheer the news of a $965m (£860m) fine imposed on Alex Jones, the rightwing American conspiracist. A Connecticut court fined him for disseminating the cruel lie that the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting was staged with actors by the anti-gun lobby. Justice is now done. Up to a point.One of the most unfortunate pieces I ever wrote was to greet the internet in the 1990s as of benefit only to lawyers and pornographers. Wired magazine called me Neanderthal of the Year. I admit that among millions of other beneficiaries, I should also have added political maniacs. But the guilty parties uniquely let off scot-free by the Jones jury were the agents of his mendacity, the gold diggers of social media.Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Netflix tells the origin story of Spotify, but Daniel Ek – the most powerful man in music – is no Steve Jobs. Still, it’s worth watching for the jolting discomfort you’ll feel after the finaleThanks to The Social Network, tech biopics now tend to work from the same blueprint. There is a startup, founded in a fog of resentment by a single obsessive, charismatic visionary. There is a battle to succeed, to show a world resistant to change what the future looks like. And then there is wild victory that comes at a price. For the most part, though, The Playlist (Netflix) avoids this blueprint.A drama about the creation of Spotify, The Playlist has a perfectly willing visionary in Daniel Ek, the programmer who created the app and quickly became the most powerful man in the global music industry. But Spotify is a Swedish company, and The Playlist is a Swedish show, and that means a little light socialism is in order. Continue reading...

The state has several programs in place to assist residents – but they’re already running out of fundsWhen Graciela Deniz worked as a health educator at a medical office in Kerman, California, it seemed like all the doctors drove Teslas.Deniz, 32, assumed electric vehicles were a luxury reserved for those with high incomes, until she started a new job last year as a community health worker at the Central California Asthma Collaborative. The organization was involved with the EV Equity program, an initiative to help low-income residents in the San Joaquin Valley buy electric vehicles. Continue reading...

Top-class camera and zoom, good performance and smart AI tricks costing significantly less than rivalsThe Pixel 7 Pro looks to keep up Google’s newfound momentum in top-flight smartphones, offering a powerful camera and AI features for significantly less money than Apple or Samsung.The Pixel 7 Pro costs £849 ($899/A$1,299) – the same as the firm’s top 2021 phone – while competing with devices costing north of £1,100. It leads Google’s phone line for 2022, which includes the smaller £599 Pixel 7 and £349 Pixel 6a. Continue reading...

The former Facebook manager joins the Council for Responsible Social Media, a new coalition created to press big tech to changeFrances Haugen left her role as a product manager at Facebook in 2021, bringing with her a cache of internal documents illustrating allegations of wrongdoing at the company.But a year later, despite congressional hearings and investigations, Meta has made few meaningful changes to its policies, Haugen says, and as the US midterm elections approach, the stakes are high. Continue reading...

Avatars in Mark Zuckerberg’s Horizon have so far hovered above ground with bodies ending at waistA year after changing its name, the company formerly known as Facebook has revealed its plans to give the metaverse legs – literally.Mark Zuckerberg’s virtual reality project is getting a raft of additions including a $1,499 (£1,356) “pro” headset, integration with Microsoft Office and the sitcom The Office, and, yes, the ambulatory appendages. Continue reading...

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From the ex-military air dispatcher who enjoys flight sims over Bournemouth to the train driver who copies his real-life routes, gamers explain the peculiar joy of playing at their jobsThe cliche about video games is that they’re all about escapism. When people switch on a PlayStation or souped-up PC, they do it to lose themselves in a mythical world or intergalactic conflict. They do not come here to power wash a patio.But increasingly, that orthodoxy is being tested. The surging success of the job simulator, in which players take on seemingly mundane real-world careers, shows that our relationship with games is a lot more complex. Type “job sim” into the search window of PC digital games store Steam and a myriad of virtual employment opportunities open up. There are complex and accurate farming, beer brewing, bus driving, PC building, gas station managing and house selling sims, alongside the more recognisable flight and train options. And if you do want to jet wash a patio, there is PowerWash Simulator, which became such a viral hit on its release in July that it sold 3m copies within two months. Continue reading...

Alex Belfield’s online harassment made life misery for BBC presenters Jeremy Vine, Liz Green and many others. Why did it take so long to bring him to justice? Why do the four women involved feel let down? And what did he mean by: ‘We will be back’?When Alex Belfield was sent to prison for five and a half years last month for online stalking, his accusers cried with relief. Finally, respite from what for some had been a decade of near-constant abuse. No more waking up in the middle of the night filled with dread about what he might have said about them to his then 373,000 YouTube subscribers or in bitter emails to their bosses or clients.For the TV presenter Jeremy Vine, the most high-profile target of arguably Britain’s most prolific troll, it would be the first time in several years that he could host a live phone-in without worrying that one of Belfield’s acolytes would hijack the programme to confront him with Belfield’s lies. Continue reading...

Tesla boss, who recently floated his own peace plan, rejects claim he talked to Russian president about the war in UkraineElon Musk has denied a report that he spoke to Vladimir Putin, including about the potential for using nuclear weapons, before floating a peace plan that suggested that Ukraine cede territory to Russia.The head of the Eurasia Group political risk consultancy, who made the original claim, had insisted that his source was Musk himself. “Elon Musk told me he had spoken with Putin and the Kremlin directly about Ukraine,” Ian Bremmer said in a tweet after Musk’s tweeted denial. “He also told me what the kremlin’s red lines were. Continue reading...

Worker describes conditions in the Coventry warehouse and why he ended up joining a union

Ofcom study covers Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and YouTube, all of which have age limits of 13A third of social media users aged between eight and 17 have the online age of an adult because they sign up with a false date of birth, according to new research.The fake age issue means that young users in the UK are at greater risk of being exposed to harmful or adult content, as platforms presume they are older than they in fact are. Continue reading...

Same performance and battery of predecessors with better camera and significant changes on the insideOn the surface, the iPhone 14 looks like a very minor upgrade. But a redesigned inside makes it easier and cheaper to repair, marking a major shift in the right direction for Apple.Weak currency rates against the dollar mean the new iPhone is £70 (A$50) more expensive than its predecessor, priced at £849 (A$1,399) despite costing the same $799 in the US. It is an unfortunately familiar story for all of Apple’s current products, and likely others to be released this year.Screen: 6.1in Super Retina XDR (OLED) (460ppi)Processor: Apple A15 BionicRAM: 6GBStorage: 128, 256 or 512GBOperating system: iOS 16Camera: dual 12MP rear with OIS, 12MP front-facing cameraConnectivity: 5G, wifi 6, NFC, Bluetooth 5.3, Lightning, UWB and GNSSWater resistance: IP68 (6 metres for 30 mins)Dimensions: 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8mmWeight: 172g Continue reading...

The investment in vehicles includes the installation of fast charging points and ‘micromobility hubs’Amazon is investing more than €1bn (£880m) to add thousands more electric lorries, vans and cargo bikes to its sprawling fleet of delivery vehicles across Europe over the next five years.The online retailer said it would invest £300m in the UK, where it plans to have as many as 700 electric HGVs by 2025, up from just five today, and more than triple its fleet of electric vans to 10,000 across the continent. Continue reading...

Morgan Stanley and six others committed in April to raise $13bn in debt to finance the purchase – before a deterioration in credit marketsSeveral large US and international banks would lose $500m or more if they proceed with obligations to fund Elon Musk’s $44bn takeover of Twitter, according to a report on Saturday.The banks, led by Morgan Stanley and six others, including Barclays and Bank of America, committed six months ago to raise $13bn in debt to finance Musk’s purchase – an agreement that does not hinge on whether they are able to sell the debt on to investors. Continue reading...

For too long, the industry has escaped legal liability in the pursuit of its own interests – and the EU has had enoughWay back in May 2014, the European court of justice issued a landmark ruling that European citizens had the right to petition search engines to remove search results that linked to material that had been posted lawfully on third-party websites. This was popularly but misleadingly described as the “right to be forgotten”; it was really a right to have certain published material about the complainant delisted by search engines, of which Google was by far the most dominant. Or, to put it crudely, a right not to be found by Google.On the morning the ruling was released, I had a phone call from a relatively senior Google employee whom I happened to know. It was clear from his call that the company had been ambushed by the ruling – its expensive legal team had plainly not expected it. But it was also clear that his US bosses were incensed by the effrontery of a mere European institution in issuing such a verdict. And when I mildly indicated that I regarded it as a reasonable judgment, I was treated to an energetic tirade, the gist of which was that the trouble with Europeans is that they’re “hostile to innovation”. At which point the conversation ended and I never heard from him again. Continue reading...

The Canadian photographer on capturing a moment of calm – and a little slice of humanity – at Hong Kong’s Monster BuildingNicknamed the Monster Building, the residential complex in Hong Kong’s Quarry Bay is actually made up of five imposing tower blocks. In 2018, Canadian photographer Scott A Woodward had set up camp in the shadow of one, the Yick Cheong building, to shoot an ad campaign for Foot Locker. “It’s a heavy, teeming, living organism; a crazy cacophony of life and colour,” he says. “There are 10,000 people living there, and people travel from all over to see it.”The team was large and busy, vying for space in the courtyard with tourists and Instagrammers drawn to the building after it featured in the films Transformers: Age of Extinction and Ghost in the Shell. When a break was called on set, Woodward wandered away from the crowd to take a breather. Continue reading...

Governments may say they’re doing all they can to halt the climate crisis. Don’t fall for it – then we might still have time to turn things around• ‘Stop setting things on fire’: nine great ideas to save the planetMaybe it is the name that is the problem. Climate change. It doesn’t sound that bad. The word “change” resonates quite pleasantly in our restless world. No matter how fortunate we are, there is always room for the appealing possibility of improvement. Then there is the “climate” part. Again, it does not sound so bad. If you live in many of the high-emitting nations of the global north, the idea of a “changing climate” could well be interpreted as the very opposite of scary and dangerous. A changing world. A warming planet. What’s not to like?Perhaps that is partly why so many people still think of climate change as a slow, linear and even rather harmless process. But the climate is not just changing. It is destabilising. It is breaking down. The delicately balanced natural patterns and cycles that are a vital part of the systems that sustain life on Earth are being disrupted, and the consequences could be catastrophic. Because there are negative tipping points, points of no return. And we do not know exactly when we might cross them. What we do know, however, is that they are getting awfully close, even the really big ones. Transformation often starts slowly, but then it begins to accelerate. Continue reading...

Billionaire recommends in interview that Taipei let Beijing control some of the island and believes conflict over Taiwan is inevitableElon Musk has suggested tensions between China and Taiwan could be resolved by handing over some control of Taiwan to Beijing.The billionaire’s remarks were published just days after he floated a possible deal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine which drew condemnation in Ukraine. Continue reading...

Binance, the latest crypto company to experience a targeted hack, temporarily suspends transactions and the transfer of fundsBinance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, may have lost half a billion dollars after a hack of its network.The company temporarily suspended transactions and the transfer of funds after detecting an exploit between two blockchains, a method of digital theft that has been used recently in at least one other major hack. Continue reading...

Leading robotics firms promise not to add weapons to general use technology and said they would oppose others doing soSeveral robot production companies have pledged not to support the weaponization of their general purpose robots and have encouraged other companies to follow suit.In an open letter, six leading robotics firms promised not to add weapons to their general use technology and said they would oppose others doing so. Continue reading...

Musk’s lawyers make last-ditch bid to avert legal proceedings but Twitter says proposal is ‘invitation to further mischief and delay’Twitter has demanded its “day in court” after Elon Musk asked a judge to halt an upcoming trial over his $44bn deal to buy the company.In another day of drama for the Twitter takeover saga, Musk’s lawyers revealed that a last-ditch bid by the Tesla chief executive this week to acquire Twitter after all – and avert legal proceedings – had foundered. Continue reading...

Joe Sullivan failed to report a cybersecurity incident to authorities in 2016A San Francisco jury has found Uber’s former chief security officer, Joe Sullivan, guilty of criminal obstruction for failing to report a 2016 cybersecurity incident to authorities.Sullivan, who was fired from Uber in 2017, was found guilty on counts of obstruction of justice and deliberate concealment of felony, a spokesperson from the US justice department confirmed on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Report suggested Dyson was complicit in abuse and exploitation at Malaysia factory, claim inventor’s lawyersThe billionaire businessman James Dyson is attempting to sue Channel 4 over a news report about claims of abuse and exploitation in the Malaysia factory of a former supplier to his firm.The lead story on Channel 4 News on 10 February suggested Dyson, second on this year’s Sunday Times UK rich list, was complicit in the practices at the ATA-owned factory, the inventor’s lawyer told the high court in London on Thursday. Continue reading...

Advertising revenue surged last year at social media firm where average staff pay rose to £262,000Facebook’s UK operations paid £29m in corporation tax last year despite reporting a record £3.3bn in sales, while its average staff pay rose to £262,000.The social media company’s latest accounts for its London-based arm showed gross income from advertisers surged by more than 37% last year from £2.4bn to £3.3bn. Continue reading...

The Delaware trial that the social media firm brought is still due to proceed despite Musk’s latest U-turnThe judge presiding over the Twitter v Elon Musk trial in Delaware says the case will go ahead on 17 October because neither side has asked for a postponement yet.This is despite the Tesla chief executive offering this week to buy the business on the terms agreed in April at the $44bn (£39bn) price, performing a U-turn on his July decision to walk away. Continue reading...

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Social media platforms’ failure to eradicate the false information amounts to aiding and abetting disenfranchisement, advocates sayLast year, US lawmakers urged the CEOs of major tech companies including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to do more to combat disinformation spreading in Spanish, warning that inaccurate information on key issues such as vaccines and the presidential election was proliferating on their platforms.“There is significant evidence that your Spanish-language moderation efforts are not keeping pace, with widespread accounts of viral content promoting human smuggling, vaccine hoaxes, and election misinformation,” the lawmakers wrote in a July 2021 letter. “Congress has a moral duty to ensure that all social media users have the same access to truthful and trustworthy content regardless of the language they speak at home or use to communicate online.”This story was amended on 6 October 2022 to correct that Mariana Ruiz Firmat works with Kairos, not Color of Change. Continue reading...

Billionaire offered to complete his proposed $44bn buyout of Twitter in a dramatic U-turn on decision to withdraw from dealA Delaware judge has said the Twitter v Elon Musk trial is still going ahead later this month because neither side has asked to pause proceedings.Kathaleen McCormick, the judge on Delaware’s court of chancery, wrote that no one had applied for a “stay” in the action, despite Musk performing a U-turn on Monday on his decision to withdraw from a $44bn deal to buy the social media platform. Continue reading...

The comedian shares his favourite bits online and most of them are bonkers. Be warned – there’s a healthy dose of cringe comedy too

Breakthrough opens door to a highly effective, non-invasive test that does not need to be done in a clinicAn artificial intelligence tool that scans eyes can accurately predict a person’s risk of heart disease in less than a minute, researchers say.The breakthrough could enable ophthalmologists and other health workers to carry out cardiovascular screening on the high street using a camera – without the need for blood tests or blood pressure checks – according to the world’s largest study of its kind. Continue reading...

Tesla chief executive had been set for court showdown after attempting to scrap dealElon Musk has offered to complete his proposed $44bn (£38bn) acquisition of Twitter in a dramatic U-turn on his decision to walk away from the deal.Lawyers for Musk confirmed in a court filing on Tuesday that the world’s richest man is prepared to push ahead with the transaction on the agreed terms following months of legal drama. Continue reading...

Theranos founder, convicted of fraud and facing 20 years in prison, requested new trial because of key prosecution witness concernsA judge has agreed to move the sentencing date for Elizabeth Holmes to evaluate the Theranos founder’s request for a new trial.Holmes, who was convicted on four of 11 counts of fraud for her role in the blood-testing company, was to be sentenced on 17 October. She requested a new trial in September after a key witness for the prosecution said he regretted the role he played in her conviction. Continue reading...

Instagram and Pinterest led the teenager down a self-destructive path. New online safety measures can’t come soon enoughLast week’s inquest ruling that social media contributed to Molly Russell’s death was the kind of vindication for her parents that no family would choose. With her father, Ian Russell, acting as spokesperson, Molly’s relatives have fought what must have been an exceptionally painful battle, since the 14-year-old took her own life in 2017, to see the tech companies that are partly responsible held to account. The coroner’s endorsement of their view that Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, and Pinterest had led a depressed girl down a dark path of disturbing content is a testament to the family’s commitment to make the internet a safer place.Legislation to protect young people from dangerous online content has been in the pipeline for a long time – since the year of Molly’s death, in fact, when a green paper was produced. It was paused in July to make space for the no-confidence motion that toppled Boris Johnson. Then, in September, Liz Truss indicated that it would be watered down, taking on board concerns voiced by free-speech campaigners, including her leadership rival Kemi Badenoch, about the proposed new category of prohibited “legal but harmful” content. Continue reading...

Apple will be forced to change charger after EU votes to use USB-C connectorsThe European parliament has voted to introduce a single charging port for mobile phones, tablets and cameras by 2024 in a move that presents difficulties for Apple, whose iPhones use a different power connector.The vote confirms an earlier agreement among EU institutions and will make USB-C connectors used by Android-based devices the EU standard, forcing Apple to change its charging port for its devices. Continue reading...

Readers reflect on the Molly Russell inquest verdict and hope that it will be a turning point for technology firmsRegarding the Molly Russell inquest, my 19-year-old daughter has grown up on social media, suffered with intense anxiety and depression, self-harmed for all of her secondary school years and attempted suicide more than once (The Molly Russell inquest verdict damns Silicon Valley. There can be no more excuses, 30 September). When visiting family over the summer, her aunt, who has two children under 10, asked her opinion on when children should be given a smartphone. Without a second’s hesitation her reply was: “Don’t ever give them a phone. Social media has ruined my life and almost killed me.”Thank you to Molly’s brave family. The documentary The Social Dilemma should be mandatory viewing for all children in primary school.

Figures to end of December come as tech firm gave almost £1bn in share-based paymentsGoogle UK’s staff earned an average of more than £385,000 each in the 18 months to the end of December, as the tech company gave almost £1bn in share-based payments.Google, which like other tech firms is looking at budget and potential job cuts as global economic conditions become tougher, reported £3.4bn in turnover and £1.1bn in pre-tax profits in the 18 months to the end of December 2021. Continue reading...

The American professor of law talks about her new book on the fight for data privacy, the personal dossiers brokers build on us and how, post-Roe v Wade, women’s data in the US may be weaponisedDanielle Citron is a professor of law at the University of Virginia School of Law, where she specialises in privacy and civil rights. Her new book, The Fight for Privacy: Protecting Dignity, Identity and Love in Our Digital Age, outlines the 21st-century assault on privacy from “Spying Inc”, the companies, governments and individuals that seek to exploit and profit from our most sensitive data. She argues that intimate privacy should be enshrined as a civil right in the US.We hear a lot about companies collecting our data, yet your book still manages to shock when revealing the extent of these practices. You highlight, for example, that our internet search history is essentially in the public realm and could be purchased by any motivated party. Also that the dating app Grindr was sharing information about users’ HIV statuses to third party data brokers before it got caught.

The sounds of bonfires, waves and rainfall are helping us relax – and making millionsThere’s no tune, no lyrics and you can’t dance to it. Don’t let that put you off: white noise is the music industry’s next big thing. Streaming services have seen an explosion of tracks in the last year consisting entirely of hissing, humming, fizzing and other varieties of radio static, as well as recordings of rainfall, ocean waves and crackling bonfires.Some of the recordings have earned their creators millions of pounds. Record companies and tech firms have taken notice. Apple is including background noise as an option in its next Mac operating system, and TikTok influencers have been promoting pink noise and brown noise – sounds with lower frequencies that sound like wind or rustling leaves – as an aid to concentration for students at the start of the school year. Continue reading...

The coroner’s verdict was a world first in citing social media as a causal factor in a deathAs the inquest into the death of Molly Russell ground to its conclusion on Friday, what kept flashing like a faulty neon sign in one’s mind was a rhetorical question asked by Alexander Pope in 1735: “Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?” For Pope it was a reference to “breaking on the wheel”, a medieval form of torture in which victims had their long bones broken by an iron bar while tied to a Catherine wheel, named after St Catherine who was executed in this way.For those at the inquest, the metaphor’s significance must have been unmistakable, for they were listening to an account of how an innocent and depressed 14-year-old girl was broken by a remorseless, contemporary Catherine wheel – the AI-powered recommendation engines of two social media companies, Instagram and Pinterest.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk Continue reading...

The online retail giant’s boss is on a mission to make employee inclusivity a ‘moral obligation’ and to help his company adapt to a difficult post-pandemic marketplaceWhen corporate executives start discussing their efforts to influence company culture, a healthy amount of scepticism is advisable. But Murray Lambell, the UK boss of US online retail giant eBay, can draw on personal experience of the importance of how a business cares for staff. For many years he hid his sexuality from colleagues in a culture that was “more stifled and stuffy internally”.“It was probably my own baggage,” he says. “I was not comfortable to be out at work … A lot of the leadership was white, middle-aged, from a very specific demographic and academic background, which didn’t all resonate with me. I didn’t feel comfortable to be a complete person at work and then that limits you.” Continue reading...