<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/107007566-1643309717837-gettyimages-1237397004-Metaverse_Concept_VR.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-415254" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/107007566-1643309717837-gettyimages-1237397004-Metaverse_Concept_VR.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/107007566-1643309717837-gettyimages-1237397004-Metaverse_Concept_VR-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/107007566-1643309717837-gettyimages-1237397004-Metaverse_Concept_VR-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Citizens try out a virtual reality experience at the opening of Cheonan Qianshu Shopping mall, Shanghai, China, On December 22, 2021. Virtual reality is a key part of the concept of the metaverse. Xing Yun | Costfoto | Future Publishing | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Imagine this: the metaverse with Chinese characteristics. That’s how the virtual world that everyone’s talking about will likely look in the world’s second-largest economy.



China’s technology giants are beginning to invest in the metaverse — the latest buzzword in internet technology. It’s a term with no concrete definition, but largely taken to mean virtual worlds that people will be playing and living in.



Censorship will likely be rife and regulation tight as Beijing continues to keep a close check on the practices of its domestic technology firms.



U.S. firms like Facebook parent Meta are going all-in on the metaverse concept, while Microsoft has positioned its proposed acquisition of gaming company Activision as a play on this theme.



Chinese firms are taking a more cautious approach. So what are they up to and how will regulation play out?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-are-the-apps"><a></a>What are the apps?</h2>



In China, the total addressable market for the metaverse could be 52 trillion yuan, or around $8 trillion, Morgan Stanley said in a note published last month.



Companies like Tencent, NetEase, TikTok owner ByteDance and Alibaba could be the front-runners in this space among China’s internet companies.



That comes down to the type of applications that could be part of the metaverse. Analysts say that virtual reality, gaming and social media could be some of the early applications.



This may include things like buying virtual items in games or creating digital avatars of yourself to participate in meetings.



“Metaverse is the future of social network. All China’s tech giants have to embrace it to find new ways to engage the youngest generation of internet users, which is critical at the time when their business models on smartphones and mobile internet are matured,” Winston Ma, managing partner at CloudTree Ventures, told CNBC.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="china-s-tech-giants-in-the-metaverse"><a></a>China’s tech giants in the metaverse</h2>



In an earnings call in November, Tencent CEO Pony Ma said the metaverse will be an opportunity to add growth to existing industries such as gaming. Tencent is the world’s largest gaming company with a strong portfolio of PC and mobile games.



Tencent also owns WeChat, a messaging service with over a billion users that has social media aspects.



Ma said the company has “a lot of the technology and know-how building blocks” to explore and develop the metaverse.



Meanwhile, ByteDance has made an aggressive expansion into gaming over the last year. In August, the company acquired virtual reality headset maker Pico. ByteDance also owns TikTok, the short-form video app, and its Chinese equivalent Douyin. The Beijing-headquartered firm has laid foundations in VR, social media and gaming.



Alibaba this year said it plans to launch augmented reality glasses for virtual meetings. Augmented reality refers to virtual images overlaid on the real world. Again, this could be a play on the metaverse. The e-commerce giant launched a “virtual influencer” named Dong Dong for the Winter Olympics in Beijing. The digital avatar can be found on Alibaba’s Taobao shopping app and provides facts about the Olympics and also promotes items related to the Games.



NetEase, another one of China’s gaming giants, has set up a base in the southern province of Hainan focused on the development of metaverse applications, local media reported last year.



Search giant Baidu launched a metaverse app last year called XiRang, a sort of virtual world that can hold up to 100,000 people at once. Baidu executives, however, downplayed expectations of the app at its launch and said many aspects were not yet up to par. Ma Jie, a vice president at Baidu, said it could be another six years until a full launch.



Still, there are signs that China’s biggest technology names are beginning to experiment and lay the groundwork for future applications.



“Similar to the pitch we’ve seen from Meta, the metaverse concept may at first involved VR/AR-supported games and social interactive environments,” Charles Mok, the founder of Tech For Good Asia, told CNBC.



“These will obviously be the areas that China big tech players will follow first, with features that are advanced in China — such as payment, and WeChat-like integrated online services — that can be extended and built into the metaverse.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="china-s-regulated-metaverse"><a></a>China’s regulated metaverse</h2>



The metaverse push by Chinese tech firms comes after an intense year of regulatory scrutiny on the country’s tech sector.



New anti-monopoly laws for internet platforms were proposed, while a landmark personal data protection law has been passed. Beijing has also cut the amount of time children under 18 years of age are allowed to play online games.



Analysts said these existing pieces of legislation will likely be used to regulate metaverse applications as well, even as new ones are developed.



“The sheer diversity of metaverse applications means developing a ‘one-fits-all’ set of policies will not be feasible for Beijing,” Hanyu Liu, China market analyst at Daxue Consulting, told CNBC.



“Each specific application would receive its own unique set of regulations that builds upon existing legislature.”



China also continues to censor content on its tightly controlled internet.



“We should also expect to see strict censorship, meaning there will most likely be an isolated, Chinese metaverse that is separate from the international,” Liu said.



There are more specific pieces of regulation that analysts said could be used to manage the metaverse.



In January, authorities passed a set of regulations that governs how internet firms can use recommendation algorithms. That was followed by draft rules regarding so-called “deep synthesis” technology. This relates to software that could be used to generate or edit voices, video or images or virtual settings. The two rules overlap.



“This overlap with the recent algorithm rule as specifically required by the new rule would have important impact on Metaverse companies in China,” Ma said.



Even Chinese cities and regions are looking at opportunities for the metaverse. Last year, the major city of Shanghai mentioned the metaverse in its five-year development plan for the information technology industry.



“China is extremely smart when it comes to this. It knows just when and where it needs to stay its hand; close enough so that it can keep a careful watch, but not to the point where it would cause irreversible harm to the industry,” Liu said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="what-about-crypto"><a></a>What about crypto?</h2>



Some metaverse applications may rely on cryptocurrencies. For example, if you are buying some sort of virtual land or item, you could pay with a digital currency.



This is likely to be problematic in China, where the government has looked to wipe out trading and the so-called mining of cryptocurrencies.



Meanwhile, the government has been promoting its own central bank-issued digital currency, known as the digital yuan or e-CNY.



“There’ll likely be very limited options for crypto,” Liu from Daxue Consulting said, adding that China’s digital currency might be used instead in metaverse payment applications.

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China’s tech giants push toward an $8 trillion metaverse opportunity — one that will be highly regulated

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/106908631-1625805682269-gettyimages-1327731017-vcg111338081794.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-414454" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/106908631-1625805682269-gettyimages-1327731017-vcg111338081794.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/106908631-1625805682269-gettyimages-1327731017-vcg111338081794-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/106908631-1625805682269-gettyimages-1327731017-vcg111338081794-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>An Ubtech Walker X Robot plays Chinese chess during 2021 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) at Shanghai World Expo Center on July 8, 2021 in Shanghai, China. VCG | VCG via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Machines are getting smarter and smarter every year, but artificial intelligence is yet to live up to the hype that’s been generated by some of the world’s largest technology companies.



AI can excel at specific narrow tasks such as playing chess but it struggles to do more than one thing well. A seven-year-old has far broader intelligence than any of today’s AI systems, for example.



“AI algorithms are good at approaching individual tasks, or tasks that include a small degree of variability,” Edward Grefenstette, a research scientist at Meta AI, formerly Facebook AI Research, told CNBC.



“However, the real world encompasses significant potential for change, a dynamic which we are bad at capturing within our training algorithms, yielding brittle intelligence,” he added.



AI researchers have started to show that there are ways to efficiently adapt AI training methods to changing environments or tasks, resulting in more robust agents, Grefenstette said. He believes there will be more industrial and scientific applications of such methods this year that will produce “noticeable leaps.”



While AI still has a long way to go before anything like human-level intelligence is achieved, it hasn’t stopped the likes of Google, Facebook (Meta) and Amazon investing billions of dollars into hiring talented AI researchers who can potentially improve everything from search engines and voice assistants to aspects of the so-called “metaverse.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/meet-the-needs-of-women-in-the-market-by-having-women-in-the-workforce/">Meet the needs of women in the market by having women in the workforce</a></h3>



Anthropologist Beth Singler, who studies AI and robots at the University of Cambridge, told CNBC that claims about the effectiveness and reality of AI in spaces that are now being labeled as the metaverse will become more commonplace in 2022 as more money is invested in the area and the public start to recognize the “metaverse” as a term and a concept.



Singler also warned that there could be “too little discussion” in 2022 of the effect of the metaverse on people’s “identities, communities, and rights.”



Gary Marcus, a scientist who sold an AI start-up to Uber and is currently executive chairman of another firm called Robust AI, told CNBC that the most important AI breakthrough in 2022 will likely be one that the world doesn’t immediately see.



“The cycle from lab discovery to practicality can take years,” he said, adding that the field of deep learning still has a long way to go. Deep learning is an area of AI that attempts to mimic the activity in layers of neurons in the brain to learn how to recognize complex patterns in data.



Marcus believes the most important challenge for AI right now is to “find a good way of combining all the world’s immense knowledge of science and technology” with deep learning. At the moment “deep learning can’t leverage all that knowledge and instead is stuck again and again trying to learn everything from scratch,” he said.



“I predict there will be progress on this problem this year that will ultimately be transformational, towards what I called hybrid systems, but that it’ll be another few years before we see major dividends,” Marcus added. “The thing that we probably will see this year or next is the first medicine in which AI played a substantial role in the discovery process.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-deepmind-s-next-steps"><a></a>DeepMind’s next steps</h2>



One of the biggest AI breakthroughs in the last couple of years has come from London-headquartered research lab DeepMind, which is owned by Alphabet.



The company has successfully created AI software that can accurately predict the structure that proteins will fold into in a matter of days, solving a 50-year-old “grand challenge” that could pave the way for better understanding of diseases and drug discovery.



Neil Lawrence, a professor of machine learning at the University of Cambridge, told CNBC that he expects to see DeepMind target more big science questions in 2022.



Language models — AI systems that can generate convincing text, converse with humans, respond to questions, and more — are also set to improve in 2022.



The best-known language model is OpenAI’s GPT-3 but DeepMind said in December that its new “RETRO” language model can beat others 25 times its size.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/bosses-putting-a-digital-leash-on-remote-workers-could-be-crossing-a-privacy-line/">Bosses putting a ‘digital leash’ on remote workers could be crossing a privacy line</a></h3>



Catherine Breslin, a machine learning scientist who used to work on Amazon Alexa, thinks Big Tech will race toward larger and larger language models next year.



Breslin, who now runs AI consultancy firm Kingfisher Labs, told CNBC that there will also be a move toward models that combine vision, speech and language capability, rather than treat them as separate tasks.



Nathan Benaich, a venture capitalist with Air Street Capital and the co-author of the annual State of AI report, told CNBC that a new breed of companies will likely use language models to predict the most effective RNA (ribonucleic acid) sequences.



“Last year we witnessed the impact of RNA technologies as novel covid vaccines, many of them built on this technology, brought an end to nation-wide lockdowns,” he said. “This year, I believe we will see a new crop of AI-first RNA therapeutic companies. Using language models to predict the most effective RNA sequences to target a disease of interest, these new companies could dramatically speed up the time it takes to discover new drugs and vaccines.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Ethical concerns</h2>



While a number of advancements could be around the corner, there are major concerns around the ethics of AI, which can be highly discriminative and biased when trained on certain datasets. AI systems are also being used to power autonomous weapons and to generate fake porn.



Verena Rieser, a professor of conversational AI at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, told CNBC that there will be a stronger focus on ethical questions around AI in 2022.



“I don’t know whether AI will be able to do much ‘new’ stuff by the end of 2022 but hopefully it will do it better,” she said, adding that this means it would be fairer, less biased and more inclusive.



Samim Winiger, an independent AI researcher who used to work for a Big Tech firm, added that he believes there will be revelations around the use of machine learning models in financial markets, spying, and health care.



“It will raise major questions about privacy, legality, ethics and economics,” he told CNBC.

106908631-1625805682269-gettyimages-1327731017-vcg111338081794

How A.I. is set to evolve in 2022

Naspers has injected 34 million Rand into insuretech company Ctrl. This is the first insuretech investment for Naspers Foundry. Founded in 2017, Ctrl connects consumers, brokers, and insurers in one platform. Joining CNBC Africa to shed more light on this investment is Fabian Whate, the head of Naspers foundry. Full interview transcript follows. 





Fabian Whate Yeah, so firstly, thanks so much bV for having me on the show. Much appreciated something a lot of the you know, like a lot of the the tech sector in South Africa, Ctrl is a mostly a b2b focused business. And so they don&#8217;t, you know, there&#8217;s there&#8217;s not a big sort of consumer-facing presence, which is, which would explain why they&#8217;ve never come up with your potentially why they&#8217;ve never come up on your radar. 



Fifi Peters Because I was looking at the description of what you had bought, and the statement that you issued, and the picture that came to mind about this business was a hippo.co.za So would that be the most accurate description of what you bought here, or the most closest competitor? 







Fabian Whate Yeah, so I think there&#8217;s there&#8217;s definitely a few players in the market who are doing things that that look somewhat similar, and not to take anything away from, from those indirect competitors, we do see Ctrl as, as as quite a unique animal. So I&#8217;ll give you a bit of a bit of a flavor of what it is controlled as. So Ctrl, as you mentioned, this is an insurer tech business. And they basically are a marketplace that connects insurers. On the one side. On the other side, you&#8217;ve got consumers, and and in the middle, you&#8217;ve got traditional insurance brokers, as well as large consumer facing businesses who are looking to cross sell insurance. So I think it&#8217;s it&#8217;s, yeah, it&#8217;s somewhat different to hippo. 







Fifi Peters And then can you give us a sense of how this company has performed since it first opened? its doors physical or virtual? But what kind of growth? Have we seen over the years? What is the existing client or customer base presently? 







Fabian Whate Yeah, so we, I mean, it&#8217;s hard for me to share exact data given the company&#8217;s private and that information is not publicly available. But what I can say is, is that the company&#8217;s customer base, and this comprises, as I said, mostly large sort of enterprises, as well as smaller traditional brokers, that customer base has grown multiples over the last couple of years. 







Fifi Peters Alright, being shown the numbers, so the numbers that you have given is the 34 million Rand that you&#8217;re injecting into the business. Perhaps I was incorrect and calling this an acquisition. What exactly is this? And how does the ownership structure change with this injection?







Fabian Whate Yeah. So Naspers Foundry is a minority equity investor, right? So we don&#8217;t have as you rightly pointed out, we don&#8217;t do acquisitions, but rather, we invest in businesses, and we&#8217;ve back phenomenal founders to continue to run and expand those businesses. And that&#8217;s exactly what we&#8217;ve done in the case of Ctrl. We&#8217;ve injected 34 million Rand into the business and and for that 34 million Rand we will become a a minority, equity holder shareholder within that business, along with other shareholders, which includes the founders, which continue to own the bulk of the business. And then our co shareholder is is Santam in this business. So yeah, and with that 34 million Rand, the core focus is on growing the business and particularly expanding the team in the areas of tech in the areas of customer service, further marketing spend, and also the businesses looking to expand from serving not only consumers, but also commercial SME customers. So those are some of the uses of of the proceeds of the transaction. 







Fifi Peters Okay, interesting. So just in terms of the future and what it does look like with yourselves and some time as you mentioned, as as a partner, so this gross Can you perhaps give us a little more details as to how it will be? achieved and what you&#8217;re hoping to achieve over what timeframe? 







Fabian Whate Yeah, yeah. So in the near term, the business is very much focused on on one, improving product, and continuing to refine the tech platform. Secondly, there&#8217;s a big push in terms of onboarding and new customers, right. So both large consumer-facing businesses who would want to cross-sell insurance. And again, I&#8217;ll add a bit of detail on that for now. And then secondly, you know, continuing to to recruit and onboard insurance brokers. So on on the consumer platform side, what what the business does is it takes a again, I want to mention, I don&#8217;t want to mention names and a giveaway the client base here, but basically what it does is it takes a large consumer-facing business that already has an existing customer base, and it allows that business to cross the insurance into that customer base, and thereby generate incremental revenue from that existing customer base. On the broker side, it allows the broker to digitalize its its existing customer base, therefore making it more efficient and extending the brokers ability, you know, to one serve its customers more efficiently, and also, at the same time provide, you know, better levels of service. So it really is a win-win to everyone involved within you know, within this marketplace ecosystem.

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Naspers invests R34mn in insurtech firm, Ctrl

July 21 (Reuters) – All iPhones released next year will be 5G-capable, including Apple’s first revamp of its budget handset in two years, Nikkei <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/Apple-to-go-all-in-on-5G-for-its-2022-iPhone-lineup">reported </a>on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.



The company will not introduce any new 4G models from 2022, the report said. (Reporting by Sneha Bhowmik in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)



(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions – https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html

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Apple to release all 5G enabled iPhones for 2022 lineup

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Are Tech Giants the 4th Tier of Government?

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/twitter-1795652_1280-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-406024" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/twitter-1795652_1280-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/twitter-1795652_1280-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/twitter-1795652_1280-120x80.jpg 120w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/twitter-1795652_1280-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/twitter-1795652_1280.jpg 1280w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Photo via Wikipedia</figcaption></figure>



 A West African court said on Tuesday that Nigerian authorities could not prosecute people for using Twitter while it considered a suit seeking to overturn a ban on its use, a non-governmental group that initiated the legal action said.



The government on June 4 indefinitely suspended Twitter, two days after the social media platform removed a post from President Muhammadu Buhari that threatened to punish regional secessionists, which Twitter said violated its rules.



Soci-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), a Nigerian NGO, along with other groups, went to court to fight the ban, arguing that it was a violation of human rights.



The Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said it was restraining the Nigerian government from acting against citizens or media outlets over the use of Twitter, pending a substantive ruling on the core issue, according to a statement from SERAP.



Reuters was not immediately able to reach the ECOWAS court, and spokesmen for the Nigeria&#8217;s president were not immediately available for comment.



The Nigerian attorney general said on June 5 that those who defied the ban should be prosecuted, but did not provide any details as to which law would be invoked.



(Reporting by Tife Owolabi, additional reporting by Camillus Eboh and Felix Onuah, Writing by Estelle Shirbon, Editing by William Maclean)

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W.African court says Nigeria cannot prosecute over Twitter use

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106871041-1618938650799-Screen_Shot_2021-04-20_at_10924_PM.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-402393" width="837" height="471" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106871041-1618938650799-Screen_Shot_2021-04-20_at_10924_PM.jpg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106871041-1618938650799-Screen_Shot_2021-04-20_at_10924_PM-300x169.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 837px) 100vw, 837px" /><figcaption>Apple Airtag Source: Apple Inc.</figcaption></figure>



On Tuesday,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/AAPL" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Apple</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/20/apple-event-live-updates.html">announced</a>&nbsp;a long-awaited gadget called AirTag. Users can attach the $29 coin-sized device to valuables such as keys or a backpack, then, if the item gets lost, locate it on a live map inside Apple’s built-in Find My software.



AirTag competes with a number of other products on the market, including from Tile, whose general counsel complained before Congress on Wednesday about Apple’s overall dominance.



But AirTag’s most important differentiating feature isn’t the technology inside the $29 coin-sized stainless steel gadget. It’s other people’s iPhones.



AirTag doesn’t have a GPS signal, which would rapidly drain its battery and raise privacy questions. Instead, when it’s attached to a lost object, it sends out scrambled Bluetooth signals. For those signals to reach the internet and inform the person who’s looking for their lost device, they’ll need to find an iPhone that’s listening for them.



″Using Bluetooth and the hundreds of millions of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS devices in active use around the world, the user can locate a missing device even if it can’t connect to a Wi-Fi or cellular network,” Apple explained in&nbsp;<a href="https://support.apple.com/guide/security/find-my-security-sec6cbc80fd0/web" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a security disclosure about the Find My service</a>. “Any iOS, iPadOS, or macOS device with ‘offline finding’ enabled in Find My settings can act as a ‘finder device.’”



The product represents a new frontier for Apple: using its install base of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/27/apple-aapl-earnings-q1-2021.html">over 1 billion iPhones</a>&nbsp;as infrastructure to build services that its competitors can’t. Now iPhones are part of a physical network out in the world that’s looking out for stolen goods — even if their users have never purchased an AirTag.



“The bottom line is AirTag is an example of Apple leveraging its ecosystem to create a more compelling product than what is currently in the market,” Loup Ventures founder Gene Munster wrote in a newsletter on Tuesday. “Specifically, AirTag will have better navigation and discovery features, along with a billion-plus device network that can be utilized to help locate lost items.”



Enrolling in the Find My network does have benefits to iPhone users who don’t buy AirTags. Many users sign up because the same app can be used to find lost Apple products, and it’s easy to do when signing into an iCloud account on an iPhone.



The Find My network can be used to find an iPhone after it’s been shut off, as thieves often do after stealing a phone. (If the device is on, it can be contacted through Find My iPhone, a similar service that uses the device’s internet connection and predates the Find My network.)



Users can also opt out of the Find My network in Apple’s settings, although that means they don’t get the benefits of the network, such as finding devices that have been turned off or aren’t connected to cellular or Bluetooth. (To do so, go to Settings &gt; Your Name &gt; Find My &gt; Find My iPhone &gt; and then toggle “Find My network” on or off.)



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-vast-global-network">A vast, global network</h2>



The number of devices participating in the network is crucial for a product such as AirTag.



Apple describes its Find My service as a “vast, global network” and allows third-party accessory makers to release products that use it, too.



If an AirTag is lost in the middle of a desert with no Apple devices in Bluetooth range, it can’t connect to the internet to send signals or update the user’s map. But in the middle of an American city, where an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.counterpointresearch.com/us-smartphone-installed-base-sees-steady-2019-growth-strong-top-end-dominance/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">estimated</a>&nbsp;42% of people have iPhones — more in some areas — you’re much more likely to find a device that’s looking for your lost AirTag.



Apple CEO Tim Cook has previously described Apple’s product strategy as “<a href="https://daringfireball.net/2014/06/only_apple" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">only Apple</a>,” suggesting that because the company builds hardware, develops software and runs its own online services, it can introduce features that rivals such as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/MSFT" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Microsoft</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/GOOGL" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google</a>&nbsp;and Samsung can’t.



While Samsung and other major smartphone vendors have similar numbers of phones in people’s hands, they don’t control the underlying operating system, making features such as Find My much more difficult to implement widely at once.



For Apple, AirTag is probably an effort to add distinguishing features to its iPhone to discourage current users from switching to an Android device. It’s not likely to be a major revenue driver.



“While the Airtags are incremental to our model we do not believe even a very successful launch of that product will have much impact on our forecasts given the low $29 price point,” Goldman Sachs analyst Rod Hall wrote in a note Tuesday.



If Apple becomes more skilled at using its installed devices as privacy-sensitive infrastructure, it could represent a durable advantage for the company. Apple’s installed base of iPhones could become especially important as it invests heavily in augmented reality, a technology that merges the physical and digital worlds.



A network of location-aware iPhones could be used in augmented reality apps such as Pokemon Go, for example, to identify where other players are competing and start a group experience. It provides the sensors and internet connection needed for building digital experiences in the real world without building new equipment each time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-privacy-angle">The privacy angle</h2>



AirTag also represents a major test for Apple’s privacy positioning.



Since 2015, Apple has advertised privacy and security as major differentiators for its iPhone. It has consistently built systems, such as Covid tracking exposure notifications, that are decentralized, which means they are designed in a way that data is processed and calculated on a device instead of on servers that Apple can access.



Apple is building on that reputation to assure customers that its Find My system won’t leak user location or data when acting as a finding device. Apple says the Find My network keeps location data private and anonymous and that it doesn’t store location data or history.



How Apple pulls it off is a matter of complicated software engineering. “Find My is built on a foundation of advanced public key cryptography,” Apple’s&nbsp;<a href="https://support.apple.com/guide/security/find-my-security-sec6cbc80fd0/web" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">security disclosure says</a>.



Now Apple’s users will need to decide whether they understand and trust the Find My network and Apple — both as users of them, and as iPhone users participating in them to make them work better.

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Apple’s AirTag relies on a feature no competitor can match: 1 billion iPhones

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/32244014491_1fbfc47b5a_k-820x615.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-402270" width="837" height="628" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/32244014491_1fbfc47b5a_k-820x615.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/32244014491_1fbfc47b5a_k-300x225.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/32244014491_1fbfc47b5a_k-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/32244014491_1fbfc47b5a_k-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/32244014491_1fbfc47b5a_k.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 837px) 100vw, 837px" /><figcaption>Photo: via Flicker</figcaption></figure>



SHANGHAI, April 21 (Reuters) &#8211; Tencent Holdings Ltd is the best of China&#8217;s energy-guzzling cloud services providers when it comes to tackling carbon emissions and procuring from renewable sources, Greenpeace said in a research report.



Internet firms now rank among the biggest corporate consumers of electricity, and in China rely largely on carbon-intensive coal-fired power to keep their data centres humming around the clock.



The environmental group has predicted that energy consumption by China&#8217;s data centre industry will rise by two-thirds between 2019 and 2023, at which point the sector&#8217;s total power use will equal the whole of Australia&#8217;s.



Tencent had a positive record on transparency and had increased renewable energy procurement, Greenpeace said, without giving details.



The gaming and social media giant also said in January it would work towards carbon neutrality, although it did not give a target date.



Huawei Technologies ranked second and Baidu Inc third. Alibaba fell from first place last year to fourth with Greenpeace saying it had performed poorly in disclosing energy data and switching to renewable energy sources.



Alibaba said in a statement that it was committed to developing green data centres. &#8220;It is our ongoing mission to embed eco-friendliness to our technologies,&#8221; it said.



The report analysed the performance of China&#8217;s 22 largest cloud and data centre companies in areas such as renewable energy, energy efficiency and data transparency.



Thirteen of those companies have begun to actively procure renewable energy, up from eight in 2019, but only Baidu and the Chindata Group have renewable energy usage rates higher than 3%, it said.



Greenpeace urged internet and data centre firms to aim for 100% renewable energy use and to become carbon neutral by the end of the decade.



The Chindata Group is the only major Chinese firm to promise to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, it said. 



(Reporting by David Stanway and Josh Horwitz; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Jan Harvey)

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Tencent tops Greenpeace clean energy rankings for China Big Tech

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/105013883-rsz_gettyimages-917474098.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-401544" width="837" height="471" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/105013883-rsz_gettyimages-917474098.jpg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/105013883-rsz_gettyimages-917474098-300x169.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 837px) 100vw, 837px" /><figcaption>The Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange application seen on the screen of an iPhone. Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/bitcoin/">Bitcoin</a>&nbsp;surged to a fresh record high of more than $63,000 on Tuesday, as investors awaited the highly-anticipated stock market debut of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.



The price of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=BTC.CM=">bitcoin</a>&nbsp;climbed 5% in the last 24 hours to hit $63,171, according to data from Coin Metrics, before easing slightly to around $62,653.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=ETH.CM=">Ether</a>, the second-most valuable digital coin after bitcoin, also set a fresh record, climbing to $2,222.



Coinbase is <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/01/coinbase-direct-listing-set-for-april-14-after-sec-approval.html">set to go public</a> on Wednesday through a direct listing that could value the company at as much as $100 billion — more than major trading venue operators like <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/ICE" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Intercontinental Exchange</a>, owner of the New York Stock Exchange. Crypto investors are hailing the company’s stock market debut as a major milestone for the industry after years of skepticism from Wall Street and regulators.



“This is really good and really important for the industry,” Marcus Swanepoel, CEO and co-founder of London-based cryptocurrency platform Luno, told CNBC. “It’s going to increase the trust and transparency in our industry.”



“There’s still a bit of distrust in the industry and I think having a company of that size be public is going to help a lot of people realize that this is not just an asset class to take seriously but also a business to take seriously.”



Coinbase, founded in 2012, is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States. It’s seen surging revenues this year thanks to a climb in the value of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The company&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/06/coinbase-reports-estimated-q1-revenue-of-1point8-billion-up-nine-fold.html">reported estimated revenues of $1.8 billion in the first quarter</a>&nbsp;of 2021, a nine-fold increase from the same period a year earlier, while profits grew to between $730 million and $800 million.



Bitcoin has more than doubled in price since the start of this year, as mainstream investors jumped into cryptocurrencies. Tesla recently&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/08/tesla-buys-1point5-billion-in-bitcoin.html">made a $1.5 billion bet on bitcoin</a>&nbsp;and now&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/24/elon-musk-says-people-can-now-buy-a-tesla-with-bitcoin.html">accepts the digital currency as a method of payment</a>&nbsp;for its cars. Meanwhile, Wall Street giants like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/GS" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Goldman Sachs</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/MS" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Morgan Stanley</a>&nbsp;are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/31/bitcoin-goldman-is-close-to-offering-bitcoin-to-its-richest-clients.html">looking to offer their wealthy clients some exposure to bitcoin</a>.



Bitcoin bulls view the cryptocurrency as a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/23/microstrategy-ceo-michael-saylor-sees-bitcoin-100-trillion-market-value-one-day.html">store of value</a>&nbsp;akin to gold that can be used to diversify investment portfolios in times of economic crisis. But&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/02/joseph-stiglitz-we-should-shutdown-the-cryptocurrencies.html">skeptical economists like Joseph Stiglitz</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/08/nouriel-roubini-and-michael-novogratz-battle-over-bitcoin-and-crypto.html">Nouriel Roubini are unconvinced</a>, viewing bitcoin as extremely volatile and a vehicle for illegal transactions.

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Bitcoin hits new all-time high above $63,000 ahead of Coinbase debut

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="517" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/linkedin-teamate-1024x646-1-820x517.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-401254" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/linkedin-teamate-1024x646-1-820x517.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/linkedin-teamate-1024x646-1-300x189.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/linkedin-teamate-1024x646-1-768x485.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/linkedin-teamate-1024x646-1.jpeg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Photo: Dreamstime.com</figcaption></figure>



April 9 (Reuters) &#8211; Some LinkedIn data, including publicly viewable member profile, has been extracted and posted for sale, Microsoft Corp&#8217;s professional networking site said based on an investigation.



The incident was not a data breach and no private member account data from the platform was included, LinkedIn said in a <a href="https://bit.ly/3uB4nEy">blog post</a> on Thursday, adding that the information on sale is a collection of data from a number of websites and companies.



LinkedIn declined to provide more details on the incident, including the number of users affected.



CyberNews had <a href="https://bit.ly/3uCaNTP">reported</a> on April 6 that an archive of data scraped from 500 million LinkedIn profiles was put for sale on a popular hacker forum.



Earlier this week, Facebook Inc said &#8220;malicious actors&#8221; had obtained data prior to September 2019 by &#8220;scraping&#8221; profiles using a vulnerability in the platform&#8217;s tool for syncing contacts.



The world&#8217;s largest social network did not the notify more than 530 million users whose details were obtained through the misuse and recently made public in a database, and does not have plans to do so, a company spokesman said on Wednesday.



(Reporting by Akanksha Rana and Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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LinkedIn says some user data extracted and posted for sale

LAGOS, March 10 (Reuters) &#8211; Africa-focused payments company Flutterwave could consider a New York listing, its chief executive said after it raised $170 million from investors to expand its customer base, pushing its valuation up to more than $1 billion.



Founded in 2016 by Nigerians and headquartered in San Francisco, the company specialises in individual and consumer transfers.



It is one of several fintech groups aiming to facilitate and capitalise on a booming African payments market driven by increased mobile phone use and faster internet speeds.



&#8220;We may consider the possibility of listing in New York or a possible dual listing in New York and Nigeria,&#8221; Flutterwave&#8217;s CEO and co-founder Olugbenga Agboola told Reuters in a telephone interview late on Tuesday.



Flutterwave on Wednesday said it had &#8220;secured $170 million from a leading group of international investors&#8221; to expand its customer base in existing and international markets and to develop new products.



&#8220;The company&#8217;s valuation is now in excess of $1 billion. The fundraise brings the total investment in Flutterwave to $225 million,&#8221; it said in a statement, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic had accelerated the shift to digital payments in Africa.



The fundraising round was led by Avenir Growth Capital and Tiger Global Management LLC.



&#8220;Flutterwave is at the forefront of innovation in payments technology,&#8221; said Jamie Reynolds, a partner at Avenir Growth Capital.



&#8220;We are excited to support the team as they build the last available payments infrastructure frontier in the world – connecting merchants and consumers intra-Africa and globally.&#8221;



Other backers in this funding round included venture capital firms Early Capital Berrywood, Green Visor Capital and Greycroft Capital, as well as U.S. payments company Paypal.



The completion of the fundraising round, a little more than a year after Flutterwave announced a partnership with Visa and Worldpay, highlights the growing interest in the burgeoning payments market in Africa.



In October U.S. payments company Stripe bought Nigerian fintech business Paystack for $200 million and in late 2019 Visa bought a 20% stake in Nigerian payments company Interswitch, the main platform for the country&#8217;s business-to-business transactions. (Reporting by Alexis Akwagyiram in Lagos and Chijioke Ohuocha in Abuja Editing by Jane Merriman and David Goodman)



(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html

3D  rendering illustration of global futuristic abstract background,digital global and data analysis,Global communication network connection concept

African fintech firm Flutterwave eyes U.S. listing after raising $170 mln

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1110" height="677" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/GettyImages-1230597300-1110x677.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-395099" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/GettyImages-1230597300-1110x677.jpg 1110w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/GettyImages-1230597300-300x183.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/GettyImages-1230597300-820x500.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/GettyImages-1230597300-768x468.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/GettyImages-1230597300-1536x936.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/GettyImages-1230597300-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px" /><figcaption>WhatsApp logo on the App Store displayed on a phone screen and WhatsApp logo in the background are seen in this illustration photo taken in Poland on January 14, 2021. Signal and Telegram messenger apps gained popularity due to the new WhatsApp&#8217;s privacy policy. (Photo illustration by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 3 (Reuters) &#8211; Facebook Inc cannot share any contact information it collects from WhatsApp users with its other properties without first obtaining authorisation from South Africa&#8217;s Information Regulator (IR), the agency said on Wednesday.



In January, the Facebook-owned messaging platform WhatsApp informed users it was preparing a new privacy policy, under which it could share some data, including location and phone numbers, with Facebook and its other units such as Instagram and Messenger.



The move has sparked backlash among users in South Africa and elsewhere, and prompted many to opt for rival services such as Signal or Telegram.



&#8220;WhatsApp cannot without obtaining prior authorisation from the IR process any contact information of its users for a purpose other than the one for which the number was specifically intended at collection, with the aim of linking that information jointly with information processed by other Facebook companies,&#8221; the regulator said.



The regulator said its decision was in accordance with section 57 of the Protection of Personal Information Act, South Africa&#8217;s data protection law.



The regulator said that it has written to Facebook South Africa and outlined its concerns about the company&#8217;s privacy policy.



The regulator is also &#8220;very concerned&#8221; that citizens of the European Union will receive significantly higher privacy protection than people in South Africa and Africa generally.



&#8220;Our legislation is very similar to that of the EU. It was based on that model deliberately, as it provides a significantly better model for the protection of personal information than that in other jurisdictions,&#8221; Chairperson of the IR Pansy Tlakula said.



&#8220;We do not understand why Facebook has adopted this differentiation between Europe and Africa.&#8221; Facebook South Africa was not immediately available for comment, while questions sent to Facebook were not immediately answered.



The changes to WhatsApp&#8217;s privacy policy have come under scrutiny globally, with Turkey&#8217;s competition board launching an investigation and a legal challenge filed in India.



(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Aurora Ellis)



(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html

Signal And Telegram Messenger Apps Gained Popularity

South Africa’s information regulator says WhatsApp cannot share users’ contact information

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GettyImages-1215267366-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-398627" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GettyImages-1215267366-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GettyImages-1215267366-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GettyImages-1215267366-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GettyImages-1215267366-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GettyImages-1215267366-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>3D rendering illustration of global futuristic abstract background</figcaption></figure>



Cynthia, a spaza shop owner in Johannesburg opens a fintech lender’s app and authorizes them to fetch her transactions from her mobile money account, which she uses to pay her bills, her bank account into which she deposits her weekly earnings and her money transfer account, which she uses to remit money to relatives.&nbsp;With a full view of her cashflow, she now gets approved for credit instantly and directly receives it into her preferred card. She also uses the app to find an affordable health insurance policy for her family, then sets a saving goal to meet the monthly premium and instructs her bank to save a certain amount every month to reach her&nbsp;goal, which once met, automatically enrols her and helps her prepare for difficult times&#8230;



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">Many of those who are financially unbanked or underserved have an existing relationship with a telco, fintech or micro finance company and so there is an opportunity for banks to benefit from “open data” or “open telco”.</blockquote>



Some innovations have the potential to transform an entire landscape. Apple revolutionized the mobile phone and changed how we connect and communicate with each other. Tesla has reimagined car manufacturing in a software-centred world. One technology that is promising to change how we experience money, and is set to reshape financial services is ‘open banking’.



Open banking&nbsp;can be the game changer for financial services in Africa, assisting individuals and small businesses who traditionally have been underserved by the financial sector.



And while open banking is likely to be a game changer for Africa, could Africa also create a paradigm shift for open banking?&nbsp;Many of those who are financially unbanked or underserved have an existing relationship with a telco, fintech or micro finance company and so there is an opportunity for banks to benefit from “open data” or “open telco”. A move towards such openness – from both the banks and the other parties &#8211; will be needed if we are to unleash the true potential of financial services and give both consumers and businesses greater choice and control.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-is-open-banking">What Is Open Banking?&nbsp;</h2>



Open banking is a collaborative ecosystem in which customer-consented data is shared among financial institutions, merchants and fintechs. This data is exchanged through secure Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and gives customers control of their data and provides them with better products and services. While the open banking experience varies across the globe based on regulatory specifications, there are three common themes:



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Data Access:&nbsp;Banks share customer-consented data—including payment, account, product, and financial information &#8211; with participants in the banking system to make customer experiences more seamless.</li><li>Customer Authentication:&nbsp;Banks enhance their customer authentication rules and consent management, often across multiple industries, to be more strict and more unified.</li><li>Transaction Initiation:&nbsp;Third Party Providers (TPPs) initiate payments—including card, mortgage, and loan payments, as well as investment decisions and stock purchases on behalf of customers.</li></ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-will-it-unfold">How will it unfold?&nbsp;</h2>



Regulation has led the way in UK, EU, and Australia, while the US and India have been led by market forces where the sharing of account data is an accelerant of fast and smarter innovation.&nbsp;



On the African continent, Nigeria has recently announced their own regulatory framework establishing principles for data sharing between banks and the fintech ecosystem, that amongst other things stipulates access, technical and information security standards. The South African Reserve Bank has started industry consultations with a view to safeguard consumer data and manage cyber security risks specific to open banking payment solutions, particularly in the e-commerce environment.



There is a vibrant fintech community across both markets, comprising, e-wallets, Payments Service Providers (PSPs) s, TPPs and digital merchants, who can benefit from open banking. Simultaneously banks will be concerned about data protection, dispute management, liabilities, and implications on their services.



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>This journey will be an evolution, not a revolution. Adoption will take time as we are seeing in Europe and will require stakeholders from across the new ecosystem – including regulators, third parties, and banks – to come together to address challenges in FOUR key areas: Create promising use cases with clear value for consumers and businesses while creating the right incentives (monetization/ Business model) for both banks and fintechs</li><li>Develop a level playing field and standardised mechanisms by which banks and TPPs and PSP’s interact</li><li>Establish ecosystem-appropriate solutions to maximise security and minimise participants’ exposure to fraud</li><li>Ensure rules, standards and infrastructure to manage consumer consent, safeguard consumers financial information, manage enquiries and resolve disputes</li></ul>



&nbsp;Mastercard is playing a leadership role in facilitating and encouraging a safe and successful move to open banking, which will increasingly underpin the workings of new digital economies.&nbsp;We recognise the importance of establishing consumer trust in this new ecosystem which&nbsp;will require cross-industry co-ordination, including regulators, and potentially investment.



We have also acquired a company called Finicity a leading North American provider of real-time access to financial data and insights, that further strengthens our ability to deliver on the open banking opportunity globally and has the potential to help facilitate the anticipated open banking evolution in Africa.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-can-banks-monetize-open-banking">Can banks Monetize Open Banking?</h2>



Some open banking regulations, such as those in Mexico, allow banks to charge third parties a fee to access financial data. Others, such as in the EU, currently prohibit such charges. Regardless, any charges are nominal. Where incumbent banks once ran the risk of commoditization as providers of financial infrastructure to third-party providers, open banking is now recognized as a potential source of new revenue and a basis for innovation such as:



Bank as a third-party provider&nbsp;refers to banks sourcing services from third parties to address customer lifestyle needs. Recently,&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.mastercard.com/mea/press-releases/new-fintech-brand-launches-sas-first-open-banking-offering/https:/newsroom.mastercard.com/mea/press-releases/new-fintech-brand-launches-sas-first-open-banking-offering/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mastercard teamed up with Spot Money South Africa</a>&nbsp;to launch Spot&nbsp;&#8211; the first open banking marketplace in South Africa. The app is a great example of how Spot Money’s customers can transact seamlessly and review tailormade financial offers such as loans, insurance, and lifestyle services from fintech partners -.



Banking as a service&nbsp;refers to banks distributing their financial services through third parties. Third parties can offer services on behalf of banks by providing login-by-bank solutions to allow for automated form-filling. Banks generally profit through improved customer acquisition and commissions.



Banking as a platform&nbsp;refers to banks opening their product suite up to third parties. Banks can create white-label offerings and provide a suite of services to fintechs to sell to customers. Banks can profit from revenue sharing but may also charge a fee to third parties in white-labeling cases.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-game-changer-and-for-africa">A Game Changer? And for Africa?</h2>



In its simplest form, open banking is&nbsp;empowering consumers to access, use, and benefit from their financial data.&nbsp;The consumer may not recognise the term open banking but in time will appreciate, for example, their ability to set up smart budgeting tools that help with savings and auto switch insurance policies to get a better deal etc. from third parties.&nbsp;Imagine topping-up your investment in real-time because your investment provider knows you have money in your bank account? Or comparing interest rates for a small business loan without having a credit history or even applying for a cellphone contract without having to obtain stamped bank statements?



In Africa, where a large part of the population remains unbanked or underbanked, open banking has the potential to facilitate financial inclusion as it addresses access and affordability.&nbsp;While it is early days, the top five use cases for open banking in Africa could include:



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Small Business Finance Management:&nbsp;Africa is home to 50M+ small and micro businesses, many of whom have been significantly impacted by COVID-19. Open banking can enable these businesses to be paid more easily through a payment initiation service.&nbsp;In addition, it will be easier to retrieve cash flows and business information from banks to their suppliers, investors, and P2P lenders, critical to informing a lending decision. Premium APIs can provide access to business or director/owner information and credit scores directly into a third-party provider’s application to speed up commercial credit decision-making. </li><li>Thin File Scoring/ Instant Credit/&nbsp;Buy Now Pay Later Credit Bureaus, while somewhat mature in South Africa, only cover part of the population and in other African markets, bureau calls tend to be expensive for thin-file customers. By using the consumer’s banking transaction history such as regular rent payments, bill payments, or pay stabs, lenders can make better credit decisions for those who previously did not have access to credit. Open banking can enable alternative lenders to implement an API-based process and decision-making for instant approval of transactional credit or installments at the point of checkout in either face-to-face or e-commerce environments.</li><li>Account to Account Payment Initiation:&nbsp;This use case is already live today in South Africa for e-commerce albeit via Screen Scraping, which&nbsp;poses several concerns around dispute management, liability, and fraud. Open APIs, consumer consent management and agreed dispute rules will make payment initiation safer. </li><li>KYC and Account Opening:&nbsp;Africa has over 350 million unbanked individuals – and a particular challenge is last-mile onboarding in remote locations. Enabling agencies or fintech to conduct account opening and eKYC on behalf of banks can unlock access and efficiency. </li><li>Digital First Banking Experiences:&nbsp;Regardless of global differences, Covid-19 has had a consolidating effect worldwide. Even if digital banking—a basic tenet of open banking—wasn’t the norm in most regions before COVID-19, it is now. That’s not to discount the future of physical bank branches. As with any retailer, they provide complementary experiences in an online-offline fusion. But open banking isn’t only about smoother online banking experiences; it’s about improved financial planning for individuals struggling during the economic downturn.</li></ul>



Fintech and mobile banking players have already improved financial inclusion in Africa by developing affordable mobile payment and transfer solutions. By fully harnessing the potential of open banking, banks, telecommunication companies and other fintech players can further strengthen and broaden African financial markets, while providing consumers and businesses with greater choice and control.

asian man contactless payment with qr code in supermarket

Will Africa Create a Paradigm Shift for “Open Banking”?

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1302717103-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-397873" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1302717103-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1302717103-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1302717103-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1302717103-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1302717103-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA &#8211; FEBRUARY 18: In this photo illustration reports on Facebook&#8217;s news ban on Australian and International content on February 18, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. Facebook has banned publishers an users in Australia from posting it sharing news content as the Australian government prepares to pass laws that will require social media companies to pay news publishers for sharing using content on their platforms. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



Australia has passed a new law that will require digital platforms like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/FB" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Facebook</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/GOOGL" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google</a>&nbsp;to pay local media outlets and publishers to link their content on news feeds or in search results.



The move was widely expected and comes&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/23/facebook-to-restore-news-pages-for-australian-users-in-coming-days.html">days after the government&nbsp;</a>introduced some last-minute amendments to the proposed bill, known officially as the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code.



“The Code will ensure that news media businesses are fairly remunerated for the content they generate, helping to sustain public interest journalism in Australia,” Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said in a joint statement.



They added that the government was “pleased to see progress by both Google and more recently Facebook in reaching commercial arrangements with Australian news media businesses.”



The law will be reviewed by the Treasury within one year of its commencement, the officials said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-did-facebook-and-google-do">What did Facebook and Google do?</h2>



Both Facebook and Google have fought against the law since last year.



Essentially, Australia will become the first country where a government-appointed arbitrator can decide on the final price that either platform will have to pay Australian news publishers, provided a commercial deal cannot be reached independently.



The decision will come by a ruling in favor of either party — the digital platform or the publisher — with no room for a middle-ground agreement, according to experts.



In this week’s amendments, the government said the parties involved will get a two-month mediation period to broker deals before they are made to enter arbitration as a last resort.



Facebook announced Monday it will&nbsp;<a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2021/02/changes-to-sharing-and-viewing-news-on-facebook-in-australia/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">restore news pages in Australia</a>, reversing an earlier decision to block access to news content on in Australia in retaliation against the then proposed bill.



Facebook’s vice president for global news partnerships,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/journalismproject/news-australia-decision" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Campbell Brown, said Tuesday</a>&nbsp;the Australian government clarified that the tech company will retain the ability to decide if news appears on its platform so that it won’t automatically be subject to a forced negotiation.



Google initially threatened to pull its search function from Australia. In recent weeks, however, it struck a number of prominent commercial agreements with Australian publishers, including the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/17/google-and-news-corp-strike-deal-as-australia-pushes-platforms-to-pay-for-news.html">Murdoch family-owned media conglomerate NewsCorp</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-claiming-victory">Claiming victory</h2>



Before the law passed Parliament, both Australia’s competition watchdog and Facebook described this week’s moves&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/24/australia-claims-a-win-over-facebook-in-news-battle.html">as a victory</a>.



Former U.K. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who is now the vice president for global affairs at the social network, explained Facebook’s decision to restrict and then restore news in Australia in a lengthy blog post.



The final tweaks made to the bill was a face-saving exercise for both sides, but mainly for Facebook, according to Johan Lidberg, an associate professor of journalism at Australia’s Monash University.



“Having said that: the final call to apply the code or not rests with Josh Frydenberg, the Treasurer, not (Facebook),” Lidberg told CNBC by email. He explained that while Facebook could decide to drop the News Feed from Australia again in the future, it would reflect badly on the company’s brand.



“The mandatory arbitration clause is still there. Had it been dropped, the code would have become a paper tiger,” Lidberg said, adding that neither Facebook nor Google would have come to the bargaining table in good faith without the code in the background.



“The main game now is to keep very close tabs on how the deals are being made with media companies,” he said. “If the deals stay with the major four and local and regional media outlets are ignored, Frydenberg has the option to invoke the code and mandatory arbitration. This is what governments should do when market forces are as skewed as they are in this case.



Microsoft President Brad Smith weighed in on Australia’s decision, calling the new law “a big step forward.” He said in a tweet that it would “ensure publishers and journalists get paid a fairer share for their work.”



Microsoft&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/03/microsoft-backs-australia-after-google-threatened-to-withdraw-search-.html">publicly backed the media code</a>&nbsp;this month after Google initially threatened to pull its Search function from the country. The company’s Bing search engine holds just 3.6% of market share in Australia, a fraction of Google’s 94.5% share, according to web analytics firm StatCounter.



Australia’s new law could set a precedent for how other countries regulate Big Tech. Countries like France have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/21/google-agrees-to-pay-french-publishers-for-news.html">undertaken some measures to make the tech firms pay for news</a>, while others like Canada and the U.K. are considering their next steps.

Facebook Australia Restricts News Publishers And Users In Response To Proposed Media Bargaining Laws

Australia passes new media law that will require Google, Facebook to pay for news

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1302717103-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-397873" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1302717103-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1302717103-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1302717103-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1302717103-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1302717103-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA &#8211; FEBRUARY 18: In this photo illustration reports on Facebook&#8217;s news ban on Australian and International content on February 18, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. Facebook has banned publishers an users in Australia from posting it sharing news content as the Australian government prepares to pass laws that will require social media companies to pay news publishers for sharing using content on their platforms. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/FB" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Facebook</a>&nbsp;has reached an agreement with the Australian government and will restore news pages in the country days after restricting them.



The decision follows negotiations between the tech giant and the Australian government, <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/australia-commits-to-content-law-despite-facebook-news-blackout/">which is set to pass a new media law </a>that will require digital platforms to pay for news.



“After further discussions, we are satisfied that the Australian government has agreed to a number of changes and guarantees that address our core concerns about allowing commercial deals that recognize the value our platform provides to publishers relative to the value we receive from them,”&nbsp;<a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2021/02/changes-to-sharing-and-viewing-news-on-facebook-in-australia/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Facebook said in an updated statement</a>.



Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government has introduced last-minute changes to the proposed media bargaining code that is in Parliament and is expected to be voted into law soon.



Those changes include a two-month mediation period to allow digital platforms and publishers to broker deals before they are made to enter arbitration as a last resort.



The arbitration clause in the media bargaining code has been one of Facebook’s main points of objection.



It states that the arbitrator will rule either in favor of either party — the digital platform or the publisher — with no room for a middle-ground agreement, according to experts.



Under the amendments, the Australian government will take into account commercial agreements that digital platforms like Google and Facebook have already made with local news media businesses before deciding if the code applies to the tech giants.



The government will also give the digital platforms one month’s notice before reaching the final decision.



The amendments are expected to provide “further clarity” to digital platforms and news organizations on how the bargaining code will be implemented, the government said.



—&nbsp;CNBC’s Will Koulouris contributed to this report.



This is a breaking news. Please check back for updates.

Facebook to restore news pages for Australian users in coming days

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="457" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/RwandaRobot-820x457.png" alt="" class="wp-image-397462" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/RwandaRobot-820x457.png 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/RwandaRobot-300x167.png 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/RwandaRobot-768x428.png 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/RwandaRobot.png 1184w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, February 9 (ANA) – Rwanda’s government has partnered with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Japan to deploy three additional state-of-the art robots to reinforce its efforts against Covid-19.



In a statement on Tuesday the ministry of information and communications technology (ICT) and innovation said the new devices deployed at Nyarugenge district hospital were cutting-edge ultra violet light robots which would help in cleaning and disinfecting treatment centres, hospitals and places of mass gathering such as markets and offices to limit the spread of the virus.



The robots have unique features including lamps that emit ultraviolet lights destroying deadly microorganisms which might be missed during the manual cleaning process, helping to reduce infection rates for patients and health workers.



They also have the capacity to speedily clean and disinfect operating, labour and delivery, ICU and isolation discharge rooms as well as other indoor spaces. On average, one robot can disinfect a room in 32 minutes. They can also kill viruses other than SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.



“These robots offer a faster, more effective and less labour-intensive disinfection alternative to manual cleaning,” minister of ICT and innovation Paula Ingabire said.



“The government has placed ICT at the centre of its transformation and the health sector is a priority sector where technology is being used to provide better health outcomes through improved service delivery, patient experience, health and safety.”



The introduction of robots in Covid-19 case management has contributed to limiting human interaction between healthcare providers and patients, the director general of the Rwanda Biomedical Centre Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana said.



“As we introduce the use of robots in the infection prevention control activities we intend to even minimise risks of infection of our IPC staff as they conduct decontamination procedures,” Nsanzimana said.



In addition to vaccines, the robots represent yet another triumph of modern science which will protect frontline workers and prevent the spread of disease, UNDP’s resident representative in the East African country Maxwell Gomera said.



“Congratulations to the government of Rwanda for once again moving forcefully to confront the Covid-19 pandemic,” Gomera said.



Rwanda has so far recorded 16,621 cases of Covid-19, out of which 223 people have died.



– African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa

RwandaRobot

Rwanda Deploys More Robots To Fight The Spread Covid-19

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1230791248-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-396369" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1230791248-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1230791248-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1230791248-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1230791248.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>BRAZIL &#8211; 2021/01/25: In this photo illustration the Whatsapp, Telegram, Signal, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter app icons seen displayed on a smartphone. (Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



By now most of us have heard about WhatsApp&#8217;s privacy conundrum which it quickly backtracked on <a href="http://[https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/01/18/whatsapp-delays-privacy-update-over-user-confusion-and-backlash-about-facebook-data-sharing/">https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/01/18/whatsapp-delays-privacy-update-over-user-confusion-and-backlash-about-facebook-data-sharing</a>/ after public backlash. 



We&#8217;ve also heard about how social media played a part in the U.S. Capitol&#8217;s storming on 6 January and how social media platforms banned Trump and other right-leaning voices; how Apple and Google banned the Twitter-alternative Parler from their app stores; and then how Amazon Web Services (AWS), who were hosting Parler, shut the whole thing down entirely.



Since then, things have continued to escalate, with Apple facing a lawsuit <a href="http://[https://mashable.com/article/apple-telegram-lawsuit/]">https://mashable.com/article/apple-telegram-lawsuit/</a> for not removing Telegram from its App Store because of calls to violence apparently taking place there too.



Free-speech arguments aside, there is a massive silver-lining in all of this. This year might, at last, be the year of social media&#8217;s reckoning. WhatsApp&#8217;s privacy miscalculation has led to what Telegram founder, Pavel Durov has called the &#8220;largest digital migration in human history <a href="http://[https://t.me/durovschat]">https://t.me/durovschat</a>.



Last year, Facebook threatened to shut down its services in the EU as a result of it enforcing its General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules <a href="http://[https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-threatens-to-leave-europe-due-to-proposed-new-data-sharing-regulat/585619/]">https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-threatens-to-leave-europe-due-to-proposed-new-data-sharing-regulat/585619/</a>. Change is coming.



For years, social media has been protected in the U.S. under a law called &#8220;Section 230&#8221; which protects an “interactive computer service” from lawsuits if a user or client on its platform engages in illegal behaviour (with some exceptions). 



This is why, unlike publishers, Facebook and Twitter are not liable for what users put on their platforms. But the fact remains that these platforms are monetising what users are doing and controversial accounts keep people on the platform and are actually good for business. Plus, Twitter and Facebook&#8217;s enforcement of their own terms of service is very haphazard.



In 2018, Facebook was linked to genocide in Myanmar <a href="http://[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/15/technology/myanmar-facebook-genocide.html].">https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/15/technology/myanmar-facebook-genocide.html</a>. There are many megalomaniac dictators tweeting as you read this. Both platforms were silent when the PR firm Bell Pottinger was using their algorithms to drive open our racial wounds in South Africa; or when xenophobic violence was incited on these platforms; or even when people died in the mid-2020 Black Lives Matter protests in the U.S. due to what was being organised on their platforms.



 (Incidentally, Twitter seems to be cracking down on Antifa accounts too now. <a href="http://[https://nypost.com/2021/01/22/twitter-suspends-antifa-accounts-with-over-71k-followers/]">https://nypost.com/2021/01/22/twitter-suspends-antifa-accounts-with-over-71k-followers/</a>). In fact, this sort-of practice hearkens all the way back to the first, heady days when we were all blown away by how #OccupyWallStreet went mainstream because of social media and how the Arab Spring was able to happen because of these platforms. 



Twitter may have been happy for all of this because it was not affecting them back home. Now, when it has, the penny seems to be dropping and the pressure seems to finally be on.



Perhaps you are partial to some of these movements, but the point is to note that these platforms increasingly have to act more like publishers than &#8220;Section 230&#8221; organisations. 



I think this is a good development. Their ability to get the best of both worlds—to not be held liable while increasing their profits through &#8216;gamification&#8217; and addiction to their platforms, monetising human nature&#8217;s worst aspects—is now going to run to an end. It&#8217;s time to classify them differently.



There is a bigger picture here that I think those who are claiming and advising people stay on Whatsapp appear to be missing. It&#8217;s time we demand innovation that doesn&#8217;t keep us reliant and addicted to these platforms but find better ways to serve us, even as Africans.



 It&#8217;s time to check out local services like 2go <a href="http://[https://www.2go.im/]">https://www.2go.im/</a>, for instance. It&#8217;s also a good time for us to form our own laws that we want applied that will benefit us, just as the EU has.



This is the big picture and right now, you and I, the &#8220;users&#8221; of these platforms have an opportunity to make an impact by getting off the platforms that make money from our time, our emotions, our relationships, our photos, our lives, and insist on better, more human technology.



Ryan Peter is the editor-in-chief of Disrupting Africa (disruptingafrica.com), a freelancer writer and ghostwriter. See more info at ryanpeterwrites.com.

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