[caption id="attachment_5322" align="alignnone" width="300"] Facebook said it was planning to set up new operation centres, focused on election integrity, including one in Dublin.[/caption]

As the European Parliament election inch closer, the European Commission has claimed Facebook is withholding key data on its efforts towards how the platform is rooting out the spread of poll-related disinformation.

According to a report in The Guardian on Thursday, the European Commission has complained that Facebook has set up fact checkers only in eight of the European Union's (EU) 28 member states.

"Mark Zuckerberg's company has been under fire from the European Commission for failing to provide it with the hard numbers to prove that it was living up to promises made in a voluntary code of conduct," said the report.

"Facebook has again failed to provide all necessary information, including any data on its actions in January on scrutiny of ad placements or efforts to disrupt advertising and monetisation incentives for those behind disinformation," the report said, quoting EU's security commissioner Sir Julian King and digital economy commissioner, Mariya Gabriel.

The commission, however, said Google has fared slightly better on sharing information on election-related misinformation.

The next elections to the European Parliament are expected to be held in May. A total of 751 members of the European Parliament currently represent more than 512 million people from 28 member states.

Facebook in January said it is committed to setting a high standard for transparency when it comes to political advertising on Facebook in EU. "To run electoral ads or ads about highly debated and important issues related to the European Parliament Elections, advertisers will be required to confirm their identity and include additional information about who is responsible for their ads," Anika Geisel, Public Policy Elections, Europe said in a blog post.
Facebook said it was planning to set up new operation centres, focused on election integrity, including one in Dublin.

"Working together with our teams in our Menlo Park headquarters and across Europe, the new initiative will serve as an added layer of defence against false news and misinformation, hate speech, voter suppression and election interference," said Facebook

Source: Economic Times

The Global System for Mobile Communication Association (GSMA) has stressed the need for a regulatory framework in telecommunications that will drive the global digital transformation agenda.

Director General of the GSMA, Mats Granryd, who made the call at the ongoing Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, proposed a regulatory framework to boost security and bring to fruition, an era of intelligent connectivity, in a bid to accelerate the adoption of a common digital transformation agenda.

According to him, the move would help to build a better future by demonstrating leadership in security and trust.
“The GSMA is working on behalf of our members to unite the broader digital ecosystem behind a common vision, namely to act ethically in the digital economy. The security of financial transactions is critical to consumer trust.
“When you can trust someone with your money, you can trust them with pretty much anything.”

Meanwhile, the European Commission (EU) has vowed to ensure swift resolution of 5G security issue across globe. European Commissioner for digital economy and society, Mariya Gabriel sought to diffuse what she described as mobile industry unrest on the 5G network security issue, stating her organisation was working to bring a solution to the table very soon.

Speaking at the MWC in Spain, Gabriel acknowledged concerns raised by the mobile industry on potential legislation related national security and 5G rollout.

“I am well aware of the unrest among all of you key actors in the telecommunications sector caused by the ongoing discussions on the cybersecurity of 5G, but let me reassure you that the Commission takes your view very seriously, because you need to run these systems every day,” Gabriel said.

Outside of the security debate, Gabriel praised the status of 5G development and rollout across the European Union, adding the Commission aimed to be at the forefront of Artificial Intelligence (AI) development.

On the issue of regulatory framework for digital agenda, Granryd said: “If the mobile and tech industries take the lead on this, we will be able to bring other industries and governments with us.”

The regulatory framework, Granryd explained, “must be fit for the digital age, with key objectives such as the need for various governments to support the initiative without killing the long-term opportunity by short-term greediness.”

“Next, is the approval for consolidation to drive investment while maintaining effective competition, and thirdly, we need to see the same rules for equivalent digital services, with an even playing field for operators and internet players; and lastly, we must have harmonised international privacy and data protection rules,” he added.

“The framework is something we at the GSMA will be working hard on behalf of the generality of the public to secure,” Granryd said, adding that the organisation stood ready to work with governments and regulators of various countries to put any of such concerns to rest.

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[caption id="attachment_5402" align="alignnone" width="295"]
Daddy Lumba, Efya and Ofori Amponsah will thrill fans on March 5[/caption]

MTN Ghana is organising the Independence Day edition of the MTN Music Festival on 05 March, which will feature Ghanaian music and culture. “The MTN Music Festival is geared towards celebrating our evergreen Ghanaian music and culture”.

“This is one of the best treats we can give our customers on the eve of Ghana’s independence anniversary celebrations”, Noel Ganson, Chief Marketing Officer of MTN Ghana said. Artistes billed to perform on the night are Daddy Lumba supported by musician Ofori Amponsah and vocalist Efya.

The Music Festival includes dance and poetry, too. The event is one of several platforms that MTN Ghana uses to support and promote the creative arts industry. Its other platforms include the MTN Hitmaker and MTN Regional festivals. The recent partnership between MTN and Aftown supports listening, streaming and monetising of local music in the digital age.

Source: Telecompaper

[caption id="attachment_5396" align="alignnone" width="300"] Mats-Granryd-Director-General-GSMA[/caption]

A new GSMA study reveals that 80 per cent of women in low- and middle-income countries are now mobile owners. According to the GSMA’s 2019 Mobile Gender Gap Report released today, mobile is the primary means of internet access in these markets, where 48 per cent of women use mobile to get online.

However, despite the growth in connectivity, the gender gap in mobile ownership is not closing. Women remain 10 per cent less likely than men to own a mobile phone in low- and middle-income countries, and 23 per cent less likely than men to use mobile internet.

The mobile gender gap varies by region and country but is widest in South Asia where women are 28 per cent less likely than men to own a mobile device and 58 per cent less likely to use the mobile internet.

“We are seeing significantly increased mobile access for women, however in an increasingly connected world, women are still being left behind,” said Mats Granryd, Director General, GSMA. “While mobile connectivity is spreading quickly, it is not spreading equally. Unequal access to mobile technology threatens to exacerbate the inequalities women already experience.”

Mobile operators are taking action to address the mobile gender gap and leading an effort to drive digital and financial inclusion for women.

As part of the GSMA Connected Women Programme’s Commitment Initiative, nearly 37 mobile operators from 27 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America have committed to reducing the gender gap in their mobile money or mobile internet customer base by 2020.

These operators have provided over 16 million additional women with access to digital and financial services since 2016.

“Ensuring digital and financial inclusion for women is critically important, as we know that when women thrive, societies, businesses and economies thrive,” added Granryd. “Reaching the 432 million women in these countries who are still unconnected will require concerted effort and coordination from the mobile industry, as well as policy makers and the international community.”

Women highlighted affordability, literacy and digital skills, a perceived lack of relevance, and safety and security concerns as the top barriers needing to be addressed in order to further decrease the mobile gender gap.

The GSMA found that closing the gender gaps in mobile ownership and usage represents a substantial commercial opportunity for the mobile industry. Over the next five years, low- and middle-income countries could gain an estimated additional $140 billion in mobile industry revenue if operators could close these gender gaps by 2023.

The GSMA also found that closing the mobile gender gap could be an important driver of economic growth. These markets could also add an additional $700 billion in GDP growth by 2023.

The GSMA’s 2019 Gender Gap Mobile Report is available here.

Source: GSMA