Cyberflashing is a crime that involves sending non-consensual obscene photos to strangers via messaging apps. England and Wales have declared this a criminal offense and under laws being framed by governments, violators can face up to 2 years in prison.
China locks Shanghai Tower amidst COVID-19 fight
Shanghai Tower, the third-tallest building in the World was locked down on Monday. It trapped workers and visitors inside the building as the authorities raced to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus. This was tweeted by Bloomberg.
YouTube Vanced app has been discontinued
Due to legal reasons, Google has forced YouTube Vanced to shut down. This application will continue to work for people who already have it installed on their Android phones without updates and it will stop working soon.
Instagram lets creators add moderators during live streaming
Instagram has finally launched a feature that will allow live content creators to add moderators during their live streaming. The moderators will have the ability to report comments, turn off comments from viewers and remove any viewer from the live stream.
WhatsApp adds Code Verify feature
WhatsApp web service has added a feature called Code Verify which is a security extension to enhance the safety of the platform. This was launched to increase the layer of security while using WhatsApp web services. Users need to scan a code and it will display their real-time security status.
Samsung Galaxy A Event on 17th March 2022
Samsung is set to live stream its launch event- Galaxy Awesome Unpacked Event on 17th March 2022. This will be live-streamed on Samsung’s YouTube channel and its official website. The rumors going around suggest that the company may be planning to release new phones in the A-series.
Russia threatens to block Instagram
After Meta announced that it will temporarily allow hate speech on its platforms Facebook and Instagram, Russia is planning to restrict access to the Instagram app. As of now, Instagram is still accessible to the citizens as it takes some time for the internet providers to block it.
YouTube to block Russian state media globally.
After several companies announced that they are blocking Russian state-affiliated channels on their platform in particular regions, YouTube has decided to block Russian state-affiliated media channels globally.
Lugano, Switzerland makes Bitcoin a legal tender. What does it mean for Cryptocurrencies and the future of Blockchain?
If you stay in the city of Lugano, Switzerland, you will be able to use Bitcoin, USD Tether and LVGA tokens for buying anything, transacting, investing or even paying all your taxes. That is what happens when a currency is accepted as a legal tender. It becomes a banknote or a coin that becomes legally tenderable for the discharge of an obligation or a debt.
The mayor of the city, Michele Folleti, announced the acceptance of these three cryptocurrencies as a “de facto” legal tender on Thursday in an event named “Plan B”, which was jointly organized in collaboration with Tether by the city of Lugano. Under this plan, Lugano is attempting to become the center for Bitcoin and Blockchain in Europe and is also aiming to have all its businesses make everyday transactions using these cryptocurrencies. This will be done by focusing on helping businesses integrate payment solutions through stable coins and by leveraging Bitcoin’s Layer 2 Lightning network for scalability. Tether and Lugano have also planned on making several initiatives like funding startups, providing scholarships for students to study Cryptocurrencies and Decentralized Finance (DeFi), mainly to focus on Blockchain adoption in Europe.
Lugano has already made many strides in Web3 space. Their homegrown blockchain 3Achain is already partnered with nearly 30 public and private sector Businesses in Switzerland. Also, the third cryptocurrency in the legal tender, the LVGA token, was announced by the city of Lugano itself. It was also announced that the Bitcoin World Forum will be held in Lugano this October.
Why is it important for Cryptocurrencies?
Lugano is the second place ever to accept Bitcoin as a legal tender, after the country of El Salvador, which accepted Bitcoin as a legal tender in early 2021. Now even though Lugano isn’t a big city, the fact that some areas in Europe and some countries are now turning to Crypto and Blockchain for promoting innovation, push people into using crypto as cash and money, as well as facilitating businesses to use and innovate more using Blockchain.
This is great news for Blockchain and Crypto since many risks have been cited by financial experts, regulators and even the World Bank on making Bitcoin a legal tender.
Back in 2021, World Bank rejected El Salvador’s request for assistance in its bid to adopt Bitcoin as a currency due to transparency and environmental issues, since solving complex puzzles is required to run these cryptocurrencies which involves a lot of electricity, thus affecting the environment if renewable sources are not used. Regulators also pointed out that Bitcoin can be easily used for financing terrorism, criminal activities and money laundering. Financial experts pointed out the potential impact on the inflation of a country or a region.
Despite all these issues, we are now starting to see regulations, acceptance and legal tender for Bitcoin around the world. Financially strong regions like the EU, United States, Canada and Australia already accept Bitcoin to a very wide extent if not regulated. Mentioned below is the status of cryptocurrencies in some financially strong regions:
European Union:
According to the European Union, it is not illegal to use Bitcoin within the EU. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are instead called crypto assets. According to a spokesperson from the EU, they are completely open to cryptocurrencies but there needs to be a regulation for the same, the main reason being to refrain terrorists and criminal organizations from exploiting the anonymity provided by some networks.
United States:
The United States Department of Treasury has defined Bitcoin as a convertible currency. It is considered to be a substitute for real currency, or act as an equivalent value in real currency. Any Business or entity is required to report transactions worth more than $10,000 with the U.S. Treasury. Also, multiple regulations in different U.S. states are already under development. Even the FBI is forming a national cryptocurrency unit to analyze Blockchain and virtual asset seizure.
Also, three types of new Bills are currently introduced by Congressional Members, those bills are focused on Cryptocurrency regulation, applications of Blockchain technology, and Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). The first set of bills focuses on how the regulatory agencies can regulate crypto and blockchain tokens. The second set focuses on ways to promote underlying Crypto technology within the U.S Government for broader use in other sectors of the economy. Thirdly, since the policymakers perceive a risk to the US Dollar’s position as the world’s reserve currency, the final bill focuses on a digital currency based on technological innovations such as stablecoins. All three of these areas are equally important.
Canada:
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) views Bitcoin as a commodity for income tax purposes. Like its southern neighbor, the U.S. also maintains a generally bitcoin-friendly stance. All and any type of income made from transactions using Bitcoin are to be viewed as Business Income or capital gain and shall accordingly be taxed. All the Cryptocurrency exchanges are considered to be money service businesses.
Australia:
Like Canada, if you exchange, trade, gift, sell, convert cryptocurrencies into fiat currency, purchase goods or services with Bitcoin, you are liable to pay Capital Gains tax on the profits. The Australian Taxation Office considers Bitcoin as a financial asset, which can be taxed when a specific event occurs.
Many other notable countries like Germany, France, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Denmark and the United Kingdom have some other forms of regulations and where transactions in Bitcoin are allowed.
Looking at these, the coming months are set to give us many different forms of regulations or possibly legal tenders around the world since greater and greater entities are now taking interest in the legalization of Crypto.
Google adds pay for parking feature for Android users
Google rolled out a new software update, which includes a new pay for parking feature. This is introduced as a result of its partnership with ParkMobile and it will allow users to pay for parking through their voice.
Facebook has made exceptions for violent speech amidst the Ukraine-Russia crisis
Facebook and Instagram have temporarily allowed users of some countries to post harmful content directed towards Russian soldiers or politicians with certain restrictions. Although the company has allowed violent speech as a form of political expression, anything indicating a threat towards Russian Civilians will not be allowed.
Google is introducing an Air Raid Alert system
Google’s latest response to the Russia-Ukraine crisis is adding an Air Raid Alert system in Android phones in Ukraine. “Tragically, millions of people in Ukraine now rely on air strike alerts to try get to safety. Working with the Ukrainian government, we’re rolling out a rapid Air Raid Alerts system for all Android phones in Ukraine,” tweeted Dave Burke, Google’s vice president of Engineering.
Uber Eats adds bill splitting feature on its app
Uber Eats has announced that it is getting a group order feature and a bill splitting feature on its app. This was introduced to make sure that everyone is paying their share. The feature will allow users to choose what they want to order and pay for it.
Android users can share songs through YouTube Music on Snapchat
Android Users can now share their favorite tunes directly as a story from YouTube Music to Snapchat. In 2020, this feature had initially emerged on the internet and iOS users of Snapchat received it in October 2021.
Sony joins other tech companies to support Ukraine
Sony Interactive Entertainment, the gaming division of Sony has announced that it has stopped hardware and software shipments to Russia. Additionally, the company is suspending the launch of Grand Turismo 7 and PlayStation Store operations in the country.
Customers cannot access Amazon Prime Video in Russia
Amidst the Russia-Ukraine crisis, Amazon has suspended access to Prime Video for its Russian-based customers. The company has also stopped retail products shipments going to Russia and Belarus.