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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Apple has filed an appeal of a major UK antitrust ruling that could result in billions of dollars in compensation for App Store users. The move would escalate the case from the Competition Appeal Tribunal to the UK Court of Appeal.
The application follows an October ruling in which the tribunal found Apple had abused its dominant market position by charging excessive App Store fees. The decision set a £1.5 billion ($1.9 billion) compensation figure, which Apple previously signalled it would challenge.
After the tribunal declined to grant permission to appeal, Apple sought to appeal to a higher court. The company has not commented publicly on the latest filing but continues to dispute the tribunal’s assessment of competition in the app economy.
Central to the case is the tribunal’s proposed developer commission rate of 15-20 per cent, lower than Apple’s longstanding 30 per cent fee. The rate was determined using what the court described as informed estimates.
If upheld, the compensation would be distributed among UK App Store users who made purchases between 2015 and 2024. The case is being closely watched as a test of antitrust enforcement against major digital platforms.
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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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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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South Korean e-commerce firm Coupang has apologised for a major data breach affecting more than 33 million users and announced a compensation package worth 1.69 trillion won. Founder Kim Bom acknowledged the disruption caused, following public and political backlash over the incident.
Under the plan, affected customers will receive vouchers worth 50,000 won, usable Choi Minonly on Coupang’s own platforms. The company said the measure was intended to compensate users, but the approach has drawn criticism from lawmakers and consumer groups.
Choi Min-hee, a lawmaker from the ruling Democratic Party, criticised the decision in a social media post, arguing that the vouchers were tied to services with limited use. She accused Coupang of attempting to turn the crisis into a business opportunity.
Consumer advocacy groups echoed these concerns, saying the compensation plan trivialised the seriousness of the breach. They argued that limiting compensation to vouchers resembled a marketing strategy rather than meaningful restitution for affected users.
The controversy comes as the National Assembly of South Korea prepares to hold hearings on Coupang. While the company has admitted negligence, it has declined to appear before lawmakers amid scrutiny of its handling of the breach.
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Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger has indicated support for stricter age limits on social media after Australia banned teenagers under 16 from using major online platforms. He said age restrictions were more than justified and that the policy had clear merit.
Australia’s new rules require companies to remove under 16 user profiles and stop new ones from being created. Officials argued that the measure aims to reduce cyberbullying, grooming and mental health harm instead of relying only on parental supervision.
The European Commission President said she was inspired by the move, although social media companies and civil liberties groups have criticised it.
Germany has already appointed an expert commission to examine child and youth protection in the digital era. The panel is expected to publish recommendations by summer 2025, which could include policies on social media access and potential restrictions on mobile phone use in schools.
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Authorities in New York State have approved a new law requiring social media platforms to display warning labels when users engage with features that encourage prolonged use.
Labels will appear when people interact with elements such as infinite scrolling, auto-play, like counters or algorithm-driven feeds. The rule applies whenever these services are accessed from within New York.
Governor Kathy Hochul said the move is intended to safeguard young people against potential mental health harms linked to excessive social media use. Warnings will show the first time a user activates one of the targeted features and will then reappear at intervals.
Concerns about the impact on children and teenagers have prompted wider government action. California is considering similar steps, while Australia has already banned social media for under-16s and Denmark plans to follow. The US surgeon general has also called for clearer health warnings.
Researchers continue to examine how social media use relates to anxiety and depression among young users. Platforms now face growing pressure to balance engagement features with stronger protections instead of relying purely on self-regulation.
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Video gaming has become one of Europe’s most prominent entertainment industries, surpassing a niche hobby, with over half the population regularly engaging in it.
As the sector grows, the EU lawmakers are increasingly worried about addictive game design and manipulative features that push players to spend more time and money online.
Much of the concern focuses on loot boxes, where players pay for random digital rewards that resemble gambling mechanics. Studies and parliamentary reports warn that children may be particularly vulnerable, with some lawmakers calling for outright bans on paid loot boxes and premium in-game currencies.
The European Commission is examining how far design choices contribute to digital addiction and whether games are exploiting behavioural weaknesses rather than offering fair entertainment.
Officials say the risk is higher for minors, who may not fully understand how engagement-driven systems are engineered.
The upcoming Digital Fairness Act aims to strengthen consumer protection across online services, rather than leaving families to navigate the risks alone. However, as negotiations continue, the debate over how tightly gaming should be regulated is only just beginning.
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Apple has paused previously announced plans for Texas after a federal judge blocked a new age-verification law for app stores. The company said it will continue to monitor the legal process while keeping certain developer tools available for testing.
The law, known as the App Store Accountability Act, would have required app stores to verify user ages and obtain parental consent for minors. It also mandated that age data be shared with app developers, a provision criticised by technology companies on privacy grounds.
A US judge halted enforcement of the law, citing First Amendment concerns, ahead of its planned January rollout. Texas officials said they intend to appeal the decision, signalling that the legal dispute is likely to continue.
Apple had announced new requirements to comply with the law, including mandatory Family Sharing for users under 18 and renewed parental consent following significant app updates. Those plans are now on hold following the ruling.
Apple said its age-assurance tools remain available globally, while reiterating concerns that broad data collection could undermine user privacy. Similar laws are expected to take effect in other US states next year.
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The US State Department has imposed a visa ban on former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton and four other individuals, citing opposition to European regulation of social media platforms. The US visa ban reflects growing tensions between Washington and Brussels over digital governance and free expression.
US officials said the visa ban targets figures linked to organisations involved in content moderation and disinformation research. Those named include representatives from HateAid, the Center for Countering Digital Hate, and the Global Disinformation Index, alongside Breton.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused the individuals of pressuring US-based platforms to restrict certain viewpoints. A senior State Department official described Breton as a central figure behind the EU’s Digital Services Act, a law that sets obligations for large online platforms operating in Europe.
Breton rejected the US visa ban, calling it a witch hunt and denying allegations of censorship. European organisations affected by the decision criticised the move as unlawful and authoritarian, while the European Commission said it had sought clarification from US authorities.
France and the European Commission condemned the visa ban and warned of a possible response. EU officials said European digital rules are applied uniformly and are intended to support a safe, competitive online environment.
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