Facebook on anti-vaccine ads: “We don’t want these ads on our platform”

United States - The social media giant will now be enforcing a global policy prohibiting ads that discourage people from getting vaccinated, it said Wednesday on a blog post. On the post, Head of Health Kang-Xing Jin and Director of Product Rob Leathern straightforwardly said, “We don’t want these ads...

Pakistan blocks TikTok over “immoral, indecent” content

Pakistan - In a press statement Friday, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has revealed that it has issued instructions for the blocking of video-sharing platform TikTok over immoral and indecent content. The Authority said the decision was made "in view of [a] number of complaints from different segments of the...

Philippines’ Smart Communications partners with Shopee, enables postpaid users to settle bill via ShopeePay

Manila, Philippines - Philippine mobile service provider Smart Communications has teamed up with Southeast Asian e-commerce platform Shopee to give Smart postpaid users the option of paying their bill through ShopeePay. Regulated under the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, ShopeePay is a mobile wallet which allows users to cash in and...

Kuala Lumpur-based Forest Interactive launches content subscription service to eight countries

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Kuala Lumpur-based developer of scalable mobile platforms Forest Interactive has partnered with mobile network operators in eight countries to launch content subscription services. The service will be available in Myanmar, Switzerland, Austria, Kuwait, and Kenya as well as Thailand, United Arab Emirates, and Malaysia. Forest Interactive’s...

Malaysia’s eCommerce Youbeli, PJ Digital Mall make the jump to Online-to-Offline commerce

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - eCommerce platform Youbeli has collaborated with IT mall PJ Digital Mall to adopt an online-to-offline (O2O) commerce. The new partnership comes as Youbeli gears up for its 10.10 sale event. It has brought together 10 participating tenants from the mall onboard the Youbeli platform. In conjunction...

Mo’orea, Great Southern Region are top spots for Aussie, Kiwi travelers in 2021: study

Australia - In the middle of months-long country lockdowns and travel restrictions, Australian and Kiwi locals are showing eagerness to travel with South Pacific island Mo'orea in French Polynesia and the Great Southern Region in Western Australia topping their destination wishlist for 2021, said a study by Australian-owned travel platform...

Australia’s Cashrewards appoints former Woolworths Supermarkets General Manager as CMO

Australia - Rewards platform Cashrewards has appointed Steve Cuda, former general manager for digital, media, and data of Woolworths Supermarkets' eCommerce and customer loyalty division WooliesX, as its newest Chief Product and Marketing Officer. The company said that Cuda joins Cashrewards at a time when it is experiencing a significant...

Amazon’s Twitch expands APAC team with new senior hires

Singapore - Amazon's live streaming service Twitch has announced that it has appointed two former Dentsu International heads Mandar Kambli and Sunil Yadav to be its newest leads for the APAC team. Kambli will join as Programmatic Enablement Lead, while Yadav will be assuming the role of Agency Development Lead....

Google extends free listing on shopping service to more APAC retailers

United States - As more businesses in the APAC region turn to eCommerce amid the pandemic, Google has decided to make it free for merchants to list their products on the Google Shopping tab, which takes effect in mid-October. The free listing has been available in India and Indonesia since...