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French Company Develops 'Bubble Taxis' for Water Transport

Founders of SeaBubbles, seen aboard a prototype of their water taxi in the harbor of Saint-Tropez, rue the red tape surrounding businesses in France. (Reuters)
Founders of SeaBubbles, seen aboard a prototype of their water taxi in the harbor of Saint-Tropez, rue the red tape surrounding businesses in France. (Reuters)
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French Company Develops 'Bubble Taxis' for Water Transport

Founders of SeaBubbles, seen aboard a prototype of their water taxi in the harbor of Saint-Tropez, rue the red tape surrounding businesses in France. (Reuters)
Founders of SeaBubbles, seen aboard a prototype of their water taxi in the harbor of Saint-Tropez, rue the red tape surrounding businesses in France. (Reuters)

A French company has developed a mechanism to raise boats out of water by using hydrofoils. This design by the French company, SeaBubbles, uses electric propulsion and an automatic self-stabilizing system to give you clean and quiet water transport, in what could possibly pave the way for the development of so-called “bubble taxis”.

Water Taxi
The Seabubbles team had demonstrated how up to six people can fit into the Bubble Taxi.

The Bubble Taxi offers clean, quiet and comfortable commuting over the water. The SeaBubbles system uses fly-by-wire controls to self-stabilize the watercraft as it flies.

Making its US debut in Miami this week, the SeaBubbles Bubble Taxi is a five-seat design about the size of a family car, with a sleek shape reminiscent of a flying car from “The Fifth Element” movie.

The Bubble Taxi prototype runs two props on a 20-kilowatt electric drive system, and once it hits around 13 kmh, its hydrofoils develop enough lift to make it rise up out of the water, allowing a top speed of 28 kmh as it cruises along about 40 cm above the water.

Getting the main hull out of the drink cuts drag by around 40%, helping squeeze extra range out of its 21.5-kilowatt-hour battery, which is good for up to two hours of use or 40 km in a five-hour charge. Flying on hydrofoils also takes the craft up above a lot of surface choppiness, making for a smooth and comfortable ride.

But, it is worth noting that the numbers above are only for the prototypes. SeaBubbles says its production machines will be faster, with bigger batteries, longer range and 35-minute fast charge times.

Stabilizing wings
If it looks a bit unstable riding on its single, central front hydrofoil and two rear ones, fear not: the Bubble Taxi uses gyroscopic and altitude sensors to measure pitch and roll angles constantly, and the steering system is completely fly-by-wire, allowing the boat to auto-correct for tilt and stabilize itself as you drive.

According to TechCrunch, the Bubble Taxi price is estimated at around US $200,000; a figure that’ll look more attractive due to fuel and maintenance savings if you plan to put a lot of nautical miles on it. But its eye-catching, futuristic look as it glides silently across the water could easily make it a status item for the well-heeled.

Many private buyers are already paid up and waiting for their watercraft in the United States, and the company is also preparing to start production for private and business customers in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

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Technology

Google Changes Spam Policy in EU to Avert Antitrust Fine

The Google logo is seen outside the company's offices in London, Britain, June 24, 2025. (Reuters)
The Google logo is seen outside the company's offices in London, Britain, June 24, 2025. (Reuters)
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Google Changes Spam Policy in EU to Avert Antitrust Fine

The Google logo is seen outside the company's offices in London, Britain, June 24, 2025. (Reuters)
The Google logo is seen outside the company's offices in London, Britain, June 24, 2025. (Reuters)

Alphabet's Google ‌on Friday said it had changed its spam policy in Europe to address EU concerns that could have resulted in an antitrust fine.

The US tech giant found itself in EU regulators' crosshairs after publishers complained about its site reputation abuse policy.

It targets the practice of publishing ‌third-party pages on a ‌site in an ‌attempt ⁠to abuse search rankings ⁠by taking advantage of the host site's ranking signals, commonly referred to as parasite SEO.

The EU said that its monitoring showed that Google's spam policy demoted news media ⁠and other publishers' websites and content ‌in Google ‌search results, when those websites include content ‌from commercial partners.

Google said that ‌from August 30 any manual actions taken to demote sites would not apply to users in the 27 EU ‌nations, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein (the European Economic Area).

The policy would not ⁠change ⁠outside the European Economic Area, it added.

Concerns about the policy had prompted the European Commission, which acts as the EU competition enforcer, to open an investigation under the Digital Markets Act, which aims to rein in the power of Big Tech.

DMA breaches can cost companies fines of up to 10% of their global annual turnover.

Technology

Meta Settlement Opens New Front in Global Fight Over Social Media Harm

The logo of Meta at the Meta Lab in Los Angeles, California, US, May 20, 2026. (Reuters)
The logo of Meta at the Meta Lab in Los Angeles, California, US, May 20, 2026. (Reuters)
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Meta Settlement Opens New Front in Global Fight Over Social Media Harm

The logo of Meta at the Meta Lab in Los Angeles, California, US, May 20, 2026. (Reuters)
The logo of Meta at the Meta Lab in Los Angeles, California, US, May 20, 2026. (Reuters)

Meta's move to restrict teenagers' use of social media in the US shows companies have tools to better protect young people online, Australian officials said on Thursday, while in the Philippines, an official said the US company had pledged to boost protection there too.

Meta's up to $18 billion settlement with nearly all US states over social media harm to teenagers has opened a new front in a global government fight to protect children and curb addiction to platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.

Governments around the world are trying to curb children's access to harmful online content, including a world-first ban in Australia late last year on social media for children under 16.

Australian Communications Minister Anika Wells said in an email to Reuters that social media companies "have the tools at their disposal to protect ‌young people from ‌their addictive features but have chosen not to use them".

Meta agreed to pay up to $18 ‌billion ⁠over a decade ⁠and limit how teenagers use Facebook and Instagram under an agreement with nearly all US states to resolve claims that it designed those platforms to addict children. Meta denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle.

The deal brings sweeping changes to Meta's Facebook and Instagram platforms in the United States, including imposing a default two-hour limit on its apps for users under the age of 18.

In South Korea, the media regulator said some of Meta's measures should be applied to young users worldwide, rather than just in specific markets. Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum said the government needed to review its potential impact for Mexico.

There were some early signs that the settlement could help other countries win similar measures.

Philippines Department of Information ⁠and Communications Technology Secretary Henry Aguda told Reuters that both Meta and gaming platform Roblox had ‌pledged in a meeting on Thursday to tighten age verification processes in the ‌country, as well as expand parental controls and implement time limits on the social media.

The European Commission said it was waiting for Meta ‌to present changes to limit the addictive designs of its social networks.

The Commission already issued preliminary findings earlier this year that Meta ‌breached the Digital Services Act (DSA). In July, it said Facebook and Instagram should disable autoplay and endless scrolling by default, introduce screen-time breaks and change recommendation systems to reduce incentives to keep users engaged — measures that go beyond the US settlement.

In April, the Commission said Meta had failed to stop children under 13 from opening or maintaining accounts. The US settlement could make it harder for Meta to argue that tougher age-verification measures are impractical.

"We ‌have been very clear ... we expect proper screen time management, we expect proper parental control on these platforms. Meta knows ... the ball is in Meta's court," said spokesperson Thomas Regnier.

EXECUTION ISSUES

Enforcement ⁠of restrictions in Australia has, ⁠however, been patchy so far.

Early evidence suggests the law has been undermined by weak age-verification systems, with multiple studies, including from Australia's internet regulator, showing 80% of minors were still on social media months after the ban took effect in December. That prompted lawmakers to double the maximum fine and increase regulatory powers.

In Asia, countries including China, South Korea, India, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines are also seeking tighter oversight of social media as well as curbs, including to block alleged scams, and in particular to protect children.

Australian class-action law firm Shine Lawyers said it was in discussions with Mark Lanier, a lawyer who worked on the California action against Meta, about a potential similar action.

"For years, families have been asking whether enough has been done to protect children from platform features designed to maximize engagement," said Shine Lawyers head of class actions Craig Allsopp.

"We are now examining whether similar legal issues arise in Australia, including whether Australian children and families may have claims connected to the design, operation and promotion of social media platforms. If Australian families have been affected, they deserve answers."

Technology

HUMAIN Project Gets a Boost as Al-Moammar Adds 200 MW to AI Data Center

Guests stand at the booth of Saudi artificial intelligence company HUMAIN during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh on October 29, 2025. (HUMAIN)
Guests stand at the booth of Saudi artificial intelligence company HUMAIN during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh on October 29, 2025. (HUMAIN)
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HUMAIN Project Gets a Boost as Al-Moammar Adds 200 MW to AI Data Center

Guests stand at the booth of Saudi artificial intelligence company HUMAIN during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh on October 29, 2025. (HUMAIN)
Guests stand at the booth of Saudi artificial intelligence company HUMAIN during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh on October 29, 2025. (HUMAIN)

Al-Moammar Information Systems Co (MIS) announced on Wednesday that it received a letter of award from HUMAIN expanding the scope of a project to design and build a data center dedicated to AI technologies, increasing the project’s capacity from 50 megawatts (MW) to 250 megawatts.

In a statement on Tadawul, the company said the expanded scope involves designing and constructing additional data centers with a total capacity of 200 MW, to be implemented in phases.

MIS added that the total contract value following the increase to 250 MW exceeds 689% of the company’s total revenue for 2025.

MIS signed a contract with HUMAIN in March worth more than 155% of the company’s total revenue for 2024, covering the design and construction of a data center dedicated to AI technologies.

The company will commence the approved engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works for HUMAIN, while the parties complete procedures to finalize the contract, which is expected to be signed within two weeks.

The progress of the initial project has not been affected by the scope of expansion and that work is continuing according to the previously announced schedule. MIS will announce any material developments related to the project in due course, the statement noted.

The project comes as Saudi Arabia is rapidly scaling its data center and AI infrastructure to meet the growing use of AI and the rising demand from companies and institutions for computing capacity to build AI-powered products and services.