AVAST SHUTS DOWN ITS DATA COLLECTION BIZ
New Delhi, Feb. 2: Following the revelation of Avast’s data collection business, Avast CEO Ondrej Vlcek, in a public letter, wrote that he and the company’s board of directors have decided to “terminate the Jumpshot data collection and wind down Jumpshot’s operations, with immediate effect.”
Vlcek, who became CEO of Avast seven months ago, said he has spent the first few months of his job “re-evaluating every portion of our business,” and that the Jumpshot revelations had eroded trust in the company: “I feel personally responsible and I would like to apologize to all concerned.”
“I came to the conclusion that the data collection business is not in line with our privacy priorities as a company in 2020 and beyond,” he wrote.
“It is key to me that Avast’s sole purpose is to make the world a safer place, and I knew that ultimately, everything in the company would have to become aligned with that North Star of ours.”
Helsinki, Feb. 2: Tougher UK and EU rules restricting 5G network supplier Huawei should be a golden opportunity for competitors Nokia and Ericsson, but the companies may struggle to meet the increased demand, analysts warned.
On Tuesday, Britain imposed a 35 per cent cap on the role of “high-risk vendors” in building the country's next-generation communications network, over security concerns.
The change will hit Chinese giant Huawei, whom critics accuse of being ultimately under the control of Beijing, an allegation it strongly denies.
The EU followed by releasing guidelines urging member states to avoid dependency on “high risk” suppliers, though the bloc stopped short of naming Huawei or calling for an outright ban.
On the face of it, the biggest beneficiaries from this week's announcements appear to be the Chinese firm's two largest competitors, Nokia and Ericsson.
But industry watchers claim that fulfilling the increased demand left by market leader Huawei may not be straightforward. Huawei is widely seen as providing the most advanced 5G for the super-fast data transfers, necessary for self-driving cars and remotecontrolled robots in factories or operating theatres.