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Taliban order ban on smartphones as officials shown destroying devices
Directive aimed at government workers, but reports of wider implementation spark warnings of future Afghanistan-wide prohibition The Taliban have ordered a sweeping ban on the use of smartphones by government officials – in what some analysts say could foreshadow broader, population-level restrictions. In a directive issued by the Taliban’s military courts and reviewed by the…
Norway’s state telecoms firm accused of helping Myanmar regime seize activists
Lawsuit in Norway alleges Telenor passed on data helping Myanmar military arrest 1,200 activists, some in safe houses When even two weeks of torture could not force Aung Thu to betray his fellow anti-coup activists, his military interrogators in Myanmar tried something different: they asked a Norwegian telecoms company, Telenor, then the largest one operating…
Tech billionaires fly in for Delhi AI expo as Modi jostles to lead in south
Google, Anthropic and OpenAI bosses to mingle with global south leaders wrestling for control over technology Silicon Valley tech billionaires will land in Delhi this week for an AI summit hosted by India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, where leaders of the global south will wrestle for control over the fast-developing technology. During the week-long AI…
Indian order to preload state-owned app on smartphones sparks political outcry
Apple among big tech companies reportedly refusing to install Sanchar Saathi cybersecurity app on their devices A political outcry has erupted in India after the government mandated large technology companies to install a state-owned app on smartphones that has led to surveillance fears among opposition MPs and activists. Manufacturers including Apple, Samsung and Xiomi have…
India orders phone makers to preload devices with state-owned cyber safety app
Critics voice concern as government says its Sanchar Saathi app combats cybersecurity threats for 1.2bn telecom users India’s telecoms ministry has privately asked smartphone makers to preload all new devices with a state-owned cybersecurity app that cannot be deleted, a government order showed, a move likely to antagonise Apple and privacy advocates. In tackling a…
Foreign interference or opportunistic grifting: why are so many pro-Trump X accounts based in Asia?
A new feature on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter allows users to see the location of other accounts. It has resulted in a firestorm of recriminations When X rolled out a new feature revealing the locations of popular accounts, the company was acting to boost transparency and clamp down on disinformation. The…