22/08/2025

FRIDAY | AUG 22, 2025

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Brazil pushes social media protections for minors

NZ spy service warns of China interference SYDNEY: New Zealand’s spy service warned yesterday that China is the most active power engaging in foreign interference in the country, sparking a sharp rebuke from Beijing. New Zealand faces the “most challenging national security environment of recent times”, the country’s intelligence agency said in an annual risk assessment. Key drivers of the deteriorating threat environment were less stable relationships between states, deepening polarisation and growing grievances. Though several states seek to manipulate New Zealand’s government and society, China remains the “most active”, the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service said. China’s embassy in Wellington accused the agency of sowing suspicion and “poisoning the two countries’ relations”. “The accusations sound very familiar as they rehash smears and slanders fabricated elsewhere, repackaged for the New Zealand audience,” an embassy spokesperson said. “We have regarded, and are willing to continue to regard New Zealand as a friend and partner. But the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations depends on the joint efforts from both sides.” New Zealand’s spy agency specifically accused China’s United Front Work Department of engaging in foreign interference to build influence outside of China. Not all of its activity amounted to foreign interference, and some could be beneficial, it said. “However, its activities are regularly deceptive, coercive and corruptive and come with risks for New Zealand organisations.” The agency cautioned New Zealand businesses that under China’s national security legislation, individuals and organisations in China must comply with requests from the country’s security services. – AFP WASHINGTON: Frank Caprio, a US judge who became an internet sensation for his compassion and courteous demeanor in court, has died at 88. The retired Rhode Island judge, who served on the bench for nearly four decades before retiring in 2023, became known for his lenient approach to minor infractions. Born in 1936 and raised in Providence, Rhode Island, Caprio had worked multiple jobs including shining shoes and delivering newspapers, according to his website. He attended Suffolk University School of Law in Boston at night while working as a school teacher, eventually serving as Providence’s municipal court chief judge from 1985 to 2023. Caprio had posted a video on Tuesday from his hospital bed asking for prayers after suffering a health “setback”. Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee ordered state flags to fly at half-mast. – AFP TOKYO: McDonald’s Japan has cancelled a promotion based on the classic One Piece manga series, after a similar Pokemon themed campaign sparked a frenzy and uproar about uneaten food being discarded. The fast-food giant said it had called off the campaign, which was due to start next Friday. It had promised to give away game cards for the popular manga and anime series One Piece in “Happy Set” meals, the Japanese name for Happy Meals. Earlier this month, McDonald’s gave away limited edition Pokemon trading cards with the meals. Long queues formed at some outlets, with some customers buying meals in bulk to get hold of the cards and resell them. Social media was awash with complaints about families unable to be served and unverified pictures of plastic bags full of uneaten food. – AFP ‘NICEST’ RHODE ISLAND JUDGE DIES AT 88 ‘ONE PIECE’ FAST-FOOD PROMOTION SCRAPPED

o Law clears lower house

recommendations, instead requiring social networks to “continuously improve their age verification mechanisms”. Companies violating the provisions face fines up to 50 million reais (RM38 million), suspensions, or bans for repeat offenders. Brazil has emerged as one of the most active countries in social media regulation. Courts suspended X for 40 days last year over non-compliance with anti disinformation orders. The government on Monday asked US tech giant Meta to rid its platforms of chatbots that mimic children and can make sexually suggestive remarks, after detecting their “proliferation” across Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp. In a June ruling, Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered tech companies to assume greater responsibility for user-generated content. Early this year, the court ordered video platform Rumble to be suspended after it refused to block a user’s account. – AFP

accused the government and judiciary of seeking to “censor” online platforms. The legislation was passed by a wide margin after public outrage over alleged child sexual exploitation by Hytalo Santos, a well known influencer who posted content on Instagram featuring partially naked minors taking part in suggestive dances. Santos was arrested last week as part of an investigation into “exposure with sexual connotations” to adolescents, and his Instagram account is no longer available. Under the new rules, social networks must report suspected exploitative or sexually abusive content to Brazilian authorities and link the accounts of minors to parental controls. Platforms will be required to “monitor and restrict, within the limits of their technical capabilities, content that is clearly intended to attract children”, according to the legislation. Brazil’s Congress rejected self-declaration as an age verification method following expert

BRASILIA: Brazil’s lower house approved legislation on Wednesday expanding requirements for digital platforms to protect minors, after a prominent social media influencer allegedly sexually exploited a child. The measure includes stricter age verification systems and mandates that the accounts of children under 16 be linked to their parents’ pages. The law takes effect one year after the president’s assent and must receive final approval from the Senate. Social media regulation has become a thorny political issue in the South American nation, with leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva warning this week that “society will be under constant threat without regulation of big tech”. Right-wing opposition parties have

BR I E F S

Police stand on duty as Kneecap supporters fly Palestinian flags outside the court in London. – AFPPIC

Irish rap artiste in the dock over Hezbollah flag LONDON: Hundreds of fans turned out to support a member of Irish rap group Kneecap on Wednesday at a London court as he sought to throw out a terrorism charge for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah. arouses reasonable suspicion that someone is a supporter of a proscribed organisation. O hAnnaidh appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf and had to fight his way through a scrum of photographers to get inside the building. brought too late and the prosecution case should be thrown out, as O hAnnaidh was formally charged on May 22 this year, one day after the six-month limit for such charges.

Prosecutor Michael Bisgrove, however, argued that O hAnnaidh was charged on May 21, within the time limit. Judge Paul Goldspring said he would give a decision on Sept 26. O hAnnaidh left the court to cheers from supporters, telling the crowd the charge against him was “a distraction from the real story” of Israel’s actions in Palestine. Belfast-based Kneecap , who rap in Irish and English and regularly display pro-Palestinian messages during gigs, previously said the charge was an attempt to silence them. – Reuters

Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who was initially charged under the Anglicised name Liam O’Hanna and whose stage name is Mo Chara, is alleged to have waved the yellow flag of Hezbollah during a Kneecap gig in London on Nov 21, 2024. O hAnnaidh is accused of holding up the flag on stage while saying “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah”. Kneecap have said the flag was thrown on stage during their performance. The 27-year-old was charged in May under the Terrorism Act, which makes it a criminal offence to display an article in a way which

He sat alongside an Irish language interpreter during the hearing and his bandmates Naoise O Caireallain, stage name Moglai Bap, and J.J. O Dochartaigh, who goes by DJ Provai, were also in court, with supporters filling the public gallery. Irish music was played outside the court throughout the hearing, with many supporters waving Irish and Palestinian flags while others held placards reading “Free Mo Chara”. O hAnnaidh’s lawyers say the charge was