https://www.scmp.com/rss/327838/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Reuters Reuters A trial beginning ⁠in New Mexico on Monday could prompt a judge to order sweeping changes ⁠to how Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp operate – a move Meta Platforms has warned could force it to withdraw from the state. The case, which will be tried before a judge in Santa Fe, stems from a lawsuit filed by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, a Democrat, accusing the social media giant of designing its products to addict young users and failing to protect children from sexual exploitation on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3352224/new-mexico-trial-citing-public-nuisance-laws-against-meta-social-platforms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3352224/new-mexico-trial-citing-public-nuisance-laws-against-meta-social-platforms?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 May 2026 10:31:24 +0000 Dewey Sim Dewey Sim China has built a state-driven campaign to harvest American data and weaponise it as a strategic asset that could prove critical in a conflict with the US, including over Taiwan, a key advisory committee to the US Congress heard. Experts told the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission on Thursday that Washington was falling short in countering Beijing’s data-collection drive, one that could have far-reaching implications for American society and the economy, as well as US wartime... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3352089/apps-autos-chinas-data-reach-sparks-us-espionage-and-sabotage-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3352089/apps-autos-chinas-data-reach-sparks-us-espionage-and-sabotage-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Apr 2026 22:05:19 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Roblox, a gaming platform popular with kids, announced Thursday that children under 16 in Indonesia will be required to undergo facial scans to verify their age to comply with new restrictions on minors’ use of social media and digital platforms in the country. Nicky Jackson Colaco, Roblox’s vice-president and global head of public policy, announced the changes in a press conference in Jakarta, describing them among the strictest that the company has implemented anywhere in the world. She said... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3352066/gaming-platform-roblox-require-facial-scans-users-under-16-indonesia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3352066/gaming-platform-roblox-require-facial-scans-users-under-16-indonesia?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Apr 2026 13:00:28 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow Chinese artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek has added multimodal capabilities to its flagship chatbot for the first time – meaning that it can process images and video in addition to text – bringing it in line with rivals that already offer the function. The limited release to select users comes just days after the Hangzhou-based company released its new flagship model V4, which was followed by extensive price cuts. According to DeepSeek multimodal team leader Chen Xiaokang, who made the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3351892/whale-can-now-see-deepseek-adds-ai-vision-major-move?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3351892/whale-can-now-see-deepseek-adds-ai-vision-major-move?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Apr 2026 14:00:12 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Turkish lawmakers passed a bill late on Wednesday that includes restricting access to social media platforms for children under 15, state media reported. The legislation is the latest in a global trend to protect young people from dangerous online activity. Its passage comes a week after a 14-year-old boy killed nine students and a teacher at a middle school in Kahramanmaras, southern Turkey, in a gun attack. Police are investigating the online activity of the perpetrator, who also died, in a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3351147/turkey-passes-bill-restrict-social-media-access-under-15s?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3351147/turkey-passes-bill-restrict-social-media-access-under-15s?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Apr 2026 08:59:42 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Michaeleen Doucleff set out to examine her and her family’s relationship to – reliance on, really – screens and junk food. Why was she checking texts at every stop sign when biking with her daughter, Rosy? Why was she mindlessly devouring Pringles crisps? Why did Rosy impatiently count the minutes to nightly cartoons from the moment she got home? When was the last time they ate a whole food? At the beginning of her reckoning, Doucleff prepared herself for a lesson in willpower. If she was going... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3350945/your-family-addicted-screens-and-junk-food-how-change-their-habits?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3350945/your-family-addicted-screens-and-junk-food-how-change-their-habits?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Apr 2026 07:15:09 +0000 Yeon Woo Lee Yeon Woo Lee As cryptocurrency converges with traditional finance, driving industry growth and mainstream adoption, officials at Hong Kong’s Web3 Festival are anticipating the next leap: the emergence of artificial intelligence agents. They say AI agents – which perceive their environment, make decisions and act autonomously around the clock – will need tools to unlock their full economic potential, which crypto can provide through its ability to transfer funds instantly across borders without... https://www.scmp.com/tech/blockchain/article/3350852/crypto-industry-sees-ai-driven-agent-economy-next-growth-driver?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/blockchain/article/3350852/crypto-industry-sees-ai-driven-agent-economy-next-growth-driver?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Apr 2026 10:07:51 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok and Douyin, saw its net profit plummet by more than 70 per cent in 2025 as it poured money into artificial intelligence, according to Chinese media reports. At the same time, revenue from overseas markets surged by nearly 50 per cent, far outpacing the roughly 20 per cent growth in China, according to reports on Monday by outlets including Securities Times and 36Kr, which cited a person familiar with the matter. For the first time, overseas revenue... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3350720/bytedance-profit-plunges-ai-push-tiktok-shop-powers-overseas-growth-reports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3350720/bytedance-profit-plunges-ai-push-tiktok-shop-powers-overseas-growth-reports?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Apr 2026 11:00:11 +0000 Chloe Loung Chloe Loung Setlog is the latest mobile app that is taking South Korea by storm. Designed to be a real-time vlog app for small groups of friends to document their day together, the video and visual diary format has rapidly gained traction on social media. Users are loving its “forced synchronicity” and no-edit approach when it comes to making videos and sharing content. Much of the app’s appeal stems from the trending “day-in-the-life” videos, particularly those that compare daily routines of friends side... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3350142/what-setlog-app-trending-hong-kong-and-south-korea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3350142/what-setlog-app-trending-hong-kong-and-south-korea?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Apr 2026 07:45:08 +0000 Minxiao Chang Minxiao Chang Tencent Holdings’ super app WeChat has updated its content governance rules to ban non-human automated publishing, including the use of artificial intelligence and scripts, amid a surge in technologies that can replace human creators. “Official accounts and service accounts must not use AI, scripts, APIs or other automated methods to replace human involvement in content production and distribution,” WeChat said on Thursday via its official platform. The super app, marketed as Weixin on the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3349696/tencent-moves-rein-ai-content-flood-wechat-stricter-rules?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3349696/tencent-moves-rein-ai-content-flood-wechat-stricter-rules?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Apr 2026 13:31:11 +0000 Minxiao Chang Minxiao Chang Alibaba Cloud captured more than 50 per cent of global open-source model downloads as of March following the release of its Qwen 3.5 model series, a new report has found. The finding underscores the dominance of Chinese models in the global open-source artificial intelligence landscape, though some US companies including OpenAI and Nvidia are also making early gains. Qwen reached nearly 1 billion cumulative downloads by March, far surpassing rivals like Meta Platforms’ Llama and DeepSeek,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3349552/alibabas-qwen-family-captures-over-50-global-open-source-downloads-report-finds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3349552/alibabas-qwen-family-captures-over-50-global-open-source-downloads-report-finds?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Apr 2026 02:00:14 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Alibaba Group Holding’s cloud and artificial intelligence unit is expected to remain a prime engine for the March quarter, with the growth rate forecast to accelerate as the company steps up AI monetisation and reshuffles its AI businesses, according to analysts. Cloud revenue growth was projected to increase to around 40 per cent during the period, up from 36 per cent in the December quarter, analysts said. The growth momentum was expected to be supported by “a robust surge in token usage”,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3349508/alibaba-cloud-growth-forecast-accelerate-ai-push-higher-service-charges-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3349508/alibaba-cloud-growth-forecast-accelerate-ai-push-higher-service-charges-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Apr 2026 12:30:13 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow DeepSeek has introduced new “instant” and “expert” modes to its chatbot, the most significant update to its user interface since the Hangzhou-based start-up gained global recognition. The changes come ahead of the much-anticipated release of DeepSeek’s next-generation flagship model V4 this month, more than a year after its R1 version made it a household name. On Tuesday, the company added the two modes to its website and mobile app, giving users the choice of settings. Instant mode was designed... https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3349345/chinas-deepseek-adds-instant-and-expert-chatbot-modes-ahead-much-awaited-v4-release?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3349345/chinas-deepseek-adds-instant-and-expert-chatbot-modes-ahead-much-awaited-v4-release?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Apr 2026 10:00:09 +0000 Cristina Manfredi Cristina Manfredi Amal Clooney was among the speakers at the Cartier Women’s Initiatives Dialogues, which took place in Milan on April 1. The event was held in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the initiative, which is an annual international entrepreneurship programme established by the luxury brand to champion women who drive change. Clooney, who is a human rights lawyer and co-founder of the Clooney Foundation Justice, appeared in the opening panel alongside Monica Lucarelli, the councillor for productive... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/luxury-news/article/3349354/amal-clooney-spoke-cartier-womens-initiative-dialogues-milan-programme-celebrated-20-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/luxury-news/article/3349354/amal-clooney-spoke-cartier-womens-initiative-dialogues-milan-programme-celebrated-20-years?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Apr 2026 07:15:28 +0000 Tara Loader Wilkinson Tara Loader Wilkinson The Easter break offers a chance of escape for many Hongkongers, but that holiday joy often comes with a hidden tax: jet lag. Jet lag is the cognitive and physical misalignment that your brain and body experience when arriving in a new time zone. Known more formally as desynchronosis, it is more than a lack of sleep – it is a state of biological confusion. Los Angeles Times journalist Horace Sutton may have been the first person to use the term “jet lag”, in a piece he wrote in 1966. “If you’re... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3348783/how-frequent-fliers-are-beating-jet-lag-using-apps-timeshifter-and-stopjetlag?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3348783/how-frequent-fliers-are-beating-jet-lag-using-apps-timeshifter-and-stopjetlag?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Apr 2026 23:15:07 +0000 Iris Deng Iris Deng Tencent Holdings has launched a new OpenClaw tool for enterprises that promises easy deployment of the artificial intelligence agent as part of the Chinese internet giant’s efforts to capitalise on the “lobster” frenzy in the country. ClawPro, launched in public beta by Tencent’s cloud unit on Thursday, works as an AI agent management platform for enterprises, allowing them to deploy OpenClaw templates, select models and agents, track token consumption and manage security settings. Tencent said... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3348942/tencent-expands-openclaw-suite-enterprise-tool-amid-chinas-lobster-craze?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3348942/tencent-expands-openclaw-suite-enterprise-tool-amid-chinas-lobster-craze?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Apr 2026 12:00:09 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Almost three years ago, New York City joined governments across the country in banning TikTok from its phones over security concerns about the Chinese social media site. On Tuesday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a bona fide social media star, took to the app to announce a reversal: “TikTok, we’re back.” The city will now allow agencies to start posting again on the short-form social media site as long as departments follow a set of security precautions, according to a memo from city cybersecurity... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3348591/new-york-mayor-mamdani-puts-citys-government-back-tiktok?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3348591/new-york-mayor-mamdani-puts-citys-government-back-tiktok?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Mar 2026 21:57:50 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang Chinese artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek suffered a prolonged outage overnight that extended into early Monday morning, disrupting service for hundreds of millions of users, according to a company notice and user feedback. The Hangzhou-based AI lab’s namesake chatbot website and app were offline from Sunday evening, with the company continuing to investigate while issuing fixes from between 1am and 9am on Monday, according to service maintenance records the company published online. The... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3348345/deepseek-outage-leaves-millions-cut-and-sparks-complaints-rivals-gain-ground?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3348345/deepseek-outage-leaves-millions-cut-and-sparks-complaints-rivals-gain-ground?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 03:41:43 +0000 Jeffie Lam Jeffie Lam Tech giant Google has introduced a mobile version of its Gemini AI chatbot to Hong Kong users, with the service swiftly topping Apple’s app store chart. The roll-out on Thursday followed Google’s announcement last week that it would gradually bring its generative AI services to Hong Kong, starting with Gemini web services before launching a mobile version. The popular AI product was previously unavailable to the general public in Hong Kong, with access limited to some local businesses,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3348076/googles-gemini-ai-app-debuts-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3348076/googles-gemini-ai-app-debuts-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 03:45:47 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A Los Angeles jury on Wednesday found Meta and YouTube liable for harming a young woman because of an addictive design of their social media platforms, ordering the companies to pay US$6 million in damages, including US$3 million in punitive damages. The verdict handed plaintiffs in more than a thousand similar pending cases significant leverage - and signalled to the broader tech industry that juries were prepared to hold social media companies accountable for the mental health toll of their... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3347912/jury-finds-meta-and-google-liable-us3-million-damages-social-media-addiction-trial?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3347912/jury-finds-meta-and-google-liable-us3-million-damages-social-media-addiction-trial?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Mar 2026 18:07:28 +0000 Emily Hung Emily Hung A global investigation involving Hong Kong authorities has found that more websites and mobile apps designed for children are collecting personal data – ranging from phone numbers to addresses – than they did about a decade ago. The 2025 Global Privacy Enforcement Network Sweep, which included the participation of Hong Kong’s Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, examined 876 websites and mobile apps specifically designed for children across multiple sectors in early November,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3347829/more-websites-mobile-apps-children-collecting-personal-data-study-finds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3347829/more-websites-mobile-apps-children-collecting-personal-data-study-finds?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Mar 2026 06:55:50 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A New Mexico jury on Tuesday found social media giant Meta liable for endangering children by making them vulnerable to predators on its platforms and other dangers. The verdict came after roughly a day of deliberations following a six-week trial in which the state accused Facebook and Instagram’s parent company of failing to protect minors from sexual abuse, online solicitation and human trafficking. The state had sought the maximum US$2.2 billion in damages, but the jury awarded a lesser... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3347773/meta-ordered-pay-us375-million-over-child-exploitation-and-user-safety-claims?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3347773/meta-ordered-pay-us375-million-over-child-exploitation-and-user-safety-claims?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2026 22:10:00 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow Tencent Holdings is rolling out a “ClawBot” plug-in for China’s most popular app WeChat as it seeks to capitalise on the OpenClaw craze, even as authorities continue to warn about risks. The move announced on Sunday will allow WeChat’s more than 1 billion monthly active users to command their OpenClaw artificial intelligence agents directly through the app, which is deeply embedded in daily life in China. In recent weeks, almost every Chinese tech giant has announced new offerings based on... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3347590/tencent-adds-clawbot-plug-wechat-amid-openclaw-boom-and-privacy-warnings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3347590/tencent-adds-clawbot-plug-wechat-amid-openclaw-boom-and-privacy-warnings?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Mar 2026 14:30:07 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen Apple CEO Tim Cook kicked off his first tour of China this year on Wednesday, while the iPhone maker’s chief operating officer visited key suppliers, including Foxconn and Sunwoda, in a sign of the company’s continued focus on the country’s huge market and manufacturing ecosystem. Cook turned up at an Apple Store in Chengdu, the capital of southwestern Sichuan province, in the afternoon as part of the company’s 50th anniversary celebrations. He interacted with celebrities and customers,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3347062/apples-tim-cook-visits-china-reliance-chinese-supply-chains-endures?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3347062/apples-tim-cook-visits-china-reliance-chinese-supply-chains-endures?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 14:00:14 +0000 Theodora Yu Theodora Yu Joe*, a 20-year-old Hong Kong student, began seeking emotional support for dating advice, family relationships and stress management a few months ago to ease his anxieties. He asked questions during his commute to school, while studying in the evening and even when he could not sleep late at night. His go-to chatbot: OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which he accesses through the artificial intelligence (AI) aggregator app, Poe. “To a certain extent, AI may know me better than my friends,” Joe said. Joe is... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3346592/ai-may-know-me-better-why-hongkongers-turn-chatbots-mental-health-help?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3346592/ai-may-know-me-better-why-hongkongers-turn-chatbots-mental-health-help?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2026 01:00:12 +0000 Grace Brewer Grace Brewer If menopause was once the conversation no one in Hong Kong had, now it’s the one everyone’s trying to join. Thanks to a new wave of femtech founders who aim to give women the language – and data – to break the silence on the once-taboo topic, the shift is being fuelled by a bevy of new at-home tests and apps that help women decode the “fog” of mysterious midlife symptoms. For many women, that fog rolls in long before their final period. Perimenopause, the transitional stage that precedes... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/wellness/article/3346069/how-femtech-founders-are-changing-menopause-conversation-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/wellness/article/3346069/how-femtech-founders-are-changing-menopause-conversation-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2026 23:00:11 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang By the time software programmer Guo Cancan realised something had gone horribly wrong with OpenClaw – the task-executing AI agent that has ignited a fervour across China – the damage was already done. While on holiday over the Chinese New Year, Guo was tinkering with the autonomous open-source program. When he attempted to resolve an error that it had made, OpenClaw responded by deleting nearly everything on his computer’s D: drive – a major storage partition – wiping out years of personal data... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3346513/inside-openclaw-mania-gripping-china-security-fears-surge-alongside-enthusiasm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3346513/inside-openclaw-mania-gripping-china-security-fears-surge-alongside-enthusiasm?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2026 22:00:14 +0000 Mia Nurmamat Mia Nurmamat Apple announced a reduction in the App Store commissions it charges developers in China ahead of the annual World Consumer Rights Day, drawing approval from the country’s biggest gaming companies Tencent Holdings and NetEase. The US tech company said it would reduce the commission for standard in-app purchases and paid app transactions on iPhone and iPad to 25 per cent, from the current 30 per cent, according to a statement on its website on Thursday. Meanwhile, the commission rate for... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3346470/apple-reduces-app-store-commissions-china-move-applauded-tencent-netease?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3346470/apple-reduces-app-store-commissions-china-move-applauded-tencent-netease?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2026 07:02:07 +0000 He Huifeng He Huifeng From assisting with office work to providing daily entertainment, arranging blind dates, and even helping with stock market investments, Chinese users are enthusiastically exploring the cutting-edge OpenClaw artificial intelligence tool for various purposes. While most early adopters are tech professionals, others are jumping in too, driven not only by speculation and the lure of quick gains, but also curiosity and fear of missing out on the latest AI craze. “Play OpenClaw right, and it can... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3346378/stock-tips-blind-dates-why-chinese-are-obsessed-raising-lobster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3346378/stock-tips-blind-dates-why-chinese-are-obsessed-raising-lobster?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2026 01:30:12 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse From school shootings to synagogue bombings, leading AI chatbots helped researchers plot violent attacks, according to a study published on Wednesday that highlighted the technology’s potential for real-world harm. Researchers from the non-profit watchdog Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) and CNN posed as 13-year-old boys in the United States and Ireland to test 10 chatbots, including ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Perplexity, DeepSeek and Meta AI. Testing showed that eight of those chatbots... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3346276/ai-chatbots-help-plot-attacks-study-shows-happy-and-safe-shooting?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3346276/ai-chatbots-help-plot-attacks-study-shows-happy-and-safe-shooting?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 20:25:47 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng A unit of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has issued guidelines on best practices and prohibitions for adopting and using OpenClaw, the popular artificial intelligence agent that continues to dominate the market. The advisory, developed in collaboration with AI agent providers, vulnerability platform operators and cybersecurity firms, aims to address risks in typical use cases of “lobster”, OpenClaw’s mascot, according to a Wednesday statement from the MIIT-run... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3346269/china-issues-new-safety-rules-openclaw-here-are-dos-and-donts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3346269/china-issues-new-safety-rules-openclaw-here-are-dos-and-donts?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 15:13:52 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng Chinese technology firms, including internet giants Tencent Holdings, Alibaba Group Holding and ByteDance, are offering easy or inexpensive access to OpenClaw, the popular open-source AI agent software amid a “lobster fever” in the country. Tencent on Tuesday officially launched QClaw, an artificial intelligence assistant built on OpenClaw that can connect to the company’s super app WeChat. After download and installation on a computer that takes about three minutes, users can remotely control... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3346090/chinese-tech-giants-offer-cheap-easy-access-openclaw-amid-lobster-fever?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3346090/chinese-tech-giants-offer-cheap-easy-access-openclaw-amid-lobster-fever?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2026 09:00:07 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Canada will allow TikTok to continue operating in the country, a complete reversal after the government had previously ordered the social media company to close its Canadian division for security reasons. In November 2024, under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, Canada ordered ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese owner, to wind down its Canadian subsidiary. That would not have banned the app’s use but would have forced its offices in Toronto and Vancouver to close. But in January, that order was set... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3346025/tiktok-gets-green-light-stay-canada-reversing-earlier-ban?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3346025/tiktok-gets-green-light-stay-canada-reversing-earlier-ban?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2026 23:31:28 +0000 Reuters Reuters Donald Trump and his attorney general were sued on Thursday by retail investors in two social media rivals of TikTok seeking to reverse the US president’s approval of a deal by the company’s Chinese owner ByteDance to form a majority American-owned joint venture. The lawsuit, the ‌first legal challenge to the deal, argues that Trump’s approval last year violated requirements set out in a 2024 divestiture law. Two California residents who hold shares in Alphabet and Meta Platforms sued, backed by... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345636/trump-sued-bid-undo-approval-tiktoks-us-sale?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345636/trump-sued-bid-undo-approval-tiktoks-us-sale?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2026 23:48:26 +0000 Charmaine Yu Charmaine Yu What happens when it is Gen Z’s turn to define and preserve Chinese traditions? The answer may look like a digital almanac app. The Chinese almanac – known as the tong shu or tung shing in Cantonese and huangli in Mandarin – is much more than a date tracker. A rich, ancient guide used to harmonise daily life with the energies of the universe, the Chinese almanac also includes predictions for the 12 Chinese zodiac signs, and can act as a guide for farmers on when to plant crops. Whether looking... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3345506/what-chinese-calendar-gen-z-looks-grandmas-tear-almanac-app?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3345506/what-chinese-calendar-gen-z-looks-grandmas-tear-almanac-app?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2026 23:15:08 +0000 Reuters Reuters South Korea will soon no longer be one of the few countries where Google Maps does not work properly, after its security-conscious government reversed a two-decade stance to approve the export of high-precision map data to overseas servers. The approval was made “on the condition that strict security requirements are met”, the ‌Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement. Those conditions include blurring military and other sensitive security-related facilities, as well as... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3345293/south-korea-finally-get-fully-functioning-google-maps?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3345293/south-korea-finally-get-fully-functioning-google-maps?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Mar 2026 10:44:24 +0000 Reuters Reuters Australia’s internet regulator said it might push search engines and app stores to block artificial intelligence services that failed to verify user ages after a review found more than half had not made public any steps to comply by a deadline next week. The warning reflects one of the most aggressive efforts globally to rein in AI companies, which face a growing number of lawsuits for failing to stop – and even encouraging – self-harm or violence, while researchers caution that such platforms... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3345063/australia-mulls-forcing-app-stores-search-engines-axe-unsafe-ai-services?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3345063/australia-mulls-forcing-app-stores-search-engines-axe-unsafe-ai-services?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Mar 2026 02:07:45 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang Baidu founder, CEO and chairman Robin Li Yanhong touted the performance and potential of artificial intelligence chips developed by its Kunlunxin semiconductor design unit during the fourth-quarter earnings call, offering a rare bright spot in an otherwise lacklustre quarter. “We’re proud to see the market increasingly recognise [Kunlunxin chips’] value and proven performance,” Li said on Thursday. The Kunlunxin chips are built on a proprietary architecture and deliver “stable, high-performance... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3344772/baidu-touts-ai-chips-potential-amid-sluggish-fourth-quarter?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3344772/baidu-touts-ai-chips-potential-amid-sluggish-fourth-quarter?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Feb 2026 14:00:09 +0000 Jean Iau Jean Iau At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, sales director Sabir Ansari relied on Deliveroo almost daily for burgers and pasta delivered to his door in Singapore. Over time, the 31-year-old said, it became harder to justify the service’s costs as rival platforms such as Grab and Foodpanda offered more food options and aggressive promotions that made “delivery fees way cheaper”. “It was a no-brainer,” he said. For Deliveroo, that kind of calculation among consumers became increasingly... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3344705/what-deliveroos-singapore-exit-says-about-citys-food-delivery-wars?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3344705/what-deliveroos-singapore-exit-says-about-citys-food-delivery-wars?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Feb 2026 06:51:13 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Chinese tech giants claimed a victory after a promotional giveaway campaign for their artificial intelligence services during the Lunar New Year, touting surging user numbers and the adoption of AI as part of holiday consumption. During the period, Alibaba Group Holding’s AI app Qwen saw nearly 200 million orders placed, according to data released by the company on Monday. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post. Among the users were more than four million people aged 60 and above who... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3344432/ai-apps-soar-china-lunar-new-year-giveaway-battle-boosts-user-growth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3344432/ai-apps-soar-china-lunar-new-year-giveaway-battle-boosts-user-growth?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Feb 2026 09:30:09 +0000 Eunice Xu Eunice Xu Ant Group’s artificial intelligence health app AQ surpassed 100 million users during the Spring Festival holiday, the company said, underlining growing momentum in China’s AI-driven healthcare sector. The app topped China’s Apple App Store overall download rankings for several consecutive days over the holiday period, according to Ant Group. Ant Group attributed the surge in part to younger, tech-savvy consumers who, after returning home for Spring Festival gatherings, shared the app with their... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3344359/ants-aq-health-app-breaks-through-100-million-users-amid-holiday-surge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3344359/ants-aq-health-app-breaks-through-100-million-users-amid-holiday-surge?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Feb 2026 14:00:07 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Social media addiction has been compared to addiction to casinos, opioids and cigarettes. While there is some debate among experts about the line between overuse and addiction, and whether social media can cause the latter, there is no doubt that many people feel like they cannot escape the pull of Instagram, Snapchat, RedNote and other platforms. The companies that designed your favourite apps have an incentive to keep you glued to them: they can serve up ads that make them billions of dollars... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3344332/are-you-addicted-social-media-how-recognise-it-and-deal-your-non-stop-scrolling?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3344332/are-you-addicted-social-media-how-recognise-it-and-deal-your-non-stop-scrolling?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Feb 2026 11:15:08 +0000 Reuters Reuters Germany’s ruling conservatives on Saturday passed ⁠a motion to ban social media use for under 14s and introduce more stringent digital verification checks for teenagers, building momentum for such limits in Germany and elsewhere in Europe. At a party conference in the city of Stuttgart, Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union also called for fines for online platforms that failed to enforce such limits and European ‌Union-wide harmonisation of age standards. A growing number of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3344227/germanys-ruling-party-seeks-social-media-ban-children-aged-below-14?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3344227/germanys-ruling-party-seeks-social-media-ban-children-aged-below-14?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Feb 2026 14:49:35 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Wednesday he regretted Meta’s slow progress in identifying underage users on Instagram, as he faced stinging criticism at a landmark social media trial over accusations that his company deliberately hooked children. Asked to comment on complaints from inside the company that not enough was being done to verify whether children under 13 were using the platform, the 41-year-old head of Meta, which also owns Facebook and WhatsApp, said improvements had been made. But “I... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3343945/metas-zuckerberg-grilled-lawyers-landmark-us-social-media-addiction-trial?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3343945/metas-zuckerberg-grilled-lawyers-landmark-us-social-media-addiction-trial?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Feb 2026 21:39:31 +0000 SCMP Style Reporter SCMP Style Reporter What if you could turn your beauty routine into a pursuit of some very desirable extras? That’s the approach of Lane Crawford’s HK$8.8M Beauty Rewards Programme. It lets you earn your first stamp when you spend HK$500 on beauty products. Then, you have until March 31 to collect up to 30 stamps via the Lane Crawford app. Stamps can be redeemed for a rotating line-up of freebies, with new choices dropping every two weeks. Redemption levels are set at five, 10 and 30 stamps, which means you face... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/beauty/beauty-news/article/3343472/style-edit-lane-crawfords-smartly-curated-programme-beauty-rewards?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/beauty/beauty-news/article/3343472/style-edit-lane-crawfords-smartly-curated-programme-beauty-rewards?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Feb 2026 02:00:29 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow ByteDance is working to strengthen safeguards in its Seedance 2.0 video-generation tool after it received global blowback for alleged intellectual property (IP) violations, the Chinese short-video giant said on Sunday. The controversy focuses on the TikTok owner’s alleged use of copyrighted content to train its artificial intelligence model, as videos of Hollywood celebrities, Disney characters and comic book heroes generated by Seedance have flooded the web in recent days. On Saturday, Disney... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3343626/bytedance-ai-video-tool-seedance-accused-disney-copyright-smash-and-grab?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3343626/bytedance-ai-video-tool-seedance-accused-disney-copyright-smash-and-grab?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Feb 2026 09:07:51 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow China’s food delivery giant Meituan on Friday warned that it expected to post a loss of up to 24.3 billion yuan (US$3.5 billion) for 2025 due to “intense industry competition”, with the slump likely to persist this year. The sharp reversal from 2024, when the company posted a profit of 35.8 billion yuan, comes on the back of one of China’s most intense price wars last year between Meituan, Alibaba Group Holding and JD.com in local e-commerce and food delivery, which only subsided after... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3343538/chinas-meituan-warns-us35-billion-loss-amid-intense-food-delivery-price-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3343538/chinas-meituan-warns-us35-billion-loss-amid-intense-food-delivery-price-war?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Feb 2026 14:15:42 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang Chinese consumers placed over 120 million orders on Alibaba Cloud’s flagship artificial intelligence app Qwen within six days, signalling growing acceptance of AI-powered shopping as the company joined other mainland Chinese tech giants in a multibillion-yuan holiday campaign. Nearly half the orders came from residents in counties and hinterland areas, with around 1.56 million people aged 60 and above making their first online purchases through Qwen, according to a statement on Thursday from... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3343289/alibabas-qwen-tops-120-million-orders-6-days-amid-chinas-ai-shopping-battle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3343289/alibabas-qwen-tops-120-million-orders-6-days-amid-chinas-ai-shopping-battle?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Feb 2026 09:02:39 +0000 Iris Deng Iris Deng In an intensifying giveaway war among artificial intelligence apps in China, TikTok parent ByteDance’s Doubao chatbot has joined the fray to offer robots and drones, following multibillion-yuan campaigns from Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings to hand out cash and bubble tea. ByteDance said on Tuesday that it planned to give more than 100,000 tech products as gifts, as well as red packets of up to 8,888 yuan (US$1,284), through lucky draws on the Doubao app on the eve of Lunar New... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3343104/bytedance-joins-alibaba-tencent-offer-freebies-bid-acquire-ai-app-users?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3343104/bytedance-joins-alibaba-tencent-offer-freebies-bid-acquire-ai-app-users?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:19 +0000 Reuters Reuters A California state court case ‌over whether Instagram and YouTube harmed a woman’s mental health through addictive app design kicks off on ‍Monday with opening statements, in a test of whether Big Tech platforms can be held liable for harming kids. The 20-year-old woman identified as K.G.M. filed the lawsuit against Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta Platforms and Alphabet’s Google, which owns YouTube. She says the attention-grabbing design of the platforms got her addicted ⁠to them at a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342967/california-court-begins-social-media-trial-amid-mental-health-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342967/california-court-begins-social-media-trial-amid-mental-health-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Feb 2026 14:35:45 +0000