Dispatches from the ground

Here are this week's biggest stories in tech from the regions that we cover. For more exclusive content, sign up for Rest of World's weekly global newsletter.

Africa South Africa has introduced new regulations for ride-hailing services. This is the first time the country has issued guidelines for the sector, which has so far relied on charter permits and metered-taxi operating licenses. The new rules allow companies like Uber and Bolt to apply for operating licenses like any other public transport provider. — dámiláre dòsùnmú from Lagos

China Beijing lodged a complaint with the World Trade Organization last week, challenging the EU’s decision in July to impose tariffs on Chinese EV imports, arguing that this would undermine global progress on climate change. Unlike U.S tariffs — which have limited impact on Chinese EV makers because few are sold to the U.S. market — the EU’s move is likely to hurt both Chinese companies and European chipmakers that supply semiconductors to the largest EV industry in the world. Automotive chips is one area of the semiconductor industry where Europe “punches above its weight,” according to a Bloomberg report highlighting just how important China is to EU chipmakers. — Joanna Chiu from Vancouver

Latin America On July 28, Nicolás Maduro declared victory in the presidential election for a third consecutive term. Several international agencies and governments have questioned the election process, and the European Union has said it does not recognize the results. Meanwhile, Venezuelans have been out on the streets protesting against Maduro’s increasingly authoritarian regime. Ahead of the elections, several media portals and three fact-checking websites had been blocked in the country as a censorship tactic, according to Internet Society. — Daniela Dib from Mexico City

South Asia The Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF), a coalition of 490 Indian startups and individuals, has accused Google of unfair practices in online advertising. On August 5, ADIF filed a complaint with the Competition Commission of India over Google’s opacity around keyword bidding practices and its ad policy enforcement, review, and redressal processes. This development came the same day that Google lost a four-year antitrust battle in the U.S., and a judge ruled that the company spent billions of dollars on exclusive deals to maintain an illegal monopoly in search.?— Ananya Bhattacharya from Mumbai

Southeast Asia Meta has apologized for removing posts on the assassination of the Hamas leader from Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Facebook and Instagram accounts. The content has since been restored. Anwar had called the company’s actions “discriminatory,” and said it raised questions “about the transparency of Meta’s content moderation policies.” Separately, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said Malaysia is considering building its own social media platform specifically for Malaysians because Big Tech platforms are failing to ensure user safety. —? Rina Chandran from Bangkok