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Ben , a London-based employee benefits and rewards platform, has raised $2.5 million in funding. The seed round is led by Cherry Ventures, and Seedcamp. A number of angel investors with backgrounds in fintech and HR tech also participated. They include Paul Forster (founder of Indeed), Taavet Hinrikus (founder of TransferWise), Carlos Gonzalez-Cadenas (previously an exec at GoCardless but now a partner at Index Ventures ), Philip Reynolds (VP of Engineering at Workday), and Matt Robinson (founder of Nested). Part fintech, part HR play, Ben has built an employee benefits platform to enable SMEs to offer much more personalised and flexible benefits to employees. The U.K. startup does this via a SaaS for managing benefits, including a benefits marketplace, combined with per-employee debit cards powered by Mastercard. The idea is to give employees more individual choice around which benefits they choose, while making it easy to on-board additional providers. This can be via the marketp

Steven Borowiec / Nikkei Asia : The pandemic has exacerbated the brutal conditions of workers at e-commerce and delivery companies in Asia even as average earnings per delivery declined   —  How the pandemic economy relies on overburdened and underpaid couriers  —  DAEGU, South Korea — The last time Park Mi-suk … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3tdD17j

Despite China’s history of stringent media control, an industry of uninstitutionalized, individual publishers has managed to flourish on social media platforms like Tencent’s WeChat and ByteDance’s Toutiao. These self-publishers are called “We Media” in the Chinese internet lexicon, denoting the independent power of citizen journalists and content creators. Meanwhile, self-publishers have always had to tread carefully on what they post or risk being targeted by censors who deem them illegal or inappropriate. The topics they cover are myriad, ranging from fashion and food to politics and current affairs. WeChat, a major destination for self-publishers, hinted last July it had 20 million “public accounts” , platforms for individuals to broadcast content and in businesses’ case, reach customers. In 2020, 360 million users read articles published on WeChat public accounts, WeChat founder Allen Zhang disclosed recently. Sina Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter, has long attracted citizen

Access to the internet in Myanmar dropped sharply after the military detained leaders of ruling party National League for Democracy , including Aung San Suu Kyi, and declared a state of emergency. The NLD won a wide majority of parliamentary seats in November’s general election , which the military alleges was the result of election fraud. In a statement on military-owned television, the army said a year-long state of emergency would be declared in Myanmar and power handed to military chief Min Aung Hlaing. According to NetBlocks , a non-governmental organization that monitors digital rights, cybersecurity and internet governance around the world, internet disruptions began around 3AM Monday morning local time, with national connectivity falling to 75% of ordinary levels, and then reaching about 50% around 8AM. Data shows that the cuts affected several network operators, including the state-owned Myanma Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) and Telenor. NetBlocks said “preliminary findin

You’ve just landed on the web version of my weekly newsletter, Human Capital. It’s where we look at the recent events of the week pertaining to diversity, equity, inclusion and labor in tech. You can sign up her e to get Human Capital delivered straight to your inbox every Friday at 1 p.m. PT. Let’s jump in. Alpha Global forms to unite Alphabet workers around the world Alpha Global announced its formation earlier this week to unite Alphabet workers around the world, including those from the Alphabet Workers Union in the United States, The Verge reported . Alpha Global, which is affiliated with the UNI Global Union, aims to create a common worker strategy, support fellow workers and more.  “A just Alphabet has wide-ranging implications for our democracies and societies,” Alpha Global said in a statement . “That is why we are joining together to demand fundamental human rights for all workers in Alphabet operations, including the right to form or join a union and the right to bar

Abner Li / 9to5Google : Apple releases an iCloud Passwords browser extension for Chrome on Windows   —  Besides iTunes, Apple's biggest offering on Microsoft's operating system is the iCloud sync client for files, photos, and mail.  Apple is now extending its presence on Windows with an iCloud Passwords Chrome extension. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3cuwZto

Daniel Howley / Yahoo Finance : Microsoft says revenue from its various cybersecurity offerings crossed $10B over the past 12 months, up 40% YoY and ~7% of its total revenue for the year   —  Microsoft (  —  MSFT) is officially a cybersecurity giant.  For the first time on Tuesday, Microsoft disclosed revenue from its various security offerings as from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3ae8Iok

NetBlocks : Network data indicates the onset of widespread internet disruptions in Myanmar amid reports of a military uprising and the detention of political leaders   —  Network data from the NetBlocks Internet Observatory indicate the onset of widespread internet disruptions in Myanmar on Sunday 31 January 2021 … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/39CigKI

Bloomberg : Many elderly people in the US aren't getting scheduled for COVID-19 vaccinations due to a lack of familiarity with navigating the internet and web-based signups   —  - Slots go fast, often to those who are more comfortable online  — ‘Health departments are failing’ nationwide, one official says from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2NONFkN

Manish Singh / TechCrunch : Ula raises $20M Series A led by Quona Capital and B Capital Group to expand its food-focused e-commerce marketplace in Indonesia currently serving 20K+ stores   —  Tokopedia, Lazada, Shopee, and other firms created an e-commerce market in Indonesia in the past decade, making it possible for consumers to shop online in the island nation. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2Ml7q38

Igor Bosilkovski / Forbes : Yotta Savings raises $13.2M Series A for its savings account app that instead of interest offers depositors a chance to win prizes ranging from 10 cents to $10M   —  Savings account app Yotta Savings, cofounded by two Under 30 honorees, announced today that it has raised a $13.2M Series A … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/36wbLY3

Jeff Horwitz / Wall Street Journal : In August, internal research at Facebook showed that ~70% of the platform's most active civic Groups were considered too toxic to recommend to users   —  The giant struggled to balance Mark Zuckerberg's free-expression mantra against findings that rabid partisanship had overrun a feature central to its future from Techmeme https://ift.tt/36wXo5Y

Susan Adams / Forbes : Profile of Chegg, which is valued at $12B, employs 70,000+ freelance tutors in India, and faces the issue of students using it to cheat by getting test answers   —  I'm a senior editor in charge of Forbes' education coverage.  —  This story appears in the March 31, 2021 issue of Forbes Magazine. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2Yyaiw8

Yueqi Yang / Bloomberg : Robinhood reduces the number of companies with trading restrictions from 50 to 8, according to its website; GME, NOK, and BB are still among those restricted   —  Robinhood Markets Inc. reduced the number of companies with trading restrictions to eight from 50 on Sunday, according to an update on its website. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3ctw3Fi

Maggie Miller / The Hill : A look at the criticism in DC directed at CSET, a State Dept. bureau focused on cybersecurity and emerging technologies formed in the last days of Trump's admin   —  A newly established State Department bureau focused on cybersecurity and emerging technologies could give the Biden administration … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3coT7oV