India Pushes Back Against Tech ‘Colonization’ by Internet Giants – The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/31/technology/india-technology-american-giants.html

The overlapping tensions in India’s online business, policy and data protection

India wants to curb the dominance of foreign (mainly US) tech giants in India’s online consumer marketplace to facilitate the growth of homegrown counterparts. For this, it is looking at China’s success in establishing its own tech heavyweights by virtually walling off its citizens’ online access from the rest of the world. However, India also needs foreign investment, and Indians would not tolerate China-style restrictions on access to the web.

European regulations on the storage and use of user data are another approach for the Indian government to rein in foreign companies’ offerings in the country. While the European regulations are aimed at protecting the privacy of its residents, the Indian government wants to exempt itself from restrictions on access to its residents’ online data.

Ethiopia Touts Good Conditions in Factories for Brands Like H&M and Calvin Klein, but Workers Scrape By on $1 a Day

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Globalization has come to Ethiopia in the form of the garment industry. This time it looks shiny, is housed in robust buildings and even uses renewable energy – because it is cheap. Still, the tradition of a much-less-than-living wage for the workers is maintained, as is the tradition of taking advantage of the host country’s need for development to strong-arm it into providing special benefits and breaks.

This is a “fascinating” glimpse of how globalization comes to be implemented in the Global South. The immediate effect on the local economy turns out to be undesirable for all parties – some more than others of course.

Ethiopia Touts Good Conditions in Factories for Brands Like H&M and Calvin Klein, but Workers Scrape By on $1 a Day