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Corporate Governance and International Policy expert Sophia Bekele shares her view on the future of online Security in Africa

March 18, 2014April 2, 2014

Source: CIO East Africa The AU’s Convention on the Establishment of a Credible Legal Framework for Cyber Security in Africa (AUCC) has been the focus of debate recently. DotConnectAfrica was among the first organizations to comment and highlight several issues on the draft legislation In view of this and to further shed light on online security issues in Africa, CIO East Africa editor Mike Ouma sought the views of Ms Sophia Bekele, an international policy advisor on ICT and internet issues. Below are excerpts: As regards the state of online…

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Aereo’s CEO Chet Kanojia has the TV Industry Scared To Death

March 13, 2014June 20, 2014 Staff Writer

CBS Threatens To Cut Off Broadcast Signal If Aereo Wins Aereo, a company that lets you stream live network TV (NBC, ABC, Fox, PBS, etc.) to your computer, smartphone or tablet, is gearing up for a big Supreme Court battle this spring with those networks that could dismantle the startup. The networks claim Aereo violates copyright by allowing customers to record TV shows in a virtual DVR that lets you stream shows later to your device. Aereo charges $8 per month to use the service and it’s available in a handful…

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Edward Snowden Warns Us of the Dark Path Ahead

March 11, 2014March 11, 2014 Staff Writer

In written testimony to the European Union (EU), Edward Snowden explained in patient, well-written, detailed prose exactly why what the NSA is doing is so dangerous. Snowden reveals himself an articulate writer, and through that moves from mere whistleblower into an almost philosophical role. His testimony deserves your full read, so you should best stop right here and just go read it. For those who prefer some highlights, with commentary, please follow me deeper down the rabbit hole. Snowden says: The suspicionless surveillance programs of the NSA, GCHQ, and so…

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Facebook’s shot at WhatsApp data gets both companies an FTC complaint

March 7, 2014 Staff Writer

The Electronic Privacy Information Center and the Center for Digital Democracy have filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission against Facebook’s $16 billion acquisition of WhatsApp based on privacy concerns, according to a document released Thursday. EPIC and CDD’s problems with the acquisition center around the fact that WhatsApp staked its reputation on—that it’s a company keeping a reasonable distance from its customers’ data. Now that it will fall under the aegis of Facebook, its users stand to lose those privacy guarantees, even though WhatsApp told its users nothing…

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Facebook-WhatsApp Deal Haunted by Past Web Merger Flops

February 28, 2014 Staff Writer

Facebook Inc. (FB) investors who pushed the company’s shares to a record after it unveiled the $19 billion deal for WhatsApp Inc. would be well served to remember — every Internet takeover of more than $10 billion has flopped. Last week’s proposed purchase would be the biggest Web acquisition in more than a decade and only the fifth ever to top that threshold, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That puts it in the same category as AOL’s merger with Time Warner and Terra Network SA’s takeover of Lycos, which…

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Microsoft Targets Cheaper Phones for Global Internet Growth

February 27, 2014 Staff Writer

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), under new Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella, will accelerate a push into mobile software, joining forces with hardware manufacturers and Qualcomm (QCOM) Inc. to develop cheaper phones for emerging markets. Microsoft said yesterday it’s working with Qualcomm on a low-cost phone design that developers and handset makers can use to build their own devices, and added partners including Lenovo Group Ltd. to make Windows smartphones. Nokia Oyj (NOK1V), whose mobile-phone business will become part of Microsoft, unveiled lower-priced handsets at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona today.…

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Facebook to Pay $19 Billion for WhatsApp

February 20, 2014 Staff Writer

Messaging Startup to Operate Independently, Retain Brand, Facebook’s $19 billion purchase of the WhatsApp mobile messaging service ranks as the largest-ever purchase of a company backed by venture capital. Facebook Inc. FB +1.13% agreed to buy messaging company WhatsApp for $19 billion in cash and stock, a blockbuster transaction that dwarfs the already sky-high prices that other startups have been able to recently command. The 55-employee company, which acts as a kind of replacement for text messaging, has seen its use more than double in the past nine months to…

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The ‘Internet Of Things’ Will Be Bigger Than The Smartphone, Tablet, And PC Markets Combined

February 19, 2014March 3, 2016 Staff Writer

The numbers being forecast for the Internet of Things (IoT) are truly mind-boggling. BI Intelligence finds that the number of everyday and enterprise devices that will soon be connected to the Internet — from parking meters to home thermostats — will be huge. BII 1.9 billion devices today, and 9 billion by 2018, according to BII estimates, roughly equal to the number of smartphones, smart TVs, tablets, wearable computers, and PCs combined. It will drive trillions in economic value as it permeates consumer and business life. In the consumer space, many products…

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Japan e-commerce giant to buy Viber for $900-M

February 14, 2014March 3, 2016 Staff Writer

TOKYO – Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten Inc, controlled by billionaire Hiroshi Mikitani, will buy call and messaging app provider Viber Media Inc for $900 million in a deal that would more than double the number of users in its digital empire. Rakuten offers services from financing to shopping to online video on its e-commerce platform, the largest in Japan. But in the face of a shrinking population and weak consumer spending at home, Mikitani is trying to re-invent Rakuten as a one-stop-site for a global audience. Privately held Viber, run…

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