PayPal Inc Holdings Inc revealed last Monday that it has made a strategic investment in Tala, a fintech startup that offers micro loans to underserved consumers in emerging markets. The California-based lending firm had been serving individuals in regions including Kenya, Tanzania, the Philippines, and Mexico via a smartphone app. The company, which has already lent more than $500 million to customers around the world says the funding will be used to further develop its product and extend its reach. The firm uses device and behavioral data to underwrite customers and disburse loans of between $10 and $500 on mobile […]

In a blog post this week, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki warned content creators on the platform that the Article 13 of EU’s new copyright directive will pose a threat to their livelihood and called on them to take action immediately. Wojcicki explained that the new legislation, which is to be voted on next year, will make it too risky for  YouTube to host videos from smaller content creators as the platform will have to assume liability. She also argued that the platform’s Content ID already protects content owners by comparing content of new videos to a database of copyrighted video […]

Health startup MediXserve and the Ateneo de Manila university announced this week the launch of AMBERLab, the country’s first university-based blockchain education and research laboratory.   The Ateneo-MediXserve Blockchain Education and Research Laboratory will be a think tank focused on the study and application of blockchain technologies for developing countries, as well as related initiatives by the private sector. Led by Dr. Regina Estuar, the lab will not be profit-motivated, but will instead center on social good aspects, particularly with the health and agriculture sectors, among others. Source: Rappler

Grab announced this last Monday that it has rolled out new features on its app that will increase the safety and data protection of both its drivers and riders. The Southeast Asian ride-hailing giant said that it has strengthened the Grab platform with features such as driver fatigue monitoring system, emergency SOS features for drivers, driver and passenger validation system which should help bring down accidents and prevent crime. Grab co-founder Tan Hooi Ling said that the features the company has introduced as part of its Safer Everyday Tech Roadmap should raise the bar for safety standards of the transport […]

Facebook posted this week that it has removed 95 pages and 39 accounts in the Philippines for violating the platform’s rules on spam and authenticity. The pages, which included names like Duterte Media, Duterte sa Pagbabago BUKAS, DDS, Duterte Phenomenon, DU30 Trending News, Hot Babes, News Media Trends, Bossing Vic, Pilipinas Daily News, Like and Win, Manang Imee, and Karlo ang Probinsiyano, had been taken down for driving users to visit low quality websites full of disruptive ads and little substantive content. Around 4.8 million had reportedly followed at least one of the 95 pages that got removed from the […]