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Internet
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Internet. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
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Iran

Video | Iran shuts down internet amid growing protests

The latest unrest, sparked by Iran’s worsening economy, has led to the deaths of at least 35 people.

Artificial intelligence

‘Leading us down a pretty dark path’: AI under the spotlight at CES 2026

China stock market

China stocks to see 20% upside on AI boom, overseas expansion: Goldman Sachs

Fame and celebrity

Are stars like Charli XCX and Sabrina Carpenter making smoking cool again?

Smoking is all over pop star imagery and lyrics, but its revival as a glamorous accessory faces pushback from experts.

Sabrina Carpenter holds a Louis Vuitton cigar. Photo: @sabrinacarpenter/Instagram
Sri Lanka

‘Show your kinky side’: Sri Lanka probes syllabus error linking to gay site

Education chief quits as police probe ‘Bad Boys Club’ link in 400,000 English text books – since recalled. Officials suspect sabotage, AI errors.

Malaysia

Malaysia moves to regulate WhatsApp, Facebook and others under online safety law

The decision to deem major platforms licensed regardless of application closes a regulatory gap, but questions remain over enforcement.

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Semiconductors

Nvidia asks chipmaker TSMC to ramp up H200 production amid China demand: sources

Chinese tech companies place orders for more than 2 million H200 chips for 2026, according to sources.

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The exact additional volume of H200 chips Nvidia intends to order from semiconductor foundry TSMC remains unclear. Photo: Shutterstock
Social media

Opinion | West is getting on the same page as China for children’s social media use

Governments face the same problem: how to let young people grow up in a connected world, around products not designed with their well-being in mind.

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Hong Kong society

Opinion | Hong Kong’s new legislators must strengthen child protection laws

The city’s children need better legal protection from cruelty, sexual grooming and internet advances.

Social media

US hits 5 Europeans with visa bans in ‘censorship’ row

Former EU commissioner is among those barred as the US targets individuals it says are involved in censoring US social media platforms.

The most high-profile target was French ‌former business executive Thierry Breton, who served as the European commissioner. Photo: dpa
Cybersecurity

China’s Kuaishou hit by breach as explicit content floods live-streaming rooms

Short-video platform’s services are thrown into chaos on Monday night after the cyberattack it blames on ‘black and grey industries’.

Explicit content flooded Kuaishou’s high-traffic live rooms for more than an hour on Monday night, reports say. Photo: Shutterstock
Fashion

Hanan Besovic on American Vogue and Duran Lantink’s Jean Paul Gaultier debut

Fashion influencer @ideservecouture doesn’t need your approval: ‘As long as I have Wi-fi, I can talk about fashion. I don’t need the degree’.

E-commerce

China bans e-commerce platforms from forcing lowest prices or abusing algorithms

Beijing moves to protect consumers and merchants, with new 29-article regulation tightening oversight of the fast-growing digital economy.

Gun violence in the US

Will homeless man who helped FBI find Brown shooter get US$50,000 reward?

Investigators struggled for days to locate the suspect – until they got a tip about a Reddit post by a man living in the building’s basement.

A poster seeking information about the shooting suspect is seen on the campus of Brown University on Wednesday. Photo: AP
Chinese culture

Language Matters | Word of the Year 2025 choices reflect how virtual our reality has become

From Oxford’s ‘rage bait’ to Macquarie Dictionary’s ‘AI slop’, 2025 WOTYs show the influence of the virtual world on our daily lives.

Word of the Year 2025 choices around the world – including Oxford’s “rage bait” and Cambridge Dictionary’s “parasocial” – reflect the increasing influence that artificial intelligence has on everyday life. Photo: Shutterstock
Gun violence in the US

How right-wing misinformation hurt the Brown University shooting investigation

Unfounded claims that the gunman was a Palestinian student flooded social media, complicating the probe.

United States

‘The wheels fell off’: Coldplay kiss cam woman breaks silence

Kristin Cabot shares the fallout, online hate, and life after her viral jumbotron embrace with ex-Astronomer CEO Andy Byron.

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Technology

Opinion | Why AI chatbots are unlikely to bring about human extinction

Stories of chatbots behaving in surprising ways are fuelling the rise of ‘AI doomers’ who warn of the risk of human extinction. This extreme view is misguided.

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Photo: Reuters
Artificial intelligence

ByteDance AI model usage grows over tenfold on strong demand from Chinese firms

‘AI is being adopted at an unprecedented speed,’ Tan Dai, president at cloud unit Volcano Engine, says.

Australia

Why Southeast Asia’s move to protect children online may fuel state surveillance

Measures to rein in tech companies risk opening the door to tighter state oversight of online platforms, analysts say.

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Artificial intelligence

Tencent shakes up AI operations, names recent recruit as chief AI scientist

Vinces Yao Shunyu now serves as chief AI scientist under the CEO’s office, reporting directly to Tencent president Martin Lau.

Tencent Holdings’ latest restructuring underscored the intense competition in the country’s fast-developing AI sector. Photo: Shutterstock
E-commerce

No ‘lowest-price’ requirement: China warns platforms on monopolistic tactics

Regulators tell platforms that demanding the ‘lowest price’ from vendors may not be permitted under new draft guidelines.

Chinese regulators are warning platforms that demanding the “lowest price” from vendors may be deemed monopolistic under new draft guidelines. Photo: Shutterstock
Artificial intelligence

Video | Japanese woman marries AI partner

Woman says she developed feelings for and decided to marry a chatbot she created and calibrated following her break-up with a human fiancé.

Australia

‘Terrified’ Sydney man with same name misidentified as Bondi gunman

After an online photo was shared thousands of times with ‘terrible’ comments, the young man pleaded for ‘help to stop this propaganda’.

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Social media

Video | How a block of online text led to a cafe’s viral stardom

Tai Bo Cafe in Yuen Long has gone viral online thanks to a copypasta trend on Threads recommending their meat patties, and have seen customers from as far as Macau.

Yuen Long cafe’s meat patties skyrockets to fame after viral online copypasta trend
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Scams and swindles

How the global grey market in SIM cards powers fraud and influence

How much does an army of bots cost? A new study reveals how likes and clout are bought.

Research has shown how SIM cards from the grey market are powering bot armies that fill social media with fake likes and comments to manipulate users and deliberately steer trends. Photo: dpa
Australia

Opinion | Australia’s social media ban offers a path between excess and inaction

For policymakers elsewhere, Canberra’s approach to children’s social media use isn’t a model to copy but one to learn from.

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South Korea

South Korea mandates labels on AI-generated adverts to curb deepfakes

Platforms like YouTube and Facebook must ensure compliance with AI labels, or face punitive fines for non-compliance and label tampering.

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