Uber loses its license to operate in the city of London, England, eBay says it’s selling its StubHub ticketing business to Viagogo in a $4B deal, and Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the world wide web, has officially launched the Contract for the Web, a set of principles designed to “fix” the internet and prevent us from sliding into a “digital dystopia”
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Transport for London, the public sector regulator for transportation, says Uber will not be granted a new license to operate in the city after repeated safety failures. The announcement came Monday morning, and Uber quickly responded by saying that they plan to appeal the decision. Because of the appeal, nothing will change for passengers and drivers who use the Uber app for the time being. Uber operates in 18 different cities in the U.K. London is one of Uber’s top five markets globally and it has about 45,000 drivers in the city. Overall, there are roughly 126,000 licensed private hire and black cabs in the country’s capital. LinkedIn users commenting on the trending news story are pointing to Europe’s other on-demand taxi startups like Bolt, suggesting they have a better alignment with the city’s and the customers’ needs.
Trending on Twitter is the news that eBay is selling StubHub to ticket seller viagogo for $4 billion in cash. The deal comes after a review that eBay undertook months ago. In March, eBay said it was looking at selling StubHub and its classified ads business to focus on its main online sales site. People online are pointing out how the addition of StubHub will allow viagogo to sell tickets in more than 70 countries and give buyers access to a wider selection of tickets. And it’s worth noting that eBay bought StubHub in 2007 for $310 million.
And lastly, trending on Reddit – a set of principles designed to “fix” the internet and prevent people from sliding into a “digital dystopia” is gaining serious traction. Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the world wide web, on Monday officially launched the Contract for the Web, a list of nine core principles for governments, companies, and individuals to adhere to. Berners-Lee says these principles are needed to improve internet access and affordability, in addition to the civil discourse that takes place around it. As of this recording, the initiative has received the backing of over 150 organizations, including tech companies such as Microsoft, Google, Twitter, Facebook and DuckDuckGo, as well as non-profit groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home daily briefing.