Sri Lanka The Platform Economy 27 March 2023 How and when Facebook decides to break its own moderation rules An Oversight Board case from Sri Lanka shows the power of Facebook’s “spirit of the policy” exception. By Andrew Deck and Zinara Rathnayake
India Politics 24 March 2023 Twitter blocked 122 accounts in India at the government’s request Last year, before Elon Musk took over as CEO, Twitter pushed back against such requests from the government. By Samriddhi Sakunia
India South Asia Newsletter 21 March 2023 Can ChatGPT write better social media posts than you? In a first for microblogging sites, Twitter’s Indian rival Koo is letting users rely on AI for creating posts. By Durga M Sengupta
India Creators & Communities 21 March 2023 Meet India’s MrBeast — selfless saint or fame-hungry vlogger? Turning charitable acts into spectacles has earned Harsha Sai a rabid fan following. But this has also raised questions about his wealth and intentions. By Nilesh Christopher
ChinaIndiaMexicoMoroccoSingapore Global Tech Downturn 15 March 2023 How the global startup economy is reacting to SVB’s crash Entrepreneurs and investors in India, Mexico, Morocco, Singapore, and China are worried about the fallout of the crisis on the funding and regulatory environment. By Nilesh Christopher, David I. Adeleke, Ee Ming Toh, Daniela Dib, José Luis Peñarredonda and Viola Zhou
Nepal Apps of the World 10 March 2023 Preventing deadly elephant attacks with a new app Nepali developers have created a crucial warning system to save the lives of elephants as well as humans. By Diwash Gahatraj
India EV Revolution 8 March 2023 India’s plan to encourage EV adoption is failing Despite government promises, most EV buyers are still paying full price. By Varsha Torgalkar
India South Asia Newsletter 7 March 2023 Do Indian tech companies have a Women’s Day problem? From distributing lipsticks to reminding women to buy appliances, Indian tech companies have got International Women’s Day all wrong. By Itika Sharma Punit
India Crypto’s Big Collapse 6 March 2023 India’s crypto industry is imploding High taxes and a tricky regulatory environment have resulted in Indian crypto exchanges losing investors in droves. By T. Bijoy Idicheriah
India Reports 6 March 2023 YouTube has created a multimillion-dollar dubbing economy MrBeast and PewDiePie are part of a booming business that localizes social media videos for fans around the world. By Nilesh Christopher and Andrew Deck
Bangladesh 3 Minutes With 28 February 2023 How Bangladesh’s first and only unicorn used “human ATMs” to promote financial inclusion BKash changed the way business is done in Bangladesh by providing services accessible with the most basic mobile phones and a network of agents. By Nilesh Christopher
India Politics 27 February 2023 More CCTV, more crime: India’s most-surveilled cities are the least safe Indore, Hyderabad, and New Delhi are some of the most surveilled cities in the world. But CCTV cameras also pose a threat to data privacy in the country. By Asma Hafiz
India E-commerce 22 February 2023 Amazon’s plan to lure shoppers with free streaming is working in India If the e-commerce giant cracks the ad-free, shop-as-you-watch code in the country, nothing stops it from rolling miniTV out internationally. By Nilesh Christopher
India South Asia Newsletter 21 February 2023 What South Asians want to know about ChatGPT What is it, who made it, and will it replace programmers? We answer the top searched questions about ChatGPT from the region. By Itika Sharma Punit
Pakistan Access & Connectivity 20 February 2023 Pakistan’s three-day Wikipedia ban sends a “dangerous” message Apps like TikTok, PUBG, Tinder, and Grindr have faced bans in Pakistan in recent years. Experts and activists worry this could drive away foreign investors and MNCs. By Zuha Siddiqui
India Creators & Communities 17 February 2023 Demystifying Sufism — and gaining millions of YouTube viewers As YouTube becomes a meaningful platform for some Kashmiri Sufis, it also raises many eyebrows. By Adil Rashid
India Features 14 February 2023 Inside Flipkart, the Indian giant beating Amazon Flipkart was Walmart’s biggest acquisition. Will it be able to stay India’s e-commerce leader? By Mihir Dalal
Pakistan South Asia Newsletter 7 February 2023 What does Pakistan’s economic turmoil mean for its fledgling tech startup sector? Pakistani startups saw a nearly 80% year-on-year fall in funding in Q4. The economic slump could mean more bad news. By Itika Sharma Punit
India TikTok Domination 6 February 2023 What the U.S. can learn from India’s TikTok ban A permanent split with Chinese apps was less disruptive than many expected. By Russell Brandom and Nilesh Christopher
India Report 2 February 2023 The end of free returns is coming Across India, e-commerce giants like Myntra and Flipkart are canceling free returns to boost profits. By Nilesh Christopher
India Reports 2 February 2023 Indians find easy workarounds to watch BBC’s banned documentary on Modi Links to the video are being shared on Telegram, Reddit and public file-hosting sites. By Adnan Bhat
India Report 30 January 2023 India’s tech unions see an opening amid a layoff tsunami Indian tech workers have so far stayed away from unions, as they see them as blue-collar entities; they also fear backlash from employers. By Adnan Bhat
India Access & Connectivity 27 January 2023 Why is the Modi documentary so hard to find? Some blame lies with the BBC Copyright claims by the BBC are making a bad situation worse. By Russell Brandom
India South Asia Newsletter 24 January 2023 Can India become China’s rival in iPhone manufacturing? Indian tech experts are not surprised by the optimistic estimates about the country’s share in iPhone manufacturing in coming years. By Itika Sharma Punit
India Culture & Social Media 19 January 2023 Indian teenagers from small towns are taking YouTube Shorts by storm A new generation of creators found success on YouTube Shorts. Now, YouTube is after them for violating its community guidelines. By Nilesh Christopher
India In Frame 18 January 2023 YouTube is bringing viral fame to one of Delhi’s oldest markets YouTubers are replacing Amazon and Flipkart to help small businesses in Chandni Chowk find customers. By Nipun Prabhakar
IndiaPakistan South Asia Newsletter 10 January 2023 It’s winter, not doomsday The global funding slump has been front and center in conversations across startup ecosystems in South Asia. But many believe it’s only temporary. By Itika Sharma Punit
IndiaUnited States Features 10 January 2023 Vigilantes for views: The YouTube pranksters harassing suspected scam callers in India Los Angeles-based Trilogy Media took “scambaiting” to a new level, but some claim they’re gaining viral fame at others’ expense. By Andrew Deck and Raksha Kumar
India Features 5 January 2023 ग्रामीण भारत के रहस्यमयी “सेक्सटॉर्शन” स्कैम अधिकारियों का मानना है कि स्कैम करने वाले लोग अस्थायी सस्ता मोबाइल व जाली खातों का इस्तेमाल कर पूरे देश में लोगों को धमकाते हैं। By Kapil Kajal
India Labor 4 January 2023 Meet the most powerful Uber driver in India Shaik Salauddin: the Indian driver turned union leader who is brushing shoulders with top politicians and giving ride-hailing firms a run for their money. By Varsha Bansal
Pakistan E-commerce 3 January 2023 Amazon finally authorized Pakistani sellers. A wave of scammers followed Pakistan ranks third among countries that have registered the most number of new sellers on Amazon. It’s also gaining a reputation as a scammers’ paradise. By Nilesh Christopher and Zuha Siddiqui
BrazilChinaEl SalvadorIndiaIndonesiaNigeriaSouth AfricaUkraine Lists 28 December 2022 The stats, facts, and figures that defined tech in 2022 From Bukele’s bitcoins to the number of accounts banned by Twitter in India, the best stats of the year. By Meaghan Tobin
India South Asia Newsletter 27 December 2022 What trended in South Asia in 2022? Indian music ruled #InstaTrends and Pakistanis were hooked to cricket. By Itika Sharma Punit
AfghanistanBrazilChinaHaitiIndiaIndonesiaMalaysiaMoroccoNigeriaPanamaRussiaSyriaUkraine Year In Review 26 December 2022 2022’s best stories on global tech (that we wish we’d written) Articles from around the world which we loved, obsessed over, and still can’t stop thinking about. By Rest of World Staff
India Features 21 December 2022 The sextortion scammers of rural India Authorities say scammers use burner phones and fake profiles to blackmail victims across the country. By Kapil Kajal
Nepal Labor 20 December 2022 Tech founders say Nepal’s new tax scheme is pushing workers to foreign firms The policy makes it harder for local companies to compete and retain good-quality talent. By Abhaya Raj Joshi