Sustainable development Archives | Digital Watch Observatory

Ireland pushes EU plan for ID-verified social media accounts

The presidency of the Council of the European Union next year is expected to see Ireland lead a European drive for ID-verified social media accounts.

Tánaiste Simon Harris said the move is intended to limit anonymous abuse, bot activity and coordinated disinformation campaigns that he views as a growing threat to democracy worldwide.

A proposal that would require users to verify their identity instead of hiding behind anonymous profiles. Harris also backed an Australian-style age verification regime to prevent children from accessing social media, arguing that existing digital consent rules are not being enforced.

Media Minister Patrick O’Donovan is expected to bring forward detailed proposals during the presidency.

The plan is likely to trigger strong resistance from major social media platforms with European headquarters in Ireland, alongside criticism from the US.

However, Harris believes there is growing political backing across Europe, pointing to signals of support from French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Harris said he wanted constructive engagement with technology firms rather than confrontation, while insisting that stronger safeguards are now essential.

He argued that social media companies already possess the technology to verify users and restrict harmful accounts, and that European-level coordination will be required to deliver meaningful change.

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Hacker allegedly claims a major WIRED data breach affecting 2.3 million

A hacker using the name Lovely has allegedly claimed to have accessed subscriber data belonging to WIRED and to have leaked details relating to around 2.3 million users.

The same individual also states that a wider Condé Nast account system covering more than 40 million users could be exposed in future leaks instead of ending with the current dataset.

Security researchers are reported to have matched samples of the claimed leak with other compromised data sources. The information is said to include names, email addresses, user IDs and timestamps instead of passwords or payment information.

Some researchers also believe that certain home addresses could be included, which would raise privacy concerns if verified.

The dataset is reported to be listed on Have I Been Pwned. However, no official confirmation from WIRED or Condé Nast has been issued regarding the authenticity, scale or origin of the claimed breach, and the company’s internal findings remain unknown until now.

The hacker has also accused Condé Nast of failing to respond to earlier security warnings, although these claims have not been independently verified.

Users are being urged by security professionals to treat unexpected emails with caution instead of assuming every message is genuine.

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KT faces action in South Korea after a femtocell security breach impacts users

South Korea has blamed weak femtocell security at KT Corp for a major mobile payment breach that triggered thousands of unauthorised transactions.

Officials said the mobile operator used identical authentication certificates across femtocells and allowed them to stay valid for ten years, meaning any device that accessed the network once could do so repeatedly instead of being re-verified.

More than 22,000 users had identifiers exposed, and 368 people suffered unauthorised payments worth 243 million won.

Investigators also discovered that ninety-four KT servers were infected with over one hundred types of malware. Authorities concluded the company failed in its duty to deliver secure telecommunications services because its overall management of femtocell security was inadequate.

The government has now ordered KT to submit detailed prevention plans and will check compliance in June, while also urging operators to change authentication server addresses regularly and block illegal network access.

Officials said some hacking methods resembled a separate breach at SK Telecom, although there is no evidence that the same group carried out both attacks. KT said it accepts the findings and will soon set out compensation arrangements and further security upgrades instead of disputing the conclusions.

A separate case involving LG Uplus is being referred to police after investigators said affected servers were discarded, making a full technical review impossible.

The government warned that strong information security must become a survival priority as South Korea aims to position itself among the world’s leading AI nations.

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OpenAI strengthened ChatGPT Atlas with new protections against prompt injection attacks

Protecting AI agents from manipulation has become a top priority for OpenAI after rolling out a major security upgrade to ChatGPT Atlas.

The browser-based agent now includes stronger safeguards against prompt injection attacks, where hidden instructions inside emails, documents or webpages attempt to redirect the agent’s behaviour instead of following the user’s commands.

Prompt injection poses a unique risk because Atlas can carry out actions that a person would normally perform inside a browser. A malicious email or webpage could attempt to trigger data exposure, unauthorised transactions or file deletion.

Criminals exploit the fact that agents process large volumes of content across an almost unlimited online surface.

OpenAI has developed an automated red-team framework that uses reinforcement learning to simulate sophisticated attackers.

When fresh attack patterns are discovered, the models behind Atlas are retrained so that resistance is built into the agent rather than added afterwards. Monitoring and safety controls are also updated using real attack traces.

These new protections are already live for all Atlas users. OpenAI advises people to limit logged-in access where possible, check confirmation prompts carefully and give agents well-scoped tasks instead of broad instructions.

The company argues that proactive defence is essential as agentic AI becomes more capable and widely deployed.

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AI chatbots struggle with dialect fairness

Researchers are warning that AI chatbots may treat dialect speakers unfairly instead of engaging with them neutrally. Studies across English and German dialects found that large language models often attach negative stereotypes or misunderstand everyday expressions, leading to discriminatory replies.

A study in Germany tested ten language models using dialects such as Bavarian and Kölsch. The systems repeatedly described dialect speakers as uneducated or angry, and the bias became stronger when the dialect was explicitly identified.

Similar findings emerged elsewhere, including UK council services and AI shopping assistants that struggled with African American English.

Experts argue that such patterns risk amplifying social inequality as governments and businesses rely more heavily on AI. One Indian job applicant even saw a chatbot change his surname to reflect a higher caste, showing how linguistic bias can intersect with social hierarchy instead of challenging it.

Developers are now exploring customised AI models trained with local language data so systems can respond accurately without reinforcing stereotypes.

Researchers say bias can be tuned out of AI if handled responsibly, which could help protect dialect speakers rather than marginalise them.

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SoftBank invests $4 billion in global AI networks

SoftBank Group has agreed to acquire DigitalBridge for $4 billion, strengthening its global digital infrastructure capabilities. The move aims to scale data centres, connectivity, and edge networks to support next-generation AI services.

The acquisition aligns with SoftBank’s mission to develop Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI), providing the compute power and connectivity needed to deploy AI at scale.

DigitalBridge’s global portfolio of data centres, cell towers, fibre networks, and edge infrastructure will enhance SoftBank’s ability to finance and operate these assets worldwide.

DigitalBridge will continue to operate independently under CEO Marc Ganzi. The transaction, valued at a 15% premium to its closing share price, is expected to close in the second half of 2026, pending regulatory approval.

SoftBank and DigitalBridge anticipate that the combined resources will accelerate investments in AI infrastructure, supporting the rapid growth of technology companies and fostering the development of advanced AI applications.

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New SIM cards in South Korea now require real-time facial recognition

South Korea has introduced mandatory facial recognition for anyone registering a new SIM card or eSIM, whether in-store or online.

The live scan must match the photo on an official ID so that each phone number can be tied to a verified person instead of relying on paperwork alone.

Existing users are not affected, and the requirement applies only at the moment a number is issued.

The government argues that stricter checks are needed because telecom fraud has become industrialised and relies heavily on illegally registered SIM cards.

Criminal groups have used stolen identity data to obtain large volumes of numbers that can be swapped quickly to avoid detection. Regulators now see SIM issuance as the weakest link and the point where intervention is most effective.

Telecom companies must integrate biometric checks into onboarding, while authorities insist that facial data is used only for real-time verification and not stored. Privacy advocates warn that biometric verification creates new risks because faces cannot be changed if compromised.

They also question whether such a broad rule is proportionate when mobile access is essential for daily life.

The policy places South Korea in a unique position internationally, combining mandatory biometrics with defined legal limits. Its success will be judged on whether fraud meaningfully declines instead of being displaced.

A rule that has become a test case for how far governments should extend biometric identity checks into routine services.

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New rules set for digital yuan in 2026

China’s central bank has confirmed that a revised digital yuan framework will enter force on 1 January 2026, redefining the e-CNY as a form of digital deposit money rather than a cash substitute.

The upgraded framework adds new standards and rules, based on a decade of domestic and cross-border pilot programmes. Usage already spans retail payments, public services, healthcare, education, tourism, and international settlements.

Under the new plan, digital yuan balances held in commercial bank wallets will be classified as bank deposit liabilities. Banks must pay interest on these holdings, which will be insured and included in regular asset-liability management.

Digital yuan operations will also be folded into China’s reserve requirement system. Wallet balances at authorised banks will count towards reserve calculations, while non-bank payment institutions must hold full reserves against the digital yuan they administer.

By late November 2025, cumulative transactions had reached 3.48 billion, with a total value of 16.7 trillion yuan.

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AI slop dominates YouTube recommendations for new users

More than 20 percent of videos recommended to new YouTube users are low-quality, attention-driven content commonly referred to as AI slop, according to new research. The findings raise concerns about how recommendation systems shape early user experience on the platform.

Video-editing firm Kapwing analysed 15,000 of YouTube’s top channels across countries worldwide. Researchers identified 278 channels consisting entirely of AI-generated slop, designed primarily to maximise views rather than provide substantive content.

These channels have collectively amassed more than 63 billion views and 221 million subscribers. Kapwing estimates the network generates around $117 million in annual revenue through advertising and engagement.

To test recommendations directly, researchers created a new YouTube account and reviewed its first 500 suggested videos. Of these, 104 were classified as AI slop, with around one third falling into a category described as brainrot content.

Kapwing found that AI slop channels attract large audiences globally, including tens of millions of subscribers in countries such as Spain, Egypt, the United States, and Brazil. Researchers said the scale highlights the growing reach of low-quality AI-generated video content.

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AI reshaped European healthcare in 2025

Europe’s healthcare systems turned increasingly to AI in 2025, using new tools to predict disease, speed diagnosis, and reduce administrative workloads.

Countries including Finland, Estonia and Spain adopted AI to train staff, analyse medical data and detect illness earlier, while hospitals introduced AI scribes to free up doctors’ time with patients.

Researchers also advanced AI models able to forecast more than a thousand conditions many years before diagnosis, including heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers.

Further tools detected heart problems in seconds, flagged prostate cancer risks more quickly and monitored patients recovering from stent procedures instead of relying only on manual checks.

Experts warned that AI should support clinicians rather than replace them, as doctors continue to outperform AI in emergency care and chatbots struggle with mental health needs.

Security specialists also cautioned that extremists could try to exploit AI to develop biological threats, prompting calls for stronger safeguards.

Despite such risks, AI-driven approaches are now embedded across European medicine, from combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria to streamlining routine paperwork. Policymakers and health leaders are increasingly focused on how to scale innovation safely instead of simply chasing rapid deployment.

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