1. Opposition against Youth IG
Facebook is working on a version for instagram for preteens. Bloomberg reports that forty-four attorneys general are urging Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg to abandon plans to build a new version of photo-sharing network Instagram for young children, arguing the new app could harm kids’ mental health and compromise their privacy. Facebook said in a statement it will prioritize safety, privacy and working with regulators and experts as it builds out the service. The company also committed not to show any advertisements on the youth platform.
2. Pay with your hand
Amazon has released a new way to pay; your hand. The Washington Post reports that Amazon announced a new palm-recognition system last week that lets people shop in two of its Amazon Go stores by scanning their palm at the entrance. The store automatically tracks what products they pick up and then charges the credit card associated with their hand. It’s the latest in a long line of product announcements from the company to raise privacy or security concerns while selling its vision of an automated, frictionless future. Called “Amazon One”, the palm-scanning system is only in two Go stores in Seattle at the moment.
3. Madagascar & COVID-19
Madagascar has started rolling out vaccinations of the COVID-19 vaccine despite the natural solution they were pushing a year ago. Africa News reports that The Indian Ocean island nation received its first shipment of 250,000 AstraZeneca jabs on Saturday. Madagascar on Monday rolled out its Covid-19 vaccination campaign. Health Minister Jean Louis Hanitrala Rakotovao was among the first to be inoculated in the capital, Antananarivo. Madagascar has registered 38,874 infections, including at least 716 deaths. President Andry Rajoelina has been criticized for his handling of the pandemic.Until recently, he had been promoting a herbal concoction as a cure for the virus prompting a warning from the WHO. “Our message is that people should be vaccinated. But it is voluntary,” said Issa Sanogo, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Madagascar.
