Colombia’s Constitutional Court has ruled that Meta, the parent company of Instagram, violated the freedom of expression of adult content actress Esperanza Gómez by deleting her Instagram account without clear justification. The court found that Meta’s action lacked transparency and was inconsistent in applying its policies on nudity and sexual content, as other similar accounts remained active. Gómez, a prominent figure in Colombia’s adult entertainment industry with over five million followers, argued that the account closure hindered her professional activities and was influenced by her work outside the platform. The court emphasized that social media posts are protected under Colombia’s constitution and should only be restricted proportionately. It ordered Meta to revise Instagram’s terms of use and privacy policy to ensure users are informed about moderation decision challenges and to clarify rules on implicit sexual content. The court also highlighted that if offline activities are used for content moderation, they must be explicitly stated. While the court did not specify sanctions or redress for Gómez, this ruling follows similar legal actions in South America, such as Brazil’s Supreme Court holding social media platforms directly accountable for illegal content. Meta has not yet responded to the ruling.
分类： technology
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How AI is helping some small-scale farmers weather a changing climate
In the wake of Cyclone Freddy’s devastation in 2023, Alex Maere, a 59-year-old farmer from Malawi, faced the loss of his farm and livelihood. The catastrophic floods stripped his land of fertile soil, leaving behind a barren wasteland of sand and rocks. Once producing 850 kilograms of corn annually to support his family, Maere salvaged a mere 8 kilograms from the wreckage. Determined to adapt, he turned to an AI chatbot developed by Opportunity International, a non-profit organization, for farming advice. Supported by the Malawi government, the AI tool suggested Maere diversify his crops by growing potatoes alongside corn and cassava. Following the guidance, Maere cultivated half a soccer field’s worth of potatoes, earning over $800 in sales and securing his children’s education. This success story highlights the transformative potential of AI in sub-Saharan Africa, where smallholder farms account for 70-80% of the food supply. Despite challenges like language diversity, low literacy, and poor digital infrastructure, AI is empowering farmers with critical insights on crop diseases, drought forecasting, and yield optimization. The Ulangizi app, accessible via WhatsApp and available in Chichewa and English, bridges the gap for farmers without smartphones through on-the-ground support agents. However, scaling up remains a hurdle due to limited internet access and affordability. Trust in AI is fragile, as inaccurate advice could devastate already vulnerable farmers. Yet, by combining AI with traditional community collaboration, Malawi is fostering resilience and productivity in its agriculture sector.
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New technology may confirm destruction at Iran’s Fordow nuke site
A groundbreaking study utilizing cutting-edge hyperspectral imaging technology has provided new insights into the extent of damage inflicted on Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility. The analysis, conducted by Orbital Sidekick (OSK) Inc., employed its Global Hyperspectral Observation Satellite (GHOSt) constellation to assess the aftermath of a U.S. military strike codenamed ‘Operation Midnight Hammer’ on June 22, 2025. The findings suggest that the facility, officially known as the Shahid Ali Mohammadi Nuclear Facility, suffered ‘extremely severe damage and destruction,’ particularly to its underground enrichment halls. The GHOSt system, which leverages hyperspectral imaging (HSI) and advanced data analytics, identified significant subsidence and concrete debris pushed to the surface, indicating potential structural collapse. This marks a significant leap in satellite technology’s ability to monitor and analyze critical infrastructure and military targets. The study also highlights the evolution of satellite imaging from the Landsat era, which began in 1972, to today’s sophisticated systems capable of providing detailed environmental and situational awareness. The implications of such technology extend beyond military applications, offering potential uses in agriculture, infrastructure monitoring, and environmental management. However, the commercial nature of these systems raises concerns about their accessibility to potential adversaries, underscoring the dual-use dilemma of advanced satellite technology.
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One Tech Tip: No more lost cats and dogs. Use tech to track your pet
In London, the question ‘Have you seen the cats?’ is a familiar one in many households, especially for pet owners like myself with free-roaming felines like Maple and Juniper. These cats, equipped with microchips, explore the neighborhood freely, but their adventures can sometimes lead to anxiety for their owners. Fortunately, advancements in pet technology offer solutions to keep track of our furry friends. Pet trackers, such as those from Tractive, Jiobit, and Pawfit, use GPS and 4G or Wi-Fi signals to relay the animal’s location to a smartphone app. These devices, tailored for both dogs and cats, allow owners to set safe zones and receive alerts if their pets wander beyond these boundaries. While the cost of these devices is generally under $100, subscription fees for cellular service can add up, but many find the peace of mind worth the expense. Battery life varies, with most lasting two to three days, though signal strength can impact this. Beyond location tracking, these apps offer health and activity monitoring, similar to fitness watches for humans. However, it’s important to note that these trackers won’t physically restrain pets; they merely alert owners when pets leave designated areas. For those who prefer alternatives, Bluetooth trackers like Apple’s Air Tags or Samsung’s SmartTags offer another option, though they are not specifically designed for pets and have limited range. Ultimately, whether through GPS trackers or microchips, technology is providing pet owners with innovative ways to ensure their pets’ safety and well-being.
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Ex-Japan PM urges tech collaboration with China
Former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has called for enhanced technological collaboration between Japan and China, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. Speaking at the Shanghai Forum 2025, Hatoyama emphasized the complementary strengths of the two nations, with Japan excelling in precision and fundamental materials, and China demonstrating robust organizational capabilities and industrial achievements. He highlighted China’s rapid advancements in AI and robotics, noting that the country has achieved a world-leading position in these fields. Hatoyama also pointed out the potential for mutual benefits through a macro-micro partnership, leveraging each country’s unique advantages. He stressed the importance of adhering to historical agreements in Sino-Japanese relations and called for a reconsideration of Japan’s strategic alignment with the United States. Hatoyama proposed the establishment of a mechanism to regulate competition between China and the U.S. in technology fields, advocating for collaborative efforts involving Japan, South Korea, and European countries. The forum, themed ‘Age of innovation: Technology, development and governance,’ brought together over 500 participants from more than 50 countries and regions, fostering discussions on global technological advancements and governance.
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New Mediterranean cable set to bring 5G internet to North African countries
A groundbreaking digital infrastructure project is poised to revolutionize connectivity across North Africa’s Mediterranean coastline. The Medusa subsea cable, spanning 8,700 kilometers, will become the first submarine cable to link all five North African nations—Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt—with southern Europe and potentially onward to Asia.
Scheduled for operational deployment in the eastern Mediterranean by 2025 and the western segment by 2026, this €370 million project addresses critical bandwidth limitations that have hampered the region’s digital growth. While Morocco functions as a major cable hub for Europe-West Africa traffic and Egypt serves as a crucial Europe-Asia gateway, the intermediate nations of Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya have relied on aging infrastructure incapable of handling modern bandwidth demands.
The project represents a remarkable triumph over significant geopolitical challenges. Algeria and Morocco maintain severed diplomatic relations since 2021, with borders closed since 1994 due to the Western Sahara dispute. Libya remains divided between rival administrations following a decade of civil conflict. Regional cooperation has been further hampered by post-Arab Spring instability and uncompetitive telecommunications markets.
European Union funding through its Global Gateway strategy—a €320 billion initiative positioned as an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative—has been instrumental in advancing the project. The EU and European Investment Bank are providing partial financing for Medusa, recognizing North Africa’s strategic importance due to its geographical proximity.
Miguel Angel Acero, Vice-President of Operations at project developer AFR-IX Telecom, emphasizes the cable’s educational benefits: “It will connect North African universities to Europe, which is really needed. It’s in the interest of Europe to reinforce the university level in Africa.”
The cable operates on a “carriers’ carrier” model, providing infrastructure for telecom companies rather than functioning as a consortium or proprietary cable for tech giants. This approach has enabled cooperation among historically adversarial regional telecom providers. As submarine cable consultant Julian Rawle explains: “They are simply providing ‘dumb’ cables for others to use, and relying on the margins they make from wholesale activity.”
Despite significantly bolstering internet capacity and enabling 5G deployment, analysts don’t anticipate consumer price reductions due to market concentration among few telecom providers. Guy Zibi of Xalam Analytics notes: “These markets generate between a quarter to a third of all Africa’s data traffic. It’s a significant base, but well controlled by a small number of providers.”
The cable’s economic impact will vary across the region, with Morocco’s more open investment climate likely yielding greatest benefits. While the project may stimulate country-level e-commerce, it isn’t expected to drive regional economic integration or immediately transform North Africa into a digital hub comparable to Saudi Arabia or the UAE.
Future expansion plans include extending the cable through Egypt to the Red Sea, though current regional instability presents challenges. The project represents a landmark achievement in digital infrastructure that could reshape North Africa’s technological future despite complex geopolitical realities.
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How Saudi Arabia is redrawing the map of the future with fibre-optic cables
The global digital infrastructure faces a monumental shift as Saudi Arabia emerges as a formidable challenger to Egypt’s long-standing dominance in intercontinental internet connectivity. For decades, Egypt has controlled what experts describe as the ‘digital Suez Canal’—a critical bottleneck where an estimated 17-30% of worldwide internet traffic traverses through the Red Sea corridor linking Europe to Asia.
This strategic advantage enabled state-owned Telecom Egypt to maintain what industry analysts characterize as a monopolistic pricing structure, charging operators equivalent fees for transiting Egyptian territory as other providers charge for the substantially longer Singapore-Mediterranean route. Paul Brodsky, senior analyst at TeleGeography, notes that Egypt has represented ‘a single point of failure for cables running between Europe and Asia, the Middle East and East Africa’—the ‘white whale of the subsea cable business’ that operators have long sought to circumvent.
The geopolitical landscape began shifting dramatically with the 2020 Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel, UAE, and Bahrain. This diplomatic breakthrough catalyzed ambitious infrastructure projects designed to bypass Egyptian territory. Google’s $400 million Blue-Raman project exemplifies this trend, utilizing a segmented cable system connecting Europe to Israel, then crossing terrestrially to Jordan before linking to Saudi Arabia. The Raman component will land at Duba, Saudi Arabia—just 25km from the $500 billion Neom megaproject—before extending to Aqaba, Jordan.
Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 economic diversification strategy aggressively pursues regional digital hub status. The state-owned Saudi Telecom Company has committed $1 billion to develop the MENA Hub, while simultaneously advancing the Saudi Vision Cable along the kingdom’s western coastline. According to TeleGeography data, six new cables will land in Saudi Arabia within three years, including Meta’s massive 45,000-km 2Africa cable connecting Jeddah, Yanbu, and Duba.
The most revolutionary development comes from privately-developed Trans Europe Asia System (TEAS), which proposes a predominantly terrestrial route across Saudi Arabia. This unprecedented approach would completely avoid the Red Sea, though industry experts note significant technical challenges regarding desert installation and maintenance requirements. Julian Rawle, a submarine fiber-optic consultant, observes that while the route through sparsely populated desert along GCC Interconnection Authority rights-of-way reduces risks, the project faces substantial implementation hurdles.
Market analysts suggest that Saudi Arabia must avoid Egypt’s pitfalls by maintaining competitive pricing and investing in hub infrastructure rather than merely functioning as a conduit. The emerging competition between UAE and Saudi Arabia for regional digital supremacy may ultimately benefit operators through market-driven pricing and enhanced network resilience across East-West connections.