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Apple Wins Appeal Against UK Antitrust Watchdog CMA to Investigate Its Market Dominance

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Tech giant Apple has won an appeal against the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the UK’s principal authority responsible for competition and consumer protection to investigate its market dominance.

Apple had successfully argued that the antitrust watchdog had no power to investigate its position in the mobile browser market.

Recall that the CMA last November disclosed that it was conducting a probe into Apple’s dominance in the mobile phone market. The antitrust regulator further revealed that it received widespread support for its proposals which saw it launch an investigation into Apple’s cloud gaming and mobile browsers.

According to the CMA’s interim Chief Executive Sarah Cardell via a statement, she disclosed that many UK businesses and web developers disclosed that they feel they are being backed by restrictions set by Apple.

The CMA noted that Apple and Google have a strong hold over mobile device operating systems, app stores and browsers. It said 97 percent of UK web browsing in2021 happened on either Apple or Google’s browser engines.

In its victory over the CMA investigation into its market dominance, Apple said the CMA should have opened the probe at the same time its first published its report on mobile ecosystems last June. The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), the court that oversees CMA cases, agreed with Apple, stating that the regulator gave notice of its investigation too late.

Apple, which was pleased with the CAT decision, disclosed that it would continue working to deliver support for developers and a safe and secure experience for users.

On the other hand, the CMA was displeased with the judgment, refusing it access to investigate Apple’s market dominance. It wrote in a statement, “We are disappointed with today’s judgment. We made this market investigation reference to make sure that the UK consumers get a better choice of mobile market services and that UK developers can invest in innovative new apps.

Our concerns, and the reasons why we launched our market investigation, we’re not challenged by Apple. Given the importance of today’s judgment, we will be considering our options including seeking permission to appeal.”

Since the launch of its first phone, Apple has continued to dominate the mobile market. It has been a trend setter and has attracted a large number of loyal customers who buy every product they launch.

It is interesting to note that with 38 Apple stores In the United Kingdom, Apple remains undisputed in the smartphone and tablet computer markets. In 2021, Apple’s iOS accounted for over half of both the mobile and tablet operating system market share.

Baboon is no longer in the zoo

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“I am a baboon, I live in the zoo, Zazooo”

Every Nigerian must have heard of the above rhythmic and poetic line which trended across every social platform throughout last week. 

The originator of it was Mr Habeeb Olalomi Oyegbile popularly known as Portable Aka Dr Zeh, the leader of the Zeh nation. He voiced those words over and over again while having a standoff with some police officers who came to effect an arrest on him last week. Portable violently resisted the arrest and attacked the police officers while making so many other uncouth utterances like “he is a liability to the government”. 

People applauded him for the “bravery” and turned the “I’m a baboon, I live in the zoo” into a trend whilst in solidarity with Portable. Some music producers turned that into a hit song and some dancers danced to it while some skit makers and comedians turned it into skit content.

Seeing Portable inside the dock of the court this morning having been arraigned looking all humble, meek and gentle gave me some amount of hope. The first thing I said was so this portable can look this humble and meek, he is obviously no longer a baboon that lives in the zoo. He has learnt a little bit that a civilized society like Nigeria is not a zoo and he is a human, not a baboon. 

I know an army of Portable’s fans may likely come for my head for saying this but it really needs to be said that someone like Portable needs to be taught a hard lesson that we live in a civilized society and not a zoo or a jungle where any and every uncivilized act is permissible. 

There’s no week that passes since portable came into the limelight that Portable does not trend for the wrong reasons; he regularly gets into street fights, which in some cases have led to the loss of lives and destruction of properties, he has attacked law enforcement agents on numerous occasions. He is always issuing death threats to individuals who get in his way. He once threatened the organizers of the headies award that he must win the category he was nominated for. The other time he claimed to be the founder of a notorious court group  (one million boys) that was causing havoc in Lagos while threatening to unleash them.

What led to his recent ordeal was that he assaulted a colleague of his and the victim petitioned him to the police for assault and threat to life. The police officers invited him to come and answer his case at the police station but he blatantly refused to honour the invitation. After the expiration of the invite, the police last Tuesday secured his arrest warrant, and went down to enforce his arrest; Portable being portable resisted the arrest and attacked the police officers while claiming to be a baboon that lives in the zoo and above the law.

The police went back, regrouped and arrested him days later and today they arraigned him in court for the charges around his neck which could possibly send him to jail for some time.

People like portable if ignored will reinforce bad behaviour in our society; he always claims that he is a star and famous, therefore he is untouchable and will always go scot-free. I so much want him to go to jail for a little time so that he will come out rehabilitated and a new man who will no longer be a nuisance in society and most importantly, that those who are learning from him, towing his part of becoming a societal nuisance with the mindset that our legal system is weak will learn and turn a new leaf.

The Message from Elon Musk As The New York Times Loses Its Blue Tick on Twitter

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Wow. The New York Times has lost its blue tick on Twitter after it refused to pay the subscription which Twitter has mandated for accounts to do. A few days ago, the social media entity started removing verification badges from accounts which already had the checkmark.

The New York Times has about 55 million followers. Yet, Elon Musk did not care as he zapped the checkmark. I do not know why the Times did not think it is part of the game to pay for services since people pay subscriptions to read their newspaper.

Founders: there is something we can learn from Elon Musk. You cannot be making customers happy and not capture value. I made that point in a well-received piece in Harvard  where I challenged entrepreneurs to be bold, offer the best services possible and also CAPTURE. Musk is making that point clearer.

“The real tragedy of @NYTimes is that their propaganda isn’t even interesting”, Mr Musk, who owns Twitter, wrote on the platform.

“Also, their feed is the Twitter equivalent of diarrhea. It’s unreadable,” he added.

There has been no official comment from Twitter and the New York Times has not responded to Mr Musk’s comments. Under Twitter’s new rules, blue ticks which once showed official, verified accounts, will start to be removed from accounts which do not pay for it. 

Organisations seeking verification badges instead have to pay a monthly fee of $1,000 (£810) to receive a gold verification tick, while individual accounts must pay $8 (£6.40) a month for a blue one.

Comment on Feed

Comment 1: “I do not know why the Times did not think it is part of the game to pay for services since people pay subscriptions to read their newspaper. This is quite poignant” . These media folks are the same business that harassed Google for publishing news articles without royalties being paid to them. The hands of the clock have now turned the other way and they want to fight it? It’s bill paying time.

My Response: The media world is not fair. Interestingly, they have one man who has so much money to take them up.

Comment 2: Will not having the blue tick make New York Times lose credibility or number of subscribers? If it’s a NO…then maybe the checkmark may not be a priority after all. They may still go ahead and pay for the verification just for the prestige it now carries!

My Response: Ideally, the checkmark should not affect the credibility since 55M followers would not have been following the wrong NYTimes. Yet, if the global perception is that a tick is a validation, if you do not have it, it degrades the brand on Twitter.

Comment 3: Their business model is to ultimately grow their subscriber list. Twitter certainly helps them in achieving this. More news is consumed more quickly on Twitter vs their website/app. These media houses campaigned vigorously to stop Google sharing news articles without royalty payments, and now themselves do not want to pay Twitter for its service? They will moan and pay, because they need the reach of the likes of Twitter to sell new subscriptions at scale

Comment 4: That is just one aspect. Another aspect is that new subscribers may not subscribe if they do not see the blue checkmark and even already current subscribers might doubt the veracity of their posts now. You would be surprised what a blue checkmark can do to a human being’s perception in a world where everyone that is supposed to be “trusted” has one. Another even more important factor is that it makes it easy for someone to clone an account that looks like a New York Times account, post half truths on it and discredit the New York Times brand.

Uwerx (WERX) takes the crown as the best potential investment over Ripple (XRP) and Binance Coin (BNB)

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As the world moves towards a more decentralized future, many investors are looking to add cryptocurrencies to their portfolios. One cryptocurrency that is gaining attention is Uwerx. Built on the Polygon network, Uwerx is a freelance platform that offers a range of benefits for businesses and independent contractors.

Some key benefits of Uwerx include lower fees, increased transparency, enhanced security, and intellectual property protection. These features make Uwerx a strong choice for investors who are looking for a solid foundation and potential for growth. Additionally, the project has strong initiatives and community support, which further enhances its appeal.

While Binance Coin (BNB) and Ripple (XRP) may also be worth considering, WERX appears to be a more promising investment at this time due to its strong features and foundations. As always, it is important to thoroughly research any potential investment before making a decision.

New BNB (BNB) Competitor:

As of 9:04 p.m., the price of Binance Coin (BNB) is $256.62, with a change of -0.20% in the past 24 hours and a market capitalization of $41,900,654,345.82. BNB has experienced a 4.10% change so far this year but has faced challenges including legal concerns surrounding its parent platforms Binance, such as accusations of money laundering and sanctions breaches.

The recent incident involving FTX has also led to investor mistrust in Binance, with speculation that BNB may have been used as collateral for loans similar to FTX. Binance has denied these allegations, but it has not been enough to reverse BNB’s downward trend.

In light of these challenges, it may be worth considering alternative options such as Uwerx, which has been performing exceptionally well in the market. As with any potential investment, it is important to thoroughly research and consider all options before making a decision.

XRP (XRP) going up or down?

As of 9:07 p.m., the price of XRP (XRP) is $0.34, with a change of -2.12% in the past 24 hours and a market capitalization of $33,992,451,139.51. XRP (XRP) has experienced a -0.38% change so far this year, but there are several major factors contributing to its recent price decline.

One of the main reasons for XRP’s (XRP) decreased price is the governmental crackdown on cryptocurrencies in Russia, the world’s third-largest crypto market. Additionally, concerns over potential interest rate hikes in the United States to combat inflation have caused unease among investors.

In China, financial institutions are prohibited from facilitating cryptocurrency-related transactions and investors are cautioned against speculative trading in them. These factors have all contributed to the negative impact on XRP’s (XRP) price.

Uwerx (WERX): Transforming the Freelance Landscape with Blockchain Solutions

Uwerx is disrupting the freelance industry with its blockchain-based platform that offers a variety of benefits for businesses and freelancers. Its direct client-freelancer connection removes the need for intermediaries and centralizes data on the blockchain for increased transparency and security.

In addition to its low fees, Uwerx is committed to protecting freelancers’ reputations and intellectual property through secure and transparent communication. All whilst giving freelancers and users to earn more through the WERX token; by way of gamification and incentives.

As a new cryptocurrency platform, Uwerx has the potential to become a major player in the market (with a high likelihood of becoming a blue-chip cryptocurrency platform), with a predicted value of $2.60 in 2023 and an average value of $2.8 for the year. Some analysts even estimate that WERX could increase by an impressive 8,500% in the future.

Investors looking for a platform with strong foundations and growth potential should consider Uwerx, with its focus on lower fees (5% vs. Upwork’s and Fiverr’s 20%), increased transparency, and intellectual property protection. It is important to note that liquidity will be locked after the presale and for 25 years after the project.

InterFi Network and Solidproof have already approved the project’s audit at prelaunch. Contract ownership will also be renounced after the project secures listing on centralized exchanges. Investors should get in on the presale whilst they can:

 

Website: www.uwerx.network

Presale: invest.uwerx.network

Telegram: https://t.me/uwerx_network

Twitter: https://twitter.com/uwerx_network

Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate to Fund the FUTURE, Next Cycle Begins April 8

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