Campaigners claim victory as Lego drops ‘Daily Mail’ adverts

Lego has scrapped its marketing agreement with the Daily Mail newspaper. (AP)
Updated 15 November 2016
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Campaigners claim victory as Lego drops ‘Daily Mail’ adverts

COPENHAGEN: The Danish toy company Lego said Saturday it won’t advertise anymore in Britain’s Daily Mail, one of several British newspapers targeted by a social media campaign for their anti-immigrant stances.
The maker of multi-colored Lego building bricks tweeted Saturday “@StopFundingHate We have finished the agreement with the Daily Mail.”
Roar Rude Trangbaek, a spokesman for the privately-held company, told The Associated Press that Lego has “no plans to make additional marketing activities with the newspaper.”
“We spend a lot of time listening to what children tell us. And when parents and grandparents take the time to tell us what they think, we listen,” he said in an email. He declined to elaborate on the advertising.
The Stop Funding Hate campaign has urged companies to drop advertising in several British newspapers due to their resistance to helping child refugees.
In 2014, the Danish company said it would not renew its contract with oil group Shell whose logo was on Lego sets sold at gas stations in Europe. The move came after weeks of pressure following a video against oil drilling in the Arctic region.
The western Denmark-based group has more than 18,000 employees around the world and ranks among the world's biggest toymakers.
In March, the group said its 2015 revenue soared 25 percent to 35.8 billion kroner, and said some 100 million children played with Lego products or used Lego materials in schools.


WhatsApp says Russia ‘attempted to fully block’ app

Updated 12 February 2026
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WhatsApp says Russia ‘attempted to fully block’ app

  • Moscow has been trying to nudge Russians to use a more tightly controlled domestic online service

SAN FRANCISCO, United States: WhatsApp said Wednesday that Russia “attempted to fully block” the messaging app in the country to push users to a competing state-controlled service, potentially affecting 100 million people.
Moscow has been trying to nudge Russians to use a more tightly controlled domestic online service.
It has threatened a host of Internet platforms with forced slowdowns or outright bans if they do not comply with Russian laws, including those requiring data on Russian users to be stored inside the country.
“Today the Russian government attempted to fully block WhatsApp in an effort to drive people to a state-owned surveillance app,” WhatsApp posted on X.
“Trying to isolate over 100 million users from private and secure communication is a backwards step and can only lead to less safety for people in Russia,” WhatsApp added.
“We continue to do everything we can to keep users connected.”
Critics and rights campaigners say the Russian restrictions are a transparent attempt by the Kremlin to ramp up control and surveillance over Internet use in Russia, amid a sweeping crackdown on dissent during the Ukraine offensive.
That latest developments came after Russia’s Internet watchdog said Tuesday it would slap “phased restrictions” on the Telegram messaging platform, which it said had not complied with the laws.