Thomas is a senior reporter at TNW. He covers European tech, with a focus on deeptech, startups, and government policy. Thomas is a senior reporter at TNW. He covers European tech, with a focus on deeptech, startups, and government policy.
Blockchain is frequently derided as a solution in search of a problem. But buried beneath the crypto scams and Web3 utopianism hide some intriguing use cases.
Some of the most powerful applications are in traceability. When embedded in supply chains, blockchain can track the entire product lifecycle, from origin to consumption. As the tech provides permanent, indelible, and unalterable records, extensive data about items and transactions can be securely stored and authenticated.
In the food sector, the benefits are particularly attractive. In one pilot project by UK startup Provenance, blockchain and smart tagging were used to track illegal tuna fishing, seafood fraud, and forced labour. As well as ensuring ethical practices, the scheme exposed blockchain’s potential for corporate auditing, tackling counterfeits, and reducing administrative costs.
In Wales, blockchain boffins have found another promising target for traceability: halal meat. In a European first, British startup iov42 is developing a data-sharing platform that provides secure records of compliance with halal standards — which are often breached by fraudulent products.
The culprits range from sole traders to international organised crime groups. One of the most notorious transgressions emerged in 2020, when a Malaysian “meat cartel” was exposed for bribing customs officials, distributing meat from uncertified slaughterhouses, and passing off kangaroo and horse flesh as halal beef.
The scandal sparked an outcry in Malaysia — where Muslims comprise about 60% of the population — and across the Islamic world. It also threatened to cause deep financial problems. Malaysia was aiming to become a global hub for the $2.3 trillion halal market, and was already exporting $9bn in halal-certified products.
iov42 is betting that blockchain can reduce the risks of such offences. By tracing produce from the farm to the table, the company aims to embed provenance tracking, boost certification schemes, and increase impartiality in the halal market.
“Our technology was designed to help improve traceability in industries just like this,” said David Coleman, Chief Product Officer at iov42.
To bring the project to life, iov42 is collaborating with certification experts at Prime UK, a Cardiff-based compliance services provider. Last week, the companies announced that they’ve attracted a cash injection from the Welsh government’s Blockchain Demonstrator Challenge Fund.
The government scheme was launched to develop the local blockchain sector. If the halal project is a success, it could provide a rare example of the real-world benefits that blockchain can bring to Wales.
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Linnea is the senior editor at TNW, having joined in April 2023. She has a background in international relations and covers clean and climat Linnea is the senior editor at TNW, having joined in April 2023. She has a background in international relations and covers clean and climate tech, AI and quantum computing. But first, coffee.
Following a decision to pull Twitter out of the EU’s (voluntary) disinformation Code of Practice last week, the reactions have not been long in coming. Upon receiving the news, the bloc’s industry chief Thierry Breton said that Twitter would still need to abide by EU rules soon enough.
Or, as Monsieur Breton put it (tweeted, in fact) when referring to the Digital Services Act (DSA), which will make fighting disinformation a legal obligation from 25 August, “You can run, but you cannot hide.”
Twitter leaves EU voluntary Code of Practice against disinformation.
But obligations remain. You can run but you can’t hide.
Beyond voluntary commitments, fighting disinformation will be legal obligation under #DSA as of August 25.
Commissioner Breton was joined in his vexation today by France’s Digital Minister Jean-Noël Barrot. As reported by Politico, Barrot stated to the radio network France Info that, should Twitter fail to follow the new (and obligatory) rules laid down by the DSA, the company would get kicked out of the European Union.
“Disinformation is one of the gravest threats weighing on our democracies,” said Barrot, as translated by Politico. “Twitter, if it repeatedly doesn’t follow our rules, will be banned from the EU.”
First-of-its-kind self-regulatory rules
The code of conduct requires companies to measure their work on combating disinformation and issue regular reports on their progress. This includes things such as demonetising the dissemination of disinformation, ensuring transparency of political advertising, enhancing the cooperation with fact-checkers, and providing researchers with better data.
Google, TikTok, Microsoft, and Meta are all voluntary signatories. Twitter, obviously, was also part of the group up until last week.
There has been no official statement (or tweet for that matter) on the decision to leave, but it seems Elon Musk has changed his mind from four years ago, which was when the industry first agreed on the self-regulatory EU rules.
In an interview at the time, he stated that, “I think there should be regulations on social media to the degree that it negatively affects the public good. We can’t have like willy-nilly proliferation of fake news, that’s crazy.”
Blocking accounts on the behest of governments has increased
A $44 billion impulse purchase or not, changes have abounded at Twitter since Elon bought it. More than supplying the accounts of dead people with little blue ticks, it would seem that the new “era of free speech” he proclaimed is highly mutable.
Since Musk’s takeover, Twitter has actually become more compliant with government authority requests, including those of India and Turkey to block journalists, foreign politicians, and even poets.
Musk has previously stated that he believes free speech to be that “which matches the law.” However, with the recent withdrawal from the disinformation code of conduct he has demonstrated he is not adverse to extracting his recently acquired company from regulations.
By “free speech”, I simply mean that which matches the law.
I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law.
If people want less free speech, they will ask government to pass laws to that effect.
Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people.
For once, it is not a tech lord threatening to leave the EU, but rather the bloc intimating that it might kick one out. Let’s see which way the DSA cookie will crumble.
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Thomas is a senior reporter at TNW. He covers European tech, with a focus on deeptech, startups, and government policy. Thomas is a senior reporter at TNW. He covers European tech, with a focus on deeptech, startups, and government policy.
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, really wants AI regulation. Truly, madly, deeply, he wants it. Because of safety and stuff. Unless, of course, it’s the type of regulation that he doesn’t want. If that’s the case, he’ll threaten to withdraw his services instead.
Altman issued the warning this week during a tour of European regulators. He said OpenAI could “cease operating” in the EU if it can’t comply with the bloc’s impending AI Act.
The 38-year-old is particularly worried about the plans for “high-risk” systems. Under the current proposals, OpenAI’s ChatGPT and GPT-4 models would both be designated high-risk, which would make them subject to extra obligations before entering the market.
Another thorny issue for OpenAI is the new rules for generative models. As it stands, the legislation will require generative AI companies to disclose any copyrighted material used to train their systems. This condition was added after an outcry from artists, who say their work is being scraped and monetised without their consent.
Altman, however, described the proposed AI Act as “over-regulating.”
“If we can comply, we will, and if we can’t, we’ll cease operating… We will try. But there are technical limits to what’s possible,” he said, according to Time.
Altman’s response has been compared to a blackmail attempt by lawmakers. Propitiously, it’s an experience that they’ve withstood before.
OpenAI is far from the first tech firm to threaten regulators with a product withdrawal.
Google has threatened to pull its search engine from Australia. WhatsApp has threatened to block its service in the UK. Meta has threatened to shut down Facebook and Instagram in Europe on multipleoccasions. Microsoft has even threatened to remove Windows from unruly US states. To date, none of the threats has been fulfilled.
In Altman’s case, the U-turn came just a day later.
“We are excited to continue to operate here and of course have no plans to leave,” he tweeted on Friday.
very productive week of conversations in europe about how to best regulate AI! we are excited to continue to operate here and of course have no plans to leave.
Altman is unlikely to be the last tech boss to backtrack on a warning to regulators. But the empty rhetoric is starting to sound like boys crying wolf.
If they want to be taken seriously, one of them should follow through on a threat — or just accept that Silicon Valley can’t always get what it wants.
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Thomas is a senior reporter at TNW. He covers European tech, with a focus on deeptech, startups, and government policy. Thomas is a senior reporter at TNW. He covers European tech, with a focus on deeptech, startups, and government policy.
GDPR turned five this week — and celebrated in customary style: by slapping Meta with another eye-watering fine.
At a record-breaking €1.2bn, the punishment was the perfect self-gift for the EU regulation. For Meta, however, it marks another miserable anniversary.
According to research by Privacy Matters, Mark Zuckerberg’s demonic brainchild has accrued over half of the €4bn in total GDPR fines.
After amassing a staggering €2.5bn across seven separate penalties, it’s safe to say that Meta won’t be attending the birthday party. But it wasn’t likely to have got an invite anyway.
The social media behemoth has been feuding with EU lawmakers for years. On multipleoccasions, the company has gone as far as threatening toshut down services in Europe over data rules.
The EU, meanwhile, have been merrily doling out fines for Meta’s data protection breaches. The majority have been delivered by the DataProtection Authority of Ireland, where Meta has its European headquarters. The regulator dished out four fines in 2022 alone.
The Facebook owner is not alone in entering GDPR’s crosshairs — but it’s been by far the most consistent target.
Amazon and Google have combined total fines of around €800 million — a figure dwarfed by Meta’s most recent fine alone. Meanwhile, Microsoft, Apple, Pinterest, and LinkedIn have never been charged.
The penalties have solidified the EU’s reputation as the West’s top tech regulator. For GDPR, that’s another cause for celebration. But for Meta, this birthday party must suck.
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Thomas is a senior reporter at TNW. He covers European tech, with a focus on deeptech, startups, and government policy. Thomas is a senior reporter at TNW. He covers European tech, with a focus on deeptech, startups, and government policy.
In a seminal moment for international data flows, the EU has fined Meta a record-breaking €1.2bn for privacy violations.
The penalty is the largest ever for a violation of GDPR, which was introduced to protect personal information. According to EU regulators, Meta broke the rules by transferring user data from the bloc to the US for processing.
The Facebook owner made these transfers on the basis of standard contractual clauses (SCCs), which govern the flow of personal data. But an EU investigation determined that SCCs don’t provide enough protection from US surveillance.
Andrea Jelinek, chair of the European Data Protection Board, called the infringement “very serious” because the transfers were systematic, repetitive, and continuous.
“Facebook has millions of users in Europe, so the volume of personal data transferred is massive,” she said. “The unprecedented fine is a strong signal to organisations that serious infringements have far-reaching consequences.”
Meta called the fine “unjustified and unnecessary” and said it would appeal the ruling.
Data borders
The intervention could prove pivotal for data transfers more broadly. Lawmakers in the EU and US are currently developing a new transatlantic Data Privacy Framework that would clarify the requirements for moving information across borders.
Nick Clegg, Meta’s head of global affairs, said the new ruling had disregarded the progress being made on this issue. He called it “a dangerous precedent” for data transfers that imperils the foundations of an open internet.
“Without the ability to transfer data across borders, the internet risks being carved up into national and regional silos, restricting the global economy and leaving citizens in different countries unable to access many of the shared services we have come to rely on,” said Clegg.
Naturally, Clegg has a vested interest in easing data flows to the US, but he’s not alone in wanting the removal of digital borders. According to Janine Regan, Legal Director for Data Protection at law firm Charles Russell Speechlys, there’s political agreement on both sides of the Atlantic to resolve the issue.
“It’s likely that an alternative transfer mechanism will be ready over the summer so that Meta does not have to completely suspend transatlantic transfers, but this will be little consolation for a company facing such a record-breaking fine,” she said.
Dangerous times for data violations
The new ruling also serves as a warning to other companies that transfer data. Chris Linnell, Principal Data Protection Consultant at cyber security firm Bridewell called it “a stark reminder” that SSCs alone don’t adequately protect personal data.
He advised all organisations to undertake transfer risk assessments when processing personal data outside of the EU. In addition, he recommends regular ongoing reviews of compliance and potential risks to data subjects.
“Ultimately, contracts in place between parties will not act as a safeguard when recipient organisations have their own legal obligations to fulfil when it comes to national surveillance laws, such as FISA in the United States,” said Linnel.
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The EU Parliament agreed last week on the world’s first comprehensive set of rules to regulate the transfer of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, as it looks to crack down on money laundering and illegal transfers in the bloc.
From 2024, all crypto transfers, regardless of amount, will be covered by the so-called ‘travel rule’ — information on the source of the asset and its beneficiary will have to travel with the transaction and be stored on both sides of the transfer.
The regulation requires firms that want to issue, trade, and safeguard crypto-assets, tokenised assets, and stablecoins in the 27-country bloc to obtain a licence.
“Recent events have confirmed the urgent need for imposing rules which will better protect Europeans who have invested in these assets, and prevent the misuse of the crypto industry for the purposes of money laundering and financing of terrorism,” saidSwedish finance minister Elisabeth Svantesson.
MiCA — as the new regulation is known — is designed to ensure that crypto transfers within the EU can be traced in much the same way as ordinary bank transfers. Furthermore, they are meant to protect investors by increasing transparency and putting in place a comprehensive framework for issuers and service providers including compliance with the anti-money laundering rules.
The new rules also require crypto-asset service providers to share mandatory information with tax authorities through an automatic exchange. However, they do not apply to person-to-person transfers conducted without a provider or among providers acting on their own behalf.
Additionally, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) will be given powers to step in and ban or restrict crypto platforms if they are seen to not properly protect investors, or threaten market integrity or financial stability.
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin trace transactions via a blockchain record. While all transactions are recorded in a publicly-accessible ledger, they can only be traced back to a user’s public key, not their real-world personal information. This pseudo-anonymity is what drew many to invest in crypto in the first place, but it poses a number of risks.
Currently, when dealing with crypto-assets, people are not covered by EU consumer protection rules and risk losing money. Furthermore, the EU fears that the widespread use of crypto could drive financial instability, market manipulation, and financial crime.
In 2022, the amount of cryptocurrency obtained either illegally or for groups or individuals to use for illicit purposes — including terrorism and human trafficking — stood at just over $20bn, according to Chainalysis, a platform that provides data on blockchain technology.
The technology also uses vast quantities of electricity: the energy consumption of bitcoin is estimated to equal that of a small country.
‘World’s first comprehensive crypto rules’
So far, policies worldwide have ranged from ignoring to fully banning the use of cryptocurrencies. The UK has outlined a phased approach, starting with stablecoins and broadening out to other crypto-assets later on, but there is no firm timeframe. Meanwhile, the US has taken somewhat of a ‘case by case’ approach to the matter like prosecuting individuals or working to recover ransomed funds.
In a departure from the global trend, MiCA is slated to be the world’s first comprehensive set of rules to regulate crypto-assets. This is part of a package of legislative proposals to strengthen the EU’s anti-money laundering and countering terrorism financing rules, presented by the Commission in 2021. The package also includes a proposal to create a new EU authority to fight money laundering.
MiCA also addresses environmental concerns surrounding crypto, with firms forced to disclose their energy consumption as well as the impact of digital assets on the environment.
Rather than scaring away crypto firms, MiCA is expected to attract both startups and prominent businesses, setting the stage for more healthy competition.
According to Reuters, crypto firms say they welcome the “certainty in regulation”, putting pressure on countries to copy the EU rules, and on regulators to come up with global norms for cross-border activity.
Brinda Paul, director of compliance at Australian crypto-asset firm Banxa, toldCryptoPotato that he believes MiCA “sets a high standard for consumer protection”, which will create a more reliable and trustworthy crypto market and “benefits customers immensely.”
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Last week Saturday, over 20 million viewers from across the UK tuned in to watch the coronation of King Charles III, making it the country’s most-watched TV event of the year. Another approximately two million took to the streets of London, under the close watch of AI.
In the lead-up to the coronation, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that it would deploy live facial recognition technology — which scans faces and matches them against a list of people wanted for alleged crimes — across central London to identify potentially dangerous individuals mingling in the crowds.
During the event, the software scanned footage from central London’s almost 1 million CCTV cameras and analysed it using an AI algorithm to identify faces that might match those on the Met’s watchlist. The sheer scale of the deployment made it the largest-ever use of live facial recognition technology in public spaces in British history.
Live facial recognition technology has been a topic of controversy in the UK in recent years due to concerns about privacy, civil liberties, and the potential for the technology to be misused.
One of the main issues is the lack of clear legal regulation around its use. “Live facial recognition is not referenced in a single UK law, has never been debated in parliament, and is one of the most privacy-intrusive technologies ever used in British policing,” said Madeleine Stone, legal and policy officer at British civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch.
Critics argue that the use of live facial recognition could lead to false positives, where innocent people are wrongly identified as suspects. There are also concerns that the technology may disproportionately impact certain groups, such as people of colour or those with disabilities, due to the potential for bias in the algorithms used to analyse the images.
The UK police resumed the use of live facial recognition last month. Credit: HM Government
As a result of these concerns, there have been calls for a moratorium on the use of live facial recognition technology until clear legal guidelines and ethical standards can be established. While some European countries have limited its use by private companies, they are reluctant to extend these restrictions to public authorities and law enforcement.
Last month, the UK police resumed the use of live facial recognition technology following research showing a ‘substantial improvement’ in its accuracy. A report from the National Physical Laboratory found that the chances of a false match were 1 in 6000. This is still far too inaccurate, say campaigners.
While the tensions around live facial recognition were on full show during the coronation, there was another emerging technology setting records: 5G.
5G is the latest wireless technology that provides faster and more reliable connectivity than its predecessor 4G and has the potential to revolutionise how we use the internet, especially for data-intensive applications like self-driving cars, gaming, and live media streaming.
While there has been a significant concern (and misinformation) surrounding 5G — from beliefs that it causes radiation to more outlandish claims that it could spread the coronavirus — unlike live facial recognition, most experts agree it poses little harm.
‘World’s largest temporary private 5G network’
Of the 20 million plus viewers that tuned into the royal action on Saturday, the majority watched the coverage on the BBC, which broadcast the event live.
In recent years, news crews have relied on mobile networks to capture footage from hard-to-reach locations that can’t be accessed with satellite trucks or cables. This approach can cause issues during large events as the networks become congested with social media users uploading content and journalists competing to send their images back to news channels.
To ensure a reliable connection for live broadcasting BBC R&D, the technical research arm of the British news company, deployed the world’s largest temporary private 5G network across The Mall — the 1km grand red road leading from Admiralty Arch to Buckingham Palace, where hundreds of thousands of people gathered for the King’s procession.
Denmark’s TV2 News going live from outside Buckingham Palace with support from the world’s first temporary private 5G network. Credit: BBC R&D
Streaming large amounts of professional video requires a high uplink capacity, which public networks are not designed for. To handle the traffic, the BBC set up a separate, private network using UK comms regulator Ofcom’s shared access spectrum which secured 80 MHz of radio capacity centred on 3855MHz. Mobile bonding devices such as LiveU’s LU300 with 5G modems and dedicated SIMS moved the video traffic away from the public networks and onto the private network.
In plain English, this meant that 60 devices could stream large data rate video from any point along The Mall, without interfering with the speed of public mobile networks.
“The beauty of this system is that for operators and broadcasters, the workflow is pretty much the same as they use every day, but we can be confident that their units will work no matter how busy the public network becomes,” said BBC R&D in a blogpost.
Unlike live facial recognition, the future of 5G is more certain, with half of all mobile subscriptions predicted to be connected to 5G networks in just four years time.
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According to Spotify founder Daniel Ek, the value of a company is “the sum of the problems you solve.”
The problem of bot farms playing the same tracks over and over to manipulate streaming data may not be entirely new. However, as generative AI tools become increasingly mainstream, it is taking on a new dimension for the music industry.
This will require streaming service providers to vigilantly predict and plan ahead not to be left playing a game of reactive whac-a-mole, desperately beating down issues as they arise. Otherwise, apart from dealing with obvious copyright controversies, they may end up paying large sums of money for millions of bot-boosted “fake streams.”
According to a report in the Financial Times, Universal Music Group (UMG), which controls about a third of the global music market, has been sending takedown requests “left and right.” Stockholm-headquartered Spotify has obliged – at least to some degree.
Last week, the music streaming giant temporarily ousted hundreds of thousands of songs generated on the AI platform Boomy. The California-based startup’s tool lets users create tracks by picking from a selection of styles, such as Lo-Fi or EDM, and then customise them and either record or add vocals, before uploading them to streaming services.
However, this is not a case of making Drake rap on your track – the vocals must belong to the user. As such, the tracks were not greyed out because of copyright infringement concerns, but due to the discovery of widespread “suspicious listening activity.”
Meanwhile, this does not mean that Spotify has completely blocked Boomy users and forbidden them from uploading new tracks. Indeed, the AI platform announced this weekend that “Boomy artists” had their curated delivery to the streaming giant re-enabled.
We are pleased to share that curated delivery to Spotify of new releases by Boomy artists has been re-enabled.
Supporting our artists and creators who use the Boomy platform is our top priority, and we greatly appreciate your patience these past few days.
Reportedly, the two sides are still in negotiations over the reinstatement of the rest of Boomy’s catalogue.
Fake stream farms an industry-wide issue
Spotify’s crackdown is part of an ongoing battle against bot streaming farms. Essentially, this is when a bunch of digital devices are logged in on various platforms, and simply play music 24 hours a day, often playing the same track over and over again.
Obviously, this impacts the number of listens, directly generating revenue for the owner of the track. Meanwhile, it also affects data driven features such as charts and playlists.
According to the streaming giant, “Artificial streaming is a longstanding, industry-wide issue that Spotify is working to stamp out across our service.”
Earlier this year, France’s Centre National de la Musique (CNM) released a study on music streaming fraud, in which Spotify participated. However, CNM called out other major streaming platforms Apple, Amazon, and YouTube as “unable or unwilling” to take part in the study.
The first-of-its-kind study established that, in France, in 2021, between one and three billion streams, at least, were false, i.e. between 1% and 3% of total listening. Of course, plenty has happened since.
The CNM says it will launch a new study into the matter in 2024, which may better reveal the implications of the recent revolution in access to generative AI – and the ability of Spotify to mitigate it.
Grimes stands alone in the pro-AI camp
Over the past few months, the music streaming market has experienced a significant rise in AI-generated tracks. According to Boomy, its users have already “created” more than 14 million songs.
Services such as those provided by Boomy, Aiva, and Soundful leverage machine learning to allow users to generate unlimited tracks and even monetise their creations on streaming platforms, to the chagrin of artists, producers, distributors, and other industry stakeholders.
Grimes has launched an AI platform specifically for people to use her voice to make new music, stating that “Copyright sucks. Art is a conversation with everyone that has come before us. Intertwining it with the ego is a modern concept. The music industry has been defined by lawyers, and that strangles creativity.”
Needless to say, she is quite the exception in her pro-generative AI stance in the global artist community.
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Ioanna is a writer at TNW. She covers the full spectrum of the European tech ecosystem, with a particular interest in startups, sustainabili Ioanna is a writer at TNW. She covers the full spectrum of the European tech ecosystem, with a particular interest in startups, sustainability, green tech, AI, and EU policy. With a background in the humanities, she has a soft spot for social impact-enabling technologies.
TSB is urging consumers to remain wary of financial fraud on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, as scams through Meta’s platforms are increasing at a worrying pace.
The UK bank analysed its internal customer fraud data between 2021 and 2022. It found that the Meta-owned sites and apps account for a whopping 80% of all scam cases within its three biggest fraud categories: purchase, impersonation, and investment fraud.
Facebook Marketplace is responsible for 60% of TSB’s purchase fraud cases, seeing a 97% year-on-year increase. Remember that vintage table you had to pre-buy because the seller was conveniently in the Bahamas, but swore to deliver upon their return? Yes, that was a scam.
The bank attributes Facebook’s high numbers to two main factors: minimal vetting of adverts and seller profiles, and the lack of an integrated payment platform that would support secure transactions.
Meanwhile, impersonation scams — where ‘friends’ or ‘family’ in need ask for money — are soaring on WhatsApp, which has seen a 300% increase in 2022 and accounts for 65% of all cases. This is followed by Facebook and text messages at 13% each.
Meta’s platforms are also responsible for 87% of all investment fraud cases at TSB. The majority occurred on Instagram, which accounted for 67%. Facebook came in second at 22%, followed by non-Meta-owned Snapchat at 9%. The bank advises investors to be wary of social media “get rich quick” schemes, and stick to recognised investment platforms.
TSB’s findings follow the announcement of the UK’s new fraud strategy earlier this week, as the government is trying to fight back against the growing number of web- and phone-based scams. Fraud is now the most common crime in the country, costing nearly £7bn per year with 1 in 15 people falling victim.
Some of the measures include the ban of cold calls on financial products, new tech to tackle number “spoofing,” and reviewing the use of mass texting services.
The government is also requiring social media platforms to provide systems that will enable users to find a “report” button with a single click, and then a “report fraud or scam” button. Non-Meta-owned TikTok and Snapchat already offer this option for adverts.
“Social media companies must urgently clean up their platforms to protect the countless innocent people who use their services every day,” said Paul Davis, Director of Fraud Prevention at TSB. “ In the meantime, we are urging the public to remain cautious to potential scam content — and to spread the word to help protect those around you.”
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Coordinated by Europol and the US Department of Justice, yesterday, Operation SpecTor seized over €50mn in cash and cryptocurrency, 850 kg of drugs (including amphetamines, cocaine, MDMA and ecstasy pills) and 117 firearms. The latter, contrary to Europol’s choice of emoji, were in all likelihood not water pistols.
🚨 288 dark web vendors arrested in major marketplace seizure.
Operation #SpecTor led to the seizure of: 💶 EUR 50.8 million 💊 850 kg of drugs 🔫 117 firearms
The #MonopolyMarket vendors arrested were also active on other illicit marketplaces.
The arrested vendors were operating on the marketplace Monopoly Market, selling drugs to customers in exchange for digital currencies. Monopoly has been active since 2019, and one of the candidates hoping for a bigger slice of the darknet pie after law enforcement shut down its highest earner Hydra in April 2022.
“This operation sends a strong message to criminals on the dark web: international law enforcement has the means and the ability to identify and hold you accountable for your illegal activities, even on the dark web,” Europol’s Executive Director Catherine De Bolle commented.
Across Europe, the synchronised arrests took place in the UK (55), Germany (52), the Netherlands (10), Austria (9), France (5), Switzerland (2) and Poland (1). Furthermore, 155 individuals were arrested in the US, and one in Brazil. Europol stated that a number of the suspects arrested were “high-value targets.”
In addition, authorities obtained buyer lists from the vendors, which could potentially result in the arrests of “thousands of customers” across the globe.
Transaction data sped up investigations
German law enforcement managed to seize the “criminal infrastructure” supporting the site in 2021. Since then, they have been able to gather intelligence packages that have served as the basis for hundreds of national investigations.
“The intelligence that Europol shared with us, such as transaction data and virtual currency addresses, helped us to start new investigations and to enrich existing investigations,” the leader of the Dutch team, Nan van de Coevering, told media in the Netherlands.
In the US, the operation was led by the Department of Justice’s Joint Criminal and Opioid Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) team, set up in 2018. According to US Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, SpecTor “represents the most funds seized and the highest number of arrests in any coordinated international action led by the Justice Department against drug traffickers on the dark web.”
The 18-month long SpecTor operation is the latest in a row of aptly named high-profile darknet busts by international law enforcement. DisrupTor took place in 2020 with 179 arrests, and Dark HunTor in 2021 with 150 arrests.
Before it was shut down last year, Russia-based Hydra had about 17 million customers and focused on the trade of illicit drugs, cyberattack tools, forged documents and stolen data.
Hydra had an estimated revenue of €1.23bn, and German authorities seized €23mn in cryptocurrencies during the bust. Following its shutdown, there was an immediate sector-wide precipitous decline in daily dark web market revenues, from around €4 million to close to €400,000, according to research from Chainalysis.
Closing down Monopoly may not have the same effect, but the ripples will be felt throughout the darknet nonetheless.
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Ioanna is a writer at TNW. She covers the full spectrum of the European tech ecosystem, with a particular interest in startups, sustainabili Ioanna is a writer at TNW. She covers the full spectrum of the European tech ecosystem, with a particular interest in startups, sustainability, green tech, AI, and EU policy. With a background in the humanities, she has a soft spot for social impact-enabling technologies.
In March, Italy became the first Western country to temporarily ban access to ChatGPT within its borders. Citing concerns over “unlawful” data collection and the lack of an age verification mechanism for minors, the country’s data protection agency — Garante — blocked the service, requiring OpenAI to meet a series of demands for the suspension to be lifted.
As of April 28, Italian users have regained access to the AI system, after OpenAI implemented the majority of the measures ordered by Garante. These address age verification, transparency, and the rights of users and non-users alike.
First off, the US-based company has introduced a “welcome back” pop-up box, which asks users to confirm they’re above 18 years-old, or that they have obtained parental consent if they’re aged between 13 and 18. They also need to specify their birthday on the sign-up page to gain access.
The pop-up box upon entering ChatGPT using an Italian IP address.
In addition, the pop-up’s text contains links to OpenAI’s new privacy policy and a help center article on how ChatGPT is developed and trained. This information notice is easily visible both on the log-in and the sign-up page.
By clicking on the links, users can get information about what kind of data is being processed for training purposes and under what conditions. OpenAI has now clarified that it’ll continue processing certain types of data on a contractual basis to enable the performance of its services, but for algorithm training data processing will be on the legal basis of legitimate interest.
To enable users and non-users to better exercise their rights, as requested by Garante, the company has further included an opt-out form for the processing of personal data. Users can also obtain erasure for inaccurate information, although, for now, OpenAI claims it’s “technically impossible” to provide rectifications.
While the Italian regulator welcomed OpenAI’s new measures, it called on the company to comply with the extra requests it had ordered as well.
Besides the age gate, OpenAI has to introduce an age verification system that prevents minors from using the service. It also needs to conduct a campaign informing Italians that their personal data may have been used for ChatGPT’s training, while raising awareness of the new information policy and attached data rights.
The Italian agency said that it “acknowledges the steps forward made by OpenAI to reconcile technological advancements with respect for the rights of individuals and hopes that the company will continue in its efforts to comply with European data protection legislation.” Nevertheless, it will continue its investigation into the company’s compliance with GDPR.
While Italy’s ChatGPT ban didn’t last for more than a month, it’s the first attempt in the Western world to regulate a generative AI tool like OpenAI’s model. The company’s compliance may set a precedent for other European countries as well — with several other data protection agencies (including France’s, Ireland’s, and Spain’s) paying close attention to the developments.
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Drop me on a Balinese coastline with a decent paperback and my smartphone, and I’ll luxuriate for two weeks straight.
But fly me out to the same spot with a Nokia 3310 and a physical map, like the one my dad used to carry, and I’ll probably have a nervous breakdown.
Most of us can agree that we’re hyper-dependent on tech, especially when we’re navigating a new place abroad. And the further or more remote you go, the more likely you are to run into tech breakdowns that can put a damper on your plans to wander freely.
From racking up hidden costs to avoiding embarrassing gaffs, here are some of the top tech nightmares when traveling and how to avoid them on your next trip.
Free to roam… Or not
We’ve all been there. You forget yourself for one minute and enable your data to look something up: “best restaurants in Tel Aviv,” “fastest flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai,” or “how to dress for Scottish weather.”
Five minutes later, you’ve racked up a hefty roaming charge. Ouch.
While some networks let you roam freely, others aren’t so generous. Before launching his alternative activewear brand, Rusty Martin spent some time travelling by skates. And subsequently paid a small fortune for it.
“I landed in Vancouver after an eight-hour flight and met some local in-line skaters,” Rusty tells me. “When I got back to my mate’s place, I had a bunch of notifications. I’d left my data on, and racked up about £70 in charges.”
Wait! It gets worse: “I didn’t pay the bill for over a year,” Rusty admits. “I was kinda like fuck the corporations, I don’t owe them. I didn’t even actively use my data, I’d just left it on. It all felt very unfair. But then they send debt collection agencies after you and ruin your credit rating.”
Always check your data plan (and your data settings), before you catch your flight. Or better yet, invest in a data plan that has your back.
Travel tech company Holafly eSIM provides eSIMs for people who want a steady and reliable connection without roaming charges. They offer regular data plans in over 130 countries, unlimited data plans in over 45 destinations, and even for entire regions like Europe. So, if you’re on a trip through Europe, instead of buying a plan for each country, you only will have to pay one time to get coverage in various countries. And because it’s a digital SIM, you can activate it in a matter of minutes by scanning the QR code sent to your email. Easy peasy.
Testing local limits
With internet censorship on the rise, don’t be surprised if your beloved apps and websites don’t work in other countries.
Srishti Verma got caught out in Vietnam when she was conducting research on reproductive health and rights for a non-profit based in Atlanta.
“The website loaded at first, but it didn’t work properly. The navigation was poor, things wouldn’t load, and it was affecting my research”, Srishti shares. “No access to related websites had me thinking something was wrong with my internet connection.”
Fortunately, Srishti’s pal reminded her to use a VPN, and all was not lost. But there are plenty of other countries where this solution would have fallen flat on its face. VPN bans and limitations are widespread in countries such as China, Turkey, and the UAE.
With a smartphone tucked neatly in our hands, it’s easy to forget not all countries have the same level of tech freedom.
All WiFi is good WiFi (just kidding!)
WiFi access is so ubiquitous that the thought of being without it is practically unbearable.
Michelle Coulson felt something similar on a recent trip to Portugal. As a digital nomad who helps people get remote jobs, her work was rudely interrupted by a lack of connectivity.
“We’d just gotten to a campsite and discovered there was no WiFi. We couldn’t find a shop open to get our mobile data topped up either — so we ended up driving miles to McDonald’s to use their crappy WiFi!”
At times like this, public WiFi is a godsend. But there’s a catch, often in the form of sacrificing a few personal details to log on. We all crave internet connection, but sometimes a public fix just isn’t worth the risk.
Crafty hackers can create doppelganger WiFi networks that look just like legitimate ones. So while you’re mindlessly scrolling, they’re scrounging for your account details. It’s an easy way to get your identity stolen — or the contents of your bank account.
If you’re using shared or public WiFi, find someone who can confirm you’re on the right network and call on your trusty VPN for an added layer of protection. Keep in mind that, if you’re connecting to a WiFi you don’t know, you also won’t know how they’re going to use the data collected during the session.
To ensure you have coverage without having to mess with dodgy free WiFi hotspots, check out Holafly’s guide to eSIMs.
Modern travel woman use internet connection and mobile phone outside the tent in the wild – concept of travel and communication – free people and alternative vacation
Adaptors, voltages, and avoiding electrocution
No one wants to watch the light die on their phone screen before making it to the hotel. Forget your travel adaptors and this is the reality.
There are 15 electrical plug types, so make sure you find out which ones you’ll need for your destination country. Type C covers most of Europe (aside from the UK, Ireland, Cyprus, and Malta). But you’ll only get away with using type I plugs in Thailand.
Traversing multiple countries? Get yourself a universal adaptor. And try to find grounded ones — this will lower your risk of getting electrocuted if there’s an exposed wire in your gadget.
Most modern devices have variable voltage, so using them in a range of countries probably won’t get you fried. Gadgets that are designed to be portable — like smartphones, tablets, and laptops — usually have variable voltage. Shavers, hairdryers, and electric toothbrushes tend not to be, so make sure you check the specs on your devices before packing them.
Be prepared to power down
Was the sun just turned off forever? Or did you get caught in a power cut? I’m guessing the latter.
Power cuts will increase as the climate crisis worsens. And even paradise isn’t immune from a little lights-out action.
Georgie Darling is a digital nomad and travel writer who spent the first seven months of the pandemic stuck on the tiny Indonesian island of Gili Trawangan.
Due to the size and position of the island, Gili is prone to earthquakes and power cuts. Often at the same time.
“They were such a part of my daily life that the only reaction to the ground shaking was an ‘earthquake?’ message in our group chats,” Georgie shares.
“I got caught out a few times when client calls fell around the same time as the earthquakes and power cuts,” Georgie admits. “I quickly learned to keep my laptop and phone fully charged.”
For added protection, arm yourself with an eSIM (as mentioned above) and a couple of power banks. The Zendure Supermini is pocket size but packs a powerful punch. If you need something more heavy-duty, pick up the ZMI PowerPack 20000 — it’ll charge your phone and your laptop via a USB-C connection. And make sure you give clients and loved ones a heads-up about outages when possible.
“It made a good talking point with clients”, Georgie says. “Especially when I told them that the phrase for ‘power cut’ in Bahasa Indonesia is ‘mati lampu’, which directly translates to ‘death to the light.’”
Don’t get lost in translation
Where the risk of embarrassing yourself is low, translation apps can get you out of a pickle. Like checking the menu for meat-free options, or decoding the signs at a train station.
But bad translations can have awkward consequences. If you arrive in France and need a lawyer (un avocat), you could end up asking for an avocado instead (also un avocat). Oops.
Promising research on using Google translate in emergency departments showed that 82.5% of the translations retained their meaning. But results vary significantly between languages, which is a problem if you have sensitive information to share.
The best way to avoid translation app fails is to use them cautiously. Don’t count on them saving your bacon every time — and do some practice on Duolingo before you jet off.
So if you’re not quite ready to trade your smartphone in for a map book, don’t forget to pack your virtual suitcase before setting out on your next globetrotting adventure. Handy travel tech tools like an international eSim, VPNs, and portable power banks will make all the difference when you’re trapped in paradise without a connection (your Insta followers and mom will thank you).
