ISLAMABAD: Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, who won the Nobel Peace Prize as a teenager after surviving a Taliban assassination attempt, has signed a deal with Apple TV+ that will see her produce dramas and documentaries that focus on women and children.
The multi-year partnership would “draw on her ability to inspire people around the world,” the company said in a statement, adding that content would also include animation and children’s series.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to support women, young people, writers, and artists in reflecting the world as they see it,” the 23-year-old was quoted as saying.
Yousafzai earned the wrath of the Taliban as a 10-year-old in rural northwest Pakistan when she began campaigning for education rights for girls.
At the time, the Pakistani Taliban had gained a significant foothold in the Swat Valley, imposing a fundamentalist version of Islam on areas they controlled — banning education for girls and employment for women.
Yousafzai drew international attention with a series of blogs and articles she wrote about everyday life and hopes for a better future, but her fame incensed the Taliban, whose leadership ordered her murder.
In October 2012, a Taliban assassin shot the then-15-year-old as she rode home on a bus from school. The bullet struck near her left eye, went through her neck and lodged in her shoulder.
She recovered after months of treatment at home and abroad before co-writing a best-selling memoir titled “I am Malala,” which drew even more international attention.
Yousafzai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize as a 17-year-old in 2014, sharing the award with Kailash Satyarthi, a children’s rights activist from India.
She graduated from Britain’s Oxford University last year and has since created a digital publication for girls and women, and formed her own TV production company.
“I believe in the power of stories to bring families together, forge friendships, build movements, and inspire children to dream,” she was quoted as saying in Monday’s statement.
Pakistani Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai signs Apple TV deal
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Pakistani Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai signs Apple TV deal
- The multi-year partnership would “draw on her ability to inspire people around the world”
Apple, Google offer app store changes under new UK rules
LONDON: Apple and Google have pledged changes to ensure fairness in their app stores, the UK competition watchdog said Tuesday, describing it as “first steps” under its tougher regulation of technology giants.
The Competition and Markets Authority placed the two companies under “strategic market status” last year, giving it powers to impose stricter rules on their mobile platforms.
Apple and Google have submitted packages of commitments to improve fairness and transparency in their app stores, which the CMA is now consulting market participants on.
The proposals cover data collection, how apps are reviewed and ranked and improved access to their mobile operating systems.
They aim to prevent Apple and Google from giving priority to their own apps and to ensure businesses receive fairer terms for delivering apps to customers, including better access to tools to compete with services like the Apple digital wallet.
“These are important first steps while we continue to work on a broad range of additional measures to improve Apple and Google’s app store services in the UK,” said CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell.
The commitments mark the first changes proposed by US tech giants in response to the UK’s digital markets regulation, which came into force last year.
The UK framework is similar to a tech competition law from the European Union, the Digital Markets Act, which carries the potential for hefty financial penalties.
“The commitments announced today allow Apple to continue advancing important privacy and security innovations for users and great opportunities for developers,” an Apple spokesperson said.
The CMA in October found that Apple and Google held an “effective duopoly,” with around 90 to 100 percent of UK mobile services running on their platforms.
A Google spokesperson said existing practices in its Play online store are “fair, objective and transparent.”
“We welcome the opportunity to resolve the CMA’s concerns collaboratively,” they added.
The changes are set to take effect in April, subject to the outcome of a market consultation.
