Under 16s to be banned from social media after Australia passes world-first laws | India’s cyber rules for telecoms come with big privacy risks | France, Germany, Sweden urge EU battery sector push
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The Daily Cyber & Tech Digest focuses on the topics we work on, including cybersecurity, critical technologies, foreign interference & disinformation.
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Children and teenagers will be banned from using social media from the end of next year after Australia's world-first legislation passed the parliament with bipartisan support. ABC News
India’s telecommunications regulator has rolled out rules designed to protect the country’s critical infrastructure networks from cyberthreats, but experts warn that the new guidelines have inadequate safeguards for users' fundamental privacy rights. The Record by Recorded Future
France, Germany and Sweden called on the incoming European Commission on Thursday to ensure the future of battery production in Europe and avoid relying on China to meet its needs for the green transition. Reuters
ASPI
Could China's persuasive technologies soon pull the strings in the West?
ABC News
In the brave new world of generative artificial intelligence, wearable devices and brain-computer interfaces, our hearts and minds are up for grabs. A new report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute has taken a look at the emergence of persuasive technologies being designed, developed and deployed in China.
To combat disinformation, Japan could draw lessons from Australia and Europe
The Strategist
Takumi Kawasaki
Japan’s resilience to disinformation is still developing. Given its prevalent role in the regional and global order and its proven commitment to a rules-based international order, a higher level of urgency is required.
The World
Breaking down the world’s tariffs against China’s tech industry
Rest of World
Selina Cheng
President-elect Donald Trump pledges to escalate the trade war, but non-Western nations have targeted China with tariffs, too. Economies that have benefited from China’s cheap manufacturing now fear that imports could flood their markets, widen trade deficits, and sideline their own manufacturers.
Australia
Kids under 16 to be banned from social media after Senate passes world-first laws
ABC News
Maani Truu
Children and teenagers will be banned from using social media from the end of next year after the government's world-first legislation passed the parliament with bipartisan support.
Amazon, Google and Meta are ‘pillaging culture, data and creativity’ to train AI, Australian inquiry finds
The Guardian
Kelly Burke
Tech companies Amazon, Google and Meta have been criticised by a Senate select committee inquiry for being especially vague over how they used Australian data to train their powerful artificial intelligence products.
China
China warns of 'necessary actions' if US escalates chip curbs
Reuters
China warned on Thursday it would take "necessary actions" to protect Chinese firms if the US escalated chip control measures, following reports that the Biden administration could unveil new export restrictions as soon as this week.
Americas
Canada's antitrust watchdog sues Google alleging anti-competitive conduct in advertising
Reuters
Canada's Competition Bureau is suing Alphabet's Google over alleged anti-competitive conduct in online advertising, the antitrust watchdog said on Thursday.
North Asia
North Korean hackers have stolen billions in crypto by posing as VCs, recruiters and IT workers
TechCrunch
Zack Whittaker
Researchers investigating the country’s cyber capabilities see the rising threat from North Korea today as a nebulous mass of different hacking groups with varying tactics and techniques, but with the collective goal of cryptocurrency theft. The regime faces little risk for its hacks — the country is already beset by sanctions.
Southeast Asia
AI is making Philippine call center work more efficient, for better and worse
Rest of World
Michael Beltran
Business process outsourcing workers say AI tools are monitoring their calls, assisting them with customers, and scoring their performance. Advanced language, emotional recognition, and generative AI tools have made work more demanding.
South & Central Asia
India’s new cyber rules for telecoms come with big privacy risks, experts say
The Record by Recorded Future
Daryna Antoniuk
India’s telecommunications regulator has rolled out rules designed to protect the country’s critical infrastructure networks from cyberthreats, but experts warn that the new guidelines have inadequate safeguards for users' fundamental privacy rights.
India competition watchdog to investigate Google's gaming app policy
Reuters
India's competition watchdog on Thursday ordered a probe into Google's restrictive policies for real-money games on its platform, following a complaint by online gaming platform WinZO that called it discriminatory.
India banned a Chinese app four years ago. Government agencies are still using it
Rest of World
Ananya Bhattacharya
CamScanner was one of 59 Chinese apps the Indian government banned in 2020, amid a border conflict with China. Rest of World found 30 documents from central and state government agencies that bear the “Scanned with CamScanner” watermark. App bans make a loud political statement, but, in practice, they are difficult to enforce, experts say.
Europe
France, Germany, Sweden urge EU battery sector push to avoid China reliance
Reuters
Philip Blenkinsop
France, Germany and Sweden called on the incoming European Commission on Thursday to ensure the future of battery production in Europe and avoid relying on China to meet its needs for the green transition.
Chinese ship's crew suspected of deliberately dragging anchor for 100 miles to cut Baltic cables
The Wall Street Journal
Bojan Pancevski
A Chinese commercial vessel that has been surrounded by European warships in international waters for a week is central to an investigation of suspected sabotage that threatens to test the limits of maritime law—and heighten tensions between Beijing and European capitals.
German government plans billions of euros in new chip subsidies
Reuters
The German government is preparing billions of euros of new investments into the country's semiconductor industry, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday. The ministry published a call for chips companies to apply for new subsidies in mid-November, for projects that contribute to a strong and sustainable microelectronics ecosystem in Germany and Europe, following the European Chips Act.
11 arrested in Europol shutdown of illegal IPTV streaming networks
The Record by Recorded Future
Jonathan Greig
Europol and several law enforcement agencies across Europe coordinated to take down one of the largest illegal streaming networks and arrested nearly a dozen people tied to the operation.
Elon Musk’s X tells the EU: We’re a safe space for free speech
POLITICO
Mathieu Pollet
Social media giant X "strives to be the town square of the internet by promoting and protecting freedom of expression," the Elon Musk-owned company told the European Commission in a legally mandated risk assessment made public on Wednesday.
UK
British government demands Chinese-owned company appoint a security chief with UK clearances
The Record by Recorded Future
Alexander Martin
The British government is demanding that a Chinese company hire a chief security officer with UK Security Vetting clearance in order to be allowed to acquire a British business that sells scientific instruments.
Time spent online by adults in the UK jumped by nearly an hour in 2024, says Ofcom
TechCrunch
Ingrid Lunden
Adults are spending an average of 4 hours and 20 minutes each day online across smartphones, tablets and computers in the UK, according to figures from Ofcom’s annual Online Nation report diving into consumer digital habits.
Reddit overtakes X in popularity of social media platforms in UK
The Guardian
Dan Milmo
Reddit, the American online discussion platform, has overtaken X to become the fifth most popular social media platform in the UK, according to the communications watchdog.
Shock UK regulatory coup gives government sweeping control over US tech
Pirate Wires
Ashley Rindsberg
A UK regulator will soon be handed a raft of sweeping powers that will allow it to subject American tech companies to aggressive legal interventions. London’s digital markets, competition and consumers act gives regulators the power to stop any acquisition, anywhere, for basically any reason they want.
Africa
Musk's Starlink ordered to cease operations in Namibia
Reuters
The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia said on Thursday it has issued a cease-and-desist order to Elon Musk's satellite internet provider Starlink for operating in the country without a license.
Misc
Online influencers need ‘urgent’ fact-checking training, warns Unesco
The Guardian
Dan Milmo
Social media influencers need “urgent” help to check their facts before they broadcast to their followers, in order to reduce the spread of misinformation online, Unesco has warned. Research shows six in 10 social media content creators do not verify accuracy of information before posting it.
Events & Podcasts
Could Russia turn off the whole internet?
ABC News
A Chinese-owned cargo ship called the Yi Peng 3 is sitting idle in Danish waters, after undersea internet cables were cut in the Baltic Sea. European officials have cried sabotage. So how vulnerable is the internet to undersea sabotage? And if a big global conflict were to break out, would the cables be the first casualty?
The Daily Cyber & Tech Digest is brought to you by the Cyber, Technology & Security team at ASPI.
