• Today, four of the biggest names in technology will give evidence to members of the US Congress.
• The  hearing has been launched to ascertain whether these tech giants are simply too big. The Covid-19 pandemic has brought these company’s success under public scrutiny, as other companies struggle.d The four companies are now worth $5tn. 
• Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Sundar Pichai (Google), Tim Cook (Apple) and Jeff Bezos (Amazon) will all be questioned by congress, which is considered a defining moment for the future relationship of big tech and government.
• The number of complaints levelled at these companies are so numerous to be listed, and come from all segments of society. Mark Zuckerberg has defended Facebook’s actions.

• US online retailer Wish has been reprimanded for promoting “overtly sexual” adverts within apps that should have been suitable for children.
• The latest incident involved four adverts that appeared in April and May 2020. One of the ads showed a woman from the neck down wearing a corset with her chest partially exposed, covered only by nipple tassels.
• Three further advertisements, including one that featured an image of a male sex toy accompanied by descriptive language, were seen in the Google Play and Google News apps.
• UK watchdog the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said that Wish.com must ensure that their advertisements are “appropriately targeted”. Wish did not agree that the adverts could cause “widespread offence”.

• Facebook has offered financial incentives to TikTok users with millions of followers to persuade them to use a new competing service called Reels launched on Instagram. 
• Instagram has “approached a diverse range of creators about Reels in several of the countries where it’s currently being tested.” Company spokeswoman Sarissa Thrower said. “We remain committed to investing in both our creators and their experience.”
• Many active TikTok users, known as creators, have gathered large followings on the platform. Companies have tried to reach these large audiences by paying popular creators to use specific songs, wear branded clothing and directly promote products in their videos.
• For more information on Reels, check out our latest blog here.

• Free school meals should be extended to another 1.5 million children in England, says a government-commissioned review into food and healthy eating.
• The National Food Strategy warns that the country’s eating habits are a “slow-motion disaster”. The review warns of the toxic connection between poor diet and child poverty, which they say has been made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic. 
• Report author Henry Dimbleby said a nutritious diet was the “foundation of equality of opportunity” and that “Unless action is taken to improve our food system, many thousands will continue to suffer”. 
• The negative impacts of growing up hungry are long-lasting and corrosive, says the review, which is claimed as the most significant for decades.

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