YouTube has joined Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in lifting restrictions on Donald Trump’s account after two years. The video platform announced Friday that the account of the former US president is no longer under restrictions, and he can hence upload videos.

“We carefully evaluated the continued risk of real-world violence, while balancing the chance for voters to hear equally from major national candidates in the run up to an election,” the platform said via the YouTubeInsider account. “This channel will continue to be subject to our policies, just like any other channel on YouTube.”

1/ Starting today, the Donald J. Trump channel is no longer restricted and can upload new content. We carefully evaluated the continued risk of real-world violence, while balancing the chance for voters to hear equally from major national candidates in the run up to an election.

— YouTubeInsider (@YouTubeInsider) March 17, 2023

YouTube, just like other social media platforms, banned Trump in the wake of January 6, 2021 post election riot on the Capitol, which he was believed to have masterminded through his social media posts. YouTube said Trump violated its policy by those posts.

The Jan 6 Capitol riot resulted in the death of more than six people, including members of the law enforcement. The former president’s refusal to accept the outcome of the presidential election that he lost to Joe Biden, insisting without evidence that it was rigged, inspired his supporters to invade the Capitol where the election results were being certified.

Like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram that had also banned Trump for the same reason, have lifted their ban, giving the presidential hopeful the opportunity to return if he wishes.

On Friday, Trump posted on Facebook for the first time since 2021. “I’m back”, he wrote, sharing a news video of his election as the 45^th president of the United States.

Trump is taking another shot at the presidency. The Republican had last year announced plan to contest the 2024 election against the Democratic incumbent Biden. Returning to social media is key to his presidential ambition, which for now; he needs to win his party’s primaries to pursue. He so far appears to be the favorite among other Republican contestants, including his closest rival, Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor.

But returning to social media means that Trump will have to abandon Truth, a conservative-backed platform developed after he was kicked out of mainstream social media platforms in 2021.

It is not clear if Trump plans to quit Truth entirely. He said last year that he is not returning to Twitter. “I am not going on Twitter, I am going to stay on Truth,” he said.

Trump has about 5 million audience on Truth, a fraction compared to about 90 million followers he has on Twitter. Truth was built around him and he has been its biggest cheerleader. Leaving now will mean the collapse of the social media platform. It could also be the end of Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), which was created to defy “the tyranny of Big Tech.”

Today, I spoke with a former US military officer (Adebayo Adeleke) to understand the investment implications of the planned visit of China’s leader to Russia, among other geopolitical topics. Inflation is ravaging economies and markets are in turmoil. From Nigeria to China, from India to the United States, and beyond, our world is being redesigned.  But as these things are happening, our personal economy cannot be frozen.

Join me at the #best school as we co-learn on the options within an academic setting to build winning investment portfolios. Whether your investment thesis is growth-, value- or income-anchored, you will learn something. This is Tekedia Mini-MBA, a business program that transforms.

To join the next edition, go here and if you do, ask Admin for access to this special Zoom session.

Tekedia Mini-MBA >> the best teach here.

The International Criminal Court has issued war-crime arrest warrant on Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and Russian Commissioner for Children’s rights, Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, for allegedly plotting a scheme to deport Ukrainian children into Russian territory.

The order of arrest of Putin and Lvova-Belova linked to their violation of articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute was contained in a statement the Hague-based international court released on its website on Friday. The statement reads as follow:
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“There are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes, (i) for having committed the acts directly, jointly with others and/or through others (article 25(3)(a) of the Rome Statute), and (ii) for his failure to exercise control properly over civilian and military subordinates who committed the acts, or allowed for their commission, and who were under his effective authority and control, pursuant to superior responsibility (article 28(b) of the Rome Statute).

“Ms Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, born on 25 October 1984, Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the  President of the Russian Federation, is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation (under articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute.”

“Nevertheless, mindful that the conduct addressed in the present situation is allegedly ongoing, and that the public awareness of the warrants may contribute to the prevention of the further commission of crimes, the Chamber considered that it is in the interests of justice to authorise the Registry to publicly disclose the existence of the warrants, the name of the suspects, the crimes for which the warrants are issued, and the modes of liability as established by the Chamber.”

However, Russia, has reportedly repudiated ICC’s decision, saying it is irrelevant as the court lacks jurisdiction to sanction Russia more so with unfounded claims. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova was quoted by Aljazareer as saying:

“The decisions of the International Criminal Court have no meaning for our country, including from a legal point of view.

“Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and bears no obligations under it”.

Cybercrime, an increasing social problem, has been accompanied with huge economic loss globally. The growth of cybercrime worldwide has been unprecedented, accelerating at a disruptive pace in line with the continuing digital revolution. In the evolving digital-data economy, cybercrime has appeared to be the largest money-gulping venture, affecting both individuals and businesses including government and NGOs. The global cost of cybercrime is currently estimated at $8.4trillion and it is projected to hit 11trillion by 2023 and $20trillion by 2026.

Data is an important element of cybercrime. In fact, most cybercrimes invariably involve data-breaching as a means or as an end. Findings show that about 1 billion emails were exposed in 2022 and 1 out of 5 users are affected in this case. In 20 years, victims of data breaches increased by 157 percent from 6 victims per hour in 2001 to 97 victims per hour in 2021.

United Kingdom has the highest number of cybercrime victims in the world followed by the United States. In Africa, Nigeria tops the list of countries with high incidence of cybercrime. The expansion and pace of cybercrime in Nigeria has been very alarming. Within 3 months in 2022, Nigeria recorded 1616 percent growth in data-breaches from 35, 472 cases in Q2 to 608,765 cases in Q3 of the same year.

A 2022 Report by the National Information and Technology Development Agency (NITDA) reveal that data of 9 million Nigerian WatsApp users are exposed. Also, recent report by Nigerian Government shows the country recorded 12.9million cyberattacks during its 2023 General elections.

Forms of Cybercrime

Phishing: This involves sending emails or web links to individuals to obtain sensitive information that can be used to harm them. Phishing is the most common cyber threat to individuals and businesses. In year 2021, 323,972 internet users fall victim of phishing attacks.

Smashing: Involves sending text messages via SMS or messaging app to individuals requiring them to click on links or provide information that can be used to hurt them.

Vishing: Involves making phone calls or sending voicemails to manipulate unsuspecting recipients into revealing sensitive information for fraudulent activities.

Malware attack: This involves using software to hack the device of a targeted individual and gain access to their sensitive information. In 2020, malware attack grew by 358 percent compared to 2019.

Investment fraud: Involves deploying multidimensional scheme to lure targeted individuals into a phony investment deal with the purpose of parting away with their money. Investment fraud is the biggest form of cybercrime in terms of monetary value.

In the US, $3.31billion was lost to investment fraud in 2022 and crypto investment scam constitutes 90percent of this. Reports show that crypto investment fraud increased by 183percent from $907million in 2021 to $2.57billion in 2022 in the US.

Ransomeware attack: This also involves using software or other powerful devices to collect people’s information with a threat to expose, destroy or hold on to those information unless a ransom is paid. There have been reported cases where tiny CCTV and voice recorders are secretly installed in unusual places such as hotel rooms to capture information including videos, image and voice of unsuspecting victims which are then used to blackmail them.

About 236million ransomware attacks were reportedly recorded in the first half of 2022.

Supplychain attack: Involves compromising or breaching the system of an organisation and then masquerading as the organisation to carry out supply chain deals with its clients or customers.

Socio-cultural and Moral Implications

The spread of cybercrime and the influx of young individuals in that space have brought about recurring incidence of moral crisis and value depletion. Across many societies, social values such as hardwork, empathy, trust, communal attachment etc have been eroded due to cybercrime.

In Nigeria for example, yahoo yahoo, a nomenclature for internet fraud, has become almost synonymous to social achievement. The concept has got social approval across many spheres of social life including family, religion, romance etc.

Consequent to this moral breakdown is complacency of the young minds or youth apathy towards serious work for nation building.

Ways Forward

1. To start with, the Government need to reinforce accountability and reward-punishment system, two factors that drive patriotism and motivation for social relevance in individuals.
2. Both Government and private sector investors can collaborate towards driving research and innovation in the nation’s cybersecurity ecosystem.
3. Promoting training and retraining on data protection and data management. It is important to make cyber-security learning accessible and affordable to people.
4. Improving advocacy for love and empathy towards fellow citizens
5. Ethical hacking is an example of a way businesses and institutions can internally drive innovation while protecting their system.

Personal tips for individual internet users

1. Avoid sharing personal information with strangers or on the online platforms
2. Always have a strong backup for your data outside of your immediate device
3. Have unique password for your personal cyberspace such as your email, bank account etc. Avoid using the password of your email or Bank account for log-in on external platforms.
4. Have alternative password, such as setting up two-step verification code.