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Internet

Internet
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Internet. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
The new rules would ban online platforms from providing ‘virtual relatives or companions’. Photo: dpa
Artificial intelligence

China plans to ban ‘intimate’ AI companions for teenagers

The latest proposals come two months after China introduced its first dedicated rules governing humanlike AI interaction.

South Korea

South Korea wants free ‘AI for All’. Is society ready?

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Japan

Video | Japan’s ‘Suica penguin’ to be replaced in public vote

Hong Kong children

Letters | Hong Kong must put child safety on the development agenda

Readers discuss the danger of child sexual exploitation shifting online, and the Hong Kong dollar peg.

The landscape of child sexual exploitation is rapidly shifting online. Photo: DPA
Mainland China

China targets ‘toxic’ traffic as viral sensations upend daily life and services

From content creators to organised fan groups, state media and local authorities urge greater awareness of boundaries and restraint.

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Robotics

Video | Robots protest to demand AI regulation

Poland’s Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski met with the robot protesters to hear their demands regarding industrial AI usage.

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Mental health

Opinion | Social media must join the fight against teen suicides

The causes are complex, and home and school problems are major factors, but the digital environment is a significant amplifier of distress.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Singapore

Singapore probes ‘nasty’ racism over China-Nepal flood, Air India investment

Minister K Shanmugam has asked police to look at an ‘online mob’ after various comments, including missing Singaporeans being ‘not our own’.

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Artificial intelligence

‘Slop’ purge: Chinese watchdog scrubs millions of harmful AI posts

Clampdown sweeps across 2,400 websites and apps as cyberspace watchdog escalates fight against generative tech abuse.

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Artificial intelligence

Chinese internet giants set to reap AI profits in 2 to 3 years, UBS says

Despite short term macro headwinds, vast user bases and costs are positioning Chinese firms for gains.

Visitors tour exhibition booths at the China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing on June 25. Photo: AP
Singapore

Singapore may require social media firms to set daily time limits for teens

If a social media platform does not want to introduce stronger safeguards, Singapore may require it to raise the minimum age of access to 18.

A group of students attending class in a school in Singapore. Photo: Shutterstock
Get to Know

Meet Fernando Lindez, star of The Last Sunrise

Before featuring alongside Maia Reficco in Amazon Prime Video’s romantic drama, Lindez made his runway debut at Milan Fashion Week – where he met Donatella Versace.

Crime in Hong Kong

Lawyer warns against doxxing after AIA employee suspended over mall brawl

Internet users identified and circulated employee’s personal details, including her name and profession after viral play-area brawl.

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The Philippines

Philippine Roblox ban call sparks wider debate over children’s online safety

The online gaming platform has been blamed for the rise in school shootings and child sexual exploitation cases in Southeast Asia.

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A boy plays Roblox in front of a screen displaying the platform’s logo on December 8, 2025. Photo: Reuters
Get to Know

Meet rising Slovak pop star Adéla’s boyfriend, music producer Jackson Shanks

He has been dating the rising Slovak pop star and ‘Ain’t In LA’ singer for a year, having first been spotted together at a Sabrina Carpenter concert last November.

Pop star Adéla Jergová and music producer Jackson Shanks have been dating for a year. Photo: @myleshendrik/Instagram
Zohran Mamdani

Video | Malaysians appeal to Zohran Mamdani for government action

The campaign began after a social media user posted video of a battered road he frequently uses that caused him to crash.

European Union

Sword attack that killed 1 at Sweden high school prompts social media probe

Police are investigating whether the teenager who carried out the attack was involved in online communities promoting school violence.

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US-China relations

TikTok, ByteDance agree to US$400 million settlement with US government

TikTok will pay US$300 million immediately and an additional US$100 million after entering an order vacating a prior consent decree.

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The US Justice Department and TikTok reached a US$400 million settlement to resolve allegations that the social-media company violated laws meant to protect children’s online privacy rights. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/TNS
Scams and swindles

Asia faces scam ‘epidemic’ threat as gangs exploit agentic AI, analyst warns

The technology could allow scam syndicates to carry out multiple tasks to cheat victims at the same time without needing human intervention.

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China’s private sector

China clears Geely for landmark satellite test to spur commercial space drive

Geespace secures a two-year satellite IoT trial from MIIT, the first approval for a private Chinese firm.

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Mainland China

Video | Live eels spill out on train floor in China

Viral video shows passengers trying, but failing, to retrieve the slippery eels from the floor of the commuter train.

Viral video shows passengers trying, but failing, to retrieve the slippery eels from the floor of the commuter train
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The Philippines

Live-streamed Philippine school shooting raises alarm over ‘memetic violence’

Analysts say the Zamboanga attack appears to fit a pattern of violence shaped by online spectacle, imitation and the pursuit of notoriety.

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Philippine police (L) patrol the area around the Ateneo de Zamboanga University Junior High School building in Zamboanga City, Philippines, on Tuesday. Photo: EPA
Get to Know

Who is The Rizzler? Meet the viral 10-year-old Christian Joseph

The viral internet meme personality, who rose to fame after wearing a Black Panther costume, has appeared on Jimmy Fallon’s show and met John Cena.

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Asean

AI threatens nearly a quarter of Southeast Asia’s workforce but not all is lost

Being most exposed to AI does not mean that jobs would be replaced – just that some could move up the value chain or evolve, analysts say.

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Food and Drinks

Interview: Nick and Henry Burch on Butter Baby’s mad, whimsical universe

Founded by the American fashion designer’s twin sons, the Jakarta doughnut phenomenon counts Jackson Wang and North West among its fans.

Henry (left) and Nick Burch attend the opening of Butter Baby’s store at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia, in June 2026. Photo: Handout
US-China relations

Daughter of ‘Chinese Schindler’ protests use of his legacy to sell homes

Manli Ho condemns real estate site for invoking her father’s rescue of Jews to promote US$40,000 houses in his Chinese hometown.

Ho Feng-shan served in China’s diplomatic corps for nearly four decades. Photo: Handout
Good Schools Guide

How Hong Kong teens can be protected from appearance anxiety

Body image anxiety among young people is on the rise in the city and around the world – is social media solely to blame, and what can parents do?

United States

Meta ordered in US to pay US$567 million to address child safety harms

Company says it will appeal after a New Mexico judge directs funds to youth mental health programmes and orders app changes.

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