https://arab.news/zd6yw
LONDON: Britain said on Tuesday it would introduce a new law to rein in the power that big tech companies such as Google, Facebook and Amazon are able to wield to stifle competition in digital markets.
The legislation will also bolster protection for consumers by making it easier to opt out of online subscriptions and by making it easier to tackle fake reviews, the government said.
Britain’s antitrust watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), set up a dedicated Digital Markets Unit two years ago, armed with the expertise to regulate new markets, such as social media.
But it has lacked the legal “teeth” to underpin its remit.
The bill, once passed by parliament, will rectify that by giving the DMU new powers over tech companies that have a global turnover of more 25 billion pounds ($31.2 billion) or a British turnover above 1 billion pounds.
The European Union last year brought in its own law to tackle big tech’s dominance, despite fierce opposition from Google, Apple and others. Under the planned British law, the CMA will be able to tailor rules for tech companies that meet its threshold to stop them unfairly disadvantaging smaller businesses and consumers.
For example, they could be told to provide more choice and transparency to customers, the government said.
If they breach the rules, they could be fined up to 10 percent of global turnover, it said.
CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said the bill had the potential to be a “watershed moment” in protecting consumers and ensuring digital markets worked for the British economy.
“Digital markets offer huge benefits, but only if competition enables businesses of all shapes and sizes the opportunity to succeed,” she said. “This bill is a legal framework fit for the digital age.”
LONDON: A video of Saudi TikTok influencer Qaied Al-Majd went viral on Thursday after he completed one of the social media platform’s biggest challenges, winning SR4 million ($1.1 million) within minutes.
A TikTok LIVE battle between Al-Majd and Pakistani influencer Youssef on Wednesday generated views from over 950,000 followers, who paid the sum as they cheered for the streamers, Al-Arabiya reported.
Users, who said the battle lasted five minutes, speculated that the platform would receive the lion’s share of the prize money, which is almost SR2.6 million, leaving Al-Majd with SR700,000.
Youssef, who was competing with Al-Majd, is likely to receive SR500,000.
TikTok LIVE battles are real-time competitions in which streamers challenge each other, and the winner is decided by followers, who, while watching the battle, send virtual coins that winners can exchange for money.
ضخ مشاهدي #تيك_توك في السعودية قبل قليل نحو 4 مليون ريال سعودي في جولة دعم مدتها 5 دقائق..والرابحون 3 فقط هم :
تطبيق توك توك : 2.6 مليون ريال
قعيد: 700 ألف ريال
يوسف: 500 ألف ريال
السؤال: ثم ماذا ؟!.. ماهي فائدة المتابعين عجيب هذا التوك توك ! pic.twitter.com/GR3hg9xm5z
The hefty sums won by the two TikTokers were viewed differently by social media users, with some celebrating the event, while others condemned it.
Noura Al-Tamimi expressed her pride in a tweet, saying: “Our son has smashed it. Well deserved.”
ولدنا يفوز بطرق الخشوم يستاهل كل خير #قعيد_المجد pic.twitter.com/cSmIsLkyrV
Another Twitter user wrote: “May you joyfully dance tomorrow and every day. Only happiness suits this face.”
ترقص فرح بكرة وكل يوم باذن الله
يارب هالوجة مايليق فيه الا الفرح .#قعيد #قعيد_المجد pic.twitter.com/e4lZsyQdXH
However, Abdulrahman Al-Thuwaibi was dismayed, writing: “(Foolish) followers remain and expand, and these are the most important element in the system as they were the ones who made those (influencers) famous. Things then developed and (followers) started paying (influencers) to support them — you never know, they could hire them in the future.”
المتابع (الاحمق) باقي ويتمدد وهو اهم فرد في المنظومة فهو من جعلهم مشاهير ثم تطور الوضع واصبح يدفع لهم ليستمروا ولا تستبعد بكره يشغلونه بخدمتهم
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واذا دخل تويتر كتب :
لا تجعلوا من الحمقى مشاهير
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ياحبيبي مافيه احمق منك https://t.co/I8lXbLxoLk
Another social media user, Dr. Waleed Al-Zamel, believed society was failing its youth. He wrote in a tweet: “Society does not understand the needs of the youth in order to respond to them, but rather it is in conflict with them. Blaming the youth alone will not be enough. What could make a difference is to understand the language of the youth and how they think. Then we try to harness their energies to serve the country.”
المجتمع لم يفهم احتياجات فئة الشباب لكي يستجيب لها بل هو في صراع معهم.. لوم الشباب وحدة لن يكون كافي.. المهم أن نفهم لغة الشباب وكيف يفكرون؟ ثم نحاول تسخير طاقاتهم لخدمة الوطن! https://t.co/ZQmGYrhx7l
Arab News couldn’t independently verify the accuracy of what has been shared on social media, and TikTok has not replied to attempts to get further clarification.
DUBAI: Kerning Cultures Network, a Dubai-based podcast network, has launched the third season of its acclaimed show “al empire.”
Launched in 2019, the podcast features prominent Arabs from around the world. Previous guests include award-winning Lebanese filmmaker Nadine Labaki; Egyptian satirist and comedian Bassem Youssef; host and co-creator of “Radiolab” Jad Abumrad; and Saudi actor Dina Shihabi.
The third season, timed to coincide with Arab American Heritage Month, also features several big names.
The first episode features Palestinian-American actor, writer and comedian Mo Amer, who talks about his early standup comedy years, life as a Palestinian refugee in Texas, and how he hopes to inspire people to share their stories through art.
Other guests include radio and music personality Big Hass; Moroccan contemporary artist Hassan Hajjaj; and Lebanese-Canadian entrepreneur Khaled Kteily.
Podcasts over the past few years have started introducing video, with the format continuing to grow.
Spotify last year introduced video podcasts in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, among other markets.
KC is now launching “al empire” in video form with the full interviews being published on YouTube.
Hebah Fisher, CEO of KC, told Arab News: “For the past eight years Kerning Cultures Network has been audio-first. Yet, with this season of ‘al empire,’ we’re expanding our slate to video too.
“Audiences can choose to listen to the episodes, or watch the full, uncut interviews on YouTube.”
Fisher said that the podcast is “the show we always wished we had growing up.”
She added: “As Arabs, we don’t do a good enough job profiling our successes, and this show is an answer to just that.”
“Al Empire” is available on all major podcast platforms and KC’s YouTube channel.
JEDDAH: Sky News Africa correspondent Yousra Elbagir unexpectedly found her uncle among crowds of Sudan evacuees arriving in Jeddah.
Video footage shared by Sky showed Elbagir spotting her relative during live coverage at King Faisal Naval Base in Jeddah. He was standing among others who had been evacuated from the war-torn country.
Elbagir was looking for one more person to interview when she exclaimed: “Oh my God, that is my uncle.”
She hurried to the man, whose name is Mohsin, and they embraced as he held the Saudi flag.
Mohsin said he had left Sudan on Wednesday but was too tired to speak on camera when requested to by Elbagir.
Saudi ship Amana transported 1,687 people from Port Sudan to King Faisal Naval Base on Wednesday, said the Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry.
The total number of people evacuated by Saudi Arabia from Sudan has reached 2,351, of whom 119 are Saudi citizens with the remainder of the total made up of 67 nationalities.
LONDON: Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports, the world’s premiere e-sports competition for university students, and streaming platform Shahid announced on Thursday their latest collaboration to unite e-sports and broadcast TV.
The two organizations unveiled their new partnership that combines the two popular entertainment areas to offer an enhanced experience for young users of both platforms.
Mario Perez, CEO of MENATech, the AUE project host in the region, highlighted how the new partnership has the potential to benefit both industries.
“E-sports and streaming platforms are growing significantly in the MENA region, thanks to an increasingly young population and an increasingly virtual world. Due to this, this partnership empowers two ecosystems with great potential,” he commented.
Natasha Matos-Hemingway, chief commercial and marketing officer at Shahid, pointed out how the collaboration aligns with the Kingdom’s National Gaming and Esports Strategy, the government’s vision to establish the country as the world’s foremost gaming hub by 2030.
She explained how the strategy is a demonstration of the Kingdom’s government’s willingness to back the sector, and that “through collaborations of this kind, we are confident that we can help contribute to the ambitious National Gaming and Esports Strategy, which aims to make Saudi Arabia a global center for gaming and esports by 2030.
“This collaboration is a positive step forward for both Shahid and Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports; we cannot wait to see what the future holds for esports in the GCC and MENA region,” she added.
Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports is a worldwide collegiate league developed by Amazon, GGTech, and NUEL that runs leagues for university students in 16 countries spanning Europe, Latin and North America, and the Middle East.
The organization said since its launch in Saudi Arabia, it has had a huge growth in the number of players and teams, participating universities, and organizing competitions and events, making it one of the leading players in the esports field in the region.
Thanks to the numerous e-sports events held in the country, Saudi Arabia’s gaming sector has grown at a fast rate.
With a population of almost 40 million in the Kingdom, with more than half under the age of 25, gaming revenues have also been on the rise.
Along with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the Middle East and North Africa region’s esports revenue is expected to exceed $5 billion by 2025.
LONDON: A Russian court on Thursday fined the Wikimedia Foundation, which owns Wikipedia, two million roubles ($24,510) for not deleting what it said was “banned content” related to the Russian military, Interfax reported.
It said this was the seventh fine imposed on Wikimedia in 2023 for not removing prohibited information. The fines now total 8.4 million roubles.
The latest penalty was for not removing an article about a military unit that contained “classified military information” about its location, composition and equipment, including information related to the progress of what Russia calls its special military operation in Ukraine.
Wikimedia did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It has previously said information that Russian authorities complained about was well-sourced and in line with Wikipedia standards.
Wikipedia is one of the few surviving independent sources of information in Russia since a state crackdown on online content intensified after Moscow invaded Ukraine last year.
“We are not blocking Wikipedia yet, there are no such plans for now,” Interfax quoted digital affairs minister Maksut Shadaev as saying last week.