The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is nearing a verdict in its antitrust trial against Google, with the tech giant facing allegations of monopolizing the ad-tech market and stifling competition. In September 2023, the DOJ accused Google of dominating the ad-tech market, and yesterday, both sides presented their final arguments in a two-week trial.

The DOJ is seeking to break up Google's Chrome browser, which could give other players like DuckDuckGo and new entrant OpenAI a window into the search market. This move is seen as a significant threat to Google's dominance in the online search and advertising space.

In other tech news, a report by cybersecurity firm Positive Technologies has revealed that South Africa is the most targeted African country for cyberattacks, accounting for 22% of all attacks on the continent between Q1 2023 and Q3 2024. Egypt suffered 13% of these attacks, while Nigeria and Algeria remain key targets for hackers.

The report also found that government entities and financial institutions were prime targets for cyberattacks, with 22% of these attacks being successful. In 2024 alone, South Africa's public diagnostic provider, trade commission, and intellectual property records were all breached in separate cyberattacks.

Meanwhile, Union Bank of Nigeria has increased staff salaries by 40%, following a similar move by GTBank in September 2024. The bank hopes the increase will help its over 2,000 employees cope with Nigeria's rising cost of living, thanks to a rapidly-devaluing naira and inflation.

In Egypt, the government is introducing a new tax structure on imported smartphones, with customs and tax fees totaling 37.5%, including a 5% development fee. The move is aimed at encouraging local smartphone manufacturing and reducing dependence on imports.

The new tax rule could benefit local phone manufacturers like SICO Technology, but may also impact global manufacturers like Apple, which could see demand drop due to the tariff hike.

Finally, applications are open for the 2025 Acumen West Africa Fellows Programme, a fully funded opportunity for emerging leaders in West Africa, and the 2025 Google for Startups Growth Academy: AI for Cybersecurity, a three-month hybrid program for Seed to Series A startups using AI to tackle cybersecurity challenges.