Social media companies including Twitter, Facebook and Google have come under pressure from MPs for failing to take tougher action to tackle hate speech online. During heated exchanges at the Commons home affairs committee, one Labour MP went as far as accusing Internet company executives of "commercial prostitution" and demanding to know whether they had any shame.

From Brexit to brand safety to evolving EU privacy rules, UK marketers feel beset by external challenges, according to a report from CIM (The Chartered Institute of Marketing. In a January 2017 poll of its members, 70% of respondents were concerned about factors largely outside of their control -- such as data breaches, tax scandals and workers' rights problems -- affecting their brand.

Britain is on track to record nearly $70 billion worth of deals in the first quarter, smashing last year's total and signalling the possible start of another mergers and acquisitions bonanza. More than $67.2 billion of deals involving a UK company have been agreed upon this year, which is about $16 billion more than the same period last year, data from Dealogic shows.

Smartphones, watches, televisions and fitness trackers could be used to hold people to ransom over personal data, cyber security experts have warned. Ransomware, which makes devices unusable until their owners pay to unlock them, has become increasingly prevalent in the past year, they say. Devices holding photos, emails and fitness information could be targeted.

After securing the exclusive broadcast rights to the Olympics, Discovery Communications is pitching Eurosport as the new home of the games and prying audiences away from free-to-view alternatives. Chief executive Peter Hutton maintains this will be driven by its depth of coverage coupled with a greater sense of narrative around the sports and athletes competing.

The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) released fresh guidelines for brands and influencers last week, seeking greater transparency when it comes to ads and other sponsored content on social media. But policing this sphere of marketing is akin to a game of whack-a-mole, according to those charged with enforcing the recommendations.

Google's new boss for the UK and Ireland Ronan Harris has defended the company's record on ad viewability and transparency. Harris faced a direct challenge over ad safety from WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell during an IPA event last week. Sorrell claimed that Google was being evasive about how its algorithms and advertising tech works, despite concerns from the marketing community.

The Receptivity of Emotions study by Yahoo found that when UK consumers are feeling upbeat, they are 30% more likely to engage with native video content than in other emotional states. They are also 28% more likely to engage with content marketing, and 21% more likely to engage with direct marketing.

The FA said the purpose would inform its work from the grassroots level up to the 24 English national teams. The strategy was developed for the organisation by VCCP. The new purpose was announced yesterday at Wembley alongside The FA's women's football strategy, which detailed three core goals for the women's and girl's games.

According to eMarketer's latest forecast, Google will maintain its dominance and account for 40.7% of US digital ad revenues in 2017 -- more than double Facebook's share. eMarketer expects Google's share of the search market to grow 16.1% to $28.55 billion in 2017. The search giant will claim roughly 78% of total US search ad revenues this year.