Content Policy

Microsoft restores Exchange and Teams after Microsoft 365 disruption

The US tech giant, Microsoft, investigated a service disruption affecting Exchange Online, Teams and other Microsoft 365 services after users reported access and performance problems.

An incident that began late on Wednesday affected core communication tools used by enterprises for daily operations.

Engineers initially focused on diagnosing the fault, with Microsoft indicating that a potential third-party networking issue may have interfered with access to Outlook and Teams.

During the disruption, users experienced intermittent connectivity failures, latency and difficulties signing in across parts of the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

Microsoft later confirmed that service access had been restored, although no detailed breakdown of the outage scope was provided.

The incident underlined the operational risks associated with cloud productivity platforms and the importance of transparency and resilience in enterprise digital infrastructure.

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Anthropic releases new constitution shaping Claude’s AI behaviour

Anthropic has published a new constitution for its AI model Claude, outlining the values, priorities, and behavioural principles designed to guide its development. Released under a Creative Commons licence, the document aims to boost transparency while shaping Claude’s learning and reasoning.

The constitution plays a central role in training, guiding how Claude balances safety, ethics, compliance, and helpfulness. Rather than rigid rules, the framework explains core principles, enabling AI systems to generalise and apply nuanced judgment.

Anthropic says this approach supports more responsible decision-making while improving adaptability.

The updated framework also enables Claude to refine its own training through synthetic data generation and self-evaluation. Using the constitution in training helps future Claude models align behaviour with human values while maintaining safety and oversight.

Anthropic described the constitution as a living document that will evolve alongside AI capabilities. External feedback and ongoing evaluation will guide updates to strengthen alignment, transparency, and responsible AI development.

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South Korea sets the global standard for frontier AI regulation

South Korea will begin enforcing its Artificial Intelligence Act on Thursday, becoming the first country to introduce formal safety requirements for high-performance, or frontier, AI systems, reshaping the global regulatory landscape.

The law establishes a national AI governance framework, led by the Presidential Council on National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, and creates an AI Safety Institute to oversee safety and trust assessments.

Alongside regulatory measures, the government is rolling out broad support for research, data infrastructure, talent development, startups, and overseas expansion, signalling a growth-oriented policy stance.

To minimise early disruption, authorities will introduce a minimum one-year grace period centred on guidance, consultation, and education rather than enforcement.

Obligations cover three areas: high-impact AI in critical sectors, safety rules for frontier models, and transparency requirements for generative AI, including disclosure of realistic synthetic content.

Enforcement remains light-touch, prioritising corrective orders over penalties, with fines capped at 30 million won for persistent noncompliance. Officials said the framework aims to build public trust while supporting innovation, serving as a foundation for ongoing policy development.

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YouTube’s 2026 strategy places AI at the heart of moderation and monetisation

As announced yesterday, YouTube is expanding its response to synthetic media by introducing experimental likeness detection tools that allow creators to identify videos where their face appears altered or generated by AI.

The system, modelled conceptually on Content ID, scans newly uploaded videos for visual matches linked to enrolled creators, enabling them to review content and pursue privacy or copyright complaints when misuse is detected.

Participation requires identity verification through government-issued identification and a biometric reference video, positioning facial data as both a protective and governance mechanism.

While the platform stresses consent and limited scope, the approach reflects a broader shift towards biometric enforcement as platforms attempt to manage deepfakes, impersonation, and unauthorised synthetic content at scale.

Alongside likeness detection, YouTube’s 2026 strategy places AI at the centre of content moderation, creator monetisation, and audience experience.

AI tools already shape recommendation systems, content labelling, and automated enforcement, while new features aim to give creators greater control over how their image, voice, and output are reused in synthetic formats.

The move highlights growing tensions between creative empowerment and platform authority, as safeguards against AI misuse increasingly rely on surveillance, verification, and centralised decision-making.

As regulators debate digital identity, biometric data, and synthetic media governance, YouTube’s model signals how private platforms may effectively set standards ahead of formal legislation.

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Snapchat settles social media addiction lawsuit as landmark trial proceeds

Snapchat’s parent company has settled a social media addiction lawsuit in California just days before the first major trial examining platform harms was set to begin.

The agreement removes Snapchat from one of the three bellwether cases consolidating thousands of claims, while Meta, TikTok and YouTube remain defendants.

These lawsuits mark a legal shift away from debates over user content and towards scrutiny of platform design choices, including recommendation systems and engagement mechanics.

A US judge has already ruled that such features may be responsible for harm, opening the door to liability that section 230 protections may not cover.

Legal observers compare the proceedings to historic litigation against tobacco and opioid companies, warning of substantial damages and regulatory consequences.

A ruling against the remaining platforms could force changes in how social media products are designed, particularly in relation to minors and mental health risks.

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Why AI systems privilege Western perspectives: ‘The Silicon Gaze’

A new study from the University of Oxford argues that large language models reproduce a distinctly Western hierarchy when asked to evaluate countries, reinforcing long-standing global inequalities through automated judgment.

Analysing more than 20 million English-language responses from ChatGPT’s 4o-mini model, researchers found consistent favouring of wealthy Western nations across subjective comparisons such as intelligence, happiness, creativity, and innovation.

Low-income countries, particularly across Africa, were systematically placed at the bottom of rankings, while Western Europe, the US, and parts of East Asia dominated positive assessments.

According to the study, generative models rely heavily on data availability and dominant narratives, leading to flattened representations that recycle familiar stereotypes instead of reflecting social complexity or cultural diversity.

The researchers describe the phenomenon as the ‘silicon gaze’, a worldview shaped by the priorities of platform owners, developers, and historically uneven training data.

Because large language models are trained on material produced within centuries of structural exclusion, bias emerges not as a malfunction but as an embedded feature of contemporary AI systems.

The findings intensify global debates around AI governance, accountability, and cultural representation, particularly as such systems increasingly influence healthcare, employment screening, education, and public decision-making.

While models are continuously updated, the study underlines the limits of technical mitigation without broader political, regulatory, and epistemic interventions.

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ChatGPT introduces age prediction to strengthen teen safety

New safeguards are being introduced as ChatGPT uses age prediction to identify accounts that may belong to under-18s. Extra protections limit exposure to harmful content while still allowing adults full access.

The age prediction model analyses behavioural and account-level signals, including usage patterns, activity times, account age, and stated age information. OpenAI says these indicators help estimate whether an account belongs to a minor, enabling the platform to apply age-appropriate safeguards.

When an account is flagged as potentially under 18, ChatGPT limits access to graphic violence, sexual role play, viral challenges, self-harm, and unhealthy body image content. The safeguards reflect research on teen development, including differences in risk perception and impulse control.

ChatGPT users who are incorrectly classified can restore full access by confirming their age through a selfie check using Persona, a secure identity verification service. Account holders can review safeguards and begin the verification process at any time via the settings menu.

Parental controls allow further customisation, including quiet hours, feature restrictions, and notifications for signs of distress. OpenAI says the system will continue to evolve, with EU-specific deployment planned in the coming weeks to meet regional regulatory requirements.

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WhatsApp faces growing pressure in Russia

Authorities in Russia are increasing pressure on WhatsApp, one of the country’s most widely used messaging platforms. The service remains popular despite years of tightening digital censorship.

Officials argue that WhatsApp refuses to comply with national laws on data storage and cooperation with law enforcement. Meta has no legal presence in Russia and continues to reject requests for user information.

State backed alternatives such as the national messenger Max are being promoted through institutional pressure. Critics warn that restricting WhatsApp targets private communication rather than crime or security threats.

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Davos 2026 reveals competing visions for AI

AI has dominated debates at Davos 2026, matching traditional concerns such as geopolitics and global trade while prompting deeper reflection on how the technology is reshaping work, governance, and society.

Political leaders, executives, and researchers agreed that AI development has moved beyond experimentation towards widespread implementation.

Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella argued that AI should deliver tangible benefits for communities and economies, while warning that adoption will remain uneven due to disparities in infrastructure and investment.

Access to energy networks, telecommunications, and capital was identified as a decisive factor in determining which regions can fully deploy advanced systems.

Other voices at Davos 2026 struck a more cautious tone. AI researcher Yoshua Bengio warned against designing systems that appear too human-like, stressing that people may overestimate machine understanding.

Philosopher Yuval Noah Harari echoed those concerns, arguing that societies lack experience in managing human and AI coexistence and should prepare mechanisms to correct failures.

The debate also centred on labour and global competition.

Anthropic’s Dario Amodei highlighted geopolitical risks and predicted disruption to entry-level white-collar jobs. At the same time, Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis forecast new forms of employment alongside calls for shared international safety standards.

Together, the discussions underscored growing recognition that AI governance will shape economic and social outcomes for years ahead.

Diplo is live reporting on all sessions from the World Economic Forum 2026 in Davos.

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UK study tests social media restrictions on children’s mental health

A major UK research project will examine how restricting social media use affects children’s mental health, sleep, and social lives, as governments debate tougher rules for under-16s.

The trial involves around 4,000 pupils from 30 secondary schools in Bradford and represents one of the first large-scale experimental studies of its kind.

Participants aged 12 to 15 will either have their social media use monitored or restricted through a research app limiting access to major platforms to one hour per day and imposing a night-time curfew.

Messaging services such as WhatsApp will remain available instead of being restricted, reflecting their role in family communication.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the Bradford Centre for Health Data Science will assess changes in anxiety, depression, sleep patterns, bullying, and time spent with friends and family.

Entire year groups within each school will experience the same conditions to capture social effects across peer networks rather than isolated individuals.

The findings, expected in summer 2027, arrive as UK lawmakers consider proposals for a nationwide ban on social media use by under-16s.

Although independent from government policy debates, the study aims to provide evidence to inform decisions in the UK and other countries weighing similar restrictions.

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