MTN Accused of Bribing Terrorists, AI Outperforms Radiologists, and US Army Bans TikTok

Africa

MTN accused of bribing terrorists

MTN Group, Africa’s largest telecoms operator, has been accused of violating US anti-terrorism laws by paying protection money to Al-Qaida and the Taliban. The accusation was filed in a US court by families of American citizens killed by terrorists in Afghanistan. According to a BBC report, MTN paid protection money so it wouldn’t have to invest heavily in providing protection for its transmission towers. The accusers say the protection money was used to finance insurgency attacks between 2009 and 2017 that led to the deaths of their relatives. The South Africa-based company says it is studying the allegations.

Charterhouse launches Nkomo App

Charterhouse Ghana has launched the Nkomo app at an event at Holiday Inn hotel, it has been reported. Nkomo is a messenger app that connects users across the globe using video and audio calls. In addition, users can share their locations and talk time as well as take part in group videos and audio calls. The app features a built-in end-to-end encryption to safeguard user data and prevent snoopers from getting access to messages. Speaking at the launch, serial entrepreneur Kwame Antwi Opoku said, “Innovation is really growing in Africa, we’ve seen a huge surge in innovation hubs in countries like Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Rwanda, and we’re seeing that more and more young people are adapting to these digital platforms.” Nkomo app is available on both Google and IOS platforms.

Europe

Russia investigating Booking.com

Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service, FAS, has opened investigations into hotel reservation site, Booking.com, according to media reports. Investigations were initiated because Booking.com is believed to have asked hotels and hostels on its site to offer the same prices on its rival websites. The probe is said to be due to a similar charge brought against the company in the EU, where it promised to bring its practices in line with rules and regulations in the EU. In Russia, Booking.com could face a fine of up to 15% of its revenue if found guilty.

AI outperforms doctors in diagnosing cancer

A study in the Nature journal has shown that Artificial Intelligence is more accurate in predicting breast cancers from mammograms than doctors, a BBC report has revealed. The computer model was designed and trained by researchers from London’s Imperial College and Google Health using X-ray images of 29,000 women. The model outperformed six radiologists and was as good as 2 doctors working together. The normal procedure is for two doctors to examine one woman’s X-ray images, with a third opinion sought in cases where there are doubts. Researchers believe AI could be modelled to become even more accurate, improving its efficiency in detecting illnesses.

The Americas

US Army bans TikTok from work phones

The United States Army has banned the use of TikTok on work phones according to a BBC report. ByteDance, the company that owns the video-sharing app, has come under tremendous scrutiny from congress over its data processing methods, with some describing the app as a cyber-threat. This is because US lawmakers fear it could be used by the Chinese government to collect data on American citizens. Meanwhile, TikTok has assured its users that data of US citizens were stored on servers outside China. In addition to strengthening its privacy policies, TikTok hired a third-party to carry out an audit to ensure other apps could not siphon private data from users’ profiles.

Brazil fines Facebook over privacy breach

Brazil has fined Facebook $1.6 million over its improper sharing of user data, it has been revealed. The country’s consumer protection department said Facebook was found to have shared the data of more than 400,000 users with “thisisyourdigitallife” app. In addition, the watchdog accused Facebook of not being transparent to users about default privacy settings, especially those that had to do with friends and their friends. “We are focused on protecting people’s privacy,” Facebook noted, adding that it had made changes to limit what information app developers had access to on their platform.

Asia

Indonesia to impose fixed charges on e-wallet transactions

Indonesia is planning to introduce fixed fees for certain e-wallet transactions, it has been reported on Reuters. E-wallet service operators normally charge a premium on services rendered to big retailers while absorbing costs for smaller providers. The new rule would standardize charges on QR code transactions according to the report. New charges will be capped at 0.7% of transaction costs, which could push smaller merchants from using the services. Meanwhile, large merchants that pay up to 2% could see their costs fall, leading to e-wallet service providers suffering a huge dent in their revenues. The new deal would also see the transaction costs split three ways, with e-wallet companies sharing the revenues with middle-men as well as with National Electronic Transaction Settlement which is a consortium of Indonesian lenders.

Tencent acquires 10% in Universal Music Group

Tencent is leading a consortium that has agreed to purchase a 10% share of Universal Music Group (UMG), it has been revealed. Tencent and its consortium purchased the stake from French firm Vivendi. The group has the option of increasing its stake to 20% by 2021 based on a current $33.7 billion valuation of UMG. In addition, Tencent Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Tencent, has the option of acquiring a minority stake in UMG’s subsidiary operating in China. The deal represents another aggressive drive by Chinese media businesses pushing into the global music scene. Not too long ago, ByteDance began testing a new music app in Indonesia and India called Resso.