Author: Francis Muli

A coalition of US attorneys have launched an investigation on the effects of TikTok on young people’s mental and physical health. The group aims to find out if TikTok’s design, operation and marketing aspects have a negative effect on children, teens, and young adults’ health. The algorithm that controls the content users see on TikTok has proven to be extremely effective in keeping users engaged with the app. While the company has provided some insight into how it operates, detailed data is difficult to come by except for leaks and educated conjecture. The investigation will therefore focus on “the strategies…

Officials of Political Party, ODM have reported that official party website odm.co.ke was this morning experiencing some unusual activity. “Dear ODM Member, since dawn we have had an unusual activity on our official website.” the party announced through its official social media handles. The party further told its members that the site has since been fully restored. “Our technical team has been working round the clock to fix it and the site has been fully restored and loaded. We apologize for the inconvenience caused.” Read: Ruto’s Director of Youth Affairs Kibagendi Welcomed To ODM By Raila After Ditching UDA It…

Microsoft has launched a series of initiatives to boost 10,000 African startups and enhance its investment prospects in the continent’s startup ecosystem over the next five years. The company recently launched the global Founders Hub which will now be available to African startups through the new Africa Transformation Office. The Founders Hub is a self-service portal that connects start-ups to mentors, skilling courses, Microsoft Azure and GitHub, as well as go-to-market and business help. Microsoft is also forming new partnerships various accelerators and incubators such as Grindstone, Greenhouse, FlapMax, and Seedstars, in Africa, with an aim of providing access to…

The Mandera County Government has launched a large-scale digital platform to improve service delivery to staff and county people. Speaking at the launch, Governor Ali Roba stated that the Mandera website will aid interdepartmental collaboration. Roba stated that the website would promote seamless coordination in the executive branch of the county as the agencies will make their information readily available on the internet. The governor added that all job adverts would be posted on the website. He urged locals to check the website frequently to see what jobs are available, in order to ensure fair allocation of jobs. He stated…

An organization that coordinates domain name systems, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has announced that it will set up two Root Server (IMRS) clusters in Africa, with one of them being located in Kenya. As part of its aim to ensuring that the Internet stays safe, reliable, and resilient around the world, ICANN said it is building infrastructure in Africa. “ICANN will install and manage two new ICANN Managed Root Server (IMRS) clusters in Africa, one of which is confirmed to be in Kenya. This is ICANN’s first-of-its-kind investment in Africa,” the organisation said in a…

Germany has asked Kenyans to seek verification before spreading rumours about the Ukraine crisis on social media. The German Embassy in Nairobi said in a series of tweets that a lot of fake information is being circulated by Kenyans on Twitter. The embassy said in a series of tweets that they will work on “We also note with concern the many rumours circulating on #KoT (Kenyans on Twitter) regarding this topic as well,” the embassy tweeted. “Please verify the information before you repost. This attack on Ukraine is also fought with active disinformation.” Read: Cellulant Partners With Adyen To Enable Merchants…

Instagram is introducing auto-generated captions for videos on the feed. According to Instagram Head, Adam Mosseri, the feature has been a long time coming, and the captions will be on by default for creators on the app. “It’s a long time coming, but we’re excited to share a new tool that empowers those in the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities. Videos on Instagram will now have auto-generated captions, where you have the option to turn them off or on.” Mosseri said. Normally, creators add captions to their videos using time-consuming workarounds. The new feature will streamline the process and make Instagram…

The man behind Netflix popular series, the Tinder Swindler, is now facing a multimillion dollar lawsuit. Shimon Hayut, popularly known as Simon Leviev is being sued by the legitimate Leviev family for using their family name to defraud his victims. The real Levievs are a wealthy family dealing diamonds. Hayut even changed his name to convince the women he met on popular dating app Tinder, that he was a part of the family. Israeli Russian Tycoon Lev Leviev and his family has now filed a suit in Tel Aviv against the con man for impersonating them. Read: Instagram Discontinues Lite App…

Digital taxi drivers have taken to the streets to protest the Transport Cabinet Secretary’s failure to gazette the Digital Hailing Service regulations (TNC Rules 2022) which were passed by the Senate labor committee chaired by Senator Johnson Sakaja. The drivers operate under the Digital Taxi Forum (DTF) which comprises stakeholders from ride-hailing apps across the country. The protest comes after a 7-day notice issued on February 19 to CS for Transport James Macharia to publish the Digital Taxi Regulations elapsed. The DTF had promised to down their tools and switch off their apps countrywide if the regulations were not gazetted.…

The Ministry of Education has partnered with Google to develop an Android Developer Skills masterplan to be used in Technical, Vocational and Educational Institutions (TVETs). The 6-month initiative aims to train 300 TVET tutors bringing intermediate-level skills in Android application development to 10,000 students in 50 institutions. Speaking at the TVET Developer Training Launch Ceremony held at the Kenya Technical Training College (KTTC), Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha said the initiative would open up job opportunities for young people. “Collaborations between governments and tech companies can drive digital transformation by growing the tech talent pipeline. Kenya is increasingly a place…

The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner has partnered with the Kenya School of Government to create awareness and enhance Kenyans’ data protection in government institutions. This is due to the fact that government agencies in Kenya are the largest data holders and controllers. Speaking during a visit to the Konza Technopolis, Data Commissioner Ms. Immaculate Kassait said the agency was keen on ensuring that data is safely processed and secured within the country. “Following enactment of the Data Protection Act, 2019, certain categories of data which are of strategic importance to the country must be processed in Kenya or…

TikTok is expanding the maximum length of videos on the app for up to 10 minutes, the company announced to its users via a notification on the app. Last year, the short video-making platform expanded the maximum length of its videos to three minutes, before it started testing even longer versions. “We’re always thinking about new ways to bring value to our community and enrich the TikTok experience,” a spokesperson for the company said. Read: President Biden Attributes High Covid-19 Infection Rate to Misinformation on Social Media “Last year, we introduced longer videos, giving our community more time to create…

Facebook claims to have taken down a misinformation network made up of individuals and websites spreading false information regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The parent firm of the social network, Meta, described the network as “relatively small,” with roughly 40 accounts, Pages, and Groups on Facebook and Instagram. It’s unclear when the group began operating, but Meta claims it had fewer than 4,000 Facebook followers and 500 Instagram followers when it was discovered. It’s a sign that while these actors are trying to run these types of influence operations, they’re getting caught sooner and they’re not reaching the audiences that…

Spotify launched in Kenya a year ago, and since then the audio-streaming app has gained traction among music and podcast lovers in Kenya. Kenyan musicians have increased by 25 percent on the app, and creators have added 8,730 songs to the platform since launch. The average number of artists streamed per user has increased by 17%  with the majority of listeners hailing from Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Eldoret, and Kisumu. Sauti Sol is the most streamed Kenyan musician, followed by Nviiri The Storyteller of Sol Records. Otile Brown comes third, followed by Nyashinski and Bensoul, another Sol Records artist. Read: Spotify…

The Directorate of Criminal Investigation is today celebrating a huge milestone on social media. The investigative agency now has one million followers on Twitter. “Today we are celebrating 1Million followers on Twitter! As the country’s foremost Investigative agency, DCI is much obliged to all of you for this milestone!” the DCI said via its handle. The agency has gained traction for its crime reporting technique on both Facebook and Twitter. The DCI has been updating and warning the public on various crimes and criminals around the country. Read: DCI Cautions Kenyans Against Online Scammers As Festive Season Approaches “We remain…