Britney on the picket line as Meta shuts down tribute acts

Image of the Week: Star studded stand-off outside Meta offices

With a line-up to rival Glasto last weekend, celebrity impersonators of stars such as Dolly Parton, Britney Spears, Freddie Mercury and Taylor Swift gathered outside the London offices of Meta this week to protest community standards prohibiting accounts that “impersonate or falsely represent” a person, brand or business.

The Meta policy states that they “don’t allow people on Facebook to pretend to be someone well-known or speak for them without permission”, and tribute acts say they have repeatedly lost accounts, fans and followers as a result, damaging their careers and livelihoods.

Meta has said they have “always allowed tribute acts on Facebook and Instagram”, although their technology “sometimes makes mistakes”.

Sleep and rest are not the same and failure to address both can increase risk of burnout

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Extend EV grant to second-hand purchases, says PwC

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Card data suggests it’s not all doom and gloom in the hospitality sector

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Latest euro zone inflation figures suggest ECB will move slowly on rates

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In numbers: Volkswagen scandal rumbles on

1

The number of former Volkswagen board members who have been sentenced in the fallout of the emissions scandal which came to light in 2015. Former Audi boss and ex-VW board member Rupert Stadler was this week handed a suspended sentence of one year and nine months by a German court alongside a fine of €1.1 million for his involvement in the fraud.

€32bn

The amount of compensation Volkswagen has forked out so far for its manipulation of diesel engine emissions tests, mainly in fines and damages in the US.

100,000

The number of cases still pending in German courts over the scandal, including a lawsuit brought by fund manager Deka Investment seeking €9 billion in compensation for investors who were kept in the dark. Proceedings against former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn, who resigned a few days after the scandal came to light in September 2015, have been put on hold due to problems with his health. It is unclear whether the 76-year-old will ever stand trial.

Get to know: Sarah Bentley

Until this week the boss of the UK’s largest water supplier Thames Water, Sarah Bentley has found herself cut adrift as the water company faces collapse under the weight of a £14 billion (€16.25 billion) debt burden.

The now former chief executive announced she was stepping down with immediate effect on Tuesday, a few days after it emerged that the leakage rate from the company’s pipes was at a five-year high and weeks after she gave up her annual bonuses over its environmental track record.

As well as coming under heavy fire over the discharge of raw sewage into rivers and missing environmental targets, the company with 15 million customers in London and the Thames Valley region has faced controversy over generous executive pay deals, such as that which lured Bentley from rival Severn Trent three years ago.

Bentley’s total package, £1.5 million for 2022-23, is due to be confirmed next month and is expected to fall from the £2 million she received in 2021-22, but still outstrip the £1.2 million she was handed the year before that.

The list: Reynolds off to the races

Turning their hands from football to Formula One, news broke this week that Hollywood actors and Wrexham soccer club owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny have now bought in to a new venture, Formula One team, Alpine Racing.

1. Reynolds and McElhenny are part of a group that purchased a 24 per cent stake in the Formula One team on Monday. Alpine Racing finished fourth in the F1 championship last year and currently sit fifth after eight races in 2023.

2. Led by Otro Capital and RedBird Capital Partners, the deal is estimated to be worth €200 million and will allow investors to develop revenues through merchandising, licensing and hospitality.

3. Reynolds and McElhenney took over Welsh soccer club, Wrexham, in November 2020, championing the club’s fairy-tale return to the English Football League after a 15-year absence as well as garnering a loyal following of long-distance fans through a docuseries, Welcome to Wrexham.

4. Reynolds has already proved his business sense, backing budget service provider Mint Mobile which was sold to T-Mobile US in March for up to $1.35 billion, as well as Aviation American Gin which the actor co-owned before it was bought up by Diageo for up to $610 million in 2020.

5. Reynolds and McElhenney aren’t the only stars to venture into sports investing: news broke this week that rapper Stormzy and Crystal Palace striker Wilfried Zaha have teamed up to buy their own soccer side, ninth-tier English outfit Croydon Athletic. Meanwhile actor Michael B Jordan is an investor at Bournemouth, and NBA great LeBron James has a stake in Liverpool.