Andela Goes Remote, Facebook Ordered to Curb Data Collection, and Singapore Telcos Ditch Huawei

Africa

Andela to go full remote

Andela has disclosed plans to become a fully remote company after laying off 135 workers, a WeeTracker report has said. “Andela is now fully remote in all our locations (US included),” the company said in an interview. Andela has since sold off some of its physical assets to employees and interested third-parties. The engineering talent recruitment and outsourcing company had been downsizing due to uncertainties around COVID-19. Andela has raised about $200 million since it was founded in 2014.

Uber and Mastercard launch 120,000 free rides for frontline workers in MEA region

Uber has partnered with Mastercard to provide 120,000 free rides to frontline workers in the Middle East and Africa region, it has been reported. The partnership will also provide free meals to COVID-19 frontline workers. Frontline workers will register through the Uber app, and drivers will be well-informed ahead of time to make sure they take preventive precautions. “With our partner Uber, we are committed to support healthcare and essential workers who are working tirelessly to take care of us,” Mastercard’s Amnah Ajmal explained.

Europe

German court orders Facebook to curb data collection

A German court has ordered Facebook to curb the amount of data it collected from users, Reuters has reported. The order overrides a previous decision reached by a lower court that allowed Facebook to continue collecting data without user consent. The lower court had overruled a decision by the Federal Cartel Office, Germany’s antitrust watchdog. “Facebook must give users the choice to reveal less about themselves – above all what they reveal outside of Facebook,” lead judge Peter Meier-Beck said. The watchdog had judged Facebook to be abusing its dominant position by not giving users a chance to opt out of illegal data collection.

Russia’s Yandex to take control of taxi business

Russia’s internet giant Yandex is in talks with Uber to increase its stake in Yandex.Taxi, the taxi service the two are involved with, Reuters has reported. The deal is contingent on Yandex freeing itself of non-compete agreements it has with lender Sberbank. The internet giant will also have to raise more capital, $800m per the Reuters report. “We’d love to own more of the businesses we already have. That, specifically, would be having a greater stake in Yandex.Taxi, which we are extremely excited about,” Chief Operating Officer Greg Abovsky said. Yandex currently owns 61% of the joint venture, with Uber holding some 38%.

The Americas

Microsoft closes Mixer gaming app in Facebook deal

Microsoft has announced an end to its gaming streaming platform in a deal that would see it collaborate with Facebook Gaming instead, the BBC has reported. Mixer said the platform was being closed due to the company’s inability to scale it as quickly and as broadly as possible. The announcement means livestreaming platform, Mixer, will be shut down by the end of July while users are directed to Facebook’s growing Gaming platform. In addition to this, Microsoft will allow Facebook to use its xCloud games-streaming service. The deal could also see games on Microsoft’s Xbox available on the Facebook Gaming platform.

Google to auto-delete user data by default

Google has announced that it will automatically delete some of the data it collects from users over time, it has been revealed. Data collected across web and applications, such as search history and location data will be deleted after 18 months. Meanwhile, YouTube history will be deleted after 36 months. Google already gives users a chance to delete their data, but users had to opt-out themselves. This new policy will make it a default feature. “But data minimisation is one of our important privacy principles [and] Google will no longer keep activity indefinitely unless you ask us to,” the company said. The policy will be automatically applied to new users while current users will soon receive notification about how to delete their data.

Asia

China launches satellite to rival GPS

China has launched the final satellite in its BeiDou-3 navigation system as it works to rival position system, GPS. The BBC report says the final piece in the $10 billion and 35 satellite project will provide global coverage and ensure China doesn’t rely on the US-owned Global Positioning System, GPS. Other rivals within the space include the European Galileo systems and Russia’s GLONASS. China’s push into space technology has seen it build an experimental space station while it sent two rovers to the moon. It is believed Beijing is planning on sending a crewed mission to the moon and an orbiter to Mars.

Singapore telcos ditch Huawei for 5G masts

Singapore’s largest telecoms operators have selected Nokia and Ericsson to build their 5G masts, a Reuters report has said. While Singapore has allowed its telcos to choose their own vendors, the big players in the sector seem to have snubbed the Chinese manufacturer. M1 and StarHub signed a joint venture to work with Finnish firm, Ericsson. The companies have also indicated they could be exploring partnership opportunities with ZTE. Meanwhile, Singapore Telecommunications has selected Ericsson to develop core elements of its 5G masts.