Facebook is facing scrutiny after it was revealed in March that in 2014 a London-based political consulting firm had harvested the data of Facebook users to profile individuals and direct political campaigns and biased content to users, trying to influence their political opinion. Facebook is now reeling to win back the trust of its users, making privacy tools easier to find and suspending the accounts of abusers.
The United Arab Emirates government has launched a global emerging technologies startup competition dubbed "GovHack Series" in eight major cities around the world. The competition is part of the GovTech Prize, a UAE government initiative that has been running for its 6th year.
Popular crypto-currency bitcoin, famous for its fluctuations in value, has made some of its early investors into millionaires. But an expert speaking at the recent World Government Summit in Dubai warned that consumers need to look after themselves when it comes to digital currency, as they cannot rely on regulation to protect them from market volatility or cybercrime.
The UAE Council for Artificial Intelligence held its first meeting on March 26, cementing the country's status as a trailblazer in the technology sector. The well-being of citizens was the main topic of conversation at the first meeting, and also the Council's objectives in implementing the UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence.
The impact of economic reforms and new regulations introduced by the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) in Saudi Arabia could negatively impact the kingdom's telecom sector, says a report by NCB Capital, the investment arm of Saudi lender NCB. The net income of Saudi Arabia's telecom sector is expected to decline 1.4 percent in 2018 to SAR 9.3 billion driven by lower revenues.
5G is the hype of our industry, and recently, countries have been announcing what’s new in this sphere – this is even before ITU’s allocation of spectrum, which will be very important for device manufacturers and for roaming users.
Vodafone is exploring investment opportunities in Egypt and looking to expand its business plans in the field of outsourcing, according to a statement released after a meeting between Egypt’s Minister of Communication and Information Technology, Yasser ElKady, and Vodafone Group Plc. Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer, Nick Read.
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was held at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Headquarters in Geneva on March 24 with the participation of the official delegation of the United Arab Emirates, headed by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA).
Emirates Data Clearing House (EDCH), a subsidiary of Etisalat Services Holding, hosted the seventh GSMA Wholesale Agreements and Solutions Group (WAS#7) in Dubai from March 19-22, featuring keynote speakers and an update from the GSMA Technology Group on industry-wide issues affecting all GSMA work. Emirates Data Clearing House General Manager, Nasser Salim, encouraged attendees to collaborate and "take steps to improve our industry."
Egypt hosted the 11th Arab Robotics Championship from March 23-26, dubbed one of the most powerful competitions in the Arab world in the field of robotics. The event, hosted in Sharm El Sheikh, was inaugurated by Egypt’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology Yasser ElKady and the Governor of South Sinai Khaled Fouda.
