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Tag: Chris Daniels

  • Facebook chief product officer Chris Cox, WhatsApp head Chris Daniels step down

    Facebook chief product officer Chris Cox, WhatsApp head Chris Daniels step down

    MUMBAI: Social media giant Facebook has announced the departure of two high profile executives. The company’s chief product officer Chris Cox and its messaging app WhatsApp head Chris Daniels are leaving. In the last two years, the firm has lost several top notch executives.

    Cox had been with Facebook for more than a decade as he joined the firm in 2005, one year after the company was founded. He also helped helped to build several key features of the platform including News Feed. But WhatsApp head Daniels took up his responsibility just one year ago.  

    The move comes at a time when a week after Facebook CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg announced that the platform is focusing more on private messaging and ephemeral content. "This is an important change as we begin the next chapter of our work building the privacy-focused social foundation for the future," Zuckerberg said in the note.

    Daniels will be replaced by Will Cathcart, current head of Facebook's mobile app. But, Facebook has not announced Cox’s replacement yet.

  • WhatsApp needs to have local entity answerable to Indian laws: Govt

    WhatsApp needs to have local entity answerable to Indian laws: Govt

    NEW DELHI: The Indian government’s unambiguous and non-encrypted message to WhatsApp: set up a local entity in the country that is answerable to local laws, and find a tech solution to trace the origin of fake messages and content on the platform.

    “I had a productive meeting with Chris Daniels, the CEO of WhatsApp. I complimented him for the awakening, which WhatsApp has led in the entire country… But there are also sinister developments like mob lynching and revenge porn, you must find solutions to these challenges, which are downright criminal and [in] violation of Indian laws,” Minister of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) Ravi Shankar Prasad was quoted by PTI as having said after meeting WhatsApp head Chris Daniels yesterday.

    While admitting that the Facebook-owned messaging app has contributed significantly to India’s digital story, Prasad said he has asked WhatsApp to set up a corporate entity in India, appoint a grievance officer and find a technical solution to tracing the origin of fake messages on its platform.

    “I requested CEO WhatsApp Chris Daniels to set up a grievance officer in India; establish a corporate entity in India & comply with Indian laws. He assured me that #Whatsapp will soon take steps on all these counts,” Prasad said in a tweet.

    Later talking to reporters in the capital, the minister added: “I had said earlier also; it does not take rocket science to locate a message being circulated in hundreds and thousands…you must have a mechanism to find a solution.”

    According to Prasad, Whatsapp could face abetment charges if no action is taken by it. The messaging platform has taken some corrective steps in the recent past like limiting the number of forwards that an individual can make in India.

    In recent times, WhatsApp has been facing the heat as it had been accused of being the platform via which hateful messages and rumours were spread in India leading to violence and crimes. The issue, which some critics said was akin to shooting the messenger instead of upholding the law of the land, has also reverberated in the Indian parliament with lawmakers trying to put the government on the mat for WhatsApp-spread rumours-linked deaths and crimes.

    While Prasad is on record saying he’s in favour of gradually evolving a policy for regulating the likes of WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter, his ministry’s nudge has made the Department of Telecoms circulate a missive to telecom players and industry bodies seeking suggestions on ways to block services that ride the telecom infrastructure. The proposal has been criticized by many, including a chamber of commerce, Assocham.

    Telecoms regulator TRAI is also exploring regulations for OTT services like WhatsApp.

  • Eutelsat partners Facebook on satellite initiative for Africa

    Eutelsat partners Facebook on satellite initiative for Africa

    MUMBAI: Eutelsat Communications and Facebook are partnering on a new initiative that will leverage satellite technologies to get more Africans online. 

     

    Under a multi-year agreement with Spacecom, the two companies will utilise the entire broadband payload on the future AMOS-6 satellite and will build a dedicated system comprising satellite capacity, gateways and terminals. In providing reach to large parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, Eutelsat and Facebook will each be equipped to pursue their ambition to accelerate data connectivity for the many users deprived of the economic and social benefits of the Internet.

     

     

    Spot beams for community and Direct-to-User access

     

    Scheduled for start of service in the second half of 2016, the Ka-band payload on the AMOS-6 geostationary satellite is configured with high gain spot beams covering large parts of West, East and Southern Africa. The capacity is optimised for community and Direct-to-User Internet access using affordable, off-the-shelf customer equipment. According to the terms of the agreement, the capacity will be shared between Eutelsat and Facebook.

     

     

    State of the art satellite technology to meet pent-up demand

     

    Using state of the art satellite technology, Eutelsat and Facebook will each deploy Internet services designed to relieve pent-up demand for connectivity from the many users in Africa beyond range of fixed and mobile terrestrial networks. Satellite networks are well suited to economically connecting people in low to medium density population areas and the high throughput satellite architecture of AMOS-6 is expected to contribute to additional gains in cost efficiency.

     

     

    Eutelsat steps up Internet activity in Africa

     

    The capacity will enable Eutelsat to step up its broadband activity in Sub-Saharan Africa that was initiated using Ku-band satellites to serve professional users. Eutelsat is establishing a new company based in London that will steer its African broadband vision and business. The company will be led by Laurent Grimaldi, founder and former CEO of Tiscali International Network, and will focus on serving premium consumer and professional segments.

     

     

    Facebook continues Internet.org initiative

     

    Two years ago, Facebook announced Internet.org, an effort to accelerate the rate of connectivity by addressing the physical, economic and social barriers that are keeping people from getting online. For Facebook, this satellite system represents one of many technology investments to enable cost-effective broadband access to unconnected populations. Facebook plans to work with local partners across Africa to utilise satellite and terrestrial capacity to deliver services to rural areas.

     

    Internet.org vice president Chris Daniels said, “Facebook’s mission is to connect the world and we believe that satellites will play an important role in addressing the significant barriers that exist in connecting the people of Africa. We are looking forward to partnering with Eutelsat on this project and investigating new ways to use satellites to connect people in the most remote areas of the world more efficiently.”

     

    Eutelsat chairman and CEO Michel de Rosen added, “We are excited by this opportunity to accelerate the deployment of our broadband strategy and to partner with Facebook on a new initiative to provide Internet access services in Africa. Eutelsat’s strong track record in operating High Throughput Satellite systems will ensure that we can deliver accessible and robust Internet solutions that get more users online and part of the Information Society.”

  • Facebook & Reliance tie-up to launch Internet.org in India

    Facebook & Reliance tie-up to launch Internet.org in India

    MUMBAI: They are both large corporations in their respective fields, having almost the same two identical colours as part of their logo. And now after its tryst in African nations, Facebook today launched its product, Internet.org services in India by partnering with telco Reliance Communications.

    Reliance Communications consumer business CEO Gurdeep Singh said that the idea behind it was to provide free access to 33 popular websites to its consumers without any cost, thereby democratising the consumption of internet.

    Adding some insights, Singh explained that one fourth of the world’s consumers who are yet to be “online” were present in India, out of which a further 70 per cent of India’s mobile users are yet to touch base with the evolving cyberspace.

    In a video taped message, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, “We needed to make data more affordable and offer free services to the people of India. The idea was born during my visit to India last year where we met and discussed with the team from Reliance and decided to collaborate together.”

    Internet.org services is a bouquet of 33 popular websites put together, that besides entertaining consumers also provides a few utilities services free of cost. For now, only Reliance subscribers will be able to access the bundle by downloading the “FreeNet” connection app. To do so, a subscriber has to log on to www.internet.org or call up on 1800 300 25353.

    Facebook Internet.org vice president Chris Daniels informed, “After meeting the Reliance team in October last year we decided to come up with 30 free basic services across genres. We also are working with the Andhra Pradesh government and have come up with “AP Speaks” through which users and citizens will be able to send real time feedback and ideas to the government of the state.”

    The bouquet for now will consist of the following websites:

    Careers and Jobs: TimesJobs, Babajob.

    Education and Knowledge: Wikipedi, wikiHow, Dictionary.com, Translator, Reuters Market Lite, Jagran Josh.

    Health and Social Welfare: Facts of Life (UNICEF), BabyCenter&MAMA, Girl Effect (Nike Foundation), iLearn (UN Women), Malaria No More, Social Blood, AP Speaks.

    News: BCC News, Times of India, India Today, NDTV, BBC News, IBNLive, Aaj Tak,Amarujala.com, Daily Bhaskar, Maalai Malar, Maharashtra Times, Jagran, Newshunt, Manoramanews.com

    Search: Bing (from Microsoft)

    Social: Facebook, Facebook Messenger

    Sports: ESPN Cricinfo

    Utility: OLX, Astro, Cleartrip, AccuWeather

    But the free Facebook app present in the bundle is a compressed version and currently cannot support video viewing option that otherwise is present on the normal version of Facebook. Only when consumers activate a data plan, will they be able to access the normal version of Facebook.

    Low consumption of the internet in India was attributed to reasons like user capability, lack of awareness of the internet, language fragmentation and the key factor of cost and affordability. To address these hurdles, Singh said that the app has been designed in a manner that it is not bandwidth hungry. It will also be available in six local languages like Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Guajarati, and Marathi apart from English and Hindi. For now Reliance subscribers in seven telecom circles of Gujarat, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Chennai will be able to avail the facility. No data pack is required to avail the bouquet and all phones which are internet capable can make use of the bundle.

    The marketing of the Internet.org services will be carried entirely by Reliance Communications. When asked about the revenue model and who would bear the cost of the initiative, officials from both sides declined to comment.

    When questioned if Facebook was looking at expanding the service with other telcos, Daniels told Indiantelevision.com, “We have so far not been approached by other companies except Reliance. We will look at options when approached further on.”

    Singh on a concluding note said that the service will be offered free for lifetime and in the coming 90 days will be launched pan India. The focus will also be on strengthening the content of the bundle.