Also, startups Bitspark and Crayon Data have raised funding
Indonesia wants Alphabet to censor Google’s obscene content
The Indonesian government is tightening its grip on censorship in the country. According to a report by Reuters, the government plans to summon representatives of major internet messaging and search services, including Google, to demand that they remove obscene content.
Yesterday, the Indonesian government warned it will block WhatsApp within 48 hours if it did not remove GIFs (animated graphics files) on the platform. According to the report, WhatsApp told the government to work directly with the third-party developers who provide GIF content to WhatsApp.
One of the providers, Tenor Inc, has already implemented fixes and today, users reported they were unable to access Tenor’s GIFs.
The Indonesian government has made similar demands in the past. Last year, it demanded Google and chat app Telegram remove extremist content on from their platform. It banned popular image sharing site Tumblr, then reversed its decision almost immediately.
The Indonesian government also banned video streaming giant Netflix before allowing state-owned telco Telkom to launch the service in the country.
Apple iPhone supplier to expand in India
Apple’s iPhone manufacturer, Taiwanese manufacturer Wistron Corp, is planning to expand its operations in India.
According to a Bloomberg report, the iPhone assembler is looking to secure about 100 acres of land in Bangalore, including a plot near the airport.
Wistron first launched its plant in Bengaluru this year, with the sole purpose of manufacturing iPhones. It may now, however, explore manufacturing other brands, the report said.
Another Apple assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry is in talks with the local Indian governments to set up plants, the report added.
In India, Apple iPhones do not sell as well as compared to other markets; this is in part due to high tariffs imposed on products manufactured outside of India.
Most of the iPhones manufactured in the country (which it began this year) have been of its lower-end model, the iPhone SE. This has enabled Apple India to double its revenue YoY for the third quarter of this year.
Apple is currently in negotiations with the federal government to build more manufacturing facilities and open retail stores. Apple wants the government to remove custom duty barriers, capital equipment duty barriers and grant permission to import and export used iPhones to refurbish, said the Bloomberg report.
Big data startup Crayon Data raises funding
Singapore and Chennai-based big data startup Crayon Data has raised funding from Infosys co-founder Senapathy “Kris” Gopalakrishnan.
The investment amount was not disclosed, but it is part of a Series A2 funding. Crayon’s previous investors include Jungle Ventures, Ratan Tata, Mitsui & Co., and many prominent angels.
Crayon will use the newly-raised financing to expand its presence globally as well as strengthen its product offerings.
Founded in 2012 by Srikant Sastri and Suresh Shankar, Crayon Data builds tools that deliver business solutions by bringing together enterprise, public, external internet and social data to a single platform.
Also Read: We have a US$65B big data opportunity in Asia Pacific, and the trends point to big benefits
Its flagship product ‘Simpler Choices’ uses big data and analytics so enterprises can enable clients to increase their sales conversions and improve returns from existing accounts. The firm’s key focus verticals are hospitality, finance, retail and technology.
The firm also offers Maya, a personalisation engine that facilitates choice delivery for the banking, hotel and digital media verticals.
Additionally, it has a tool called TasteGraph, which maps nearly 4 million restaurants, over a million hotels and 500,000 attractions, globally.
“I see that the future of business will be the ability to leverage AI and big data to create ‘personal’ digital experiences for millions of customers,” said Gopalakrishnan.
“Crayon has a unique ability to bridge multiple worlds: analytics to digital, offline to online, internal, and external data. This makes them as critical to credit cards, travel and hospitality, and retail enterprises, as a Bloomberg terminal is to traders today,” he added.
British startup Dream Agility wins US$9,000 in Korean startup competition
British adtech startup Dream Agility has won the 2017 Global Tech Challenge at the Bounce Busan Global Conference, a South Korea government-backed event. It beat 20 startups to win the £10,000 (US$13,100) prize.
Dream Agility’s cloud-based machine learning tech optimises product data for online retailers, lead Gen and travel companies.
Its service is available in over 20 countries, and is one of 35 Google Shopping Partners.
“It’s a huge win, especially in Korea where the adtech adoption is quite small and the companies still employ the manual approach to advertising,” said Dream Agility’s VP of Technology, Daniel Wardin.
Bitspark raises funding from a major US life reinsurance company
Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency remittance startup Bitspark has raised an undisclosed funding from RGAx, the fintech innovation accelerator of Reinsurance Group of America, a major US life reinsurance company with over US$58.7 billion in assets.
The partnership between RGAx and Bitspark will allow them to further their mutual goal of delivering financial protection to the underserved populations.
“At RGAx we are actively partnering with our existing clients and new innovators, such as Bitspark, to create business opportunities that improve consumer access to financial services,” said Dennis Barnes, CEO, RGAx, in an official press release.
Also Read: The economics of blockchain and crypto assets
“We believe Bitspark’s technology could help reduce friction for the millions of people who use remittance to support their families and friends abroad.”
Bitspark currently operates in seven countries with over 100, 000 cash distribution options, including banks, convenience stores and mobile money payments
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The post Captain’s Log, November 7: Indonesia demands Google, WhatsApp remove obscene content, Apple iPhone supplier planning expansion in India appeared first on e27.