TikTok rapper Dantreal Clark-Rainbolt, known by his stage name Trefuego, has been ordered to pay Sony Music Entertainment $802,997.23 in damages for using a copyrighted sample without permission. U.S. District Judge Mark T. Pittman delivered the ruling, saying the fine would teach him a six-figure “lesson” about “carefully selecting the materials included in his raps.” Trefuego’s Copyright Clash Trefuego’s track “90mh” became a viral sensation on TikTok, featured in over 155,000 videos and gaining more than 100 million streams on Spotify. Despite the song’s success and nearly $700,000 in earnings, the rapper’s victory was short-lived.
NBA star Chris Paul has teamed up with Goalsetter, a Black women-owned fintech company founded by Tanya Van Court, promoting financial literacy among middle school students in Oakland, California. Addressing the Financial Literacy Gap Goalsetter’s recent study with Ivy League students revealed a gap in financial knowledge, with many failing to answer basic financial literacy questions correctly. “Empowering our youth with the knowledge and tools to secure a financially sound future is not just a commitment, it’s a necessity,” Paul said in a press release sent to AFROTECH. “We owe
Intuit is hiring on POCIT. Petagae Butcher is a versatile force in the tech world, currently working as a Staff Technical Program Manager at Intuit. Her introduction to technology started with a love of Super Nintendo in the 90s. She later graduated from the University of Central Florida with a degree in Management Information Systems, initially majoring in Computer Programming, finding her niche bridging the technology and business worlds. Over her 18-year career, she’s garnered a wealth of experience, from software consulting to her current role at Intuit. Born on
Two conservative operatives have been ordered to pay up to $1.25 million in restitution for their roles in targeting Black voters with robocalls during the 2020 election. What Happened? The case, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, concluded with Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman admitting to a scheme designed to prevent Black voters from using mail-in voting. The duo operated under a sham organization called Project 1599 and spread calls claiming that mail-in voting would lead to various enforcement agencies using personal data against voters. The robocalls propagated alarming falsehoods, suggesting that
At 14 years old, Naya Ellis of New Orleans has turned her passion for science into a potentially life-saving invention: a stroke-detecting watch called WingItt. Inspired by her personal family experiences and participation in STEM NOLA, Ellis’ invention has earned her the title of champion in the National STEM Challenge. Developing WingItt: A Life-Saving Technology Ellis’s journey began in the STEM NOLA program, which provides an eight-month-long science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fellowship to high-potential, low-income high school students of color. Initially interested in developing a seizure-detecting device, she shifted her
SunCulture, a Kenya-based company focused on climate technology, recently raised $12 million to expand its solar-powered irrigation systems across sub-Saharan Africa. The funding is part of a larger $27.5 million Series B round. Revolutionizing Agriculture with Solar Power In many countries around the world, climate change and erratic weather have made it increasingly dificult for farmers to maintain consistent crop yields. SunCulture’s solar-powered irrigation systems aim to help farmers efficiently use water and boost their crop yields, even with unpredictable rainfall. These systems are sustainable and cost-effective alternatives to traditional,
Canadian pre-seed venture fund Panache Ventures has teamed up with Africa-focused fintech firm Kora to address funding challenges that African tech entrepreneurs face. Payments infrastructure for Africa Established in 2017, Kora is a payment gateway facilitating local and international transactions across several African markets, including Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya. Kora opened a UK office in 2022 through a collaboration with the West Midlands Growth Company, an initiative designed to drive regional investment and stimulate economic growth in the UK. The platform is particularly known for its multi-currency transactions and recently
Integrating AI in mammography offers a new era in breast cancer detection. However, there are concerns for people of color. The technology, which is becoming increasingly accessible, has the potential to enhance early detection rates beyond the current 87% achieved by traditional mammograms, as reported by The New York Times. AI algorithms are not working at identifying subtle signs of cancer that conventional methods may miss, thereby reducing false positives and unnecessary treatments. The Concerns For People Of Color Despite these advancements, the adoption of AI-enhanced mammography faces significant hurdles. One
In a controversial incident, DBrand, a Canadian tech accessory company known for its social media persona, faced severe backlash after making a racist remark about a customer’s last name. A Joke Taken Too Far? The comment, which was intended to be humorous, was directed at Bhuwan Chitransh, a customer who had complained about the discoloration of a product he had purchased. Chitransh’s initial tweet to DBrand was about a computer skin that changed color only two months after purchase. In a response that was seen as offensive, DBrand tweeted, “Your
More than 200 groups, including civil organizations, researchers, and journalists, have written to major tech company CEOs, urging them to take action to ensure truthful online content and safeguard democratic processes. The letter that went out to the CEOs of Discord, Google, Instagram, Meta, TikTok, X, YouTube, Pinterest, Reddit, Snap, Rumble, and Twitch, coincides with upcoming elections in over 60 countries in 2024. The Impact Of Online Discourse On Democracy “Research illustrates that individual users can have an outsized impact on online discourse, which results in real-world harms, such as the rise of extremism and violent attempts to overthrow democratic
