Leaked Facebook memo questions cost of growth

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An illustration picture taken through a magnifying glass on March 28, 2018 in Moscow shows the icon for the social networking app Facebook on a smart phone screen. /AFP
An illustration picture taken through a magnifying glass on March 28, 2018 in Moscow shows the icon for the social networking app Facebook on a smart phone screen. /AFP

Leaked Facebook memo questions cost of growth

Tech March 30, 2018 11:45

By Agence France-Presse
San Francisco

Facebook troubles worsened late Thursday with the leak of a two-year-old memo from a high-ranking executive hinting that the social network was determined to grow despite risks to users.

The 2016 memo published by news website Buzzfeed was written by veteran Facebook executive Andrew Bozworth, considered part of chief executive Mark Zuckerberg’s inner circle.

“The ugly truth is that we believe in connecting people so deeply that anything that allows us to connect more people more often is ‘de facto’ good,” the memo read.

The memo pointed out that connecting people can lead to good outcomes, such as finding love or preventing suicide.

It could also have negative consequences, Bozworth reasoned.

“Maybe it costs a life by exposing someone to bullies,” the memo read.

“Maybe someone dies in a terrorist attack coordinated on our tools.”

Bozworth is known to be an outspoken defender of Facebook, and unabashed in expressing his views.

“I don’t agree with the post today and I didn’t agree with it even when I wrote it,” Bozworth said in a statement to AFP.

“The purpose of this post, like many others I have written internally, was to bring to the surface issues I felt deserved more discussion with the broader company.”

In response to an AFP inquiry, Zuckerberg referred to Bozworth as a talented leader who says provocative things, the leaked memo among them.

“This was one that most people at Facebook including myself disagreed with strongly,” Zuckerberg said.

“We’ve never believed the ends justify the means. We recognize that connecting people isn’t enough by itself. We also need to work to bring people closer together.”

Even if the Bozworth memo was meant solely to get colleagues to grapple with tough issues, it hints that Facebook executives were aware of risks associated with connecting and sharing on the social network.

The leak of the memo came as Facebook continued to be battered by a data breach involving Britain-based Cambridge Analytica, a consulting firm linked to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

Facebook faces probes on both sides of the Atlantic over the hijacking of 50 million users’ personal data by the firm.

The firestorm has raised new awareness on how personal data is stored and shared by internet platforms and marketers.

Facebook has begun to produce documents and wants to be “cooperative” with a New York investigation into the Cambridge Analytica data breach, state attorney general Eric Schneiderman said Thursday.

On Monday, the Federal Trade Commission, a US consumer protection agency, said it had opened an inquiry into Facebook’s privacy practices, including whether the company violated an earlier agreement with the FTC on how it handles user data.

Facebook signed a consent decree with the consumer agency in 2011 settling charges that it deceived consumers by telling them they could keep their information on Facebook private, and then allowing it to be shared and made public.

Video games may help ageing pooches stay mentally nimble

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Video games may help ageing pooches stay mentally nimble

Tech March 30, 2018 11:32

By Agence France-Presse
Vienna

At first sight, enthusiastic Border Collies Miley and Tiara may not appear to be providing insights into the deeper workings of the canine mind.

Even while demonstrating an experiment used in a recent study at Vienna’s University of Veterinary Medicine, they’re having too much fun.

It involves them running to a touchscreen with one round and one square shape. Every time they hit the round shape with their noses, they’re rewarded with a treat.

The results gathered after hundreds of dogs took part in the study suggest that older dogs benefit from similar games, just as Sudoku and other brain exercises can help their owners stay mentally agile.

“Sometimes with older dogs we might feel that we can just let them retire to the couch and let them sleep all day and that’s fine,” Lisa Wallis, one of the authors of the report, told AFP.

“But you’re not really doing them a kindness,” she said.

Even if owners keep giving their dogs physical exercise, this won’t improve their mental agility, says Professor Ludwig Huber, one of the lead authors.

“The brain needs more stimulation and also problems to solve,” he says.

‘Unlimited number of stimuli’

In contrast to most toys which can soon become repetitive, Huber says a touchscreen can be used to present an “unlimited number of stimuli” and the games could get gradually more complex.

Other games used in the study involved having to touch a moving shape or being trained to distinguish between “good” and “bad” images and then choose them accordingly.

The younger dogs and dogs who were already used to playing similar games fared best but even with the older dogs, performance improved with practice.

The results follow a study conducted among humans last year in the United States that suggested older participants who regularly played computer brain games may have cut their chances of dementia, although experts cautioned further research was necessary in that case.

The authors of the Vienna study admit that although the dogs and their owners appeared to have enjoyed taking part in the study, it would be difficult to replicate at home.

Wallis says that short of installing a similar screen at home – as she has done for her own dogs – or at vet’s surgeries and dog daycare centres, the need of the hour is for new technologies.

The team at the university is working on software that could be used more commonly, ideally paired with tablets or other devices adapted for dogs.

“Wet noses will always be a problem,” Wallis admits.

But even if touchscreens for dogs are a little way off, Huber says using touchscreens with different species could open up a whole new vista for scientists and researchers.

“It can also be used with wolves, which is a very important one in scientific terms.”

The fact that species with different levels of dexterity can use the equipment means a very similar apparatus can even be used with reptiles and even birds, which touch the screens with their beaks, he adds.

Cybersecurity centre on way

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Cybersecurity centre on way

Tech March 30, 2018 01:00

By   SIRIVISH TOOMGUM
THE NATION

THE  Asean-Japan Cybersecurity Capacity Building Centre (AJCCBC) is scheduled to open in Bangkok in June.

It will play a key role in mitigating cybercrime in the region.

The objective of this project is to develop a cybersecurity workforce, particularly in Asean governmental agencies and in the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) in each of the Asean countries in order to enhance cybersecurity awareness, strengthen information security and data protection, as well as promoting information sharing.

Overall, the centre aims to develop at least 700 cybersecurity personnel in Asean in four years.

Pichet Durongkaveroj, the Minister of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) of Thailand, said yesterday that the centre is expected to launch the first cyber security training course in June 2018.

“We expect to launch the centre in June and conduct the first training for Asean nations that month,” said Pichet.

He added that initially the centre will be located in the office of Electronic Transactions Development Agency (Public Organisation) or ETDA on Rama 9 Road.

The MDES has assigned ETDA to take the lead in developing the AJCCBC centre. This project will receive financing from Japan-Asean Integration Fund for the first four years.

MDES and Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) of Japan yesterday jointly announced the preparation for the establishment of the AJCCBC centre.

Thailand has ThaiCERT, under ETDA, to collaborate with government sector, organisations, universities, and other relevant entities to handle computer security incidents in Thailand.

Surangkana Wayuparb, CEO of ETDA , stated that the centre will organise cybersecurity training every two months or at least six times a year.

The courses to be conducted include CYDER (Cyber Defence Exercise with Recurrence), focusing on handling cybersecurity incidents. CYDER is a proven course that has been adopted by the government of Japan for training cybersecurity personnel across the country for the past five years, with more than 5,000 participants from more than 1,500 organisations.

The other two courses are Forensics, dealing with digital evidence of cyber-attacks and Malware Analysis which covers various types of malware according to the trend of cyber threats. All courses are designed to allow participants to learn the theory and to have hands-on practices. The contents will be updated at least yearly to keep up with the evolving threats.

During the initial four years of this project, Japan will help Asean develop cybersecurity personnel and provide essential knowledge transfers for long-term management and sustainability of the centre.

Indian billionaire proposes funding Facebook rival

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Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (R) chats with the chairman of Indian multinational conglomerate Mahindra Group, Anand Mahindra (L), during their meeting in Mumbai on February 20, 2018. (AFP/Indranil Mukherjee)
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (R) chats with the chairman of Indian multinational conglomerate Mahindra Group, Anand Mahindra (L), during their meeting in Mumbai on February 20, 2018. (AFP/Indranil Mukherjee)

Indian billionaire proposes funding Facebook rival

Tech March 29, 2018 14:49

By Agence France-Presse
New Delhi

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An Indian billionaire who promised to help fund a rival to Facebook said Wednesday he had been “overwhelmed” with the response as the world grapples with concerns about data privacy.

Anand Mahindra, whose Mahindra Group business empire spans everything from cars to real estate, sparked a flurry of brainstorming as Facebook reels from a scandal over the misuse of its user data.

The social media giant has been under pressure to explain how data on up to 50 million users was allegedly taken from Facebook and used in political campaigns.

Mahindra earlier this week urged India’s tech entrepreneurs to devise “our own social networking company” and offered seed funding to startups to get the better ideas rolling.

The invitation provoked a flood of proposals, even from his own chief digital officer Jaspreet Bindra who was tempted by his boss’s offer.

“To say I’m overwhelmed by the responses to my call for social network startup proposals would be an understatement!” Mahindra posted on Twitter on Wednesday.

“The good thing is that it’s clear there’s an explosion in entrepreneurial energies in this country. Let the games begin!”

India has the world’s highest number of Facebook users with 241 million active members, according to a report published last June by Amsterdam-based firm The Next Web.

India’s information technology ministry last week formally requested that Cambridge Analytica — the data analysis company at the centre of the Facebook firestorm — provide clarity over its practices by the end of the month.

That followed reports that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party and the opposition Congress had used the firm in previous elections, sparking a series of alleged data abuses which both sides deny.

India’s IT minister warned Facebook against any abuse of social media in elections. India is preparing for general elections in 2019 and there are also a number of state polls due this year and next.

Facebook overhauls privacy settings amid data breach outcry

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In this file photo taken on March 21, 2018 a lit sign is seen at the entrance to Facebook's corporate headquarters location in Menlo Park, California./AFP
In this file photo taken on March 21, 2018 a lit sign is seen at the entrance to Facebook’s corporate headquarters location in Menlo Park, California./AFP

Facebook overhauls privacy settings amid data breach outcry

Tech March 29, 2018 07:14

By Agence France-Presse
Washington

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Facebook on Wednesday launched a fresh effort to quell the firestorm over the hijacking of personal data, unveiling new privacy tools and settings aiming to give users more control over how their information is shared.

The new features follow fierce criticism of the social network giant after it was revealed that the personal data of tens of millions of users was harvested by a British firm linked to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

The company acknowledged that it needed to “do more to keep people informed,” but said the changes have been “in the works for some time.”

“We’ve heard loud and clear that privacy settings and other important tools are too hard to find,” chief privacy officer Erin Egan and deputy general counsel Ashlie Beringer said in a blog post.

“We’re taking additional steps in the coming weeks to put people more in control of their privacy.”

The updates include easier access to Facebook’s user settings and tools to easily search for, download and delete personal data stored on the site used by two billion people.

Facebook said a new privacy shortcuts menu will allow users to quickly increase account security, manage who can see their information and activity on the site, and control advertisements they see.

Earlier this month, whistleblower Christopher Wylie revealed political consulting company Cambridge Analytica had obtained profiles on 50 million Facebook users via an academic researcher’s personality prediction app.

The app was downloaded by 270,000 people, but also scooped up their friends’ data without consent — as was possible under Facebook’s rules at the time.

Egan and Beringer also announced updates to Facebook’s terms of service and data policy to improve transparency about how the site collects and uses information.

Lukewarm praise

Yet some analysts said Facebook and its chief Mark Zuckerberg have made similar promises in the past.

“Zuck promised easier, better privacy controls ‘in the coming weeks’ eight years ago,” Zeynep Tufekci, a University of North Carolina professor who studies social media, said on Twitter.

“This isn’t the first or last broken promise. The solution isn’t shifting the burden to the user because the problem is the negative externalities of the business model.”

Jennifer Grygiel, a Syracuse University professor of communications, said the new privacy settings and tools “are so obviously important to users that one has to wonder why this wasn’t already done.”

She said Facebook has “some of the best talent in the industry” and that “their old interface was not a mistake, it was by design.”

On Wednesday, Playboy said it was deactivating all the Facebook accounts managed by the company due to the mishandling of personal data.

“The recent news about Facebook’s alleged mismanagement of users’ data has solidified our decision to suspend our activity on the platform at this time,” a company statement said.

Dylan Gilbert of the consumer group Public Knowledge said Facebook’s moves “are welcome steps forward” but “do little to remedy a larger systemic problem.”

“Online platforms currently lack meaningful legal incentives to protect users before their privacy is violated,” Gilbert said in a statement.

“Facebook similarly lacks business incentives to engage in responsible data collection because disgruntled advertisers don’t have anywhere comparable to go.”

Deepening tech crisis

Facebook’s move comes as authorities around the globe investigate how the social network handles and shares private data, and after its shares have tumbled more than 15 percent, wiping out tens of billions in market value.

The crisis also threatens the Silicon Valley tech industry whose business model revolves around data collected on internet users.

The US Federal Trade Commission this week said it had launched a probe into whether Facebook violated consumer protection laws or a 2011 court-approved agreement on protecting private user data.

US lawmakers are trying to haul Zuckerberg to Washington to testify on the matter.

Authorities in Britain have meanwhile seized data from Cambridge Analytica in their investigation, and EU officials have warned of consequences for Facebook.

Facebook has apologized for the misappropriation of data and vowed to fix the problem.

On Wednesday, six consumer and privacy organizations called upon Facebook to cease all campaign contributions and election activity until they ensure the integrity of all apps on the platform.

“A company whose platform is self-admittedly powerful enough to influence elections, must stay out of them,” said a letter from the groups including Consumer Watchdog, Electronic Privacy Information Center and the Center for Digital Democracy.

Volcanic growth for bitcoin in chilly Iceland

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Volcanic growth for bitcoin in chilly Iceland

Tech March 28, 2018 11:37

By Agence France-Presse
Reykjavik

At a secret location in the midst of one of Iceland’s breathtaking lava fields stands a warehouse whose non-descript siding belies the fact it is ground zero in a digital gold rush for cryptocurrencies that is burning through more electricity than Icelanders’ homes.

Iceland’s combination of fire and ice not only makes it a stunning site to film parts of the medieval fantasy epic Game of Thrones.

It also offers a unique combination of cheap renewable energy and free air conditioning that is making it a promised land for those “mining” virtual currencies, including bitcoin, using powerful computers that are voracious users of electricity and throw off lots of heat.

And noise.

The din from shelves and shelves of computers whirring inside the 400-square-metre (4,300-square-foot) warehouse rivals a jet during takeoff.

Unlike the dollar and the euro, bitcoin is not issued by central banks. Instead it is “mined” or created in computer “farms” like this one.

It uses computers souped up with six graphics cards tasked with the heavy lifting of thousands of thousands of calculations needed to solve complex algorithms to process bitcoin transactions and be rewarded with bitcoins in exchange.

Cheap and cool Iceland

“It’s possible for everyone to do it at home. There is no one stopping you (and) there are no technical limitations,” said Philip Salter, head of operations at Genesis Mining, told AFP.

Last year saw a meteoric rise of hundreds of virtual currencies led by bitcoin, which was fetching almost $20,000 per unit in December as both amateur and professional miners jumped onto the bandwagon.

Home miners often use an old computer, have no choice where they operate, and are lucky if they get a fraction of a bitcoin every now and then.

Professionals like Genesis Mining need to invest serious amounts to build and equip a facility like this one with a surface area a third of an Olympic-size pool, but which has a much greater chance of catching part of the 12.5 bitcoins created every ten minutes.

They can choose where to set up operations, however, and that choice can have a huge impact on their profits as the price of the electricity to power and cool the computers varies considerably from country to country.

Iceland is attractive for cryptocurrency mining because of its cheap electricity, which has the added advantage of being generated from clean geothermal energy.

At a 0.065 euros ($0.081) per kilowatt per hour before tax, the cost of electricity is nearly half the EU average.

This makes Iceland one of the most competitive nations in Europe after Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia.

But Iceland also has an advantage in its average annual temperature is about five degrees Celsius (41 Fahrenheit), meaning mining farms can for most of the time just suck in cool air from the outside instead of running energy-hungry air conditioners.

The power usage efficiency “is really good in Iceland because of the natural cooling,” said Johann Snorri Sigurbergsson, director of business development at Iceland’s power company HS Orka.

Shocking rise in demand

A growing number of firms like Genesis Mining, which was previously based in Bosnia, have chosen to set up shop in Iceland, which means demand for electricity has shot up.

“The demand has been increasing exponentially, especially the last three months,” said Sigurbergsson.

The increase has come as the price of bitcoin has plunged from its peak of nearly $20,000 to below $9,000 currently, with analysts saying that the price decline has made operating costs even more of a concern for miners.

Salter, who fears the growing competition in the sector, said bitcoin’s “price isn’t a very good indicator on how bitcoin mining industry is doing”.

He may not have that much more competition from neighbours as Sigurbergsson said HS Orka “will not be able to supply all the demand” from miners wanting to set up operations.

He said his firm is “in the great position of we can pick and choose who we can do business with”.

HS Orka estimates that Iceland’s three largest bitcoin farming companies in 2018 will consume more electricity than the nation’s 350,000 inhabitants.

Miners also have another worry: Even a virtual gold rush attracts real thieves.

Between December 2017 and January 2018, equipment worth an estimated 1.6 million euros was stolen.

Zuckerberg turns down British MPs for data privacy grilling

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Zuckerberg turns down British MPs for data privacy grilling

Tech March 28, 2018 11:33

By Agence France-Presse
London

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday turned down a request by British lawmakers to appear before them to respond to concerns about data privacy as the European Union set a deadline for the US social media giant to respond to its own questions.

Zuckerberg instead offered to send one of his deputies as the US company comes under new pressure from the EU to disclose more details about how up to 50 million users’ data are alleged to have been taken from Facebook and used in political campaigns.

In a letter to the British parliament’s digital, culture and media committee, Rebecca Stimson, head of public policy for Facebook UK, said the company “fully recognizes the level of public and parliamentary interest in these issues”.

But committee chair Damian Collins renewed his demand to interview Zuckerberg saying the seriousness of the allegations meant it was “appropriate” for the tech tycoon to offer an explanation himself, whether in person or via video-link.

In the letter published by the British committee on Tuesday, Facebook offered to send chief technology office Mike Schroepfer or chief product officer Chris Cox to London next month to provide answers.

“We’d be very happy to invite Mr Cox to give evidence. However, we would still like to hear from Mr Zuckerberg as well,” Collins said at the start of a committee hearing on Tuesday.

“We will seek to clarify with Facebook whether he is available to give evidence or not, because that wasn’t clear from our correspondence.

“And if he is available to give evidence, then we would be happy to do that either in person or via video link if that would be more convenient for him.”

The EU meanwhile has given the social media giant two weeks to answer its own queries over the scandal, which has heavily hit Facebook’s share price and raised major questions over how social media companies use private data.

EU justice commissioner Vera Jourova wrote to Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, asking what measures the company plans to take to prevent a similar scandal.

She also asked whether stricter rules were needed for companies like Facebook as exist for traditional media, and whether it would change its approach on transparency toward users and regulators.

“Have any data of EU citizens been affected by the recent scandal?” Jourova wrote, adding: “If this is the case, how do you intend to inform the authorities and users about it?”

European Parliament chief Antonio Tajani has also invited Zuckerberg to address the body about its concerns.

Growing crisis

Facebook insists it did not know the data taken from its site were being used by a British company, Cambridge Analytica, which worked on US President Donald Trump’s election campaign among others.

However, its rules at the time allowed an app developed by an academic researcher, which was downloaded by an estimated 270,000 people, to take information from millions of their friends.

Facebook has placed ads in British, German and US newspapers in recent days to apologise for the scandal.

Zuckerberg explained there was a quiz developed by a university researcher “that leaked Facebook data of millions of people in 2014”.

“This was a breach of trust, and I’m sorry we didn’t do more at the time. We’re now taking steps to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” he said in the ads.

In Facebook’s letter on Tuesday, Stimson revealed that the tech giant was working with regulators around the world to assess how many people in each country were affected.

“We can now confirm that around one percent of the global downloads of the app came from users in the EU, including the UK,” she wrote.

The company is struggling to contain the growing crisis amid investigations by lawmakers in Europe and the United States.

US consumer protection agency, the Federal Trade Commission, on Monday confirmed it had opened an investigation into whether Facebook mishandled private data or violated a 2011 agreement which settled an earlier probe.

NASA pushes back giant space telescope launch to 2020

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NASA pushes back giant space telescope launch to 2020

Tech March 28, 2018 06:51

By Agence France-Presse
Washington

The launch of NASA’s next giant space telescope has been delayed until at least May 2020, the US space agency said Tuesday, in the latest setback for the much-anticipated project.

The James Webb Space Telescope — which NASA has long expected to replace the fabled Hubble — was initially meant to go into service this year but has faced multiple hitches.

The Webb telescope will be the most powerful ever built — about 100 times more sensitive than Hubble — and is to be deployed on a mission to give astronomers an unprecedented glimpse at the first galaxies that formed in the early universe.

The highly-anticipated equipment “currently is undergoing final integration and test phases that will require more time to ensure a successful mission,” NASA said in a statement.

“Webb’s previously revised 2019 launch window now is targeted for approximately May 2020.”

NASA said that once a new launch date was finalized, it would “provide a cost estimate that may exceed the projected $8 billion development cost.”

Acting NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot called the Webb project “the highest priority project for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate, and the largest international space science project in US history.”

But the prospect of the program’s going over its already high budget could create more headaches on the path ahead.

The project, a joint endeavor with the European and Canadian space agencies, has already drawn scrutiny from lawmakers for its ballooning costs, given that its initial estimated budget was $3.5 billion.

An independent review board will assess the mission and report back later this year on what needs to be done — and likely how much it will cost. NASA must then provide an update to Congress.

“Considering the investment NASA and our international partners have made, we want to proceed systematically through these last tests, with the additional time necessary, to be ready for a May 2020 launch,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will weigh about 13,500 pounds (6,100 kilograms). JWST’s main mirror will be 6.5 meters (7 yards) in diameter, three times as large as Hubble’s.

It will carry four instruments, including cameras and spectrometers that can capture extremely faint signals.

Infra-red capability will help it observe distant celestial bodies, and its camera shutter will be able to remain open for long periods, NASA has said.

NASA said the telescope will “next undergo environmental testing, subjecting it to the vibrational, acoustic and thermal environments it will experience during its launch and operations,” a process lasting a few months.

“Engineers then will integrate and test the fully assembled observatory and verify all components work together properly,” the space agency said.

The James Webb telescope is named after NASA’s second administrator, in office from 1961 to 1968. It will be launched aboard an Ariane-5 rocket from French Guiana.

Thai startups join Korean peer in digital currency venture

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Natavudh Pungcharoenpong, left, and Vachara Aemavat, right, co-founders and co-chief executives of Six Network, say the company’s services will support the development of an innovative economy in Thailand.
Natavudh Pungcharoenpong, left, and Vachara Aemavat, right, co-founders and co-chief executives of Six Network, say the company’s services will support the development of an innovative economy in Thailand.

Thai startups join Korean peer in digital currency venture

Tech March 28, 2018 01:00

By Asina Pornwasin
Jirapan Boonnoon
The Nation

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THAI startups Ookbee U and Computerlogy yesterday joined South Korean peer Yellow Digital Marketing Global (YDM) in officially launching a joint-venture company that will initiate a cryptocurrency and help foster the development of the digital economy in Thailand.

The joint venture, Six Network, will offer the digital currency, called SIX, for a use as a utility token. The alliance between the partners aims to create what they call “a more transparent, fair, secure, and efficient ecosystem for all stakeholders” across all parts of the digital economy.

Contributing investment of 40 per cent each in Six Networks are Ookbee U and YDM, a subsidiary of Yellow Mobile. Ookbee U is a joint venture between Ookbee and Chinese technology giant Tencent. Computerlogy put in 20 per cent of the investment.

Six Network aims to create and operate SIX as a utility token for use by participants in the emerging innovative and digital sectors of the new industrial landscape – not only in Thailand, but throughout Asia and, ultimately, across the world.

The joint venture has initiated one billion SIX tokens, each valued at 10 US cents. It aims to gain hard currency from an initial coin offering (ICO) valued at US$43 million.

The pre-sale starts on April 3 and the public ICO will start immediately after the pre-ICO tokens are sold out; the public ICO will last until May 31. The minimum investment is 1,000 SIX tokens.

Natavudh Pungcharoenpong, co-founder and co-chief executive officer of Six Network, said that the company’s ambitions for SIX as a utility coin for the global digital creative industry will start with Thailand and other Asian countries, especially South Korea, capitalising on YDM’s presence there. Expansion to countries farther afield would follow.

The partners aim for SIX to be the “Internet of Digital Services”, providing decentralised solutions for a range of transactions in the digital and creative economies.

Under Six Network, there are more than 40 digital and creative startups in South Korea, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries. It brings together an alliance of more than one million content creators, social media influencers, comic writers, VDO producers and more than 10 million active users of platforms offered under the alliance.

“On the Ookbee U platform alone, we have 330,000 creative workers,” said Natavudh. “We also have a total of six million users participating daily on our services. Over the past 18 months, around 550,000 people have been using Ookbee U tokens. These groups will be the first to adopt the SIX token.”

Vachara Aemavat, another co-founder and co-chief executive officer of Six Network, said that the company “uses blockchain technology and smart contracts to reinvent the digital economy by building infrastructure and an ecosystem with three main features: financial services, a digital asset wallet, and wallet-to-wallet commerce”.

To build the ecosystem, Vachara said Six Network launched the Blockchain Startup Fund with Bt500 million of investment. The funds will be invested in partners, business development and community development.

Separately, JVentures yesterday said it would launch digital currency trading in the secondary market on May 2. The firm also will come out digital loan services to support people at the grassroots level of the economy in the second quarter of this year.

Taro Lertwattanarak, chief executive of JVentures, a subsidiary of Jay Mart (JMart), said that the firm on February 14 launched an ICO of 100 million JFin Coins to more than 2,200 backers, known as supporters, with a market value of around Bt660 million. Each JFin Coin was valued at Bt6.60.

The company will distribute the 100 million JFin Coins to the supporters on April 2 and allow them to begin official trading in the coins via local secondary exchanges on May 2. The digital currency trading platforms involved are TDEX, Coin Asset, iCoin, BX Thailand, Cash2Coins and JibEx.

The company is awaiting the approval of an emergency decree on the matter from Bank of Thailand, which is expected to come soon.

Taro said JMart would provide the digital loan services under the brand Big Brother, involving a decentralised digital lending platform (DDLP) based on blockchain technology that supports peer-to-peer lending.

Tarad.com deal marks TCC’s biggest step in digital realm

ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/Startup_and_IT/30341881

Pawoot Pongvitayapanu, right, managing director and founder of Tarad.com, with Marut Buranasetkul, left, president and CEO of TSpace Digital, at the press conference to announce its partnership and business direction yesterday.
Pawoot Pongvitayapanu, right, managing director and founder of Tarad.com, with Marut Buranasetkul, left, president and CEO of TSpace Digital, at the press conference to announce its partnership and business direction yesterday.

Tarad.com deal marks TCC’s biggest step in digital realm

Tech March 28, 2018 01:00

By   KWANCHAI RUNGFAPAISARN
THE NATION

TCC GROUP’S digital arm TSpace Digital Co Ltd yesterday announced its first acquisition deal with e-commerce operator Tarad.com, hailed as a strategic exploration by the corporate giant into the high-potential digital sector.

The acquisition marks the biggest step by TCC Group in its strategic shift towards the digital era, both in Big Data analysis and e-commerce platforms, as well as gaining a new business with a promising growth outlook.

Under the acquisition, TSpace Digital holds a 51 per cent stake in Tarad.com, with the company’s founder and managing director Pawoot Pongvitayapanu owning the rest.

The company declined to disclose the acquisition price.

TSpace Digital was set up this month with Bt1 million in registered capital, and is 100 per cent owned by Adelfos Co Ltd, an investment arm of TCC Group.

Pawoot said that Tarad.com had transformed itself from an e-marketplace company into a one-stop e-commerce service provider.

“We have created a new business model, called U-Commerce, which will consist of many electronic platforms, comprising e-commerce, e-marketplace, e-marketing (advertising), e-payment, e-logistic and warehouse, and e-knowledge,” said Pawoot, noting that Tarad.com would cover full e-commerce models, including consumer-to-consumer (C2C) and business to business to consumer (B2B2C) and a full ecosystem.

He said that Tarad.com would invest at least Bt100 million this year in exploring e-commerce platforms, which will allow the company to become a provider of turnkey e-commerce solutions. The company expected to post revenue growth of between 200 per cent and 300 per cent that would see the company achieve profitability this year.

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“With the business transformation, we (Tarad.com) will no longer focus solely on the e-marketplace, which requires a huge investment budget to stay competitive. The e-marketplace business has become a ‘red ocean’ and is dominated by big foreign players, such as Lazada, Shopee, 11Street, and JD Central,” said Pawoot.

He said that by being a provider of total e-commerce services, Tarad.com will be a partner with those e-marketplace operators and a hub for Thai manufacturers that want to explore entry for their products into foreign markets.

Thailand’s total e-commerce market was estimated Bt2.8 trillion for last year.

The three most popular channels are brand site, e-market place, and social media.

Marut Buranasetkul, president and CEO of TSpace Digital, said that the company has realised a dramatic change in business trends with the critical role of online and other digital elements in the business operations.

“TSpace Digital has been set up to support and develop the new businesses in order to connect seamlessly with the digital-based consumers, who are lifestyle-driven,” Marut said. “The demand for consumer understanding with digital solutions is high and will be the major element for all business operations and we must find the way to access to them in all channels, both online and offline, with in-depth data analysis.

“In addition to that, we recognise the potential of our local SMEs and local community products, including those are under the Pracha Rath scheme, that are determined to expand their businesses to meet with the needs of the digital era, especially e-commerce and other online businesses.

“We believe that many of our SMEs are competent with a capability to compete in the international arena if proper support is provided. TSpace Digital is determined to play such a role to drive the growth of these businesses.”