FTI Consulting News Bytes – 04 August 2023

FTI Consulting News Bytes

We kick off this week’s News Bytes with the potential boycott of Etsy UK by sellers following the implementation of new marketplace rules, before turning to news that China has begun restricting the exports of two key semiconductor materials. We then discuss BT Group’s appointment of the first female CEO of the company, who is due to begin her role in January 2024. We then move to X Corp, looking at its plans to sue an anti-hate organisation over its research criticising its subsidiary Twitter. Finally, we turn to  Meta announcing its plans to launch a range of chatbots to enhance consumer engagement.

This week’s news

Crafty rebellion: Etsy sellers band together against new rules 

Etsy UK sellers have begun to call for a boycott of the popular online marketplace after the company increased the amount of sales income it held back from vendors to ensure that items reach customers. According to The Guardian, the new rules mean that some sellers are seeing as much as 75% of their earnings frozen for up to 45 days. Liz Barclay, the UK’s small business commissioner, said one seller complained of receiving 60p for every £43.99 item sold making it difficult to trade. Subsequently, alternative handmade goods websites, such as The British Craft House and Folksy, said they had experienced an increase in new signups as sellers looked for another way to advertise their wares.

Earth’s cool metals get a hot restriction 

According to the BBC, China has started restricting the exports of two materials key in the semiconductor industry, gallium and germanium, which are used to produce chips and have military applications. Under the new controls, special licences are needed to export gallium and germanium from the world’s second-largest economy. In their analysis, the BBC includes comments from investment firm BMO Capital Markets, stating that “the timing of this announcement from China is not coincidental, given chip export restrictions announced by the Netherlands amongst others.” It later suggests this is the latest iteration of “resource nationalism”. The new rules have left traders of these metals anticipating a drop in international supply in August and September while exporters sort out the required permits.

BT appoints Allison Kirkby as company’s first female CEO    

BT Group has appointed board member Allison Kirkby as its first female Chief Executive, to take over from Philip Jansen after he set a course for significant job cuts at the telecoms provider according to The Guardian. Kirkby will leave her job as Chief Executive of Swedish telecoms company Telia at the end of January 2024, and has been a non-executive director at BT since 2019. She will take over at BT with a mandate to continue the path set by Jansen, who in May revealed plans to cut as many as 55,000 jobs across the company by 2030, citing the need for a leaner business as well as the impact of artificial intelligence (AI).

The Twitter trials: X Corp vs. anti-hate campaigners

X Corp, the firm that owns Twitter, is suing an anti-hate organisation whose research criticised the platform, according to the Wall Street Journal. X Corp has accused the Center of Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), which has offices in the US and the UK, of “unlawful acts” to “improperly gain access” to its data. In response, CCDH accused X Corp owner, Elon Musk, of trying to silence anyone who criticised him. Musk has previously said that he is a “free speech absolutist”. CCDH is a not-for-profit organisation that researches and campaigns against online hate. Its reports have been widely cited in the press, including by the BBC. Conservative MP Damian Collins also serves on its UK board.

Meta’s chatbot carnival: persuasive personas to parle with users

Facebook owner Meta is preparing to launch a range of artificial intelligence-powered chatbots that exhibit different personalities as soon as next month, according to the Financial Times, in an attempt to boost engagement with its social media platforms. The tech giant led by chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has been designing prototypes for chatbots that can have humanlike discussions with its nearly 4bn users, according to people with knowledge of the plans. These people said some of the chatbots, which staffers have dubbed “personas”, take the form of different characters. The company has explored launching one that emulates Abraham Lincoln and another that advises on travel options in the style of a surfer, according to a person with knowledge of the plans.

Top Tweets of the Week

• Katie Prescott, Technology and Business Editor at The Times: NEW: British start-ups are at risk after Silicon Valley Bank UK went bust. Their founders describe the scale of the damage. https://t.co/DQ9zlGFLzU
• Bill Gates, Founder former CEO of Microsoft: I’m excited about how AI will help solve some of the world’s toughest challenges—and transform science and medicine for the better. https://t.co/WEukVbL8Ad
• Freya Pratty, Senior Reporter at Financial Times: A UK startup is building the world’s longest subsea electricity cable, bringing solar power from Morocco to the UK. If it works, it could power 7 million homes but there’s still a long way to go securing the £20bn (!) needed to get it up and running. https://t.co/vCRQAlMmRj

Number of the Week

$326m  – Uber’s first operating profit after racking up $31.5bn of losses, according to the Financial Times

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