China Censors Blockchain Industry, Older Americans Share More Fake News, And Liquid Gets New CEO

Africa

Liquid Telecom gets new CEO

Liquid Telecom has chosen Mohamed Abdel Bassit as the company’s Regional CEO for Middle East and West Africa, a statement said. Abdel Bassit will oversee the company’s expansion in the region following a $400 million investment in the Egyptian telecoms sector. The company has completed the installation of a fibre optic cable from Cape Town, South Africa to Cairo, Egypt. The Regional CEO for MEWA is a new position and forms part of Liquid’s digital strategy for the sub-region.

Vox to expand fibre footprint through partnerships

IT infrastructure provider, Vox, is partnering with Netstream and SA Digital Villages to expand its fibre-to-the-home offers. The partnership will allow Vox to expand to more locations beyond urban areas like Pietermaritzburg or Knysna. It will also mean Vox customers will have better customer service and receive faster broadband access. By partnering with Netstream and SA Digital Villages, Vox will be able to reach an additional 50,000 live homes over the course of the next twelve months.

The Americas

Over 65s more likely to share fake news

Researchers say Americans over 65 years are more likely than the younger generation to share fake news. The research found that 11% of persons above 65 shared links generated from fake sites. This was higher than 3% of persons aged between 18 and 29. Researchers used Facebook behaviour of persons before and after the 2016 American presidential elections.

Alphabet board sued over sexual misconduct cover-up

Google’s parent company has been hit with two lawsuits accusing the company’s board of covering up sexual assault claims against two executives. The lawsuits cover allegations over the last five years. The two executives, Amit Singhal and Andy Rubin, were said to have received massive severance packages despite credible sexual harassment cases against them, the lawsuits claim. The suits seek to force Alphabet to change its governance and oversight responsibilities to curb corporate misconduct.

Europe

Amazon to invest in self-driving forklifts

Amazon is investing in Balyo, a French warehouse robotics company. The deal could see Amazon own a third of the company within the next seven years. Warehouse automation is key to Amazon’s efforts to cut costs and improve deliveries. Balyo creates navigation systems that turn forklifts into self-driving vehicles. Amazon will eventually own 29% of Balyo if Amazon orders up to $346 million worth of products.

Russian state lender takes over plant hit by US sanctions

Russian state lender, VEB, has taken over some of Angstrem-T‘s assets as the company reels from debts following US sanctions, reports say. The chip manufacturer has failed to reimburse a $945 million loan taken in 2008. President Vladimir Putin has stressed the need to wean the dependence on foreign equipment among Russian tech companies.

Asia

China imposes rules on bloackchain technology

China has imposed new rules to manage blockchain application in the country. The Cyberspace Administration of China said the rules would help to advance the industry’s healthy and orderly development. The new regulations mean blockchain platforms will have to censor content and allow authorities access to stored data. The authorities will also be able to see the identity of users. This could signal a turnaround from the country’s ban on cryptocurrencies in 2017.

WeChat Pay pilots new credit-scoring system

Tencent has started piloting a credit scoring system on its WeChat Pay platform. Dubbed WeChat Pay Points, the system scores users based on their spending behaviour and personal connections. Analysts have compared the system with Ant Financial’s Sesame Credit which rates users on a scale of 350 to 950. WeChat Pay Points is being tested in many cities across China.