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Good morning!
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Risevest is defending its decision to restrict some customers' accounts saying that withdrawals have been blocked to prevent roundtripping arbitrage detected by its fraud control system.
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Co-Founder/ Head of Operations and Data Analytics, Anthony Odiba told Technext that "some users noticed that they could use their Naira card on the USD card funding option, get their wallets funded at a lower rate, and then request for a withdrawal at Rise’s sell rate."
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Then, the G20 has adopted the “G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Communique” during its meeting in Marrakesh, Morocco.
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Another week another trouble for Elon Musk. Australia said yesterday that it would fine X $384,000 for failing to provide information about its efforts to combat child exploitation and that the social media service had told officials that its automated detection of abusive material declined after Elon Musk bought the company.
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Finally, Microsoft as the military say "has joy." Last week it closed its $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard, overcoming significant regulatory hurdles in Britain and the United States.
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Below are the tech stories and news you need to know to start your day, carefully curated by Technext.
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Summary of the news
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- Australia said it would fine X $384,000 over child exploitation content
- The Federal Government has launched its AI Research Scheme
- Starlink is working on a “Starlink Direct to Cell” product
- Risevest has defended its decision to restrict some customers' accounts
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Ecosystem
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Risevest on edge: Risevest's customers have accused the investment startup of seizing their funds and restricting their accounts. In a statement, Risevest said that withdrawals have been blocked to prevent roundtripping arbitrage detected by its fraud control system.
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Co-Founder/ Head of Operations and Data Analytics, Anthony Odiba told Technext that there were a lot of account restrictions because many users were attempting to cheat the system using the card funding and withdrawal options.
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"Some users noticed that they could use their Naira card on the USD card funding option, get their wallets funded at a lower rate, and then request for a withdrawal at Rise’s sell rate, which was higher than their funding rate at the time. We do not encourage roundtripping and we wouldn’t otherwise flag or restrict users’ accounts for normal behaviour," he said. (Technext)
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- E-hailing drivers in Nigeria are calling for the use of the National Identification Number (NIN) to verify passengers by e-hailing companies, Uber and Bolt. This is coming after three e-hailing drivers were reportedly shot dead by gunmen in Port Harcourt and Abuja. (Technext)
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Policy
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G20 move: The Group of Twenty (G20) — an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 sovereign countries, the European Union and the African Union — unanimously adopted the “G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Communique” during its meeting in Marrakesh, Morocco.
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“We call for swift and coordinated implementation of the G20 Roadmap, including implementation of policy frameworks; outreach beyond G20 jurisdictions; global coordination, cooperation and information sharing; and addressing data gaps,” the body said. (Cointelegraph)
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- President Bola Tinubu has appointed Oluwemimo Joseph Osanipin, the CFO at JET Motor as the new head of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC). (Technext)
- Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has been appointed as the Chairman of the African Governors’ Forum of the World Bank. (Nairametrics)
- The Federal Government has launched its AI Research Scheme, through which it plans to award N5 million each to 45 startups and researchers focusing on AI. It started accepting applications on Friday. (Nairametrics)
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Social Tech
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Meta fights Hamas: Meta said it will remove content that shows praise and substantive support for Hamas from its platforms after the European Union reprimanded social media companies for not doing enough to tackle disinformation.
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Meta is also temporarily expanding its violence and incitement policy and removing content that clearly identifies hostages taken by Hamas, even if it is being done to condemn or raise awareness of their situation.
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In the three days after the attack, Meta said it removed or marked as disturbing more than 795,000 pieces of content in Hebrew or Arabic. (Reuters)
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- Mobile phones will be able to connect directly to Starlink’s satellites soon, according to SpaceX. In a new advert page, SpaceX claims that the “Starlink Direct to Cell” service will be rolled out between 2024 and 2025. (Technext)
- Airtel Nigeria in a new report said that less than 1% of smartphones currently available in Nigeria are 5G-enabled. (Nairametrics)
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Global News
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Microsoft has joy: Microsoft said on Friday that it had closed its $69 billion purchase of the video game giant Activision Blizzard, overcoming significant regulatory hurdles in Britain and the United States and signalling that the tech industry’s giants are still free to use their cash hoards to get even bigger.
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The deal won approval from British regulators on Friday, the last remaining regulatory obstacle. Microsoft overcame roadblocks in multiple countries from government officials who said the merger would dampen competition in the video game industry.
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The completion of Microsoft’s Activision acquisition is a clear signal that several years of governments around the world scrutinizing big tech companies have so far done little to curb their power, their growth or their ability to ink megadeals. And the deal could provide a blueprint for other big tech companies on how to successfully fend off the intervention of regulators. (New York Times)
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- Elon Musk’s X broke the law in firing an employee who criticized management’s return-to-work policy, the National Labor Relations Board alleged, in its first formal complaint against the company. (CNBC)
- Australia said on Sunday that it would fine X $384,000 for failing to provide information about its efforts to combat child exploitation and that the social media service had told officials that its automated detection of abusive material declined after Elon Musk bought the company. (New York Times)
- European Commissioner Thierry Breton sent a letter to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai reminding him of the company’s obligations under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) as a large online platform to keep illegal content and disinformation from being shared on YouTube surrounding Israel’s war with Hamas. (TheVerge)
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Latest in funding
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Other stories we are following
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