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Indian Express
27-05-2025
- Indian Express
Ex-Karnataka MP Prajwal Revanna had 2,000 explicit photos, 40-50 videos of women on his phone, former driver tells court
A former car driver of ex-Karnataka MP Prajwal Revanna, an accused in four rape and sexual harassment cases, has testified in court that he found over 2,000 explicit pictures and 40-50 videos of women on the then Janata Dal (Secular) MP's phone. The driver, Karthik N, 34, was the whistle blower who facilitated the initiation of multiple cases of rape and sexual harassment against Prajwal last year. Karthik, who was initially accused of leaking the videos of Prajwal's alleged sexual assaults on women, told a special court on Monday that he came across the pictures and videos of the alleged assaults when he secretly looked at Prajwal's mobile phone in Bengaluru in 2019 when the then MP left his phone in his car while visiting his girlfriend.t A close confidante of the then Hassan MP till 2022, Karthik told the court that he browsed the phone out of curiosity since Prajwal often viewed his phone in a secretive manner. 'When I opened the mobile phone, I found videos which consisted of having sexual intercourse by the accused. The videographs and photos pertained to the JDS party workers, maid servants, etc. The mobile phone consisted of more than 2,000 photographs of women and about 40-50 videos. The videos consisted of nearly 30-40 women,' he told the court. The driver said that he downloaded the pictures and videos to his phone and later showed them to Prajwal's mother, Bhavani Revanna, the wife of JD(S) MLA H D Revanna, in an alleged effort to inform them about Prajwal's activities. Karthik said that he lost the mobile phone into which he had transferred the videos and pictures–for which he filed a police complaint–but there was a backup of the material since it was transferred to an old phone given to him by Prajwal. In 2022, Karthik said he had a falling out with Prajwal and his family, resulting in cases and counter-cases being filed against each other. In 2023, Prajwal obtained a court order against the release of his private videos and pictures by Karthik to the media. According to Karthik, a pen drive of the videos and pictures was given to his lawyer, G Devaraje Gowda, a BJP leader who had contested Assembly elections against H D Revanna in the Hassan region. Karthik stated in the court that the videos and pictures of Prajwal, which emerged through pen drives distributed in the Hassan constituency ahead of the April 26, 2024, Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka, were the same ones he had handed to Gowda in a pen drive. Karthik appeared in court as prosecution witness number 10 in the trial of the first of four cases of rape and sexual harassment registered by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Karnataka Police after the explicit videos and pictures of the alleged sexual assaults by Prajwal emerged in the public domain in April 2024. The trial in the first case began on May 2 with a former domestic worker at the farmhouse of the Revanna family telling the court of Prajwal's alleged assaults on her. The statement of the victim was recorded during in-camera proceedings in the special court. The case was registered on the basis of a complaint filed by a woman on May 8, 2024. The woman was rescued on May 5 from a farmhouse near Mysuru, where she was allegedly kept in confinement after being identified in videos of sexual assaults recorded by Prajwal on his mobile phone. The trial in a second case where Prajwal is accused of repeatedly assaulting a former JD(S) zilla panchayat worker with threats and coercion is scheduled to begin on May 28. The former MP is also named as an accused in a case of sexual assault on a cook who worked for the Revanna family and the alleged sexual harassment of the cook's daughter. A chargesheet running into 1,632 pages and backed by 113 witnesses was filed in the first case in December 2024 by the SIT constituted to investigate the cases against Prajwal.
Daily Maverick
14-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Amid a privacy storm abroad, Shopify quietly expands in SA
The e-commerce giant powers more than 18,000 online stores in SA. A revived lawsuit in the US has raised questions about what Shopify knows – and consumers don't – about data trails left behind. You might not know it, but Shopify probably knows you. If you've bought a T-shirt, browsed for a side table or abandoned a cart full of skincare products at 1am, your clicks may have passed through the back end of Shopify. The Canadian platform underpins 18,148 South African online stores, including major retailers such as Pep, Edgars and Ackermans. Its appeal lies in its simplicity: you don't need a developer, warehouse or business degree to get started. In a country grappling with a 31.9% unemployment rate, Shopify acts as a digital launchpad for entrepreneurs. Although the platform continues to scale up in Mzansi, its global reputation is being tested thanks to a revived data privacy lawsuit in California. California calls Shopify to court Reuters reported on 21 April on a US federal appeals court ruling that reinstated a class action lawsuit against Shopify. The plaintiff, Brandon Briskin, claims Shopify planted tracking cookies on his iPhone without consent after he purchased activewear from a retailer using Shopify's platform. He alleges the data collected was used to build a consumer profile that was then sold without his consent. Shopify, backed by the US Chamber of Commerce, contended that the ruling could unfairly subject global service providers to lawsuits in unrelated jurisdictions. The Shopify surge In South Africa, it seems that Shopify has become the visa stamp for joining the online retail economy. According to data from Store Leads, a platform that provides e-commerce store data, Shopify's usage in South Africa grew 23% year on year in the first quarter of 2025. Cape Town leads the pack with 4,426 stores, followed by Johannesburg (2,377) and Pretoria (1,426). Apparel is the biggest category, but beauty and fitness as well as home and garden are fast climbers. The appeal is obvious: Shopify removes the complexity and cost of digital retail. Businesses and entrepreneurs can focus on their product while Shopify handles payments, templates, search engine optimisation and even product descriptions. Shopify's global performance reflects its local traction. In its latest results for the year to the end of December 2024, the company reported a 31% year-over-year revenue jump, with full-year revenue climbing 26%. Its free cash flow margin expanded to 22%. What is Shopify doing with clicks? Shopify's data privacy policy is filled with tech industry boilerplates. Yes, it collects data; yes, it's to improve services; yes, it complies with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act. The fine print hides in the footnotes. Consent falls on the merchant. Cookie disclosures are optional unless you're in a regulated zone. If you're using a stock Shopify theme, chances are you're deploying cookies and collecting user data. The privacy policy states that it does not sell customer data to third parties, but it may share your data with some of its partners for specific purposes. They include marketing, advertising and analytics partners to personalise ads and understand user behaviour. It doesn't seem to be malicious, but it's murky. Many small businesses may not be legally literate in digital compliance, and so ignorance can become a liability. Popia? It's barely known South Africa's data privacy law, the Protection of Personal Information Act (Popia), is meant to protect consumers from forms of data mining that go unnoticed. Although Popia is a robust framework on paper, enforcement remains patchy in practice. It applies to anyone collecting user data in the country, whether it's a Silicon Valley behemoth or a Joburg candle maker with a website and a dream. 'Even if a company does not have its headquarters in South Africa, it could still be subject to compliance with Popia if it uses processing means, for example data or telecommunications infrastructure, in South Africa,' said Wendy Tembedza, tech law expert and partner at Webber Wentzel. If you're running an online store, you don't get to plead ignorance. 'Popia requires that businesses provide users of their websites with certain minimum information through a privacy policy,' Tembedza said. That includes the data you're collecting, why it's being collected and what you plan to do with it. 'Popia introduced controls that have significant impact on businesses that sell customer data,' Tembedza told Daily Maverick. Direct marketing without consent is also tightly regulated. Shopify helps entrepreneurs Launching a business during lockdown with no technical background, Jana Leonard didn't need a crash course in coding; she needed something that just worked. And Spotify delivered. 'Shopify powers our entire online presence, from showcasing products to processing orders and managing the customer experience,' the founder of local decor brand The Baskiti Co told Daily Maverick. Leonard described Shopify's back end as being 'incredibly intuitive', especially for someone without web development experience. She does worry a little about data privacy. 'I'm aware they store certain data, though I'm not sure for exactly how long,' Leonard said. 'But I do know our customers' data is never sold to third parties, which gives me peace of mind.' Tariffs, tech and tenacity Shopify may be navigating legal challenges in California, but its ship hasn't sprung a leak – at least not in the eyes of investors. 'Shopify can be viewed as a high-beta proxy for e-commerce growth,' Choni Goldfein, an investment analyst at EasyAssetManagement, said. 'As the macro environment evolves, particularly with new tariffs on Chinese imports and signs of decelerated consumer spending, we perceive heightened sensitivity for platforms like Shopify.' Goldfein pointed out that many Shopify merchants rely on Chinese manufacturers. Tariffs could push up prices and squeeze margins. 'Amazon, by contrast, has broader pricing power, greater vertical integration and a significant base in consumer staples, giving it more resilience in a downturn,' he said. The company's next move seems to be geared towards artificial intelligence (AI) to future-proof its value proposition. Its Shopify Magic suite now includes AI-generated emails, blogs and product descriptions. Shopify Sidekick, a new AI assistant, helps merchants with business decisions, theme edits and analytics. 'The company is building with AI at the core to enhance user experience and internal efficiency,' said Shaun Krom, a portfolio manager and chief investment officer at EasyAssetManagement. Still, consumer spending is softening. 'E-commerce growth has remained notably more stable than in-person retail,' Krom said. 'However, this resilience could face pressure in the coming quarters as newly announced tariffs begin to impact supply chains and consumer pricing.' DM
