https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/rss/327838/feed en https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji Digangana Mukherjee, a mother of a six-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy, has banned television at her home in the Indian city of Mysore because she does not want her children to become addicted to watching content on screen. A year ago, when her son’s school started using a smart classroom board that streamed online content, she and her husband decided to enrol him in a school where teachers used chalk on a slate board, and the pace of lessons was slower. Now, she is happy that the Indian... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3371153/indias-proposed-social-media-ban-under-18s-wins-parents-backing https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3371153/indias-proposed-social-media-ban-under-18s-wins-parents-backing Fri, 16 Oct 2026 10:00:13 +0000 Kolette Lim Kolette Lim For Singaporean civil servant Clare*, finding a suitable lifelong partner has been an uphill battle. Swiping on dating apps soon became a chore after multiple unsuccessful first dates, so when the government launched its own platform, the 32-year-old was all for it. “It’s like: ‘Why not?’, and I think it does have a few screening procedures so it might save you some trouble like having to deal with impersonators or people who do not match with their advertised profiles,” she said. Singapore... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3370656/can-singapore-engineer-love-dating-apps-public-service-private-romance https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3370656/can-singapore-engineer-love-dating-apps-public-service-private-romance Tue, 13 Oct 2026 01:55:26 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran Indonesia officially barred under-16s from using “high-risk” social media earlier this year. But that hasn’t stopped the son of one Jakarta-based writer from using it. Aged 14, he already had accounts on Instagram and TikTok – among the platforms Jakarta said children would be banned from using – as well as popular video game Minecraft and gaming platform Roblox. To register, he simply lied about his age. “He can access everything,” Inne Abidin said of her son. “His friends use everything... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3370362/childs-play-southeast-asia-takes-big-tech-protect-kids-online https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3370362/childs-play-southeast-asia-takes-big-tech-protect-kids-online Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:25 +0000 Minxiao Chang Minxiao Chang China’s generative artificial intelligence user base surpassed 700 million at the end of June, accounting for more than half of the population as wide AI adoption pushes the technology’s penetration rate to a record high in the country. The user base data, released Tuesday by the China Internet Network Information Centre, represents an increase of 16 per cent from the end of 2025, when China had 602 million generative AI users with a penetration rate of 42.8 per cent. Question-and-answer... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/tech-trends/article/3369231/chinas-generative-ai-user-base-crosses-700-million-covering-over-half-population https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/tech-trends/article/3369231/chinas-generative-ai-user-base-crosses-700-million-covering-over-half-population Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:00:11 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Late last year, Zhang Xuan’s small beef noodle joint in Shanghai suddenly began seeing a dramatic surge in orders. Sales over the past few months have been 50 to 60 per cent higher than normal, he estimates. The driver? The new Street Stars feature on Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group Holding’s Amap mapping app, which listed Zhang’s eatery as the fourth best restaurant in Shanghai’s Changning district. Prominently displayed on Amap’s main page, the system uses artificial intelligence to rate... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3368819/how-alibaba-using-ai-revamp-its-mapping-app-and-take-meituan https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3368819/how-alibaba-using-ai-revamp-its-mapping-app-and-take-meituan Sat, 26 Sep 2026 07:00:08 +0000 Alice Li Alice Li After three weeks of travelling across China, Bojan Tomic and his wife found that one of the biggest conveniences of the trip was being able to pay for daily expenses almost entirely via smartphone. The Croatian couple’s journey spanned the cities of Beijing, Xian, Chengdu and finally Shenzhen. Visiting China for the first time, they quickly adapted to the country’s dominant mobile payment ecosystem, using Alipay and WeChat Pay, two of China’s largest payment platforms, for most of their... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3368810/how-chinas-mobile-payment-overhaul-helps-foreigners-spend-money-ahead-apec-meeting https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3368810/how-chinas-mobile-payment-overhaul-helps-foreigners-spend-money-ahead-apec-meeting Sat, 26 Sep 2026 02:00:10 +0000 Reuters Reuters Alabama said on Friday it had reached a settlement with TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, that required the social media platform to impose new usage limits and enhanced age-verification measures for users in the US state, resolving claims that the platform endangered children and misled consumers about its safety. The agreement, which came days before a scheduled trial, calls for TikTok to implement changes for teenagers in Alabama including a two-hour daily time limit, pauses... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/us/economy-trade-business/article/3368877/tiktok-settles-lawsuit-alabama-least-us100m-apply-safety-steps https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/us/economy-trade-business/article/3368877/tiktok-settles-lawsuit-alabama-least-us100m-apply-safety-steps Sat, 26 Sep 2026 01:38:08 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji For millions of Indians, buying a cup of chai or groceries from roadside vendors has come to mean reaching for their phones rather than wallets – a habit made possible by a system that has so far charged consumers nothing for such everyday transactions. Now, a decade after the government launched the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), India is asking some merchants to pay for the hugely popular system – raising questions over whether it can preserve the low-cost model that drove its mass adoption... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/economics/article/3368661/what-can-asia-global-south-learn-indias-new-digital-payment-fee https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/economics/article/3368661/what-can-asia-global-south-learn-indias-new-digital-payment-fee Thu, 24 Sep 2026 10:02:05 +0000 Iris Deng Iris Deng Tencent Holdings on Thursday launched TenPayGo, a mobile payment app targeting foreign visitors, as the tech giant seeks to capture China’s growing inbound tourism market ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Shenzhen. Developed by Tencent’s WeChat Pay team, TenPayGo allowed international travellers to make payments at tens of millions of shops, restaurants and attractions across the WeChat Pay network by linking their credit cards or their home-country digital wallets... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/tech-trends/article/3368544/tencent-rolls-out-payment-app-foreign-travellers-ahead-apec-summit https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/tech-trends/article/3368544/tencent-rolls-out-payment-app-foreign-travellers-ahead-apec-summit Thu, 24 Sep 2026 05:19:05 +0000 Gloria Tso Gloria Tso Female tech entrepreneurship is a rapidly growing field, but not all female founders, it seems, are shown equal treatment. That’s why Phoebe Gates, the 24-year-old daughter of now-divorced Bill and Melinda Gates, made headlines this summer as controversy surfaced over her AI-powered shopping app Phia, which she launched with her former Stanford University classmate Sophia Kianni just last year. Phia was, for all intents and purposes, a huge success story upon launch – the start-up counted Khloé... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3368233/beyond-phoebe-gates-phia-5-female-owned-fashion-tech-apps-have-your-radar https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3368233/beyond-phoebe-gates-phia-5-female-owned-fashion-tech-apps-have-your-radar Tue, 22 Sep 2026 04:00:10 +0000 Xiaofei Xu Xiaofei Xu Taobao Instant Commerce, Alibaba’s on-demand delivery service that was revamped last year and is known as Taobao Shangou in Chinese, won a top French Design Award prize on Saturday for its delivery worker uniform, marking the first time the prize was awarded for a design for frontline workers. “We think the [Taobao Shangou] suit design would transform delivery workwear into a recognisable professional uniform, helping reshape how society sees this essential profession,” said Dario Olivero, chair... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3368121/first-top-european-design-prize-awarded-eu20-uniform-chinas-delivery-drivers https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/economy/china-economy/article/3368121/first-top-european-design-prize-awarded-eu20-uniform-chinas-delivery-drivers Sat, 19 Sep 2026 14:00:11 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen Ant International, the overseas affiliate of China’s Ant Group, is executing an artificial intelligence overhaul across its entire suite of global financial services, introducing AI agents designed to help manage payments, foreign exchange and treasury operations. Described by the company as its largest-ever product upgrade, the initiative embeds AI-native solutions across all platforms: cross-border payment network Alipay+, merchant services provider Antom, account and treasury platform... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/tech-trends/article/3367998/ant-international-embeds-ai-agents-across-all-platforms-biggest-ever-product-upgrade https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/tech-trends/article/3367998/ant-international-embeds-ai-agents-across-all-platforms-biggest-ever-product-upgrade Fri, 18 Sep 2026 13:00:07 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang TikTok parent ByteDance has scored another hit in China with Hongguo, an artificial intelligence-powered short-drama platform. Launched in 2023, Hongguo quickly became a household name by riding China’s short-drama boom. A surge in AI-generated content propelled it past some of the country’s biggest professional streaming platforms, while iterations of AI-animated dramas – using AI video models including ByteDance’s Seedance – gave it further lift. Hongguo has overtaken the country’s four... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/tech-trends/article/3367664/bytedances-ai-enhanced-short-drama-app-eclipses-chinas-netflix-rivals-combined https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/tech-trends/article/3367664/bytedances-ai-enhanced-short-drama-app-eclipses-chinas-netflix-rivals-combined Wed, 16 Sep 2026 06:00:50 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The European Union is set to propose curbing access to social media, video-sharing platforms, chatbots and online games to children under the age of 15, according to a draft legal document seen by AFP. A proposed new law – to be formally presented on Thursday – would mean banning minors under 15 from opening their own accounts, with a tiered system of access under parental supervision for younger children. As well as age limits, the new “EU KIDS Act” would force digital giants to make their... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3367618/eu-propose-curbing-social-media-online-games-under-15s https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3367618/eu-propose-curbing-social-media-online-games-under-15s Tue, 15 Sep 2026 11:15:21 +0000 Minxiao Chang Minxiao Chang China is surging ahead of the US in consumer AI adoption as technology giants like Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding embed artificial intelligence directly into popular everyday apps, even as American models lead in capability, according to Morgan Stanley. A survey conducted by the bank and published in a report on Monday showed that 80 per cent of Chinese respondents used AI for personal purposes at least weekly, compared with 54 per cent in the US. China’s generative AI user base grew... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3367601/china-beating-us-consumer-ai-adoption-thanks-super-apps-morgan-stanley https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3367601/china-beating-us-consumer-ai-adoption-thanks-super-apps-morgan-stanley Tue, 15 Sep 2026 11:00:12 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang China is cracking down on artificial intelligence-generated “slop” – low-grade, mass-produced synthetic content cluttering social media and news feeds – as part of a sweeping campaign against the abuse of the generative technology, the country’s top internet watchdog said on Wednesday. In a statement posted to its website, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said it had scrubbed more than 5.61 million pieces of harmful or illegal content and removed some 49,000 accounts during its... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/article/3366096/china-cracks-down-ai-deepfakes-and-clickbait-cluttering-wechat-rednote-douyin https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/article/3366096/china-cracks-down-ai-deepfakes-and-clickbait-cluttering-wechat-rednote-douyin Wed, 02 Sep 2026 09:15:21 +0000 Igor Patrick Igor Patrick Brazil’s data protection authority fined ByteDance US$30 million on Tuesday over its handling of children’s data on TikTok, the largest penalty it has imposed since it was created in 2020. The National Data Protection Authority, known as the ANPD, found five breaches of Brazil’s data protection law and gave ByteDance 10 working days to appeal. The company must also erase the records of users aged 13 to 18 whose parental authorisation is not regularised within 60 working days, instruct every... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/article/3365246/brazil-fines-tiktok-record-us30-million-profiting-childrens-data https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/article/3365246/brazil-fines-tiktok-record-us30-million-profiting-childrens-data Tue, 25 Aug 2026 16:26:05 +0000 Teresa Elena Frontado Teresa Elena Frontado TikTok and its Chinese parent ByteDance have agreed to pay US$400 million to settle a US Justice Department lawsuit accusing the video-sharing app of violating children’s online privacy laws, resolving a major federal case as the platform’s American operations remain under intense political scrutiny. The settlement, announced on Friday, resolves allegations brought by the Justice Department and the US Federal Trade Commission in 2024 that TikTok and ByteDance collected personal information from... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3364895/tiktok-bytedance-agree-us400-million-settlement-us-over-childrens-privacy-suit https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3364895/tiktok-bytedance-agree-us400-million-settlement-us-over-childrens-privacy-suit Fri, 21 Aug 2026 21:39:53 +0000 Reuters Reuters Meta Platforms intentionally sought to ⁠addict children to its Facebook and Instagram platforms, a lawyer for California said on Tuesday at the start of a trial that could reshape some of the most popular apps on the planet. A bipartisan group of 29 US states is suing Meta, seeking potentially tens or hundreds of billions of dollars in penalties and changes to how Meta does business. Four lead states – California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey – accuse Meta of designing Facebook and... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3364482/meta-accused-targeting-children-boost-facebook-and-instagram-use-us-trial-begins https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3364482/meta-accused-targeting-children-boost-facebook-and-instagram-use-us-trial-begins Tue, 18 Aug 2026 18:12:21 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang Tencent Holdings’ WeChat is already the undisputed super-app for over a billion people in China, handling everything from splitting dinner bills to hailing taxis. Now, Tencent is embedding an artificial intelligence agent named Xiaowei into the platform, adding a hands-free, automated assistant to its vast digital ecosystem. In its latest earnings results announced on Wednesday, Tencent highlighted Xiaowei for the first time, touting its focus on user privacy and inference efficiency. After... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3364068/i-gave-tencents-wechat-ai-agent-control-24-hours-where-it-excelled-and-stumbled https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3364068/i-gave-tencents-wechat-ai-agent-control-24-hours-where-it-excelled-and-stumbled Sun, 16 Aug 2026 08:00:08 +0000 Iris Deng Iris Deng Chinese smartphone maker Honor has launched a handset with a motorised robotic camera that nods back at users, betting that its interactive hardware will spark growth in a cooling global market for the devices. The new Robot Phone, unveiled on Wednesday, features a three-axis mechanical gimbal with four degrees of motion, allowing for video stabilisation and interaction via nodding and tilting. Activated by a hand gesture, the gimbal camera unfurls from the back of the device – a mechanism that... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/tech-trends/article/3363738/honors-new-robot-phone-looks-boost-global-appeal-its-nodding-camera https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/tech-trends/article/3363738/honors-new-robot-phone-looks-boost-global-appeal-its-nodding-camera Wed, 12 Aug 2026 11:30:11 +0000 Lucy Quaggin Lucy Quaggin The White House has formally lifted the ban on TikTok on US government devices after the Justice Department determined that the version operated by the platform’s new US joint venture is no longer covered by a 2022 prohibition targeting applications controlled by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in a memo dated Monday, rescinded a 2023 directive that barred the use of TikTok on government devices over national security concerns arising... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/us/article/3363709/us-lifts-tiktok-ban-government-devices-after-bytedance-restructuring https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/us/article/3363709/us-lifts-tiktok-ban-government-devices-after-bytedance-restructuring Tue, 11 Aug 2026 21:40:01 +0000 Reuters Reuters A US appeal court on Monday allowed thousands of lawsuits to move forward against Meta ⁠Platforms, Alphabet’s Google, ByteDance’s TikTok, and other ⁠social media companies over claims they designed their products to ⁠be addictive to young users. The San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the companies’ bid to reverse a lower court’s ruling forcing them to face some 2,400 lawsuits over the claims filed in federal court. The companies, which also include Snap Inc’s Snapchat,... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3363578/us-court-allows-thousands-lawsuits-against-tech-firms-over-social-media-addiction https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3363578/us-court-allows-thousands-lawsuits-against-tech-firms-over-social-media-addiction Mon, 10 Aug 2026 19:28:15 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A New Mexico judge on Thursday ordered Meta to pay more than half a billion dollars over the state’s claims that the social media giant created a “public nuisance” and harmed children. Meta was previously ordered to pay US$375 million in damages to New Mexico in March when a jury found the company liable for endangering children by making them vulnerable to predators on its platforms, among other harms. “We disagree with the ruling and will appeal,” Meta said in a statement Thursday. “We work... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3363233/meta-ordered-us-pay-us567-million-address-child-safety-harms https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3363233/meta-ordered-us-pay-us567-million-address-child-safety-harms Fri, 07 Aug 2026 02:12:38 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang Artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed healthcare for hundreds of millions of people in China. AI-powered apps help them manage their health and seek care, while others help doctors better diagnose and treat their patients. AI analysis of routine scans detects cancers and other conditions physicians might have missed. Personalised cancer vaccines built on AI analysis will soon begin rolling off production lines in China. The country’s leading tech companies have poured resources into... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/plus/tech/big-tech/article/3362783/will-ai-healthcare-be-chinas-new-global-growth-engine https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/plus/tech/big-tech/article/3362783/will-ai-healthcare-be-chinas-new-global-growth-engine Mon, 03 Aug 2026 08:12:53 +0000 Salomé Grouard Salomé Grouard Picture a birthday party. Children gather around a tablet, feeding a group photo into an app that makes everyone dance in silly hats and sing along. Or a family gathering, where a black-and-white picture of grandparents is uploaded into the same app, “reviving” them as young adults. It looks fun, harmless. But according to Home Security Heroes, one in three of these apps can also generate pornographic content. The US-based identity theft protection company found in its 2023 State of Deepfakes... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/special-reports/article/3361352/deepfake-dangers-how-can-hong-kong-schools-protect-students-image-abuse https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/special-reports/article/3361352/deepfake-dangers-how-can-hong-kong-schools-protect-students-image-abuse Fri, 31 Jul 2026 06:00:14 +0000 Han Li Han Li US President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the United States’ international broadcasting agency pledged on Thursday to sharpen its media challenge to China, including by expanding into short-form videos, podcasts and diaspora group chats. Sarah B. Rogers told a Senate committee hearing that Asia would remain a top regional priority for the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees Voice of America (VOA) and funds Radio Free Asia and other international broadcasters. “China is rapacious... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3362452/trump-nominee-vows-sharpen-us-media-challenge-china https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3362452/trump-nominee-vows-sharpen-us-media-challenge-china Thu, 30 Jul 2026 22:46:26 +0000 Howard Liu Howard Liu The three independent spin-offs of Chinese fintech giant Ant Group are accelerating their capital-raising efforts, forging distinct financial paths after gaining operational autonomy in 2024. Ant Digital Technologies is preparing a financing round ahead of its initial public offering, according to Chinese financial news outlet STAR Market Daily, marking the latest strategic move from one of the units that it spun off. Details regarding the round’s valuation, target size, timeline or planned... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3362420/ant-group-spin-offs-pursue-independent-growth-strategic-capital-moves https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3362420/ant-group-spin-offs-pursue-independent-growth-strategic-capital-moves Thu, 30 Jul 2026 11:39:36 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Russia’s main domestic security agency said on Wednesday that Pavel Durov, founder and owner of the messaging app Telegram, has been charged with aiding terrorism and put on an international wanted list. The charges against Durov, who was born and began his career in Russia but later moved abroad, came as the Russian authorities restrict Telegram, one of the most popular messaging apps in the country. It is part of a long-term effort to bring the internet under the Kremlin’s full control that... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3362240/russia-charges-telegram-founder-durov-aiding-terror-issues-wanted-alert https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3362240/russia-charges-telegram-founder-durov-aiding-terror-issues-wanted-alert Wed, 29 Jul 2026 07:27:25 +0000 Alice Yan Alice Yan An 18-year-old boy in Shanghai, who created a simple app using artificial intelligence (AI) to remind his grandfather to take his medication on time, has gained significant attention on social media and received widespread acclaim online. Ma Kai, a recent secondary school graduate, took the national university entrance exam, known as the gaokao, in June. His story came to light when he was interviewed by the Shanghai Morning Post as an ordinary young visitor at the World Artificial Intelligence... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3362080/china-teenager-wins-praise-developing-app-remind-grandpa-take-daily-medication https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3362080/china-teenager-wins-praise-developing-app-remind-grandpa-take-daily-medication Tue, 28 Jul 2026 10:00:11 +0000 dpa dpa We all know how easy it is to get hooked on scrolling, but what does this endless activity actually do to our brains? The core mechanism of infinite scrolling is similar to slot machines, explains Matteo Parissi, a registered and chartered forensic psychologist and head of psychology at Cygnet Hospital Harrow in the UK. “Our brain does not know when the next rewarding piece of content will appear, so each swipe while scrolling has the possibility of getting a reward,” he says. “For our brain... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3361410/how-infinite-scrolling-hijacks-brains-reward-system-slot-machines-do https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3361410/how-infinite-scrolling-hijacks-brains-reward-system-slot-machines-do Thu, 23 Jul 2026 13:15:05 +0000 Charmaine Yu Charmaine Yu If you want to seek enlightenment, you can consult Gabi, a robot monk in a South Korean temple. If you want to meditate, download an app and let a computerised voice guide you towards inner peace. Now, if you want to analyse your Chinese astrology to check your financial prospects, you can look towards AI to give you a reading. This is what Singapore-based astrologer Sean Chan has been working on: Tian Qi, an AI-powered Chinese metaphysics reading platform. Chan “vibe-coded” his platform – he... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3361464/read-your-future-tian-qi-ai-powered-astrology-platform-powered-real-consultations https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3361464/read-your-future-tian-qi-ai-powered-astrology-platform-powered-real-consultations Wed, 22 Jul 2026 23:15:15 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse France’s parliament on Tuesday approved a bill banning social media access for children under 15, making France the first European country to bar children from apps such as TikTok. President Emmanuel Macron has championed the ban as a flagship reform of his final term in office and pledged to enforce it by September. “France is leading the way in Europe when it comes to protecting our children and teenagers,” Macron said in a video posted on social media, hailing “a major step forward”. He... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3361394/frances-parliament-approves-social-media-ban-children-under-15-eu-first https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3361394/frances-parliament-approves-social-media-ban-children-under-15-eu-first Tue, 21 Jul 2026 19:32:09 +0000 Amanda Sheppard Amanda Sheppard The school counsellor’s office has long been a familiar fixture of student well-being, providing a safe, quiet space for private and often sensitive conversations. But for a generation raised on online gaming worlds, chatbots and digital identities, that model is no longer the only pathway to emotional support. Across Hong Kong, educators and researchers are experimenting with what some describe as ‘third spaces’ for mental health – environments that sit somewhere between formal face-to-face... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/special-reports/article/3361197/how-hong-kongs-schools-are-embracing-ai-gen-alphas-mental-health https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/special-reports/article/3361197/how-hong-kongs-schools-are-embracing-ai-gen-alphas-mental-health Tue, 21 Jul 2026 07:00:08 +0000 Judy Xue Judy Xue For South Korea’s young budget-conscious consumers, finding a meal for less than 8,000 won (US$5.40) – at a time when a typical meal out in major cities can easily cost 12,000 won or more – has become more than a money-saving exercise. Crowdsourced platform Geoji Map has turned the search for ultra-cheap meals into a viral online activity. Its name, which literally translates as “Beggar Map”, reflects a broader Korean slang trend of using “beggar” humour to describe surviving on a tight... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3361024/beggars-banquet-south-koreas-young-consumers-turn-extreme-budgeting-game https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3361024/beggars-banquet-south-koreas-young-consumers-turn-extreme-budgeting-game Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:00:16 +0000 Minxiao Chang Minxiao Chang As Apple’s latest legal battle with OpenAI complicates the Silicon Valley race to reshape the consumer tech market, one Chinese start-up is taking a leap forward after unveiling what it claims to be the world’s first agentic smartphone. At a launch event in Shanghai on Monday, Tencent Holdings-backed StepFun introduced the StepX Neo. The device runs on Step AOS, an operating system designed specifically for artificial intelligence agents, and was launched under StepX – which the firm billed as... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3360544/chinas-stepfun-claims-it-has-unveiled-worlds-first-ai-smartphone https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3360544/chinas-stepfun-claims-it-has-unveiled-worlds-first-ai-smartphone Tue, 14 Jul 2026 12:30:11 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse There should be a “youth mode” for children on social media platforms in which addictive features and targeted advertising are turned off, EU lawmakers demanded on Tuesday. The calls are growing louder for the European Union to ensure that social media platforms and others are designed to be safe before children use them. An expert report on Monday also recommended a “safety-by-design” approach in which platforms protect minors from possible harms posed by the apps. “The responsibility for the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3360546/eu-demands-youth-mode-protect-children-addictive-social-media-features https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3360546/eu-demands-youth-mode-protect-children-addictive-social-media-features Tue, 14 Jul 2026 11:14:32 +0000 Anand Mathai Anand Mathai Indonesia’s attempt to keep children aged under 16 off social media platforms deemed high risk has quickly become one of the world’s biggest tests of online safety regulation, with more than 4.8 million suspected underage accounts removed or deactivated in the first three months of enforcement. For President Prabowo Subianto’s government, the figures are an early sign that major platforms are falling in line with its policy aimed at making the digital world safer for children. Communications and... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3359973/indonesia-blocks-48-million-underage-social-media-accounts-are-kids-any-safer https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3359973/indonesia-blocks-48-million-underage-social-media-accounts-are-kids-any-safer Thu, 09 Jul 2026 09:00:08 +0000 Reuters Reuters Apple lost its challenge on Wednesday against landmark EU rules that designate its app stores and operating system iOS as gatekeepers subject to obligations aimed at giving rivals more room to compete. The EU Digital Markets Act (DMA), which sets out a list of dos and don’ts ‌for Big Tech with the threat of fines of as much as 10 per cent of a company’s global annual turnover, has triggered legal challenges by Apple, Meta and ByteDance since it took effect in May 2023. The ruling by the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3359862/apple-loses-challenges-against-eu-rules-curb-big-tech https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3359862/apple-loses-challenges-against-eu-rules-curb-big-tech Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:56:21 +0000 Aidyn Fitzpatrick Aidyn Fitzpatrick How many times have you promised not to check your socials again or pour another drink – only to do exactly that minutes later? A technique known as “urge surfing” asks us to do something surprisingly simple instead: notice the craving, stay with the discomfort – and let it rise and fall like a wave rather than satisfying it. The approach has been around for years, but it is finding life beyond addiction clinics in conversations about all kinds of compulsive behaviours. Its roots lie in the work... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3359120/what-urge-surfing-and-how-does-it-help-beat-addiction-and-break-bad-habits https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3359120/what-urge-surfing-and-how-does-it-help-beat-addiction-and-break-bad-habits Fri, 03 Jul 2026 23:15:04 +0000 The Korea Times The Korea Times A viral YouTube video, a one-star review on a delivery app, a heated post on a parenting community – all of these will fall under the same legal standard in South Korea starting next Tuesday. The revised Information and Communications Network Act, widely known as the “fake news” law, introduces punitive damages for YouTubers with more than 100,000 subscribers and high-traffic TikTok accounts if they display what authorities define as “unlawful” content. Platforms such as Naver, Kakao, Google and... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/3358967/south-korea-fake-news-law-triggers-free-speech-censorship-fears https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/3358967/south-korea-fake-news-law-triggers-free-speech-censorship-fears Wed, 01 Jul 2026 01:32:41 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Stand on the pedestrian crossing outside McDonald’s in Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur, and you will understand something about how travel works in the 21st century. To the office workers and taxi drivers streaming past, it is just another junction in Malaysia’s biggest city. Yet Chinese tourists will often stop at the side of the intersection, phones raised, capturing a sight only RedNote taught them to see. This is the new geography of Malaysian tourism: shaped less by guidebooks or travel agents... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3358520/why-malaysias-tourism-boom-lives-and-dies-chinese-app https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3358520/why-malaysias-tourism-boom-lives-and-dies-chinese-app Sun, 28 Jun 2026 00:00:15 +0000 Reuters Reuters Australia said on Saturday it would double the maximum penalty it can impose on tech firms found to have failed to uphold a groundbreaking social media ban for children, as evidence mounts that the ban has had little effect on teen use. The government will also strengthen the information-gathering powers of its internet regulator, the eSafety Commissioner, allowing it to compel social media companies ‌to provide evidence of what they have done to stop under-16s from getting an account. Under the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/australasia/article/3358615/australia-pm-too-many-children-social-media-ban-too-easy-avoid https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/australasia/article/3358615/australia-pm-too-many-children-social-media-ban-too-easy-avoid Sat, 27 Jun 2026 13:21:55 +0000 Faye Bradley Faye Bradley For Chinese consumers, the journey from “I want” to “I buy” often happens in a single thumb-scroll. It is what Ashley Dudarenok, founder of Chinese digital consultancy ChoZan, calls a “closed loop” – a seamless ecosystem of discovery, evaluation and purchase that collapses the traditional marketing funnel. On platforms such as Douyin, RedNote and WeChat, the boundaries between content, community and commerce have largely disappeared. “A consumer can watch a live streamed video, read the reviews,... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/special-reports/article/3358153/chinas-douyin-wechat-and-rednote-are-rewriting-marketing-rules https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/special-reports/article/3358153/chinas-douyin-wechat-and-rednote-are-rewriting-marketing-rules Wed, 24 Jun 2026 23:00:05 +0000 Nina Milhaud Nina Milhaud Influencing – the act of changing how people think or behave – is a powerful tool that humans have been using for millennia to cooperate, organise and form social cohesion. As far back as the 5th century BC, the Sophists were famous in ancient Greece for their rhetorical skill and art of persuasion. During the 19th century, the emergence of an early mass media sparked the development of professionalised influence via public relations and advertising. In the last couple of decades, the internet... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/special-reports/article/3358175/how-influencer-marketing-reshaping-brand-strategies-hong-kong https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/special-reports/article/3358175/how-influencer-marketing-reshaping-brand-strategies-hong-kong Wed, 24 Jun 2026 22:30:05 +0000 Iris Deng Iris Deng A group of Chinese developers has filed a complaint against Apple over its allegedly “unfair” App Store commission rates to China’s market watchdog, in a fresh challenge to the US tech giant’s lucrative smartphone ecosystem. The 48 iOS developers claimed that Apple failed to fulfil its promise to offer the lowest commission rate to the Chinese market, according to an open letter to China’s State Administration for Market Regulation. The developers asked the antitrust regulator to investigate and... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3358024/apple-faces-fresh-antitrust-complaint-chinese-developers-over-unfair-app-store-fees https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3358024/apple-faces-fresh-antitrust-complaint-chinese-developers-over-unfair-app-store-fees Tue, 23 Jun 2026 06:00:56 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Government workers in different parts of Afghanistan have started switching off their smartphones, following an order imposed on Wednesday that they said came from Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada. A letter announcing the ban on smartphones for all government employees started circulating on social media last week under the emblem of the Supreme Court, which has not responded to requests to comment. “All the heads of departments in their respective provinces are advised to inform their... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3357466/afghan-government-workers-face-sack-jail-after-smartphone-ban-begins https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3357466/afghan-government-workers-face-sack-jail-after-smartphone-ban-begins Wed, 17 Jun 2026 13:36:29 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Ant Group has unveiled the biggest overhaul of Alipay in two decades, transforming its ubiquitous mobile-payment app into a native AI platform with autonomous agents, as it strives to dominate China’s next-generation internet gateway. A trial version of the flagship app now features an interactive assistant named “Ah Bao”, marking a strategic pivot from a traditional digital wallet into an AI-driven ecosystem. Accessible via a right swipe on the homepage, the new interface allows users to access... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3357307/ni-hao-ah-bao-chinas-alipay-gets-ai-agent-overhaul-challenge-big-tech-rivals https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/tech/big-tech/article/3357307/ni-hao-ah-bao-chinas-alipay-gets-ai-agent-overhaul-challenge-big-tech-rivals Tue, 16 Jun 2026 10:05:06 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Britain will ban children under 16 from using a range of social media apps including Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube to protect young people from harmful content and excessive screen time, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday. Starmer told a news conference that he will fight back if technology companies resist the move, and acknowledged some teens would try to find their way around a ban. But he said he is “not prepared to compromise on the safety and happiness of our children”. “Every... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3357181/uk-ban-under-16s-social-media-apps-including-tiktok-youtube https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3357181/uk-ban-under-16s-social-media-apps-including-tiktok-youtube Mon, 15 Jun 2026 10:45:00 +0000 Kyodo Kyodo Crying without a clear reason can be a major source of anxiety for parents. As families look for new ways to navigate the uncertainty of early childcare, Japanese developers are rolling out AI-powered tools designed to identify the possible causes of a baby’s distress. One of them is Babylingual, a free app released in March by Moto Numazawa, a 25-year-old father in the Kanagawa prefecture city of Chigasaki, near Tokyo. In late April, Numazawa held his smartphone up to his three-month-old son,... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/3356870/baby-hungry-sleepy-or-just-unhappy-these-japanese-apps-help-interpret-cries https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/3356870/baby-hungry-sleepy-or-just-unhappy-these-japanese-apps-help-interpret-cries Fri, 12 Jun 2026 06:44:58 +0000