Tag Archives: Thomson Reuters Foundation

01Oct/22

Big Tech and the right to know

Ilaria Fevola
Published: September 28, 2022

Ilaria Fevola is ARTICLE 19’s legal officer focused on transparency.

Today, Sept. 28, is the International Day for Universal Access to Information, that recognises the importance for every individual to be able to access information held by public institutions. Traditionally, it has been an opportunity to examine whether countries have adopted a law on access to information and if, in practice, public bodies adhere to their transparency obligations. Continue reading

01Oct/22

We’ve had the backlash against Big Tech. Now what?

David Carroll
Published: September 29, 2022 | Parsons School of Design

David Carroll is an associate professor of media design at Parsons School of Design at The New School in New York.

Thomson Reuters Foundation — On Sept. 13 an employee of Boston’s Northeastern University was injured when a package delivered to a virtual reality research lab exploded in his hands. Like a scene from a futuristic thriller, a note accompanying the bomb accused the lab of secretly working for Facebook and Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg in a plot to take over society through virtual reality. Continue reading

11Aug/22

Scam loan apps extorting Mexicans thrive in Google Play Store

  • Menacing messages, threats spiral along with debt
  • Legal loophole creates Wild West for lending apps
  • Complaints mount but regulators powerless to act

By Diana Baptista and Avi Asher -Schapiro

MEXICO CITY, Aug 11 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A week after Pedro Figueroa borrowed 10,000 pesos ($500) from José Cash, a popular Mexican lending app, the barrage of online abuse began.

A slew of WhatsApp messages swamped his phone, threatening harm – to him and his reputation – if he did not pay. Continue reading

13Jul/22

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

  • 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.
Continue reading