Tim Berners-Lee criticised big tech firms, Funding Circle could be valued at £2bn at IPO, and Twitter banned accounts that steal content.
Good morning! Here is the tech news you need to know this Monday.
1. The inventor of the world wide web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has said big tech firms should be regulated to counteract issues like fake news and election manipulation. The computer scientist told the Financial Times said Europe could lead a "backlash."
2. British fintech startup Funding Circle has hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Numis Securities to lead an IPO that could value it at £2 billion, according to Sky. A float is expected in the second half of 2018.
3. Lenovo-owned Motorola has laid off a significant portion of its engineering team in Chicago. The layoffs leave the future of its 2018 phone lineup in doubt.
4. Four firms including YouTube have taken steps to ban the US terrorist group Atomwaffen Division, whose members have been charged in 5 murders. YouTube deleted the group's channel, while gaming firms Steam and Discord and online T-shirt retailer Inktale have deleted its content.
5. Twitter has suspended accounts known for stealing content, or for retweeting each other's tweets to force virality.The accounts include @commonwhitegirl, @memeprovider, and several others.
6. Nintendo announced 13 new games for 2018 for its Switch console. There will be a new "Legend of Zelda" title and a "Mario Tennis" game.
7. Federal agents arrested the chief executive of Phantom Secure, a secure phone company which allegedly sold modified BlackBerry devices to criminal organisations. According to a legal filing, an infamous drug cartel used the firm's phones.
8. London mayor Sadiq Khan ripped into big tech firms during a speech at the SXSW conference, criticising them for issues such as fake news, regulatory arbitrage, and hate speech. Khan said governments could also do more to update regulation.
9. UK fashion startup Farfetch has hired banks for a US public offering, according to the Financial Times. The company has hired Goldman and JPMorgan.
10. A major MIT study on fake news found that misinformation spreads much faster than the truth on Twitter. The researchers attributed the popularity of fake news to the fact it provokes stronger emotions than the truth.