Telecommunications infrastructure

Slovenia sets out an ambitious AI vision ahead of global summit

Ambitions for AI were outlined during a presentation at the Jožef Stefan Institute, where Slovenia’s Prime Minister Robert Golob highlighted the country’s growing role in scientific research and technological innovation.

He argued that AI has moved far beyond a supportive research tool and is now shaping the way societies function.

He called for deeper cooperation between engineering and the natural sciences instead of isolated efforts, while stressing that social sciences and the humanities must also be involved to secure balanced development.

Golob welcomed the joint bid for a new national supercomputer, noting that institutions once competing for excellence are now collaborating. He said Europe must build a stronger collective capacity if it wants to keep pace with the US and China.

Europe may excel in knowledge, he added, yet it continues to lag behind in turning that knowledge into useful tools for society.

Government officials set out the investment increases that support Slovenia’s long-term scientific agenda. Funding for research, innovation and development has risen sharply, while work has begun on two major projects: the national supercomputer and the Centre of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence.

Leaders from the Jožef Stefan Institute praised the government for recognising Slovenia’s AI potential and strengthening financial support.

Slovenia will present its progress at next week’s AI Action Summit in Paris, where global leaders, researchers, civil society and industry representatives will discuss sustainable AI standards.

Officials said that sustained investment in knowledge remains the most reliable route to social progress and international competitiveness.

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EU challenges Meta over WhatsApp AI restrictions

The European Commission has warned Meta that it may have breached EU antitrust rules by restricting third-party AI assistants from operating on WhatsApp. A Statement of Objections outlines regulators’ preliminary view that the policy could distort competition in the AI assistant market.

The probe centres on updated WhatsApp Business terms announced in October 2025 and enforced from January 2026. Under the changes, rival general-purpose AI assistants were effectively barred from accessing the platform, leaving Meta AI as the only integrated assistant available to users.

Regulators argue that WhatsApp serves as a critical gateway for consumers AI access AI services. Excluding competitors could reinforce Meta’s dominance in communication applications while limiting market entry and expansion opportunities for smaller AI developers.

Interim measures are now under consideration to prevent what authorities describe as potentially serious and irreversible competitive harm. Meta can respond before any interim measures are imposed, while the broader antitrust probe continues.

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EU telecom simplification at risk as Digital Networks Act adds extra admin

The ambitions of the EU to streamline telecom rules are facing fresh uncertainty after a Commission document indicated that the Digital Networks Act may create more administrative demands for national regulators instead of easing their workload.

The plan to simplify long-standing procedures risks becoming more complex as officials examine the impact on oversight bodies.

Concerns are growing among telecom authorities and BEREC, which may need to adjust to new reporting duties and heightened scrutiny. The additional requirements could limit regulators’ ability to respond quickly to national needs.

Policymakers hoped the new framework would reduce bureaucracy and modernise the sector. The emerging assessment now suggests that greater coordination at the EU level may introduce extra layers of compliance at a time when regulators seek clarity and flexibility.

The debate has intensified as governments push for faster network deployment and more predictable governance. The prospect of heavier administrative tasks could slow progress rather than deliver the streamlined system originally promised.

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Discord expands teen-by-default protection worldwide

Discord is preparing a global transition to teen-appropriate settings that will apply to all users unless they confirm they are adults.

The phased rollout begins in early March and forms part of the company’s wider effort to offer protection tailored to younger audiences rather than relying on voluntary safety choices. Controls will cover communication settings, sensitive content and access to age-restricted communities.

The update is based on an expanded age assurance system designed to protect privacy while accurately identifying users’ age groups. People can use facial age estimation on their own device or select identity verification handled by approved partners.

Discord will also rely on an age-inference model that runs quietly in the background. Verification results remain private, and documents are deleted quickly, with users able to appeal group assignments through account settings.

Stricter defaults will apply across the platform. Sensitive media will stay blurred unless a user is confirmed as an adult, and access to age-gated servers or commands will require verification.

Message requests from unfamiliar contacts will be separated, friend-request alerts will be more prominent and only adults will be allowed to speak on community stages instead of sharing the feature with teens.

Discord is complementing the update by creating a Teen Council to offer advice on future safety tools and policies. The council will include up to a dozen young users and aims to embed real teen insight in product development.

The global rollout builds on earlier launches in the UK and Australia, adding to an existing safety ecosystem that includes Teen Safety Assist, Family Centre, and several moderation tools intended to support positive and secure online interactions.

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Singtel opens largest AI ready data centre in Singapore

Singtel’s data centre arm Nxera has opened its largest data centre in Singapore at Tuas. The facility strengthens Singapore’s role as a regional hub for AI infrastructure.

The Tuas site in Singapore offers 58MW of AI-ready capacity and is described as the country’s highest- power-density data centre. More than 90 per cent of Singapore’s capacity was committed before the official launch.

Nxera said the Singapore facility is hyperconnected through direct access to international and domestic networks. Singapore gains lower latency and improved reliability from integration with a cable landing station.

Singtel said the Tuas development supports rising demand in Singapore for AI, cloud and high performance computing. Nxera plans further expansion in Asia while reinforcing Singapore’s position in digital infrastructure.

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EU strengthens cyber defence after attack on Commission mobile systems

A cyber-attack targeting the European Commission’s central mobile infrastructure was identified on 30 January, raising concerns that staff names and mobile numbers may have been accessed.

The Commission isolated the affected system within nine hours instead of allowing the breach to escalate, and no mobile device compromise was detected.

Also, the Commission plans a full review of the incident to reinforce the resilience of internal systems.

Officials argue that Europe faces daily cyber and hybrid threats targeting essential services and democratic institutions, underscoring the need for stronger defensive capabilities across all levels of the EU administration.

CERT-EU continues to provide constant threat monitoring, automated alerts and rapid responses to vulnerabilities, guided by the Interinstitutional Cybersecurity Board.

These efforts support the broader legislative push to strengthen cybersecurity, including the Cybersecurity Act 2.0, which introduces a Trusted ICT Supply Chain to reduce reliance on high-risk providers.

Recent measures are complemented by the NIS2 Directive, which sets a unified legal framework for cybersecurity across 18 critical sectors, and the Cyber Solidarity Act, which enhances operational cooperation through the European Cyber Shield and the Cyber Emergency Mechanism.

Together, they aim to ensure collective readiness against large-scale cyber threats.

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Czechia weighs under-15 social media ban as government debate intensifies

A ban on social media use for under-15s is being weighed in Czechia, with government officials suggesting the measure could be introduced before the end of the year.

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has voiced strong support and argues that experts point to potential harm linked to early social media exposure.

France recently enacted an under-15 restriction, and a growing number of European countries are exploring similar limits rather than relying solely on parental guidance.

The discussion is part of a broader debate about children’s digital habits, with Czech officials also considering a ban on mobile phones in schools. Slovakia has already adopted comparable rules, giving Czech ministers another model to study as they work on their own proposals.

Not all political voices agree on the direction of travel. Some warn that strict limits could undermine privacy rights or diminish online anonymity, while others argue that educational initiatives would be more effective than outright prohibition.

UNICEF has cautioned that removing access entirely may harm children who rely on online platforms for learning or social connection instead of traditional offline networks.

Implementing a nationwide age restriction poses practical and political challenges. The government of Czechia heavily uses social media to reach citizens, complicating attempts to restrict access for younger users.

Age verification, fair oversight and consistent enforcement remain open questions as ministers continue consultations with experts and service providers.

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OpenClaw faces rising security pushback in South Korea

Major technology companies in South Korea are tightening restrictions on OpenClaw after rising concerns about security and data privacy.

Kakao, Naver and Karrot Market have moved to block the open-source agent within corporate networks, signalling a broader effort to prevent sensitive information from leaking into external systems.

Their decisions follow growing unease about how autonomous tools may interact with confidential material, rather than remaining contained within controlled platforms.

OpenClaw serves as a self-hosted agent that performs actions on behalf of a large language model, acting as the hands of a system that can browse the web, edit files and run commands.

Its ability to run directly on local machines has driven rapid adoption, but it has also raised concerns that confidential data could be exposed or manipulated.

Industry figures argue that companies are acting preemptively to reduce regulatory and operational risks by ensuring that internal materials never feed external training processes.

China has urged organisations to strengthen protections after identifying cases of OpenClaw running with inadequate safeguards.

Security analysts in South Korea warn that the agent’s open-source design and local execution model make it vulnerable to misuse, especially when compared to cloud-based chatbots that operate in more restricted environments.

Wiz researchers recently uncovered flaws in agents linked to OpenClaw that exposed personal information.

Despite the warnings, OpenClaw continues to gain traction among users who value its ability to automate complex tasks, rather than rely on manual workflows.

Some people purchase separate devices solely to run the agent, while an active South Korea community on X has drawn more than 1,800 members who exchange advice and share mitigation strategies.

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EU split widens over ban on AI nudification apps

European lawmakers remain divided over whether AI tools that generate non-consensual sexual images should face an explicit ban in the EU legislation.

The split emerged as debate intensified over the AI simplification package, which is moving through Parliament and the Council rather than remaining confined to earlier negotiations.

Concerns escalated after Grok was used to create images that digitally undressed women and children.

The EU regulators responded by launching an investigation under the Digital Services Act, and the Commission described the behaviour as illegal under existing European rules. Several lawmakers argue that the AI Act should name pornification apps directly instead of relying on broader legal provisions.

Lead MEPs did not include a ban in their initial draft of the Parliament’s position, prompting other groups to consider adding amendments. Negotiations continue as parties explore how such a restriction could be framed without creating inconsistencies within the broader AI framework.

The Commission appears open to strengthening the law and has hinted that the AI omnibus could be an appropriate moment to act. Lawmakers now have a limited time to decide whether an explicit prohibition can secure political agreement before the amendment deadline passes.

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Germany fines Amazon €59 million for abusing market power in seller pricing

The German competition authority has fined Amazon €59 million for abusing its dominant position by influencing the pricing behaviour of third-party sellers.

Regulators concluded that Amazon’s pricing algorithms and Fair Pricing Policy breached national digital dominance rules and the EU competition law, rather than aligning with fair marketplace standards.

The authority argued that Amazon competes directly with merchants on its platform while shaping their prices through restrictions such as caps that penalise sellers who exceed certain limits.

Officials described that approach as incompatible with healthy competition since a platform should not influence rivals’ commercial strategies while participating in the same market.

Amazon strongly disputed the ruling and claimed the conclusion conflicts with the EU consumer standards. The company argued that the decision forces the platform to promote prices that fail to reflect competitive market conditions and announced it will challenge the findings.

The case follows a 2025 preliminary assessment and builds on Amazon’s earlier designation in 2022 as a company of paramount significance for competition, a judgement upheld by the Federal Court of Justice in Germany in 2024.

A ruling that marks another step in Europe’s efforts to rein in digital platforms that wield extensive influence across multiple markets.

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