a Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | When one of Africa’s richest men joined Twitter and posted his first tweet on May 11 this year, the fanfare in his native Nigeria was immediate. News that Femi Otedola had opened an account spread like wildfire and the billionaire head of Forte Oil …
Read More »Typical tweet shorter since character length doubled
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Twitter on Tuesday confirmed that a year after doubling the character limit for tweets, the average length of messages fired off in English actually got a smidge shorter. The news promised to allay concerns that raising the character limit from 140 to 280 …
Read More »Gabon official websites hacked: Anonymous group
Libreville, Gabon | AFP | The Anonymous hackers collective on Sunday claimed it hacked into more than 70 Gabon government websites, as part of what it called a campaign against dictatorships. Government sites including the ministries of communications and the civil service were inaccessible on Sunday, as were the websites …
Read More »Facebook simplifies Messenger app
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Facebook on Tuesday announced an overhaul of its Messenger smartphone app in an effort to simplify the service for its 1.3 billion monthly global users. The social network began rolling out a redesigned version featuring three tabs instead of nine, saying it was …
Read More »Japan orders Facebook to improve data protection
Tokyo, Japan | AFP | The Japanese government on Monday ordered Facebook to improve protection of users’ personal information following data breaches affecting tens of millions of people worldwide. Facebook said early this month that hackers accessed the personal data of 29 million users in a breach at the world’s …
Read More »Facebook says hackers accessed data of 29 mn users
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 »