platforms

Canada’s biggest banks join boycott of Facebook platforms

By Frances L. Weems 2 weeks ago

FILE PHOTO: The Facebook logo is displayed on a mobile phone in this picture illustration taken December 2, 2019. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/Illustration/File Photo

TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada’s biggest lenders confirmed on Friday they had joined a widespread boycott of Facebook Inc (FB.O) begun by U.S. civil rights groups seeking to pressure the world’s largest social media platform to take concrete steps to block hate speech.

More than 400 brands have pulled advertising on Facebook in response to the “Stop Hate for Profit” campaign, begun after the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.

Canadian lenders Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO), Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO), Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) all said they

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Intel to invest $255 million in Reliance’s digital unit Jio Platforms

By Frances L. Weems 2 weeks ago

FILE PHOTO: U.S. chipmaker Intel Corp’s logo is seen on their “smart building” in Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv, Israel December 15, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Intel Corp’s (INTC.O) investment arm will pay some $255 million for a small stake in Reliance Industries Ltd’s (RELI.NS) digital unit Jio Platforms, the latest in a slew of share sales that have helped the Indian conglomerate pay down debt.

Reliance has now sold just over a quarter of Jio Platforms, the unit that houses its telecoms venture Jio Infocomm and its music and movie apps, raising $15.8 billion from investors including Facebook Inc (FB.O) and KKR & Co (KKR.N).

The deals highlight Jio Platforms’ potential to become the dominant player in India’s digital economy.

The telecoms unit has already decimated several rivals with cut-throat pricing, while Reliance is also using Jio

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Turkey determined to control social media platforms, Erdogan says

By Frances L. Weems 2 weeks ago

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey will introduce regulations to control social media platforms or shut them down, President Tayyip Erdogan announced on Wednesday, pressing ahead with government plans after he said his family was insulted online.

FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia March 5, 2020. Pavel Golovkin//File Photo

Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, Erdogan’s son-in-law, said on Twitter on Tuesday that his fourth child had been born. Albayrak’s wife Esra was insulted by some users, who were later detained, according to Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu.

Speaking to members of his AK Party, Erdogan repeated that his party would introduce new regulations to control the use of social media, adding that an increase of “immoral acts” on the platforms in recent years was due to a lack of regulations.

“These platforms do not suit this nation. We want to shut down, control

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New Zealand to use online platforms to host APEC summit

By Frances L. Weems 2 weeks ago

FILE PHOTO: New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters speaks during a news conference in Istanbul, Turkey, March 22, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer

SYDNEY (Reuters) – New Zealand will use virtual digital platforms to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit next year, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Tuesday, attributing the decision to uncertainty around travel due to the coronavirus.

“What we’ve done is we’ve determined that actually for the sake of certainty, let’s just plan for that virtual gathering,” Ardern said at a media briefing in Wellington.

“That means that we don’t have the added cost, the added disruption that the uncertainty of COVID brings.”

New Zealand, early this month, lifted all social and economic restrictions except border controls, after declaring it was free of the coronavirus, while many countries are still grappling to contain the spread of the disease.

Ardern said the country has no plans to reopen its

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