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First up, a privacy concern that may already be sitting in your pocket. Google has been quietly linking phone numbers across Android accounts in ways most users never agreed to. When you add a new SIM card to your device, that number gets associated with every Google account on the phone, and any new account you create inherits it automatically. It's the kind of silent data stitching that raises real questions about consent and identity tracking at scale.
Shifting to Europe, where EU member states have approved what privacy advocates are calling digital expropriation. The policy would allow AI companies to access and use copyrighted European content for training their models, overriding existing protections. The organization noyb, known for its aggressive data rights campaigns, is pushing back hard, arguing this amounts to handing over the cultural output of an entire continent without meaningful compensation or choice.
And on the geopolitical side of tech infrastructure, Ukraine's access to SpaceX's Starlink and Starshield satellite networks has been fully restored after more than a week of disruptions that hampered front-line military communications. President Zelenskyy confirmed the restoration Saturday. The episode underscored just how much modern warfare now depends on commercial satellite technology and the companies behind it.
Keep surfing. Tech Beat out.
