Microsoft’s India data center accused of dumping industrial waste

Almaas Masood for RoW

Microsoft is building a data center in a tiny Indian village. Locals allege it's dumping industrial waste

"These big companies think they can enter small villages like ours, take our land, and destroy it." READ MORE >

To defend local business, Indonesia cracks down on e-commerce

Indonesia has introduced measures to limit sales of cheap imports on e-commerce platforms such as Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop that are hurting local firms. READ MORE >

Elon Musk said he'd eliminate bots from X. Instead, election influence campaigns are running wild

In a year of global elections, X is making it easy to meddle. READ MORE >

Crunchyroll is trying to turn India into a nation of anime lovers

The world's largest anime streaming service is opening its second local office, working with Bollywood stars, and adding dozens of shows per quarter. READ MORE >

The deepfake election nightmare hasn't happened. Singapore still wants to ban them

Following South Korea's lead, Singapore intends to ban deepfakes ahead of upcoming elections, despite concerns of curbing freedom of speech. READ MORE >

Dispatches from the ground 

The biggest stories in tech from the regions that we cover.

Africa
Rwanda now offers the most affordable broadband internet in East Africa, surpassing Tanzania and Kenya, according to a new report by British broadband research firm Cable.co.uk. The price drop happened due to advancements in technology and infrastructure, along with increased competition among service providers. Rwandans now pay an average of $43.22 per month for broadband internet, as compared to $60.96 last year. The price drop is expected to increase the country's internet penetration, which stood at 30.5% in 2023. — Damilare Dosunmu from Lagos

China
In the world's largest experiment with self-driving cars, "robo taxis" from Chinese tech giant Baidu have rapidly expanded in its pilot city of Wuhan since 2022. But the prospect of the service reaching the U.S. seemed distant – until now. California has approved Chinese autonomous car startup WeRide to test its driverless vehicles with passengers in San JosĂ©. This comes amid reports that the company is poised to seek a $5 billion IPO. In the meantime, California Democrats have urged the Biden administration to stop further restrictions on U.S. technology exports to China, arguing that fresh curbs "could send longstanding U.S. companies into a death spiral." — Joanna Chiu from Vancouver

Latin America
Last week, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro accused WhatsApp of handing over a database with citizens' personal information — including conversations and shared videos — to opposition leaders. The embattled leader, whose election win for a third term in office has been called into question by numerous countries, has urged Venezuelans to switch from WhatsApp to Telegram, called TikTok and Instagram "conscious multipliers of hate," and said he would temporarily ban X. Maduro's government has arrested thousands of protestors and dissidents since last month's controversial election, for which authorities have yet to provide vote tallies. — Karla Zabludovsky from Mexico City

South Asia
Over the past few weeks, social media influencers in India have been on a crusade against the government's plans to classify them as "digital news broadcasters." The plan was introduced in a proposed law that was circulated among select stakeholders for consultations. Rest of World wrote a detailed report on what the proposal entailed and how it could impact everyone on the internet — from local content creators to Taylor Swift. On August 12, the government reportedly told all stakeholders that their comments were no longer required. There was no clarity on what the government plans to do next with the proposed legislation. — Itika Sharma Punit from Warsaw

Southeast Asia
Users of generative AI apps in Singapore may soon see labels stating what data was used in training, how it was tested, and what the risks are. The aim is to increase transparency around testing and the limitations and risks of AI models, such as biased content, said the minister for digital development and information. The guidelines, which are a part of the national strategy of "AI for the public good," will be rolled out by early 2025.— Rina Chandran from Bangkok

On location 

There are up to 4 million e-rickshaws in this country, but the industry has remained unregulated. Can you guess where it is?
Faisal Mahmud for RoW
Bangladesh
India
Pakistan

What we're reading

  • A network of smugglers skirt U.S. law to get Nvidia's chips into China. (The Information)
  • Botswana's free Wi-Fi routers in public places help residents get online. (Tech Cabal)
  • Elon Musk says X will close operations from Brazil after "censorship orders." (The Guardian)
  • Kenyan Uber drivers use Zello to price-fix in a bad economy. (Reuters)
How does extreme weather impact elections? Our friends at Grist just launched a new limited-run newsletter exploring how climate disasters are upending the political process. Sign up to get State of Emergency delivered straight to your inbox every Tuesday from now until Election Day.

And one more thing...

Chinese tech giant Meituan now delivers takeout and packages to the Great Wall — not by a worker on an electric bike but by drone.

Thank you for reading! Please forward this to a friend and do reach out to us via hello@restofworld.org. — Edited by Paula Cho
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