Economic

Taiwan targets Facebook scam ads with new penalties

Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs plans to impose penalties on Meta for failing to enforce real-name verification on Facebook ads, according to Minister Huang Yen-nan. The move follows a recent meeting with law enforcement and growing concerns over scam-related losses.

A report from CommonWealth Magazine found Taiwanese victims lose NT$400 million (US$13 million) daily to scams, with 70% of losses tied to Facebook. Facebook has been the top scam-linked platform for two years, with over 60% of users reporting exposure to fraudulent content.

From April 2023 to September 2024, nearly 59,000 scam ads were found across Facebook and Google. One Facebook group in Chiayi County, with 410,000 members, was removed after being overwhelmed with daily fake job ads.

Huang identified Meta as the more problematic platform, saying 60% to 70% of financial scams stem from Facebook ads. Police have referred 15 cases to the ministry since May, but only two resulted in fines due to incomplete advertiser information.

Legislator Hung Mung-kai criticized delays in enforcement, noting that new anti-fraud laws took effect in February, but actions only began in May. Huang defended the process, stating platforms typically comply with takedown requests and real-name rules.

Under current law, scam ads must be removed within 24 hours of being reported. The ministry has used AI to detect and remove approximately 100,000 scam ads recently. Officials are now planning face-to-face meetings with Meta to demand stronger ad oversight.

Deputy Interior Minister Ma Shi-yuan called on platforms like Facebook and Line to improve ad screening, emphasizing that law enforcement alone cannot manage the volume of online content.

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Google launches Gemini Live and Pro/Ultra AI tiers at I/O 2025

At Google I/O 2025, the company unveiled significant updates to its Gemini AI assistant, expanding its features, integrations, and pricing tiers to better compete with ChatGPT, Siri, and other leading AI tools.

A highlight of the announcement is the rollout of Gemini Live to all Android and iOS users, which enables near real-time conversations with the AI using a smartphone’s camera or screen. Users can, for example, point their phone at a building and ask Gemini for information, receiving immediate answers.

Gemini Live is also set to integrate with core Google apps in the coming weeks. Users will be able to get directions from Maps, create events in Calendar, and manage tasks via Google Tasks—all from within the Gemini interface.

Google also introduced new subscription tiers. Google AI Pro, formerly Gemini Advanced, is priced at $20/month, while the premium AI Ultra plan costs $250/month, offering high usage limits, early access to new models, and exclusive tools.

Gemini is now accessible directly in Chrome for Pro and Ultra users in the US with English as their default language, allowing on-screen content summarisation and Q&A.

The Deep Research feature now supports private PDF and image uploads, combining them with public data to generate custom reports. Integration with Gmail and Google Drive is coming soon.

Visual tools are also improving. Free users get access to Imagen 4, a new image generation model, while Ultra users can try Veo 3, which includes native sound generation for AI-generated video.

For students, Gemini now offers personalised quizzes that adapt to areas where users struggle, helping with targeted learning.

Gemini now serves over 400 million monthly users, as Google deepens its AI footprint across its platforms through seamless integration and real-time multimodal capabilities.

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OpenAI buys Jony Ive’s AI hardware firm

OpenAI has acquired hardware startup io Products, founded by former Apple designer Jony Ive, in a $6.5 billion equity deal. Ive will now join the company as creative head, aiming to craft cutting-edge hardware for the era of generative AI.

The move signals OpenAI’s intention to build its own hardware platform instead of relying on existing ecosystems like Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android. By doing so, the firm plans to fuse its AI technology, including ChatGPT, with original physical products designed entirely in-house.

Jony Ive, the designer behind iconic Apple devices such as the iPhone and iMac, had already been collaborating with OpenAI through his firm LoveFrom for the past two years. Their shared ambition is to create hardware that redefines how people interact with AI.

While exact details remain under wraps, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Ive have teased that a prototype is in development, described as potentially ‘the coolest piece of technology the world has ever seen’.

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M&S website still offline after cyberattack

Marks & Spencer’s website remains offline as the retailer continues recovering from a damaging cyberattack that struck over the Easter weekend.

The company confirmed the incident was caused by human error and may cost up to £300 million. Chief executive Stuart Machin warned the disruption could last until July.

Customers visiting the site are currently met with a message stating it is undergoing updates. While some have speculated the downtime is due to routine maintenance, the ongoing issues follow a major breach that saw hackers steal personal data such as names, email addresses and birthdates.

The firm has paused online orders, and store shelves were reportedly left empty in the aftermath.

Despite the disruption, M&S posted a strong financial performance this week, reporting a better-than-expected £875.5 million adjusted pre-tax profit for the year to March—an increase of over 22 per cent. The company has yet to comment further on the website outage.

Experts say the prolonged recovery likely reflects the scale of the damage to M&S’s core infrastructure.

Technology director Robert Cottrill described the company’s cautious approach as essential, noting that rushing to restore systems without full security checks could risk a second compromise. He stressed that cyber resilience must be considered a boardroom priority, especially for complex global operations.

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Crypto assets to be treated as property in Russia

Russia’s Ministry of Justice is working on legislation that would classify crypto assets as property, enabling their confiscation during criminal investigations. The draft bill aims to tighten control over digital currencies increasingly used for illegal activities.

Deputy Justice Minister Vadim Fedorov stated that the new law would allow authorities to seize not only physical wallets but also credentials like seed phrases. Experts will assist in managing the secure handling of digital assets.

Courts may also be given the power to block transactions linked to certain wallets.

The move comes in response to a rise in crypto-related crime, particularly through darknet markets. One such platform, Kraken, has recorded a 68% surge in crypto transactions since the shutdown of Hydra in 2022.

Fedorov highlighted the challenges posed by digital currencies, citing their anonymity and lack of central control as major attractions for criminals.

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Epic Games wins long battle with Apple

Fortnite has returned to the Apple app store in the US, nearly five years after it was removed in 2020. The ban followed Epic Games’ attempt to bypass Apple’s 30% commission by introducing its own payment system, sparking a major legal fight.

The game is now also available on the Epic Games Store and AltStore in the EU. This development is being widely viewed as a win for Epic Games in its lengthy dispute over app store practices.

Analysts say it may shift power dynamics in distribution, giving creators more influence against platform holders.

The US return comes just days after Fortnite was briefly unavailable globally due to a blocked update. It had already reappeared in the EU earlier this year due to new competition laws. With over 400 million players worldwide, Fortnite remains one of the most popular games in the world.

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Microsoft and GitHub back Anthropic’s MCP

Microsoft and GitHub are officially joining the steering committee for MCP, a growing standard developed by Anthropic that connects AI models with data systems.

The announcement came during Microsoft’s Build 2025 event, highlighting a new phase of industry-wide backing for the protocol, which already has support from OpenAI and Google.

MCP allows developers to link AI systems with apps, business tools, and software environments using MCP servers and clients. Instead of AI models working in isolation, they can interact directly with sources like content repositories or app features to complete tasks and power tools like chatbots.

Microsoft plans to integrate MCP into its core platforms, including Azure and Windows 11. Soon, developers will be able to expose app functionalities, such as file access or Linux subsystems, as MCP servers, enabling AI models to use them securely.

GitHub and Microsoft are also contributing updates to the MCP standard itself, including a registry for server discovery and a new authorisation system to manage secure connections.

The broader goal is to let developers build smarter AI-powered applications by making it easier to plug into real-world data and tools, while maintaining strong control over access and privacy.

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Coinbase hit by cyber-attack with up to $400m losses

The largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, Coinbase, revealed that a recent cyber-attack could cost between $180 million and $400 million. The attack compromised data from a small group of customers, including names, addresses, and emails, but login credentials and passwords remained secure.

Coinbase has promised to reimburse customers who were tricked into sending funds to the hackers.

Hackers bribed overseas contractors and employees in support roles to access internal systems. Coinbase immediately terminated those involved and refused to pay the $20 million ransom demand.

Instead, the company has offered a $20 million reward for information leading to the attackers’ capture and is cooperating with law enforcement agencies.

The breach was disclosed just before Coinbase’s planned entry into the S&P 500 index, marking a significant milestone for the crypto sector. Security remains a critical concern in the industry.

Earlier in 2025, the Bybit exchange suffered a $1.5 billion hack, adding to over $2.2 billion lost to crypto platform breaches this year alone.

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SEC sues Unicoin over alleged $100 million fraud

The US SEC has charged Unicoin and three executives for allegedly raising over $100 million through misleading investor claims. The SEC claims Unicoin falsely promised investors its crypto assets were backed by a multibillion-dollar global property portfolio.

Unicoin CEO Alex Konanykhin, board member Silvina Moschini, and former investment head Alex Dominguez are accused of exaggerating the company’s sales and falsely stating its tokens and certificates were SEC-registered.

The SEC said the real estate backing was worth far less than claimed and that most of the company’s sales were ‘illusory.’

The SEC said Unicoin falsely claimed decades of reserves while operating with less than a year of funding. Unicoin allegedly reported over $3 billion in certificate sales, though only $110 million was raised.

General counsel Richard Devlin was also charged but settled for a $37,500 penalty without admitting guilt. Unicoin and the named executives have yet to issue public statements, though Konanykhin previously said the company would fight the case in court.

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Pavel Durov rejects French request to block political channels

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has alleged that France’s foreign intelligence agency attempted to pressure him. He claims they wanted him to ban Romanian conservative channels ahead of the 2025 presidential elections.

The meeting, framed as a counterterrorism effort, allegedly focused instead on geopolitical interests, including Romania, Moldova and Ukraine.

Durov claimed that French officials requested user IP logs and urged Telegram to block political voices under the pretext of tackling child exploitation content. He dismissed the request, stating that the agency’s actual goal was political interference rather than public safety.

France has firmly denied the allegations, insisting the talks focused solely on preventing online threats.

The dispute centres on concerns about election influence, particularly in Romania, where centrist Nicușor Dan recently defeated nationalist George Simion.

Durov, previously criticised over Telegram’s content, accused France of undermining democracy while claiming to protect it.

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