News for 'Google and Facebook'

Blue Whale challenge allegedly claims 2 lives in Kerala

Blue Whale challenge allegedly claims 2 lives in Kerala

Rediff.com16 Aug 2017

The state police is yet to confirm if the recent suicides are linked to the cyber game.

How WhatsApp signed up 1.5 billion people

How WhatsApp signed up 1.5 billion people

Rediff.com16 Mar 2019

Several of WhatsApp's early features were designed keeping Indian conditions in mind, given the choppy connectivity and existence of devices of different makes. In fact, India was the first country where WhatsApp rolled out in-app video calling services in 2016, ahead of its global launch, underlining the importance of the market for the company.

Madras HC sentences Youtuber to 6 months jail for criminal contempt

Madras HC sentences Youtuber to 6 months jail for criminal contempt

Rediff.com15 Sep 2022

The Madras high court on Thursday convicted a well-known Youtuber, A Sankar alias 'Savukku' Sankar, for criminal contempt and sentenced him to six months' imprisonment.

Indian start-ups shun China, turn to US firms for fund

Indian start-ups shun China, turn to US firms for fund

Rediff.com27 Jul 2020

India's shift towards US companies for technology investments and partnerships fits well with the present government's 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' and 'Make in India' initiatives, say experts.

With Ambani upping the ante, Jio looks to dial disruption 2.0

With Ambani upping the ante, Jio looks to dial disruption 2.0

Rediff.com11 Sep 2020

Jio's global partnerships took shape this year when Jio Platforms, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Reliance Jio which has invested in various digital platforms, was able to woo a bevy of marquee investors: Facebook, Google, Qualcomm, Intel, and a numerous PE funds.

'May rob media's independence': HC on new IT Rules

'May rob media's independence': HC on new IT Rules

Rediff.com16 Sep 2021

The Madras High Court on Thursday stayed the operation of certain sub-clauses of the recently introduced Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

Why Bollywood is NOT worth its name

Why Bollywood is NOT worth its name

Rediff.com7 Aug 2020

The Rs 19,100 crore 'Indian film industry' is more than its monikers for three simple reasons, feels Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.

WhatsApp launches pilot to enable financial inclusion in 500 villages

WhatsApp launches pilot to enable financial inclusion in 500 villages

Rediff.com15 Dec 2021

Messaging platform WhatsApp on Wednesday said it has rolled out a pilot program across 500 villages across Karnataka and Maharashtra, aimed at empowering villagers with access to digital payments through 'payments on WhatsApp'. The announcement was made at Fuel For India 2021 - Meta's annual event in India. WhatsApp India Head Abhijit Bose said the pilot aims to effect a behavioral transformation to digital payments at the grassroots.

Mukesh Ambani says Reliance now has strong balance sheet to support growth

Mukesh Ambani says Reliance now has strong balance sheet to support growth

Rediff.com2 Jun 2021

After record fund raising, Reliance Industries now has a strong balance sheet with high liquidity that will support growth plans for its three hyper-growth engines, Jio, Retail and oil-to-chemicals, according to the firm's chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani. In the company's latest annual report released on Wednesday, he said the company sold minority stakes in Jio Platforms -- the unit that houses its telecom and digital business -- and retail arm for almost Rs 2 lakh crore and raised another Rs 53,124 crore through rights issue.

NUE: 6 in fray for digital payments licence

NUE: 6 in fray for digital payments licence

Rediff.com10 Mar 2021

The race to get a New Umbrella Entity (NUE) licence for digital payments may get crowded. As many as six consortiums are said to be in the fray to apply for an NUE licence, which would create a for-profit National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)-like body for retail payments. A consortium led by Financial Software and Systems (FSS), a leading provider of payment products and payment processor, is in talks and may file an application to the RBI for an NUE license, said sources aware of the development. The other constituents of this group include Indian Bank, Central Bank of India, India Post Payments Bank, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard), and a few small finance banks.

PepsiCo spends Rs 2 crore to stop social media digs at Kurkure

PepsiCo spends Rs 2 crore to stop social media digs at Kurkure

Rediff.com3 Aug 2018

PepsiCo India spokesperson said fake news suggesting Kurkure has plastic in it has affected the brand's reputation

Ensure no defamatory content against Bollywood: HC to Republic TV, Times Now

Ensure no defamatory content against Bollywood: HC to Republic TV, Times Now

Rediff.com9 Nov 2020

In strong observations while hearing the plea, the high court cited the death of Princess Diana while trying to escape the media chase, and said there needs to be "some toning down" as people are "afraid of the fourth pillar of democracy" because of its powers.

Salute the Power & Glory of Indian Cinema!

Salute the Power & Glory of Indian Cinema!

Rediff.com3 Nov 2020

It is the most potent symbol of India's soft power -- more perhaps than the IT industry and our managerial skill, notes Vanita Kohli-Khandekar

App developers, read this before sharing users' data

App developers, read this before sharing users' data

Rediff.com30 Aug 2017

Unauthorised sale of data to third parties will land developers in trouble.

India's social media headache

India's social media headache

Rediff.com16 Dec 2014

Unhappy with response to queries following Mehdi Biswas' arrest, Bengaluru Police summon Twitter India marketing head.

Govt and the bogey of content regulation

Govt and the bogey of content regulation

Rediff.com13 Feb 2021

Even if it wants to censor what you read, watch, or consume, the amount of content online is so huge that it is physically impossible for any government to do it, notes Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.

Google has made teachers less awe-inspiring, grandparents more idle: Modi

Google has made teachers less awe-inspiring, grandparents more idle: Modi

Rediff.com27 Sep 2015

'If Facebook were a country, it would be the third most populous one and the most connected.'

Ban on Chinese mobile apps is bonanza for India's own

Ban on Chinese mobile apps is bonanza for India's own

Rediff.com17 Sep 2021

Eighteen months after the government started banning Chinese mobile apps, two distinct changes have occurred in the country's mobile app sweepstakes. The move has given a thrust to domestic app publishers, especially in certain segments and it has dramatically reduced the market share of Chinese apps. What started as an interim government ban on 59 Chinese apps, including the highly popular TikTok and WeChat in March 2020 ended as a permanent ban on many of them in January this year. According to a China Internet Report 2021 (by South China Morning Post), the market share of Chinese apps in India has dropped substantially from 44 per cent in 2018 to only 29 per cent in 2020. In 2017 it was 41 per cent.

India may tweak IT Act to allow tracing of social media posts

India may tweak IT Act to allow tracing of social media posts

Rediff.com23 Feb 2019

Ministry of home affairs and the IT ministry are planning to have a series of discussions with representatives from Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, and Google on issues around national security and the problem of fake news. Asking for decryption keys from WhatsApp to track conversations on the chat app is also part of the agenda.

Centre asked to file report sanctioning websites' prosecution

Centre asked to file report sanctioning websites' prosecution

Rediff.com14 Feb 2012

The Delhi high court on Tuesday asked the Centre to file its report according sanction to prosecute 21 websites, including Facebook, Google, Yahoo and Microsoft, for allegedly promoting enmity between classes and causing prejudice to national integration.

There's room at the top in Big 4 social media cos in India

There's room at the top in Big 4 social media cos in India

Rediff.com17 Sep 2018

Companies such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter are finding it extremely difficult to rope in new India heads.

How Hindustan Unilever plans to fight toxic ads

How Hindustan Unilever plans to fight toxic ads

Rediff.com7 Apr 2019

By toxic, the reference is to material that whips up hatred, is discriminatory in nature and has explicit sexual and pornographic content.

TRAI bars differential tariff for Internet access

TRAI bars differential tariff for Internet access

Rediff.com8 Feb 2016

TRAI said that Internet service providers would not be allowed to discriminate on pricing of data access for different web services.

'Wise for US to have a good relationship with India'

'Wise for US to have a good relationship with India'

Rediff.com24 Sep 2021

'While we may speculate about personality politics, the reality is that there are more important issues that drive the India-US relationship.'

Ramdev's messaging app 'Kimbho' goes off Play Store hours after launch

Ramdev's messaging app 'Kimbho' goes off Play Store hours after launch

Rediff.com1 Jun 2018

While experts claimed that Patanjali's Swadeshi messaging app was removed form Google Play over security concerns, Kimbho declared that it was removed because of heavy traffic.

Mukesh Ambani completes 20 years as Reliance boss

Mukesh Ambani completes 20 years as Reliance boss

Rediff.com28 Dec 2022

Mukesh Ambani, who took over the reins of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) after the sudden demise of his legendary industrialist father Dhirubhai Ambani, completes 20 years at the helm during which the company saw a 17-fold jump in revenues, 20-times surge in profit and has become a global conglomerate.

IT ministry asks YouTube to remove videos of Abhi

IT ministry asks YouTube to remove videos of Abhi

Rediff.com28 Feb 2019

The ministry had asked YouTube to remove the clips following directive from the home ministry, a government source said, adding that the said links have now been removed.

How to protect yourself from Fake News & Cyber Crimes

How to protect yourself from Fake News & Cyber Crimes

Rediff.com6 May 2020

'More than 114 cases have been registered for spreading fake messages, rumours and fake news on WhatsApp.' 'People on various groups are reporting such crimes.' 'The most heartening development is people are now not tolerating such things.'

PE deals jump 108% to $33.8 bn in 2020: Report

PE deals jump 108% to $33.8 bn in 2020: Report

Rediff.com6 Jan 2021

Close to $18 billion that Reliance Jio and Reliance Retail mopped up from a slew of private equity transactions in 2020 has pushed up the money inflows through this route by 108 per cent to $33.8 billion, according to an industry report. As per the data collated by Refinitiv, private equity investments increased 108 per cent in 2020 over the previous year, with the number of deals jumping from 665 in 2019 to 791 in 2020 at $33.8 billion, despite the pandemic. In 2019, total PE deals stood at $16.2 billion. Most of the fund inflows were in the third quarter, fetching $24 billion, which, however, tapered off in Q4 to just about $4.57 billion, as per the data from the agency that tracks financial transactions at a global level.

WhatsApp banned 2mn Indian accounts during May 15-Jun 15

WhatsApp banned 2mn Indian accounts during May 15-Jun 15

Rediff.com15 Jul 2021

The new IT rules require large digital platforms -- with over five million users -- to publish compliance reports every month, mentioning the details of complaints received and action taken.

Indian biz needs govt support to counter China abroad: Sunil Mittal

Indian biz needs govt support to counter China abroad: Sunil Mittal

Rediff.com10 Nov 2014

Airtel acquired African telecom operator Zain in 2010 for $10.7 billion.

China blocks Indian newspapers, websites

China blocks Indian newspapers, websites

Rediff.com30 Jun 2020

The recent action comes amid the ongoing tension between India and China after the violent standoff on June 15 in Galwan Valley area in eastern Ladakh in which both sides suffered casualties.

A billion Indians on Pichai's homecoming radar

A billion Indians on Pichai's homecoming radar

Rediff.com13 Dec 2015

Pichai will visit India accompanied by the heads of various Google business units

'Kalnirnay belongs to the people of India'

'Kalnirnay belongs to the people of India'

Rediff.com16 Feb 2023

'Kalnirnay is like a bible for any family.'

US tech giants reveal govt data request firgures

US tech giants reveal govt data request firgures

Rediff.com15 Jun 2013

American tech giants Microsoft and Facebook have disclosed the number of requests they had received from the US National Security Agency to reveal details, including internet usage of their consumers.

WhatsApp to help users buy 'affordable' health insurance

WhatsApp to help users buy 'affordable' health insurance

Rediff.com16 Dec 2020

WhatsApp on Wednesday said it expects to facilitate the purchase of "affordable sachet-sized" health insurance through its platform by the end of the year as part of its efforts to provide users in India with greater access to financial solutions. The Facebook-owned company noted that its 'Payments' feature is now available to users across the country (currently up to 20 million users) with support from banking partners - State Bank of India, HDFC, ICICI and Axis Bank.

Deregulation to make India a trillion-dollar geospatial economy

Deregulation to make India a trillion-dollar geospatial economy

Rediff.com8 Mar 2021

A business in India wanting access to maps and geospatial data would typically have to wait months before it got what it wanted. All this is set to change with the new guidelines on geospatial data, report Neha Alawadhi and Peerzada Abrar.

IT greats who changed the world

IT greats who changed the world

Rediff.com10 Feb 2011

Marc Zuckerberg of Facebook, Sergei Brin and Larry Page of Google, Steve Jobs of Apple and Bill Gates of Microsoft -- visionaries, missionaries or monopolists? A bit of all, I suspect, says B S Prakash.

Tata, Reliance ready for mother of all battles

Tata, Reliance ready for mother of all battles

Rediff.com20 Jul 2021

'The competition between the two is definitely going to be of great interest to the Indian market.'

Zuckerberg post on Modi visit gets 172,000 'like's, 7,300 comments

Zuckerberg post on Modi visit gets 172,000 'like's, 7,300 comments

Rediff.com14 Sep 2015

This will be Modi's second US visit after he was elected PM.