Sokowatch rebrands to Wasoko after $125m funding round, Coinbase blocks Russia-related crypto wallets, and Clearview offers image database to help Ukraine fight Russian infiltrators

Africa

Ghana Revenue Authority launches digital portal for non-resident businesses

The Ghana Revenue Authority has launched a new e-commerce and digital services portal to begin taxing online trading activities. The new tax regime will target big tech as well as providers of cross-border online services.

Sokowatch raises $125m in Series B Round

E-commerce platform Sokowatch has raised $125 million in a Series B funding round as it launches across West Africa. The company is also rebranding to Wasoko.

Big Cabal raises $2.3 in seed funding round

Big Cabal Media has received $2.3 million in a seed funding round to help boost its offerings on TechCabal and Zikoko magazine.

Europe

Coinbase blocks Russia-related crypto wallets

Coinbase has banned 25,000 crypto wallets related to Russia, it has been reported. The crypto-trading platform said the banned accounts were engaged in illegal activities.

Clearview AI offers face recognition support to Ukraine

Clearview has offered to grant Ukraine access to its database in order to uncover infiltrators and identify the dead. The company claims to have a database of 10 billion faces collected from the web.

Facebook fined for breaching GDPR rules

Facebook has been fined €17 million for breaching EU’s privacy rules, the BBC has reported. The Irish data watchdog claims Facebook’s parent company failed to take appropriate measures to protect user data.

The Americas

Meta will let parents monitor teenagers’ VR use

Meta will provide new tools to allow parents monitor virtual-reality explorations of their teenage kids. Parents will be able to stop children from accessing inappropriate content via the Meta VR headset.

Ontario user restricted from using Binance

The Ontario Securities Commission has said Binance has agreed to stop opening new accounts in Ontario. In addition, trading will be suspended on certain existing accounts.

Blue Origin delays next space venture

Jeff Bezoz’s Blue Origin has delayed the company’s next space launch until the end of March, Reuters has confirmed. SNL’s Pete Devidson has also been removed from the crew list.

Asia

Myanmar finally approves sale of Telenor

Myanmar’s military rulers have finally given clearance for the sale of Telenor. The buyer is a local business unit with backing from a Lebanese investment firm.

Mercedes-Benz opens research centre in Shanghai

Mercedes-Benz has opened a new research and development unit in Shanghai to focus on mobility tech. the centre will pursue research in automated driving among others.

Australia sues Facebook over scam ads

Australia is suing Facebook’s parent company for allegedly allowing scam ads to run on the platform. The ads included fake celebrity endorsements of crypto products.