It would be wrong to start a news round-up with anything other than the tragic and unnecessary death of George Floyd in May, highlighting the systemic racism that is still present across the world. Tech brands have been called to action and held to account, with publications from The Verge, CNET and TechCrunch examining their responses.

Unsurprisingly, TikTok has also risen to the fore, becoming a forum for young people to express their views and discontent with the inequalities in society today. The Telegraph reports further.

Facebook and Twitter have also had a tough month with Trump, with Twitter accusing POTUS of making ‘false claims’, while Zuckerberg has so far refused to take a similar step – The Guardian has more on this.

Similarly, the pandemic has continued to occupy the news, as Facebook informed us that 1% of British users had reported Covid-19 symptoms on the social platform. However, the social giant also continued to drive innovation in response to Coronavirus, by developing ‘Venue’, an app that will act as a second screen to allow users to chat and show updates on live events, in the style of Twitch. Google maps has also added a feature to inform users about travel restrictions – read more on Reuters.

At the same time, more of us than ever are signing up for video streaming services – six million of us during lockdown, according to the BBC. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel, with the organisers of CES announcing that the next event – pencilled in for January 2021 – will take place .

Finally, there has been a slew of weird and wacky brand movement over the last month, with one smart couple creating a map of pubs serving takeaway pints across London. And one savvy fitness instructor in the Midlands has invented the perfect lockdown mix – prosecco pilates. Bottoms up!

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