Ghana’s Nsano Receives First BoG License, French Websites Given One Hour to Remove Illegal Content, and China Accused of Stealing Covid-19 Research

Africa

Nsano receives BoG Service Provider License

Nsano Ghana Limited has received the first ever Bank of Ghana Service Provider License (Enhanced), according to a report by Citi News Room. The license would allow Nsano to offer electronic funds transfer services, payment system aggregation, and to provide data management services to its clients. Nsano is a fintech company with a diversified portfolio in building mobile applications for banks and insurance companies; it also provides merchant payment solutions and remittance services. The company has launched operations in Zambia, Uganda and Cote d’Ivoire.

Nigeria-founded Koniku partners Airbus in airline safety

Nigeria-founded and California-based biotech company, Koniku, has signed a partnership with Airbus to develop solutions for detecting biological hazards and explosive threats, it has been reported. Airbus will employ a device called Konikore, a jellyfish-like product that can perform bomb-sniffing duties at airports and on aircraft. The product also has prospects for disease-detection and could be relevant in the fight against coronaviruses. Koniku’s technology imbues computers with the power to detect odours by fitting them with biological neurons.

Europe

Suspected scam gadget store tops Google Search result

An online gadget store allegedly operating a scam by selling hard-to-find gadgets has been pulled offline after a series of reports, the BBC has reported. The store, MyTechDomestic, had been topping Google Search Results Pages for selling gadgets at below-market prices while falsely claiming to be owned by a UK-registered company. The online store was flagged and reported to Google by users. The UK company they impersonated, a seven-year old consultancy firm with similar initials, MTDO, also reported the matter to Google who eventually took the website offline days later. UK’s Action Fraud is looking into the matter considering how long it took Google to act on the numerous complaints it received.

French websites have one hour to pull down illegal content

New regulations in France will see online platforms getting a mere one hour to pull down offending content once they are flagged by authorities, it has been reported. The new laws are applicable to cases relating to terrorism and child abuse. Firms and social media platforms that fail to adhere to the regulations could face fines of up to 4% of global revenue from the Superior Council of the Audiovisual (CSA). Content deemed illegal but not related to terrorism or child abuse would have to be pulled down within 24 hours. Digital rights advocates have called the law impractical, especially if the content is flagged on a weekend.

The Americas

Twitter to flag false Covid-19 tweets

Twitter has announced that it will start labelling tweets that spread false information about the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been reported. The new policy will apply to all manner of persons regardless of their status, meaning tweets spreading President Trump’s claim that injecting disinfectants could help cure the virus would also be marked under the new policy. Twitter confirmed this in an online interaction, saying the policy will “…apply to anyone sharing misleading information that meets the requirement of our policy, including world leaders.” As part of the process, Twitter will remind readers that the information they are reading is at variance with expert opinion. With politicians labelling information they disagree with as fake news, observers worry that many trolls will see the label as a badge of honour and continue to spread false information.

Twitter implements permanent work from home policy for workers

Twitter has given its staff the option to work from home permanently as part of resolutions inspired by the coronavirus pandemic, the BBC has reported. The micro-blogging site took the decision after a successful initial phase that was forced on the company due to the coronavirus. “The past few months have proven we can make that work,” the company said, adding, “So if our employees are in a role and situation that enables them to work from home and they want to continue to do so forever, we will make that happen.” Elsewhere, Google and Facebook have offered their staff the option to work from home till the end of the year. Meanwhile, Twitter would offer workers the option to come back to the office once it resumes regular office work.

Asia

India widens use of coronavirus app

India has followed China’s lead to widen the use of its contact-tracing app, Reuters has reported. India’s Health Bridge app, like many contact-tracing apps, uses Bluetooth technology to record when a user comes into contact with a victim of the contagious virus. Health Bridge goes one step further to deploy GPS technology to map out exact locations of victims, something most democracies have tended to avoid due to privacy and mass surveillance concerns. The app also follows in China’s footsteps to use colour codes to rate a person’s health status. The government has also made use of the app mandatory for all workers returning to work. “The government is virtually forcing you and taking your data without consent,” B.N. Srikrishna, a former Supreme Court judge, said of the effort.

China-linked hackers accused of stealing coronavirus research

US officials have accused China-linked hackers of stealing data from American organisations conducting research on Covid-19, Reuters has reported. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security both announced they were investigating break-ins by China-linked cyber actors “attempting to identify and illicitly obtain valuable intellectual property (IP) and public health data related to vaccines, treatments, and testing from networks and personnel affiliated with COVID-19-related research.” The Chinese embassy in Washington refuted the allegations saying, “The FBI issued a warning based on presumption of guilt and without any evidence.”