Facebook Launches Marketplace in 37 African Countries, Almost $100m in Crypto Stolen in Japan, and Microsoft Warns Cloud Users of Exposed Keys

Africa

Ghana activates road surveillance to check traffic

Ghana Police has activated its road surveillance centre to monitor traffic infractions by motorists. Surveillance cameras set across the country will check illegal soliciting of passengers, illegal parking, among other road infractions.

MaxAB acquires Morocco’s WaystoCap

Egypt’s largest B2B grocery e-commerce platform has acquired Morocco’s budding alternative, WaystoCap. MaxAB will invest $15 million into the Maghreb region to boost its activities.

Facebook Marketplace rolls out to 37 African countries

Facebook has launched Marketplace across 37 African countries including Ghana, Somalia, and Lesotho, the company has announced. Marketplace lets users trade by discovering items within local communities.

Europe

UK to strengthen data regulations and stop endless cookie pop-ups.

The new UK Information Commissioner is expected to go beyond the traditional role of the agency to strengthen and shake up existing data rules. New rules would put an end to endless cookies while maintaining user rights.

Twelve year old makes £290,000 selling whale NFTs

A twelve-year-old boy from London has made up to £290,000 selling pixelated images of whales as NFTs. Benyamin Ahmed has decided to keep his earnings in Ethereum.

PayPal accepts Bitcoin in the UK

PayPal customers in the UK will be able to buy and sell Bitcoins according to a new announcement, with investments starting at £1. However, customers will not be able to make payments using the crypto currency.

The Americas

Zoom to employ hybrid return to work after pandemic woes

Zoom has announced plans to adopt a hybrid approach for the return to work after only 1% of employees showed willingness for full-time work. The company says it would be hard but will be experimenting to find balance.

Popular Facebook link spread vaccine doubt

A report about Facebook’s most popular link in the US about about a doctor who died after taking Covid-19 vaccination was shelved by Facebook. The New York Times claimed the report about that link was shelved by Facebook because it would look bad.

Microsoft warns cloud users of compromised databases

Microsoft has warned thousands of its cloud computing users that third-parties could have had access to their databases. The bug in Microsoft’s Cosmos DB database was discovered by security firm Wiz.

Asia

Facebook to protect Afghan users

Facebook is introducing new measures to reassure Afghan users after the Taliban took over the country. The new measure has removed the ability to view the Friends List for all accounts inside Afghanistan.

Hackers steal almost $100m crypto in Japan

Hackers have stolen almost $100 million in cryptocurrency in Japan from Liquid’s exchange. The exchange announced it was moving assets to its cold, inaccessible wallets for further protection.

China introduces regulations on internet algorithms

China has introduced draft regulations on how internet companies can use recommendations for users. The new rules are designed to protect user data and enforce online security.