Web Creator Bemoans Internet Plunge, Jumia to List on NYSE, and Facebook Suing Over Data-Grabbing Quizzes

Africa

Jumia to become the African startup on the NYSE

Nigeria’s Jumia is set to become the first African startup to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, reports say. The billion dollar company has an e-commerce arm , logistic business, and has recently branched into food delivery as well as hotel and flight bookings. Jumia has branches in countries like Kenya, Ghana, and Ivory Coast, and could come out of the listing worth a reported $1.5 billion.

MTN to launch messenger app

MTN is planning to launch a messenger app as part of its Mobile Money portfolio, it has been announced. This was revealed during a media briefing in Johannesburg where group CEO, Rob Shuter, made the announcement. As part of the roll-out, MTN will introduce an improved mobile money offering, a music streaming service, as well as the messenger platform. The app will be piloted in West and Central African markets this year, the report continued.

Europe

Inventor of the web bemoans dysfunctional future of the internet

Inventor of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has said the internet is heading for a dysfunctional future unless something is done about it. In an interview with the BBC, the creator of the web echoed the doubts people had about the internet being a force of good 30 years after he first submitted the proposal that birthed the internet. “I’m very concerned about nastiness and misinformation spreading,” he said, citing dysfunctional systems like rewarding click-bait, malicious activity, and aggressive polarized discussions. He agreed, however, that such problems could be tackled with a concerted effort.

Cartoons about cyber safety for children launched

The National Crime Agency has launched a series of videos to teach four-year-olds about online safety, the BBC has reported. The videos, Jessie and Friends, is designed to educate children on the dangers the internet presents and how to protect them from abuse. Research has shown that many three to four-year-old children use the internet now, making this a very important step towards protecting them.

The Americas

Facebook suing over data-grabbing quizzes

Facebook is suing Andrey Gorbachov and Gleb Sluchevsky, of Ukraine, who used quizzes to illegally harvest user data, BBC is reporting. Anyone who wanted to take the quizzes was made to install browser extension by claiming said extension would collect a limited set of data. Instead, the two Ukrainians working for Web Sun Group harvested private information including data from friend lists. Facebook said the extensions were downloaded 63,000 times, and cost the tech giant $75,000 in damages between 2016 and 2018.

Democrat candidate vows to break tech giants

Elizabeth Warren, Democrat flagbearer hopeful, has promised to break tech giants, it is being reported. Speaking at a rally in Queens, New York, the Democrat said she would introduce legislation that would roll back some mergers and also prevent tech giants from competing on their platforms. Ms Warren has promised to undo the acquisition of WhatsApp by Facebook, and also undo mergers between Google and Wave, as well as Amazon’s acquisition of WholeFoods.

Uber to settle $20 million suit

Uber has agreed to settle a $20 million lawsuit with some of its drivers ahead of an IPO, reports say. The drivers had argued that they were employees and not independent contractors, a term that qualified them to get wage protections and reimbursements for some expenses from Uber. The settlement is for California and Massachusetts drivers who drove for the company from 2009 to February 2019. Uber will do an IPO later this year and is seeking a valuation of up to $120 billion.

Facebook blames server tweaks for outages

Facebook has disclosed that a change in their server configuration caused the worst outage in their history, it has been reported. The outage lasted about 14 hours, making it impossible to access Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp. While some had pointed to a potential cyberattack as the reason, Facebook released a statement saying the outage was the result of a server configuration change. “… we made a server configuration change that triggered a cascading series of issues,” Facebook said.

Asia

Sega sales halted after actor arrested over drug use

Japan’s Sega game, Judgement in Japan, has been halted after Pierre Taki, and actor who is featured in the game, was arrested for alleged cocaine use, BBC has said. Taki plays the role of a gangster in the game, and was arrested by police this week for allegedly using cocaine. Judgement in Japan local and international sales have been halted as a result, and Sega has promised to delete all tweets promoting the game. “Sega has received the arrest reports and are currently confirming the facts, but for the time being, we will voluntarily refrain from shipments and digital sales of [Judgment],” Sega announced on their website.

Tokyo 2020 to feature robots helping wheelchair users

Tokyo 2020 organisers have launched an ambitious Robot Project as part of efforts to support wheelchair users and workers at the Olympic event, it has been revealed. Two robots were unveiled at an event namely, Toyota’s Human Support Robot (HSR) and Panasonic’s
Power Assist Suit. The robots will carry foods and other small items, guide visitors, and also provide information about the event to be held in 2020. “In terms of service, we will be offering stress-free entry and viewing and the robot can also carry bags and other luggage items for the customers,” Toyota HSR representative, Minoru Yamauchi, said.