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Tag: Kim Harrisberg

Tag Archives: Kim Harrisberg

03Mar/23

Snooping on campaigners

March 3, 2023SecurityAdam Smith, Arshak Makichyan, Articles, Avi Asher-Schapiro, Beijing, Bogota, China, Closed-circuit television, Crime prevention, Diana Baptista, Disha Ravi, Facial recognition system, India, Internet privacy, Kim Harrisberg, Learning, María Quiñones Triana, Metaverse, Mexico, Moscow, National security, Peter Rest, Prevention, Rina Chandran, Security, Surveillance, Tanzania, Thomson Reuters Foundation, TikTok, Triana, United States, Video surveillanceadmin

By Kim Harrisberg | South Africa correspondent

From phishing traps to arrests based on their social media posts alone, activists from Russia to Uganda say they’re increasingly being watched for their online campaigning.
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17Oct/22

Will South Africa’s street vendors go bust in a cashless world?

October 17, 2022EconomyCashless society, Chantal Maritz, Digital currency, Economy, Finance, First National Bank, Ghana, JOHANNESBURG, Kenya, Kim Harrisberg, Lebogang Ramathoka, Michael Thomson, Money, Payment card, Payment systems, PricewaterhouseCoopers, QR code payment, South Africa, Thomas Nhassavele, Timothy, Yocoadmin

Kim Harrisberg

Published: October 12, 2022

Digital payments on the rise in South Africa
People without mobile phones, bank accounts excluded
Calls for innovation to include informal economy

JOHANNESBURG – For more than a decade, musician Thomas Nhassavele has been busking next to the parking payment machine at Johannesburg’s Rosebank Mall, where drivers often dropped their change into his guitar case. Continue reading →

18Aug/22

EskomSePush alerts users to rolling blackouts while Panda provides spaces to vent their frustrations

August 18, 2022InnovationAlon Lits, Anneli Retief, Anton Ossip, Avani Singh, Companies, Economy of New York City, Eskom, EskomSePush, Financial markets, Herman Maritz, Jessica Boyer, JOHANNESBURG, Kim Harrisberg, Lits, Lori Cooperman, Mobile app, Natal, Pothole, S&P/TSX 60 Index, South Africa, Thomson Reuters, Ugandaadmin

Power outages by Eskom lead to surge in app downloads
Apps help build community dialogue, solve problems
Digital literacy needed to protect data privacy

By Kim Harrisberg

At the start of each school day, South African teacher Lori Cooperman prepares her lessons, plans students’ meals and – most importantly – checks an app to see if there will be electricity. Continue reading →

04Aug/22

As online hate speech hits Africa, social media firms told to act

August 4, 2022Internet, UncategorizedAfrica, Articles, Bullying, Danny Bediako, Elvis Nyathi, Ethiopia, Facebook, Fred Matiang, Fred Matiang'i, Freedom of speech, Ghana, Hate crime, Hate speech, Joe Mucheru, JOHANNESBURG, Kenya, Kim Harrisberg, Moderation system, Myanmar, NAIROBI, Nita Bhalla, Nora, Online hate speech, Racism, Social media, Software, South Africa, Thomas Mukoya, Vincent Chenzi, Violence against LGBT people, Violence against women, Websites, William Ruto, World Wide Web, Xenophobia, Zimbabwe, Zimbabweans in South Africaadmin

Online hate speech targets Zimbabweans in South Africa
Widespread digital abuse also seen in Ghana, Kenya
Culturally sensitive content moderation key, say activists

By Kim Harrisberg and Nita Bhalla

JOHANNESBURG/NAIROBI, Aug 3 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Social media used to be a source of light entertainment for Nora, a 47-year-old Zimbabwean domestic worker living in South Africa. But lately, it has become a source of fear.
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13Jul/22

Startups eye metaverse, NFTs, to solve Africa’s economic woes

July 13, 2022InnovationAfrican culture, Afropolitan, Articles, Cultural globalization, Culture, Digital technology, Emole, Human activities, Information and communications technology, Internet, JOHANNESBURG, Kim Harrisberg, Metaverse, South Africa, Thami Nkosi, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Virtual economy, Virtual realityche

Startups target unemployment and governance issues
Founders launch virtual African nation, marketplace
Critics fear replication of continent’s inequalities

By Kim Harrisberg

JOHANNESBURG, July 13 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – It might sound like science fiction, but a Nigerian-born tech entrepreneur thinks he has found a way for Africans to escape problems like inequality and bad governance – a virtual nation born online.
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