Weekly news round-up: China approves Disney and Fox deal & Apple drops "essential" codecs

Disney gets the green flag from China
Chinese regulators have given Disney the all-clear to buy the majority of 21st Century Fox, according to CNN. The deal is expected to close in the first part of 2019. Earlier this year Disney won antitrust approval from US regulators and approval from the European Commission. Whilst Disney still awaits approval from a few more regulators, the US, EU and China are widely considered the biggest hurdles.

Apple drops “essential” codecs
In a recent news update, Apple announced changes to legacy media files on macOS Mojave stating “they won’t be with future macOS releases,” according to Red Shark News. One theory is that macOS will remove 32-bit application support, meaning 32-bit codec libraries will become incompatible, and suggests it could abandon Intel processors to develop its own product line. 

Apple boss says tech regulation ”inevitable” 
Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook has made claims the regulation of the technology industry is “inevitable” and predicts new laws to target large Silicon Valley businesses including Apple in the near future. According to the Telegraph Cook said he favours free markets without government interference but it is clear the free market is not working. 

BBC launches voice experience
The Unfortunates on BBC Radio 3 is the latest interactive voice experience the BBC has revealed it will launch this Sunday on Amazon Alexa devices at random so each listener will hear the chapters in a different order. Broadcast Now reported the 1.3 trillion different versions is a result of a collaboration with BBC R&D for its first voice experience since 2017. 

Google cloud struggles against the competition
Google Cloud Business Chief Executive Diane Greene was “plagued” with internal clashes and missed acquisitions according to CNBC, who reported Greene’s departure will see former Oracle executive Thomas Kurian stepping up to the role. Amazon and Microsoft are leading the cloud computing race with Google ”dithering alongside.”   

Facebook appeals Cambridge Analytica fine
The UK’s data watchdog, Ofcom has received an appeal from Facebook after issuing the £500,000 penalty on its failure to regulate and securely store its user’s data. An independent body, General Regulatory Chamber tribunal, will consider the challenge, after Facebook officials saying the regulator found no evidence to warrant the quantity of the fine reported the BBC. 

Facebook invests £4.5m in UK journalism
The social media giant is donating £4.5 million in helping to train journalists in Britain to support local news outlets that have lost reporters. According to Reuters, Facebook recognised the role it played in how people receive news today and wanted to do more to support local publishers with 80 new trainee reporters set to be funded.  

Black Friday cyber threat
The UK’s cyber-security defence agency has warned the public of being targetted during the Black Friday sales today, issuing the risk of “malicious” online threats. The BBC reported it is the first cyber-warning issues in the lead up to Christmas with the cyber department of GCHQ intelligence communications centre starting a national cyber-chat in an attempt to avoid cybercrime.