Tech Digest daily round up: Apple shares just off record high

Things are looking up for Apple, with shares just off a record high before its quarterly earnings results this evening. The device maker is expected to benefit from a surge in iPhone sales as consumers snap up 5G models, while the App Store and Apple Music are also set to drive growth. Analysts expect Apple’s services sales to jump by almost a quarter to $16.33bn (£11.8bn), according to Refinitiv, with iPhone sales set to leap by 28.7pc to $34bn. That will likely hand Apple a boost as it battles increasing levels of regulatory scrutiny both in Europe and the US over issues such as its commission on app purchases. “We believe government action (via antitrust, executive order, and legislation) represents the single greatest risk for shares of Apple,” Tom Forte, an analyst at D.A. Davidson & Co, wrote in a note to clients seen by Reuters, adding he hoped the company would address the topic on its earnings call. Telegraph 

About 1,000 employees of Activision Blizzard have signed a letter labelling its response to sexual harassment allegations “abhorrent and insulting”. The gaming giant behind Call of Duty and World of Warcraft was sued last week by the state of California for a range of behaviour described by victims as being like a “frat house”. The firm denied the allegations. But the employee letter to management said such denials damaged the “quest for equality”. The allegations against Activision were contained in a legal filing from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) following a two-year investigation. It included accusations of drunken harassment of female employees by their male counterparts or supervisors; a culture of ignoring complaints and retaliation against women who made them; and widespread discrimination against women in areas such as equal pay and promotion opportunity. BBC 

MPs are to examine the Government’s approach to tackling harmful online content and its draft Online Safety Bill in a new inquiry. The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Sub-Committee on Online Harms and Disinformation said it will look into concerns the draft legislation is too narrow and may fail to address a number of key issues. Under the Government’s proposals, Ofcom will become the regulator for the sector, and platforms that fail to follow a new duty of care to protect users from harmful content will face fines of up to 10% of annual global turnover and have their site blocked. The biggest platforms will also be expected to identify content they regard as “legal but harmful” and clearly outline how they would police it. Yahoo!