Visa Partners Safaricom on M-Pesa, NHS rejects Google-Apple App, and AI Not Allowed to File Patents

Africa

Visa partners with Safaricom on M-Pesa

Visa has partnered with Kenya’s Safaricom to provide payment solutions to customers using the M-Pesa platform, it has been reported. This partnership means users of the mobile money platform will now have access to Visa’s global merchant networks spanning some 200 countries. Also, both Safaricom and Visa will develop financial products and solutions most suited to M-Pesa users in the future. Kenya has one of the highest mobile-money penetration rates across Africa, with M-Pesa being the foremost finctech product on the continent.

Avaya launches in Ghana and Kenya

Avaya Holdings Corp has launched Avaya Spaces in Kenya and Ghana to take advantage of the rise of remote working, it has been reported. To facilitate easy roll-out, the company is offering a 60-day free access for organisations, non-profit, and education service providers. The cloud-backed Avaya Spaces enables content sharing, voice and video chats, as well as online meetings for remote workers around the world. “With the launch of Avaya Spaces in Kenya and Ghana, even more people and organizations will be able to benefit from a cost-effective solution that enables business continuity regardless of where employees are located,” Fadi Hani, Vice President of Avaya’s Middle East, Africa & Turkey region. Avaya Spaces offers online meetings and collaborations for up to 500 participants in addition to unlimited storage.

Europe

Sheffield motorist database leaked online

Data containing information of millions of motorists driving through Sheffield have been leaked online, a BBC report has said. Information on the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system could be accessed online without entering a password, leaving the data of up to 8.6 million motorists driving through Sheffield vulnerable. Big Brother Watch, a privacy campaign group speaking on the breach said, “The incompetent management of this appalling mass surveillance system means the council will have no idea who has had access to the data, when, how, why or what they might do with it.” According to analysts, the data breach meant thousands of journeys could be reconstructed minute-by-minute, giving stalkers and criminals a trove of information for illicit activities. The data is no longer available online but the Information Commissioner’s Office has been made aware of the breach.

UK’s NHS rejects Apple-Google app plan

UK’s National Health Service has rejected the coronavirus app touted by both Google and Apple in favour of a completely different model, the BBC has reported. The NHS is proposing a system that works sufficiently well even while not running on-screen, something many app developers have found difficult to achieve. This involves the use of a centralised server which sends alerts to users if someone they were in contact with has tested positive for the virus. The Google-Apple approach employs a decentralised approach where the alerts are generated on the smartphone, rather than a server. The latter approach has been hailed for the fact that it limits the ability of authorities or a hacker to trace users via a remote server. The NHS, however, believes the centralised approach makes it easy to track the spread of the virus and will help the app evolve accordingly. “Engineers have met several core challenges for the app to meet public health needs and support detection of contact events sufficiently well, including when the app is in the background, without excessively affecting battery life,” the NHS digital innovation unit said.

The Americas

US blacklists Amazon websites

The Trump administration has placed five Amazon foreign websites on a blacklist, a BBC report has revealed. The US trade’s representative’s “notorious markets” register now includes Amazon’s Germany, UK, Canada, India, and France websites. The sites have been accused of facilitating the sale of pirated or counterfeit goods to the public. Amazon feels the move is politically motivated, saying in a statement, “This purely political act is another example of the administration using the US government to advance a personal vendetta against Amazon.” Meanwhile, the trade representative’s office says the blacklisting was as a result of complaints filed by US businesses over the sale of fake goods. The complaint said Amazon sites were very slow in removing sellers of fake goods.

AI can’t file patents

The US Patent and Trademark Office has rejected a patent filing by an AI system called Dabus, claiming only natural persons could be identified as inventors, the BBC has reported. The AI system had developed interlocking containers that were easy for robots to carry, and also a hard-to-ignore warning light. The patent office had previously made it possible for “individuals” to be registered as inventors. The creator of Dabus, Stephen Thaler, had argued that he had no hand in the designing of the products and so it would be wrong for him to claim ownership of the designs. However, the patent office only recognises human inventors, denying even the possibility of having corporate inventors due to the legal complications that could ensue. The EU is facing similar concerns regarding AI filing of patents with researches arguing for a change in existing rules to accommodate the change in technology. “The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) has started a consultation on this issue and is due to continue the discussion at a session in mid-May, with the outcome expected to influence future IP policy,” said intellectual property law specialist Penny Gilbert.

Asia

Israeli court bans phone tracing of COVID-19 victims

Israel’s Supreme Court has banned the country’s intelligence agencies from tracing the locations of COVID-19 victims pending new the enactment of new laws, it has been revealed. The nation’s security agencies had been given emergency powers to use an app that tracks smartphone users’ locations in a bid to curb the spread of the novel virus. The Supreme Court, however, has warned of a slippery slope situation and added that new legislation would have to be enacted before the expiry of the existing emergency powers on 30 April. “The state’s choice to use its preventative security service for monitoring those who wish it no harm, without their consent, raises great difficulties and a suitable alternative… must be found,” the Supreme Court said. In addition, the court advised that journalists who become infected with the virus should be allowed to opt out of the tracing app in order to protect them.

China bans coronavirus-themed game

A coronavirus-themed game has been banned in China due to supposed political undertones, it has been reported. The game, Coronavirus Attack, allows users to stop “selfish zombies” from leaving the country in order to win. The game was reported because it also used virus-shaped illustrations in place of the stars on the Chinese flag. In addition, players can win badges that say “Taiwan is not China” and “Liberate Hong Kong”. MythZ, the creator behind the game, said he created it as a protest against China for the way it handled the outbreak. A similar pandemic-themed game called Plague, was blacklisted in China after it became popular following the coronavirus outbreak.