EMEA Daily: UK Looks to Block ‘Legal but Harmful’ Content; MENA cCommerce Platform Zbooni Expands to Egypt

In today’s top Europe, Middle East and Africa news, two U.K. government officials have proposed new rules to require tech firms to monitor “legal but harmful” content, and connected commerce platform Zbooni has brought its digital commerce tools to Egypt.

Plus, two University of Glasgow professors told PYMNTS the Online Safety Bill and the Digital Competition Bill need more scrutiny, the international Financial Stability Board said cryptocurrency assets could cause structural vulnerabilities in the traditional financial system, and Flutterwave closed a $250 million Series D funding round.

Flutterwave Raises $250M Series D at $3B Valuation

Flutterwave, one of the leading technology companies in pan-African payments, closed a $250 million Series D funding round, upping the startup’s value to an estimated $3 billion.

The company gave a few hints about how the funding will be allocated to advance Flutterwave’s growth strategy, but more detailed information would be discussed at the virtual Flutterwave 3.0 event., the startup said in a press release emailed to PYMNTS on Wednesday (Feb. 16).

UK Seeks to Block ‘Legal but Harmful’ Content

In what could be the world’s toughest rules for social media platforms, two United Kingdom government officials have proposed comprehensive rules that would require tech firms to monitor “legal but harmful” content, The Financial Times reported.

In a joint letter from Home Secretary Priti Patel and Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries to the cabinet and the leader of the House of Commons describing the proposals, they argue amendments are required to protect children online, according to sources who have seen the note.

MENA cCommerce Platform Zbooni Expands to Egypt

Connected commerce platform Zbooni has brought its services to Egypt, where the company said it will provide digital commerce tools to the 33.5 million small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the North African nation.

Connected commerce, or “cCommerce,” lets businesses sell products using social media apps. Zbooni said its platform will allow Egyptian firms to target the country’s more than 50 million social media users, helping them capture orders, take payments and track their progress.

UK’s Platform Regulations Need More Scrutiny

The Online Safety Bill and the Digital Competition Bill need more scrutiny right now to anticipate some problems and deal with them in due time.

Martin Kretschmer and Philip Schlesinger from the University of Glasgow told PYMNTS about the new approach adopted by the U.K. government to enact regulatory instruments to tame big technology companies.

With Stablecoins Growing Rapidly, FSB Tells National Regulators To Move Faster

If there’s one message about the need to regulate stablecoins that emerges from a report issued today by the Financial Stability Board on the growing threat cryptocurrencies pose to the global financial system, it is this: Time to get a move on.

While running through the concerns about how stablecoins, cryptocurrencies that maintain a one-to-one peg to fiat currencies, generally the U.S. dollar, present a risk to the global financial order, the international financial regulatory body comes back over and over to the reality that stablecoin usage is exploding.

FSB Sounds the Alarm of Crypto Assets’ Growing Threats

Crypto assets are quickly evolving, and their scale could reach a point where they would pose a great risk to global financial stability, the Financial Stability Board (FSB).

The FSB said that cryptocurrency assets could cause structural vulnerabilities and “increasing interconnectedness with the traditional financial system.” The global regulators released an updated report on Wednesday outlining the financial stability risks from crypto assets.