Wuerzburg, Germany | AFP | A Syrian refugee whose selfie with German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been repeatedly manipulated to link him to violent jihad, took Facebook to court on Monday for spreading defamatory fake news. Anas Modamani, 19, says the US social media giant has failed to take down …
Read More »US travel ‘extreme vetting’ to include social media, phone contacts
Washington, United States | AFP | Travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries singled out for “extreme vetting” will face scrutiny of their social media footprint and phone records, the new Homeland Security secretary said Tuesday. Secretary John Kelly sought to explain President Donald Trump’s travel ban four days after he …
Read More »KENYA: The #UhuruChallenge
Kenyans mock president’s passion for project launches Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya’s notoriously caustic tweeters have taken aim at President Uhuru Kenyatta’s love for a good ribbon-cutting, mocking his endless unveilings of often bizarrely named projects. Kenyatta, who is seeking re-election in August, has an active Twitter account which …
Read More »Twitter chief for China quits, hails its performance
Beijing, China | AFP | Twitter’s manager for China, whose appointment just eight months ago sparked controversy, has announced her resignation but welcomed the growing number of Chinese advertisers even though the service is blocked by Beijing. Kathy Chen, appointed in April as general manager for the China region comprising …
Read More »Canada regulator declares high-speed internet an essential service
Ottawa, Canada | AFP | Canada’s telecommunications regulator on Wednesday declared access to high-speed internet an essential service that must be available to all, including rural and remote areas of the world’s second-largest nation by land mass. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) said a new Can$750 million fund …
Read More »Facebook faces fines for ‘misleading’ information in WhatsApp buyout
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | The EU charged Facebook on Tuesday with providing “misleading” information when it sought approval for its blockbuster $22-billon buyout of the WhatsApp mobile messaging service. The commission said the EU’s greenlight of the buyout, announced in October 2014, was not put back into question but …
Read More »INTERVIEW: Low infrastructure hampering internet usage
What key areas does your work portfolio focus on? When the Telecom duopoly was de-regularised in 2006, we were the first company to get a licence. We started the business as wholesalers of voice and data under the capacity re-sell licence. We spent the first three years doing only that. …
Read More »DR Congo orders social networks blocked as Kabila’s term expires
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have ordered that social networks including Facebook and WhatsApp be blocked soon before President Joseph Kabila’s mandate expires, three internet providers said Thursday. Congo’s telecoms regulator issued an order, seen by AFP, demanding that providers cut access …
Read More »Amazon video goes global, steps up challenge to Netflix
Washington, United States | AFP | Amazon announced Wednesday it was extending its on-demand video streaming service to more than 200 markets, stepping up its challenge to Netflix as a global television network. The US online giant said its Prime Video would be available in “more than 200 countries and …
Read More »Internet Archive heads to Canada to be ‘safe’
Washington, United States | AFP | The Internet Archive, which keeps historical records of Web pages, is creating a new backup center in Canada, citing concerns about surveillance following the US presidential election of Donald Trump. “On November 9 in America, we woke up to a new administration promising radical …
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