BGP ISSUES: When one types Facebook.com into a web browser, the browser has no idea where to find Facebook.com, and so returns an error page San Francisco, USA | THE INDEPENDENT | Facebook and its sister properties Instagram and WhatsApp are suffering from ongoing, global outages, according to tech investigators …
Read More »WhatsApp groups enhance security in communities
COMMENT | Samson Tinka | In the night of 3rd July 2021, thieves scaled into the compound of one Mukasa in Nabusanke – Sseguku Katale community. Immediately the household members posted the break-in on the village WhatsApp group. Some members on the WhatsApp group had contacts to the nearest police post …
Read More »Internet, social media disrupted ahead of Thursday polls
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A number of social media sites have been blocked ahead of the general election on Thursday, January, 14. Ugandans will go to the polls to elect president and Members of Parliament. Many Ugandans are now unable to access Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp or even connect to …
Read More »WhatsApp tightens sharing limits to curb virus misinformation
San Francisco, United States | AFP | WhatsApp on Tuesday placed new limits on message forwarding as part of an effort to curb the spread of misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic. The new policy limits users to forwarding certain messages to one “chat” at a time, aiming to limit the rapid propagation of content which is …
Read More »Facebook-owned WhatsApp hits 2 billion users mark
San Francisco, United States | AFP | The Facebook-owned messaging service WhatsApp said Wednesday it now has more than two billion users around the world, as it reaffirmed its stand on the need for strong encryption to protect privacy. WhatsApp, acquired by Facebook in 2014, has grown into one of …
Read More »WhatsApp becomes battleground in Mali’s jihad conflict
Bamako, Mali | AFP | A digital war is unfolding in Mali alongside a jihadist conflict that has claimed thousands of lives: the battle to sway young minds is being waged on the mobile phone. “Jihadists today are recruiting on WhatsApp. We have to stop the bloodshed,” said Hama Cisse, a …
Read More »US pressures tech giants over encrypted WhatsApp messages
Washington, United States | AFP | The US government on Friday urged tech giants to allow police to read encrypted messages, saying access was essential to prevent serious crime despite privacy concerns. After Facebook rejected giving access to law enforcement agencies, US Attorney General William Barr upped the pressure by …
Read More »WhatsApp urges update after ‘serious’ security breach
San Francisco, United States | AFP | WhatsApp on Tuesday encouraged its users to upgrade the app to plug a security breach that allowed sophisticated attackers to sneak spyware into phones, in the latest trouble for its parent Facebook. The vulnerability — first reported by the Financial Times, and fixed in …
Read More »Whatsapp will soon let you punish annoying friends
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | We’ve all had friends who like to lord it over the rest of us in real life as well as the virtual world. But now you’ll be able to take revenge on controlling people who seize control of your Whatsapp group chats and won’t relinquish …
Read More »WhatsApp bans European under-16s from using app
Paris, France | AFP | WhatsApp has raised its minimum age for users in the European Union to 16 years, as the bloc prepares for a new online privacy law to come into force next month. In an update to its terms of service on Wednesday, WhatsApp said the minimum age …
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