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The latest news, analysis and opinion on Internet. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
The building of Douyin Group in Chengdu, Sichuan province, seen on March 11, 2024. Photo: Shutterstock
ByteDance

ByteDance’s China head of content quality leaves amid stricter censorship

Li Tong, who led Douyin’s content quality team, is no longer listed in ByteDance’s internal employee system, according to sources.

Malaysia

Malaysia assures users their privacy is protected in mobile data grab

Good Schools Guide

Tackling social media’s impact on teens’ mental health

Asean

My Take | Can Southeast Asia contain growing threat of cyber scams?

An unprecedented level of coordination is required to tackle such crimes as Southeast Asian economies become more digitalised.

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A recent UN report estimated that cyber-enabled fraud cost East and Southeast Asia nearly US$40 billion in 2023. Photo: Shutterstock
Censorship in China

China will drop the Great Firewall for some users, but only in southern Hainan

Employees of companies operating in the island province can apply for the ‘Global Connect’ scheme, but some content will remain restricted.

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France

Porn sites block access in France in protest against new restrictions

Instead of their usual content, Pornhub, Redtube and Youporn will display a statement about the country’s new age verification rules.

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The Philippines

US sanctions Philippine tech firm over ‘pig butchering’ romance scams

Funnull Technology’s infrastructure supported more than 332,000 domain names linked to cryptocurrency scams, US Treasury Department says.

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Pig butchering scams typically involve trafficked workers assuming fake identities to lure victims into online relationships. Photo: Handout
E-commerce

Alibaba, JD.com sales surge during 618 festival, thanks to subsidy programme

Preliminary data shows Apple, Xiaomi, Huawei, Midea and Haier each rang up sales of over US$13.9 million on the two shopping platforms.

Microsoft

Microsoft wants to remake the internet, and AI agents are key to its plan

Microsoft has big plans for the internet, such as using AI agents instead of Google Search to find information, book holidays or buy stuff.

Hong Kong society

What does Hong Kong’s obsession with ‘Mr and Mrs Ho’ say about society?

Analysts say fascination with internet couple goes beyond curiosity over age-gap romance, but warn that residents should not be quick to judge.

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The couple first garnered media attention last year during a whirlwind romance that saw the 77-year-old “Mr Ho” tie the knot with the 44-year-old “Mrs Ho” within a month of meeting each other. Photo: YouTube/channelattack
Singapore

How is Singapore’s fake news law applied?

Correction orders against misinformation are issued in the ‘public interest’ under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act.

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The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act, introduced in 2019, guards against misinformation in Singapore. Photo: Shutterstock
E-commerce

PDD faces profit challenge amid Trump tariffs, domestic e-commerce competition

‘Macroeconomic uncertainties and significant investments in the ecosystem’ are expected to continue affecting PDD’s earnings outlook, UBS analysts say.

Malaysia

Malaysia’s home minister ridiculed after his WhatsApp account hacked

Critics question how Saifuddin Nasution can keep the country safe if he cannot even secure his own phone.

E-commerce

China looks to rein in e-commerce platform commissions, support small businesses

New draft rules from China’s top market regulator would limit commission fees charged by e-commerce platforms, with a focus on supporting small businesses.

Workers sort packages for delivery at a JD.com warehouse in Beijing on November 11, 2024. Photo: AFP
E-commerce

Meituan revenue jumps 18% in first quarter

The Chinese on-demand delivery giant beat expectations, as it fends off rivals Alibaba and JD.com.

People walk past a logo of Meituan at its booth at the 2022 World Robot Conference in Beijing on August 18, 2022. Photo: Reuters
Alibaba

Alibaba CEO doubles down on plans for ‘unified global cloud network’

Eddie Wu sees Alibaba Cloud providing the ‘best AI technical services’ to support Chinese enterprises’ global expansion.

E-commerce

Apple, Huawei, Xiaomi lead China’s top-500 ranking of consumer brands, report finds

The rankings were based on domestic consumers’ online purchase behaviour, according to a Peking University report.

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Artificial intelligence

Meet Chinese start-up Xreal, Google’s partner in AR glasses project

Project Aura provides a big boost to Xreal’s credentials in the smart glasses arena, while widening its reach in the international market.

The Project Aura eyewear from Xreal and Google is expected to compete with other augmented reality spectacles from the likes of Meta Platforms, Orion and Artemis. Photo: Handout
Alibaba

Alibaba lands US$250 million convertible bonds deal with selfie app giant Meitu

The strategic collaboration is expected to serve as ‘the foundation of a long-term partnership’ between Meitu and Alibaba.

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Indonesia

Indonesia’s online porn crackdown nets 380,000 content removals

Authorities have also blocked dozens of social media groups and accounts, including some promoting incest and child porn.

Science

China makes first 5G satellite-to-phone video call. Will it defy TikTok curbs?

Breakthrough enabling streaming video content directly to phones via satellites would face significant regulatory, technology hurdles, experts say.

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The technology that allowed a satellite-to-smartphone broadband video call using 5G standards could theoretically enable streaming video content directly to phones via satellites, but it faces significant hurdles. Photo: Shutterstock
Hong Kong society

Half of Hong Kong organisations audited by watchdog collect personal data using AI

Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data says most of the organisations have contingency plans for data breaches.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data conducted compliance checks covering 60 local organisations from February to May this year. Photo: Jelly Tse
Wellness

How social media can be terrible for teens and the people fighting back

Phone and social media use have led to a youth mental health crisis and transformed teens’ lives but schools and governments are stepping in.

Tencent

How AI investments are paying off for Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent

Tencent CEO Pony Ma says strategic AI investments ‘create value for users and society’, while generating substantial returns for the firm.

Old Hong Kong

Then & Now | It’s in the mail: how postal services shaped global communication

In the not-so-distant pre-digital age, poste restante services provided a vital lifeline to home for generations of travellers.

Letters are sorted at Hong Kong’s General Post Office in 1991. Photo: SCMP
E-commerce

Beijing tells food delivery giants to simmer down as feud gets too hot to handle

Five government agencies, led by the State Administration for Market Regulation, urged the instant commerce giants to follow competition regulation.

Food delivery riders from rivals Meituan (yellow) and Ele.me (blue) rest on their motorbikes in Chongqing on December 29, 2024. Photo: Getty Images
Artificial intelligence

Alibaba pushes global adoption of Qwen3 AI models via more developer platforms

The Qwen3 family of AI models can now be deployed via large language model platforms Ollama, LM Studio, SGLang and vLLM.

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Social media

Asia-Pacific takes the lead in fight to regulate Big Tech for children

From Australia’s under-16s ban to Malaysia’s licensing demands, the region is blazing a trail to protect young users from online harms.

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