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Putin Promises to Bolster Russia’s IT Security in Face of Cyber Attacks

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the Security Council via teleconference call at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, May 20, 2022. (AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the Security Council via teleconference call at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, May 20, 2022. (AP)
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Putin Promises to Bolster Russia’s IT Security in Face of Cyber Attacks

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the Security Council via teleconference call at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, May 20, 2022. (AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the Security Council via teleconference call at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, May 20, 2022. (AP)

President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that the number of cyber attacks on Russia by foreign "state structures" had increased several times over and that Russia must bolster its cyber defenses by reducing the use of foreign software and hardware.

The websites of many state-owned companies and news websites have suffered sporadic hacking attempts since Russia sent its armed forces into Ukraine on Feb. 24, often to show information that is at odds with Moscow's official line on the conflict.

"Targeted attempts are being made to disable the internet resources of Russia's critical information infrastructure," Putin said, adding that media and financial institutions had been targeted.

"Serious attacks have been launched against the official sites of government agencies. Attempts to illegally penetrate the corporate networks of leading Russian companies are much more frequent as well," he said.

In a meeting with the Security Council, Putin said that Russia would need to improve information security in key sectors and switch to using domestic technology and equipment.

"Restrictions on foreign IT, software and products have become one of the tools of sanctions pressure on Russia," Putin said. "A number of Western suppliers have unilaterally stopped technical support of their equipment in Russia."

He said cases of programs getting blocked after being updated were becoming more frequent.

Data leaks
State communications regulator Roskomnadzor on Wednesday said it had blocked a website that was hosting the personal data of a number of companies' clients. It did not name the companies. Russia's second-biggest bank VTB was quoted by media as saying some customers' phone numbers had been leaked but there was no risk to their funds.

E-commerce player Wildberries and online marketplace Avito denied reports in Russian media that their data had been leaked.

A data leak in early March exposed the personal details of more than 58,000 people on tech giant Yandex's food delivery app, Yandex.Eda.

Yandex.Eda competitor Delivery Club on Friday apologized to users after it suffered a data leak on orders placed by users.

"The data includes information about orders and does not affect bank details. We are doing our best to prevent the dissemination of the data," TASS news agency quoted the company as saying.

Hacking attacks this month kept video-hosting site RuTube offline for three days and altered satellite television menus in Moscow on Victory Day, when Russia celebrated the 77th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany.

Moscow has long sought to improve its domestic internet infrastructure, even disconnecting itself from the global internet during tests last summer.

However, the unprecedented Western barrage of sanctions imposed in response to Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine has increased the pressure to make Russia's IT systems more resilient.

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Technology

EU Says WhatsApp to Face Stricter Content Rules

Teenagers pose for a photo while holding smartphones in front of a Whatsapp logo in this illustration taken September 11, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Teenagers pose for a photo while holding smartphones in front of a Whatsapp logo in this illustration taken September 11, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
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EU Says WhatsApp to Face Stricter Content Rules

Teenagers pose for a photo while holding smartphones in front of a Whatsapp logo in this illustration taken September 11, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Teenagers pose for a photo while holding smartphones in front of a Whatsapp logo in this illustration taken September 11, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

WhatsApp is set to face greater EU scrutiny after the European Commission on Monday added the platform to its list of digital firms big enough to face stricter content rules, AFP reported.

The Meta-owned company joins Facebook, TikTok, X and others in a list of 26 "very large online platforms" with more than 45 million monthly active users in the European Union, a commission statement said.

As such it will face tougher obligations under the bloc's Digital Services Act (DSA), but they will apply only to WhatsApp channels, a broadcasting feature, rather than the platform's core messaging feature.

Technology

Social Media Giants Face Landmark Trial Over Addiction Claims

The TikTok logo is displayed at a TikTok office on January 23, 2026 in Culver City, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
The TikTok logo is displayed at a TikTok office on January 23, 2026 in Culver City, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Social Media Giants Face Landmark Trial Over Addiction Claims

The TikTok logo is displayed at a TikTok office on January 23, 2026 in Culver City, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
The TikTok logo is displayed at a TikTok office on January 23, 2026 in Culver City, California. (Getty Images/AFP)

A landmark trial beginning this week in Los Angeles could establish a legal precedent on whether social media companies deliberately designed their platforms to addict children.

Jury selection is set to start in California state court on Tuesday in what is being called a "bellwether" proceeding because its outcome could set the tone for a tidal wave of similar litigation across the United States.

Defendants in the suit are Alphabet, ByteDance and Meta, the tech titans behind YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.

Meta co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg is slated to be called as a witness during the trial.

Social media firms are accused in the hundreds of lawsuits of addicting young users to content that has led to depression, eating disorders, psychiatric hospitalization and even suicide.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs are explicitly borrowing strategies used against the tobacco industry in the 1990s and 2000s that faced a similar onslaught of lawsuits arguing that companies sold a defective product.

The trial before Judge Carolyn Kuhl in state court is expected to start the first week of February, after a jury is selected.

It focuses on allegations that a 19-year-old woman identified by the initials K.G.M. suffered severe mental harm because she was addicted to social media.

"This is the first time that a social media company has ever had to face a jury for harming kids," said Social Media Victims Law Center founder Matthew Bergman, whose team is involved in more than 1,000 such cases.

The center is a legal organization dedicated to holding social media companies accountable for harms caused to young people online.

"The fact that now K.G.M. and her family get to stand in a courtroom equal to the largest, most powerful and wealthy companies in the world is, in and of itself, a very significant victory," Bergman said.

"We understand that these cases are hard fought and that it is our burden to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that K.G.M. was harmed by the design decisions of these companies - that's a burden that we happily undertake."

- Design not content -

A decisive outcome of the trial could provide a "data point" for settling similar cases en masse, according to Bergman.

Snapchat last week confirmed that it made a deal to avoid the civil trial accusing it, along with Meta, TikTok and YouTube, of addicting young people to social media.

The terms of that deal were not disclosed.

Internet titans have argued that they are shielded by Section 230 of the US Communications Decency Act, which frees them of responsibility for what social media users post.

However, this case argues those firms are culpable for business models designed to hold people's attention and promote content that winds up harming their mental health.

"We are not faulting the social media companies for failure to remove malign content from their platforms," Bergman told AFP.

"We are faulting them for designing their platforms to addict kids and for developing algorithms that show kids not what they want to see but what they cannot look away from."

Lawsuits accusing social media platforms of practices endangering young users are also making their way through federal court in Northern California and state courts across the country.

Technology

Macron Pushes for Fast-Track Ban on Social Media for Children Under 15

France's President Emmanuel Macron waits before the arrival of Indonesia's president at the Elysee palace in Paris, on January 23, 2026. (AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron waits before the arrival of Indonesia's president at the Elysee palace in Paris, on January 23, 2026. (AFP)
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Macron Pushes for Fast-Track Ban on Social Media for Children Under 15

France's President Emmanuel Macron waits before the arrival of Indonesia's president at the Elysee palace in Paris, on January 23, 2026. (AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron waits before the arrival of Indonesia's president at the Elysee palace in Paris, on January 23, 2026. (AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron says he wants his government to fast-track the legal process to ensure that a ban on social media for children under the age of 15 can enter into force in September at the start of the next school year.

In a video released late Saturday by French broadcaster BFM-TV, Macron said he had asked his government to initiate an accelerated procedure so that the proposed legislation can move as quickly as possible and be passed by the Senate in time.

“The brains of our children and our teenagers are not for sale,” Macron said. “The emotions of our children and our teenagers are not for sale or to be manipulated. Neither by American platforms, nor by Chinese algorithms.”

Macron's announcement came just days after the British government said it will consider banning young teenagers from social media as it tightens laws designed to protect children from harmful content and excessive screen time.

According to France's health watchdog, one in two teenagers spends between two and five hours a day on a smartphone. In a report published in December, it said that some 90% of children aged between 12 and 17 use smartphones daily to access the internet, with 58% of them using their devices for social networks.

The report highlighted a range of harmful effects stemming from the use of social networks, including reduced self-esteem and increased exposure to content associated with risky behaviors such as self-harm, drug use and suicide. Several families in France have sued TikTok over teen suicides they say are linked to harmful content.

Macron's office told The Associated Press that the video was addressed to lawmaker Laure Miller, who is sponsoring the bill that will be examined in a public session on Monday.

“We are banning social media for under-15s, and we are going to ban mobile phones in our high schools,” Macron said. “I believe this is a clear rule. Clear for our teenagers, clear for families, clear for teachers, and we are moving forward.”

In Australia, social media companies have revoked access to about 4.7 million accounts identified as belonging to children since the country banned use of the platforms by those under 16, officials said. The law provoked fraught debates in Australia about technology use, privacy, child safety and mental health and has prompted other countries to consider similar measures.