The social network Twitter has revealed that it is now able to censor tweets for any country it wants. Although the company said that it would withhold tweets from certain countries only on a case-by-case-basis rather than in blanket fashion, as already happens when governments or organisations complain about individual tweets, there was a storm of protests by users. 

As soon as Google announced that it will merge personal data from YouTube, Gmail, search, social network Google+ and dozens of other services to improve its privacy settings, critics complained that the move had less to do with protection of privacy than with the data battle Google is waging with rival Facebook. One problem with the changes is that users cannot opt out of them. They will take effect from 1 March. 

Google is not new to privacy problems and now the company is trying to do something about it. Today it posted this on its landing page: We’re getting rid of over 60 different privacy policies across Google and replacing them with one that’s a lot shorter and easier to read. Our new policy covers multiple products and features, reflecting our desire to create one beautifully simple and intuitive experience across Google.” The new policy is to apply to all Google search, Gmail, YouTube and Google+, its social networking site. The main change applies to users who have Google accounts.

Bisnode has now launched the B2B database EuroContactPool on the European market and can thereby meet rising demand from multinational corporations for pan-European market information. By launching the product across all of the Group’s European countries, Bisnode can enhance its total offering by combining local expertise with its international strength. EuroContactPool, ECP, is one of Europe’s fastest growing and most comprehensive B2B databases, containing 26 million companies and 22 million decision-makers from 16 European countries. EuroContactPool has been previously managed and marketed by the Swedish Bisnode company PAR and is now leveraged by Bisnode  across all of the Group’s European countries, making it possible to offer local expertise in combination with the group’s international strength.

The share of adults in the United States who own tablet computers nearly doubled from 10% to 19% between mid-December and early January and the same surge in growth also applied to e-book readers, which also jumped from 10% to 19% over the same time period. The number of Americans owning at least one of these digital reading devices jumped from 18% in December to 29% in January.

Yell announces the appointment of Linda Kennedy to the new role of Group Human Resources Director. Linda will lead organisational change and support the integration of Yell’s global business in the UK, US, Spain and some countries in Latin America, at a time of rapid transformation. She joins Yell from UK mobile operator Everything Everywhere, the joint venture between Orange and T Mobile, where she held the role of Chief Change Officer reporting to the CEO and delivered the integration of the two businesses. Previously, Linda was Group HR Director at international service company Serco where amongst her responsibilities was the development of a people strategy and the implementation of a new leadership and talent management framework.