€110m Pan-African Venture Fund Launched, Netflix Loses Close to One Million Subscribers, and China Fines DiDi $1.2b

Africa

Meta told to stop gagging whistleblower

Dozens of rights groups have slammed Meta and Facebook for gagging Kenyan whistleblower Daniel Motaung. The whistleblower is accusing Meta for poor terms of service and Meta has applied for a gag order because they believe his talking to the media would prejudice the case.

Ghana to introduce Consumer Protection Law

Ghana’s communications ministry has announced plans to introduce legislation protection tech users in Ghana. The new lay will protect use data and avoid exploitation by tech firms.

€110m Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund launched

Cathay Innovation and AfricInvest have closed a €110 million funding for a Pan-African Venture fund, it has been reported. The fund will invest in young startups disrupting tech and improving lives on the continent.

Europe

UK government halts Manchester University agreement with Chinese firm

The UK government has stopped the Manchester University’s vision-sensing tech licensing agreement with Beijing Infinite Vision Technology Company Ltd. The government cited security grounds for its action.

Russia fines Google over illegal content

Russia has fined Google $373 million for showing prohibitive material about the war in Ukraine. The communications regulator said Google showed fake news about Russia’s military.

Samsung ‘Running Woman’ ad cleared by ASA

The Advertising Standards Authority has said Samsung’s ad about a woman running through London at 2am was not irresponsible. Samsung had apologised after women’s groups accused of tone deafness in the wake of women being attacked at night.

The Americas

US confiscates stolen $500k from North Korean hackers

The US Department of Justice says it has seized up to $500k worth of Bitcoin from North Korean hackers. The department has since returned ransoms to hospitals that had fallen victim to the hackers.

Apple settles keyboard suit

Apple has settled a butterfly-keyboard suit with customers by accepting to pay $50m. The claimants said Apple intentionally sold keyboards between 2015 and 2019 despite knowing they had problems.

Netflix sheds almost a million subscribers

Netflix has lost close to a million subscribers between April and June 2022, BBC has reported. Analysts attributed a return to pre-pandemic normal as well as price hikes as possible reasons for the fall.

Asia

China fines DiDi $1.2 billion

China has fined ride-hailing app DiDi $1.2 billion for breaking cyber security laws, it has been reported. The investigation had started right after DiDdi listed on the New York Stock Exchange. DiDi is no longer trading on NYSE.

Baidu launches self-driving taxi

China’s Baidu has unveiled Apollo RT6, a new addition to its fleet of self-driving taxis. The taxis will still drive with a driver in case of safety needs.

Google agrees to licensing agreement in Indonesia

Indonesia says Google has agreed to comply with its new licensing rules for technology firms. The new rules allows the regulator the power to demand location of users and removal of illegal content.