Shiny snippets: TikTok opens European data centre

TikTok has opened its first European data centre to alleviate fears over Chinese state surveillance. The firm says European users’ data is now migrating to servers in Dublin, as part of its ongoing response to data privacy concerns around the video-sharing app’s links to China. TikTok, which is owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, says it has never given data to Beijing. Critics fear that the Chinese state could request access anytime. The video-sharing giant is also allowing a European security company access to audit cyber-security and data protection controls. BBC 

Elon Musk has threatened to sue the Anti-Defamation League after accusing the civil rights group that campaigns against antisemitism and bigotry of trying to “kill” his X social media platform. The owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, said the ADL was trying to shut down his company by “falsely accusing it and me of being antisemitic”. In a series of posts on X, Musk said advertising sales for the business were down 60% and “based on what we’ve heard from advertisers, ADL seems to be responsible for most of our revenue loss”.

Sex offenders are targeting children inside virtual reality environments, a new study has warned – with some victims even suffering the physical response to being touched without their consent. The “phantom touch” sensation is one of several forms of exploitation detailed in research commissioned by the NSPCC charity, with a warning these immersive online platforms are presenting a “monumental hurdle” for law enforcement and efforts to protect vulnerable youngsters. It said virtual reality…was giving offenders new opportunities to commit their crimes. Sky News 

At T3 towers, we’re all excited about the probable launch of the iPhone 15 next week. According to the rumours, it could be a shoo-in for the best phones, but there’s one small (or big) caveat. The price. Are you sitting down? We reckon that the iPhone 15 Pro Max could be the first iPhone to cross the $2000 mark. That’s a hell of a lot for a phone, especially one that doesn’t fold. Currently, if you’re looking for a top-spec 1TB  iPhone 14 Pro Max, you can find yourself paying $1600 on Apple’s own site. That’s for a phone that’s almost a year old. There’s talk that prices for the iPhone 15 could increase. T3.com

You can breathe a sigh of relief – the Golf, Tiguan and GTI badges are safe, says Volkswagen brand boss Thomas Schäfer, while others will be discussed on a case by case basis. Well, we’re far less bothered about the Tiguan, but it is VW’s bestselling car across the world. Schäfer was speaking at the Munich motor show, where the company’s ID.GTI concept was revealed as a taster of how an electric GTI model would look in the future, with a hot hatch version of the new ID.2 EV arriving in 2027. Top Gear 


China has made a major breakthrough in microchip manufacturing, undermining US President Joe Biden’s efforts to block Beijing from accessing the most advanced technology. Chips in Huawei’s latest smartphone appear to have been made using cutting-edge techniques developed in Europe, using technology that is now subject to trade restrictions. Research company TechInsights analysed the Mate 60’s main processor chip and concluded it was manufactured using what is known as EUV, or extreme ultraviolet lithography. EUV is an advanced manufacturing technique used to etch a chip’s inner workings into its silicon. Telegraph 

Chris Price