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Industry

Brazil fines TikTok record US$30 million for profiting from children’s data

ByteDance penalised for allegedly collecting data from 1 in 5 Brazilian children and failing to block minors from using TikTok Brazil’s data protection authority fined ByteDance US$30 million on Tuesday over its handling of children’s data on TikTok, the largest penalty it has imposed since it was created in 2020. The National Data Protection Authority, known as the ANPD, found five breaches of Brazil’s data protection law and gave ByteDance 10 working days to appeal. The company must also erase the records of users aged 13 to 18 whose parental authorisation is not regularised within 60 working days, instruct every partner it passed those records to do the same, and report back with system logs signed off by its data protection officer. Failure on any of those counts carries a daily fine of over US$26,000. According to Technical Note 50, the 25-page document that underpins the sanction, a user who downloaded TikTok in Brazil reached the personalised feed at once, without declaring an age or reading the terms of service. Investigators at the agency’s inspection unit ran the same test abroad.

August 25, 2026

Industry

China’s J-16s face off against Egypt’s Rafales in combat drills as Iran war rumbles on

PLA pilots test strategic reach in 6,000km mission as Middle East conflict pushes Cairo and Beijing closer Chinese fighter jets have conducted combat training with their Egyptian counterparts in a joint exercise following a major Chinese air force deployment to the Middle East. The aircraft flew more than 6,000km (3,730 miles) over nine hours to reach Egypt, crossing four countries, according to a report by state broadcaster CCTV. However, it did not specify which four countries the PLA Air Force aircraft flew over, or whether their route approached Iran or any Persian Gulf nations. “Through cross-border deployment and rapid loading and unloading operations, the exercise tested the air force’s capabilities in long-range force projection, rapid deployment and integrated operations,” CCTV reported. During the flight, the J-16s conducted aerial refuelling from YU-20 tankers before landing at an airbase in Egypt on August 21, the report said. The PLA Air Force then unloaded supplies, sorted equipment and coordinated briefings ready for training missions within a single day, according to the report.

August 25, 2026

Industry

Xi’s 13-year corruption campaign just keeps accelerating

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s crackdown on corruption is picking up pace even after more than a decade of investigations, according to a South China Morning Post deep dive. There were 65 probes into civilian officials of vice-ministerial grade or above last year versus just 19 in 2013, when Xi took office, the research shows. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), China’s top anti-corruption body, has also started 46 investigations so far this year, compared with 39 in the...

August 25, 2026

Industry

Why was China’s response to North Korea’s latest missile launches so muted?

Missile tests hours after China’s foreign minister left Seoul won’t alter Beijing’s focus on regime stability, analysts say South Korea and Japan condemned the launch as a provocation. Beijing declined to criticise the barrage fired into the sea east of the peninsula, with China’s foreign ministry saying the following day that it had “noted the reports” and did not have any “new comment”. During his meetings in Seoul, Wang urged South Korea to pursue “genuine strategic autonomy”, avoid taking sides between China and the United States and move towards “peaceful coexistence” with its northern neighbour.

August 25, 2026

Industry

For states, being part of everything doesn’t mean being part of nothing

A coalition may call itself a commitment. It still has to say what that commitment is. The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to send a letter to dozens of countries, pressing them to choose sides in the US-China artificial intelligence race. Those that join Beijing’s proposed AI cooperation framework would be excluded from the US-led AI coalition. “To be part of everything is to be part of nothing,” the draft says. An American official summarised the message more bluntly: countries...

August 25, 2026

Industry

America proposes new US$103,265 H-1B visa fee, expanding charge beyond new arrivals

The extra upfront cost of hiring skilled foreign workers could make it far less attractive to sponsor Chinese and Indian professionals The US Department of Homeland Security proposed the additional fee on Monday for every H-1B petition subject to the annual numerical cap of 85,000 visas. That figure includes the 20,000 visas reserved for people holding US master’s degrees or higher. Employers would pay the new charge when filing a petition, on top of existing fees. Universities and certain non-profit or government research organisations would be exempt. The new measure would also go further than an earlier one. A US$100,000 fee imposed by presidential proclamation in September 2025 mainly targeted new H-1B arrivals from overseas. The US$103,265 charge would apply more broadly, including to cap-subject petitions filed for people already in the US seeking a change of status. That means the new policy could have an impact on many international students working in the US under Optional Practical Training.

August 25, 2026

Industry

China’s anti-corruption fight: data deep dive

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August 25, 2026

Industry

China’s anti-corruption legal framework is about to extend beyond its borders

A draft law aimed at combating cross-border corruption has been submitted for its first reading by the country’s top legislature On Tuesday, the draft Anti-Cross-Border Corruption Law was submitted for its first reading during the 24th session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC), which runs until Friday. Enacting the law is a vital initiative to complete China’s foreign-related legal framework, protect national interests, promote compliant overseas business growth and “enrich the legal ‘toolbox’ for fugitive repatriation, asset recovery and handling foreign-related corruption cases”, according to state news agency Xinhua. The law codifies a decade of anti-corruption practices to close jurisdictional loopholes and target offshore financial crimes, aiming to resolve long-standing systemic hurdles, specifically the “difficulty in detecting, collecting evidence, repatriating illicit assets” and prosecuting offshore offences, it said. Comprising six chapters and 47 articles, the draft law establishes key principles, scope and national positioning regarding cross-border corruption.

August 25, 2026

Industry

Debate star and physicist Guo Yanliang leaves a top European quantum lab for China

Renmin University recruit aims to probe complex quantum matter using ultracold atomic sandbox with lasers Guo Yanliang, a champion debater who honed his argumentation skills in international contests and on online variety shows, has left one of Europe’s top quantum laboratories to set up his own research group in Beijing. Guo, 33, says he sees scientific research as a debate between different opinions, which made him more compatible with China than Europe. This year, he returned to China to take a position as associate professor at Renmin University of China where he is building an ultracold atom experiment platform. While he has had papers published in Science and Nature and secured a spot on MIT Technology Review’s “Innovators Under 35 China” list, the physicist says he returned because China offered better support for his long‑term research goals. “The research environment here is more in line with my research characteristics,” he told DeepTech, the Chinese branch of MIT Technology Review, last month.

August 25, 2026

Industry

US targets China’s telecoms grip in Venezuela with new sanctions carve-out

The United States is opening Venezuela’s telecommunications sector to new investment and technology while explicitly excluding Chinese companies, a move that could reshape a market where Huawei and ZTE have become deeply embedded and give Western suppliers an opening as the country expands its 5G networks. The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Friday issued two general licences easing some sanctions restrictions on Venezuela’s telecommunications sector,...

August 24, 2026

Industry

US sanctions Chinese entities, issues global warning on ‘Economic D-Day’ against Iran

Washington warns Iran-linked entities face removal from US dollar system as Trump presses world leaders to cut financial ties The United States on Monday announced fresh sanctions against 60 entities, individuals and vessels around the world, including some in mainland China and Hong Kong, and issued a warning demanding “immediate action” from nations maintaining economic and commercial ties with Iran. The measures are part of the Trump administration’s latest efforts to choke off Tehran economically after military strikes and diplomatic negotiations failed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the six-month-long conflict. Dubbed “Economic D-Day” by the Trump administration, the new actions aim to expand Washington’s secondary sanctions, putting entities in multiple jurisdictions on notice. “Let me be clear: any entity that facilitates money laundering on behalf of Iran will be removed from the US dollar system. The clock just started ticking,” said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at a press conference. Bessent added that US President Donald Trump is “making phone calls to world leaders with specific requests” to halt their engagement with the Iranian regime, but did not identify the countries he had contacted.

August 24, 2026

Industry

Shein’s acquisition of Everlane faces US national security review

The review is focused on potential issues linked to the China-founded retailer’s purchase of a firm that handles Americans’ personal data US authorities are conducting a national security review of Shein Global Holdings’ purchase of American clothing retailer Everlane after Shein sought approval for the deal, people familiar with the matter said, adding to a growing list of regulatory hurdles for the China-founded fast-fashion giant in one of its most important markets. The review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (Cfius), an inter-agency panel led by the Treasury Department, began after the US$80 million transaction was completed in May, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations. Shein voluntarily initiated the review at that time, which is unusual as companies typically seek Cfius approval before a transaction closes, the people said. Clearance by Cfius usually prevents future challenges, but the body also has the power to block, unwind or impose conditions on transactions it determines threaten US national security. A Shein spokesperson said the company is “committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations in the markets where we operate”.

August 24, 2026