San Francisco, United States | AFP | Facebook said Friday that hackers accessed personal data of 29 million users in a breach at the world’s leading social network disclosed late last month. The company had originally said up to 50 million accounts were affected in a cyberattack that exploited a …
Read More »Instagram ramps up battle against bullying
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Instagram on Tuesday added more weapons to battle cyber bullying, using artificial intelligence to scan photos for abusive content at the Facebook-owned service. The move comes after Facebook also increased anti-harassment measures, following a survey which said young victims of online abuse feel …
Read More »Africa’s attack on internet freedom
While Washington turns a blind eye, autocrats across the continent are muzzling their citizens online Kampala, Uganda | HILARY MATFESS & JEFFREY SMITH | In August 2017, during a new media roundtable between leaders from China and Tanzania, the Tanzanian deputy communications minister praised the Beijing government for blocking social media …
Read More »Spotify to stop promoting R. Kelly songs over sex abuse claims
New York, United States | AFP | Spotify on Thursday announced it would no longer feature R. Kelly songs in its playlists or user recommendations, after the Time’s Up movement for gender equality urged the music business to dump the R&B star over sexual abuse allegations. The move marks the …
Read More »JUMIA: 2017 results overshadow those of 2016
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A year-on-year 94% Quarter-4 growth boosted Jumia financial figures for 2017 as the marketplace’s platforms significantly scaled the number of orders. According to a statement on their 2017 annual results, Jumia stated that the rise was as a result of effort to increasingly address daily …
Read More »Egypt arrests blogger known for YouTube videos
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | An Egyptian blogger famed for his satirical videos on YouTube and Facebook has been arrested, his family said on Monday. Shadi Abuzeid was detained at home on Sunday, his sister Rula told AFP. “Lawyers told us that Shadi was currently held by the state security …
Read More »Up to 95% of cyber-crimes go unreported, report
95% of cybercrimes go unreported, report Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | According to the Uganda Cyber Security report 2017, 95% of cyber security incidents went unreported and yet of those reported; only 4.4% of reported cases were followed to successful prosecution. The report released early this month by the African …
Read More »Google to show who is behind US political ads
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Google on Friday said that people looking to place US election ads on its platform will need to show identification, and make clear who is paying. Policy changes being rolled out come as online ad ‘duopoly’ Google and Facebook strive to avoid being …
Read More »Court provisionally blocks Tanzania’s new blogging law
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Tanzania’s high court on Friday temporarily suspended a controversial new law that would impose major fees on bloggers and other online media. Due to come into force on Saturday, the law would compel bloggers to pay $900 (750 euros) for a permit, a huge sum …
Read More »Twitter urges users to change ‘unmasked’ passwords
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Twitter on Thursday urged its more than 300 million users to change their passwords, saying they had been unintentionally “unmasked” inside the company by a software bug. The social media site said it found no sign that hackers accessed the exposed data, but …
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