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The latest news, analysis and opinion on Internet. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Social media apps displayed on a mobile phone. Germany’s ruling party has called for fines against online platforms that fail to enforce social media curbs for children. Photo: Reuters
Germany

Germany’s ruling party seeks social media ban for children aged below 14

Spain, Greece, France, Britain and other countries are looking at similar social media bans or curbs.

Middle East

US lawmakers push for VPN funding so Iranians can access internet

Artificial intelligence

ByteDance ‘strengthening safeguards’ after Seedance AI video controversy

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China technology

Opinion | ‘Becoming Chinese’ memes reflect a world shaped by China’s ascent

The memes are really about how deeply global digital life is embedded in Chinese-built systems – and how comfortable young people are with that.

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There is an emerging trend where foreigners are embracing aspects of Chinese culture by adopting habits such as drinking warm water, herbal teas and wearing slippers indoors. Photo: SCMP composite / TikTok
Russia

WhatsApp accuses Russia of blocking service to force users to state ‘super-app’

WhatsApp and Telegram sound the alarm as the Kremlin chokes off Western apps to promote MAX, a state-backed rival modeled after China’s WeChat.

Mainland China

Baidu unveils AI-driven Wikipedia challenger in bid for global users

BaiduWiki, a version of the firm’s Baidu Baike online encyclopaedia, is available in English, Spanish, French, Russian and Japanese.

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India

India tightens social media grip as Meta, YouTube, X face 3-hour takedown rules

New rules tighten compliance deadlines, forcing platforms to remove flagged AI-generated content and misinformation within hours or face legal action.

Social media applications are displayed on a mobile phone. Photo: Reuters
Sex and relationships

Why dating in Hong Kong is so hard and how people spend thousands on agencies

Hong Kong matchmakers share how they’re helping people find love in a city where everyone is both extremely busy and wants a younger partner.

Hong Kong

2016 trends from Pokemon Go to poke bowls amid viral internet nostalgia

Looking back at 2016 is viral online, but what was hot back then? We look at food, travel, health and pop culture trends from a decade ago.

Banking & finance

HSBC suffers temporary system shutdown, stopping services in Hong Kong

The bank’s mobile app and in-person services at several branches were unavailable for up to several hours for some customers during the outage.

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Pedestrians walk past the lion statues outside HSBC’s Hong Kong headquarters in Central. Photo: Elson Li
Artificial intelligence

China’s cloud giants race to support Moltbot, the ‘AI that actually does things’

Hyperscalers embrace the AI agent, which can execute tasks without step-by-step instructions, but privacy concerns loom large.

The global AI industry is moving towards developing AI agents capable of autonomously executing tasks on behalf of users. Photo: Shutterstock
TV shows and streaming video

YouTube star IShowSpeed shows ‘another Africa’ on his 20-country tour

African-American influencer has busted cliches by showing a continent ‘on the move’ during his trip, which has resonated with fans at home.

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Semiconductors

Hygon’s chips ‘safe’ from AMD security flaw amid China’s tech self-reliance push

That result shows Hygon’s efforts in redesigning the chip architecture licensed from AMD with self-developed innovations.

Artificial intelligence

DeepSeek taps Alibaba open-source AI technology to boost OCR performance

The Chinese AI start-up says its latest OCR model delivers stronger performance after adopting an Alibaba-developed open-source model.

The update underscores the growing role of China’s open-source ecosystem in advancing domestic AI development. Photo: Shutterstock
European Union

EU opens probe into Musk’s Grok over sexual AI deepfakes

Brussels targets X with a new probe into ‘digital undressing’, vowing to protect women and children from illegal AI content.

The EU will investigate Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot for allegedly sharing illegal content, risking a hefty fine. Photo: TNS
France

Macron pushes forward France’s social media ban for under 15s

France’s health watchdog said that 90 per cent of children between 12 and 17 use smartphones daily to access the internet.

China’s internet censorship

Xibei vs the influencer: why Beijing called time on a restaurant food feud

Communist Party mouthpiece says it’s worrying that online posts can create a crisis for a long-standing business.

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United States

Bezos’ Blue Origin to deploy thousands of satellites to rival Musk’s Starlink

The TeraWave plan coincides with a rush to build data centres in space that can meet the soaring demand for large-scale AI data processing.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifts off carrying Amazon’s Project Kuiper internet network satellites from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida in April 2025. Photo: Reauters
World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos

Duel in Davos: Macron’s ‘Top Gun’ shades charm internet, get mocked by Trump

The French leader’s US$770 sunglasses, which he wore as he criticised the US president, have sparked a flood of social media memes.

Japan

Japan arrests man for selling AI-generated celebrity porn

A 31-year-old in Japan arrested for using generative AI to create and sell 520,000 explicit images of celebrities for US$70,000 in profit.

China stock market

China’s advances in AI fuel tech stock boom, help it shake off economic malaise

China’s rise recasts the country from a low-cost base to a credible US tech challenger, just as global capital hunts for next growth engine.

Thanks to fresh progress in sectors from flying cars to robotics, Chinese tech shares have begun the new year with a bang. Photo: AP
Artificial intelligence

Tencent seeks cooperation with other AI firms to better serve vulnerable users

Tencent Research Institute looks to build expert data sets for AI models that could broadly benefit the world’s second most populous nation.

Tencent Research Institute is looking to improve the output of generative AI services when interacting with the elderly and other vulnerable users in society. Photo: Shutterstock
Iran

Iran’s leader says ‘thousands’ killed in protests, Trump a ‘criminal’

The comments by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are the first admission by Tehran on the death toll from the unrest.

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X (formerly Twitter)

Musk’s xAI sued over Grok deepfakes – this time, by mother of his child

Ashley St Clair, mother of Musk’s 13th child, said that in one photo, an image of her at 14 was altered to show her in a bikini.

Hong Kong society

Hongkonger missing in protest-hit Iran safe and ‘in touch’ with authorities

Immigration Department says it has also advised the woman to leave Iran as soon as possible.

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Travel blogger “Bing” is safe, authorities have confirmed. Photo: Threads
Malaysia

X marks the bot: Malaysia says Grok ban may be lifted if it is proven to be safe

Though X has deactivated several prompts, more changes need to be made to ensure the site’s safety, Malaysia’s communications minister says.

Screens display the logo of Grok and its founder Elon Musk. Photo: AFP
Artificial intelligence

Musk’s Grok barred from undressing AI images after global backlash

‘Spicy Mode’ feature had allowed users to create sexualised deepfakes of women and children.

Regulation

Beijing opens antitrust investigation into Trip.com before Lunar New Year break

The Trip.com case shows how China’s regulatory inquiries into various online platforms have become the norm.

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