Australia has begun reviewing its ban on social media accounts for children under 16, introduced in December 2025. Australia’s eSafety Commissioner is tracking more than 4,000 children and families to assess how the policy works in practice.
Researchers in Australia will analyse surveys, interviews and voluntary smartphone data to measure how young people interact with apps. Officials in Australia aim to understand how the ban affects children, parents and everyday online behaviour.
Early reactions in Australia have been mixed, with some teenagers telling media outlets they bypass age verification systems. Platforms reportedly remain accessible to some minors in Australia.
Meanwhile, the UK government has launched a public consultation on potential social media restrictions for children. Policymakers in the UK are seeking views on bans, stronger age verification and limits on addictive platform features.
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UNESCO and India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) have launched the India AI Readiness Assessment Report during the India AI Impact Summit 2026. The report evaluates the country’s progress in building an ethical and human-centred AI ecosystem.
Developed by UNESCO with the IndiaAI Mission and Ikigai Law as implementing partner, the report draws on consultations with more than 600 stakeholders from government, academia, industry, and civil society. The assessment examined governance, workforce readiness, and infrastructure development.
Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, Dr Ajay Kumar Sood, emphasised the importance of embedding ethics throughout the technology lifecycle. ‘AI is here to make an impact. The question is not how fast we adopt AI, but how thoughtfully we shape it,’ he said.
The report highlights the country’s growing role in global AI development, noting that it accounts for around 16% of the world’s AI talent and has filed more than 86,000 related patents since 2010. It also points to progress in multilingual AI systems and digital public services.
The assessment also identifies policy priorities, including stronger legal frameworks, inclusive workforce transitions, and better access to high-quality datasets. UNESCO officials said the recommendations aim to support responsible AI governance and strengthen public trust.
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Junyang Lin, a central technical leader of Alibaba’s Qwen AI project, has stepped down just one day after the company unveiled its Qwen 3.5 small models. Lin, who joined Alibaba in 2019 and joined the Qwen team in 2023, did not provide details about his decision.
His departure comes at a sensitive moment, as Qwen has emerged as one of China’s most prominent open-weight AI initiatives. The project is a core element of Alibaba’s strategy to compete with leading US developers such as OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic amid intensifying global AI competition.
Alibaba’s newly launched Qwen 3.5 Small Model series comprises four multimodal models with 0.8B to 9B parameters. The systems are designed for on-device deployment and lightweight AI agents, reflecting a focus on efficient and adaptable AI applications.
The release attracted attention from figures including Elon Musk, who commented on the models’ performance. Internally and across the AI ecosystem, including partners linked to Hugging Face, Lin’s exit was described as a significant loss, particularly given his role in advancing open-source development and strengthening global developer engagement.
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Brazil’s central bank has introduced a regulatory framework requiring licensed crypto exchanges to prove asset sufficiency daily starting on 1 January 2027. The measures align digital asset intermediaries with banking standards on capital management, accounting, and data protection.
Under the rules, exchanges must submit daily attestations confirming that platforms hold adequate fiat and token reserves. Supervisors will review the reports to ensure companies can cover operational, liquidity, and cybersecurity risks while protecting customer balances.
The framework also mandates strict segregation of company and client assets. Exchanges must maintain separate accounts for customer fiat and digital holdings to prevent commingling of funds and improve transparency for regulators.
Platforms operating in Brazil will also be required to follow a specialised accounting manual for digital assets. Standardised rules for classification, valuation, and impairment aim to ensure financial statements clearly reflect exposures across regulated entities.
Authorities will expand oversight of cross-border transfers handled by domestic crypto exchanges. Platforms must report the origins of transactions and the blockchain pathways they follow. The central bank said the framework aims to strengthen resilience and protect customer funds.
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OneTrust has entered a new leadership phase in the US after appointing John Heyman as chief executive, replacing founder Kabir Barday. Barday will remain on the board in an advisory role as the US-based compliance technology firm continues to push into AI governance.
John Heyman said organisations across the US and globally are rapidly integrating AI into daily operations. Companies deploying large numbers of AI agents increasingly need tools to manage risk, data use and regulatory compliance.
OneTrust believes demand for governance technology will grow as AI systems multiply inside businesses in the US and worldwide. John Heyman described a future where automated monitoring tools oversee AI agents operating within company systems.
Leadership at OneTrust in the US aims to build systems that track how AI agents collect and share data while maintaining enterprise control. Growing adoption of AI in the US and globally continues to drive demand for responsible governance platforms.
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The European Commission is preparing more stringent requirements for ageing data centres rather than allowing legacy infrastructure to operate under looser rules.
A draft strategy tied to the EU’s tech sovereignty package signals that older sites will face higher efficiency expectations and stricter sustainability checks as part of an effort to modernise the digital backbone of the EU.
The proposal outlines minimum performance standards for new data centres by 2030, aiming to align the entire sector with the bloc’s climate and resilience goals. Officials want to reduce energy waste and improve monitoring across facilities that have long operated without uniform benchmarks.
The draft points to an expanded role for the Cloud and AI Development Act, which is expected to frame future obligations for cloud providers instead of relying on fragmented national measures.
Brussels sees consistent rules as essential for supporting secure cloud services, AI infrastructure and cross-border digital operations.
The strategy underscores that modernisation is central to the EU’s vision of tech sovereignty. Older centres would need upgrades to maintain compliance, ensuring that Europe’s digital infrastructure remains competitive, efficient and less dependent on external providers.
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Europe is building a federated cloud and AI infrastructure intended to reduce reliance on US and Chinese technology providers and avoid ongoing strategic vulnerability.
The project, known as EURO-3C, was announced in Barcelona by Telefónica and is backed by the European Commission. More than seventy organisations across telecommunications, technology and emerging companies have joined the effort.
Architects of the scheme argue that linking national infrastructures into a shared network of nodes offers a realistic path forward, particularly as Europe cannot easily create a hyperscale cloud provider from scratch.
The initiative follows a series of US cloud outages that exposed the risks of excessive dependence on external infrastructure and raised questions about sovereignty, resilience and long-term competitiveness.
Commission officials described the programme as a way to build a secure cross-border digital ecosystem that supports industries such as automotive, e-health, public administration and sovereign government cloud.
Telefónica stressed that agentic AI, capable of taking autonomous actions, will play a central role in enabling Europe to develop technology rather than import it.
The partners view the project as a foundation for a unified and independent digital environment that strengthens industrial supply chains and prepares European sectors for the next phase of cloud and AI adoption.
They present the initiative as a significant step toward reducing strategic exposure while stimulating domestic innovation.
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Deutsche Telekom is turning to satellite connectivity to address Europe’s persistent mobile coverage gaps, rather than relying solely on terrestrial networks.
The company announced a partnership with Starlink during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, arguing that non-terrestrial networks can help reach remote forests, mountains and islands that remain underserved despite broad coverage elsewhere.
A collaboration that aims to support direct-to-device satellite links by 2028, enabling future smartphones to connect to Starlink’s MSS spectrum without additional hardware.
Telecommunications leaders describe the plan as a step toward an ‘everywhere network’, extending reliable service to areas long constrained by topographical and conservation barriers. The partnership follows earlier joint work with SpaceX to eliminate dead zones.
Deutsche Telekom is also increasing its use of agentic AI, integrating autonomous network-enhancing systems intended to improve translation, search and service features across devices.
Executives say these capabilities work even on older phones, reducing dependence on apps and creating a more inclusive digital environment.
Although committed to European digital sovereignty, the company insists that global collaboration remains necessary for long-term competitiveness.
Leadership argues that precise regulation and controlled data environments aligned with European standards can balance international cooperation with privacy protection. They remain confident that European technology firms and start-ups will continue driving meaningful innovation across the sector.
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Social platform X has released a standalone version of its private messaging service, X Chat, via Apple’s TestFlight. The initial beta reached capacity within two hours, reflecting strong early demand among iOS users eager to trial the new app.
Michael Boswell confirmed that the first 1,000 places were quickly expanded to 5,000, with further growth expected. Development has been ongoing for several months, and testers have been urged to stress-test the product and submit detailed feedback.
Early screenshots suggest a cleaner interface and possible rebranding to ‘xChat’.
Security claims remain under scrutiny, as experts question whether X Chat’s encryption matches established platforms such as Signal. Clear evidence addressing those concerns in the standalone build has yet to emerge.
Launch of the separate app marks a notable shift from Elon Musk’s earlier ambition to integrate messaging, payments, and content into a single ‘everything app’.
Chats will synchronise across X, its web platform chat.x.com, and the new iOS app, while an Android version is expected soon.
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Ocado has announced plans to cut 1,000 jobs from its 20,000 strong global workforce, with roles mainly affected in technology and support. The company, headquartered in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, said the move would save £150m and follows major investment in robotics and automation.
Chief executive Tim Steiner said Ocado had completed a significant phase of investment in automation, but the company declined to confirm that AI directly led to the redundancies. At its Luton warehouse, opened in 2023, human staff continue to work alongside AI powered robots.
Analysts suggested that competition has intensified as retailers in the UK, the US and Canada adopt similar AI driven systems. Some former clients in the US and Canada have invested in their own technology, reducing reliance on Ocado’s platform.
Retail experts argued that deeper structural challenges, including changing consumer expectations and cost pressures in Hertfordshire and beyond, are also at play. Local leaders in Welwyn Hatfield have requested urgent talks as the company reshapes its operating model.
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