Mobile Tech & Gadgets

charge to see the Trevi Fountain

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Since the mass tourism was consolidated, many historic enclaves and emblematic landscapes have gone from being lived spaces to become scenes Subjected to constant pressure, first by the popularization of travel and then by the amplification of social networks. Over time, this accumulation of visitors has forced cities and towns around the world to test solutions every time more diverse (taxes, quotas, access restrictions or changes in the uses of space) in an attempt to preserve places designed to last centuries in the face of an increasingly intense form of tourist consumption. The selfie as a payment entry. And it is precisely at this point where the latest movement of the authorities in Rome appears, who have begun to put a price not on the contemplation of their monuments, but on the concrete act of standing in front of them and producing content, turning the selfie into a checkout experience. The most symbolic case is that of the Trevi Fountain, where viewing the monument is still free from the square, but going down to its level, occupying the iconic frame, throwing the coin and taking a photo now requires pay two euros. In other words, the fee does not buy history or heritage, but rather time, space and proximity in a saturated scenario, explicitly assuming that the true tourist value is no longer in looking, but in appearing in the image. La Fontana as a permanent filming set. For years, the Trevi Fountain had become a human funnel where thousands of daily visitors competed for a few seconds in front of the marble, the water and the cell phone camera, until the experience became an almost impracticable horror. If you like, the new limited access system works as if it were a set locker: Whoever pays can go down, pose, repeat the photo and stay as long as they want, while gestures that break the illusion of the stage, such as eating or drinking, are prohibited. Rome thus assumes that the contemporary ritual is no longer tossing the coin to return to the city, but rather certifying on networks that one has been there, and that this gesture has an economic and management cost. Between normalization and controversy. There is no doubt, such a measure has divided visitorsbetween those who see it as reasonable to pay “what a coffee costs” for an orderly experience, and those who consider inadmissible put economic barriers to a historical symbol. However, the debate hides a broader reality: paid access does not arise so much from the need to collect money as from filter flows, reduce masses and monetize a pressure that already exists, or so they say in the administration. With more than ten million people a year coming to the Fontana, the payment acts as a regulator of the desire for proximity, not of cultural interest. Throwing coins, new risky sport. CNN counted that on the first day of the new system, not everyone was convinced. Apparently, a group of Spanish tourists, reluctant to pay, stood outside the barriers and threw coins into the fountain from above. In fact, several failed completely and did not reach the water, while below, paying visitors ducked as the coins they were raining from above. A municipal official said that in the coming days they would introduce patrols to prevent injuries from incorrect throws. Same problem, different solution. Also in Italy, in the small alpine village of Santa Maddalena, at the foot of the Dolomitesthe response has been different, but part of the same diagnosis: the express selfie is emptying the places that it makes viral of meaning. In his case, the enclave church. There is no charge for downloading a photo, but rather directly limits access For those who do not stay overnight, parking becomes more expensive and they are forced to walk a long way to get to the church that has become an Instagram icon. The objective: to discourage the visitor who arrives, takes the photo and leaves, leaving saturation, but little value for the community. From seeing to consuming the frame. In short, both in Rome as in the Dolomitesthe underlying message is the same: mass tourism no longer revolves around discovering places, but rather consuming images, and administrations are beginning to manage this phenomenon as a product with limits. From this perspective, the Trevi Fountain symbolizes the definitive step, by clearly separating free contemplation from access to the “filming set”, while Santa Maddalena is committed to brake directly to the passing tourist. Two different approaches to the same contemporary problem: when the trip is reduced to a selfie, heritage ends up becoming a stage and access, inevitably, a regulated good. Image | Benson Kua In Xataka | In its fight against mass tourism, Italy has entered uncharted territory: a tax on tourist dogs In Xataka | Italy has had an idea so that mass tourism does not choke it: higher rates and in more places for travelers

The Nintendo DS was the best-selling console in the history of the Japanese manufacturer until now. It’s easy to guess who has surpassed her

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The Nintendo Switch has become the best-selling console in the history of the Japanese company, as revealed by Nintendo in its financial report of February 3, 2026. With 155.37 million units sold until the end of December 2025, the hybrid system has surpassed the 154.02 million of the Nintendo DS, which held the record since its discontinuation in 2013. Two proposals. The data gain more weight considering that the Switch debuted in 2017 with a price of $299.99 (exactly double the $149.99 of the DS in 2004) and not has officially dropped in price in its eight years of commercial life. The concept of the DS (two screens, one of them touch) represented a risky bet when the industry prioritized graphical power. The console found its audience in sectors outside of traditional video games, with titles such as ‘Brain Training’ and ‘Nintendogs’ that attracted users with the same casual profile that the Wii had conquered. Added to this was the DS Lite, launched in 2006, which represented 61% of the system’s total sales: 93.86 million units. The Switch arrives. In 2017, the Switch was double the price of its portable predecessor. Its hybrid concept (functioning as a desktop console connected to the television and as a portable device) eliminated Nintendo’s traditional division between home and mobile platforms. And without price cuts: the OLED model, launched in 2021 at $349.99, meant a net increase in the market positioning of the system. Different pricing policies. The pricing strategy of both consoles differs significantly. Adjusted for inflation, the $149.99 DS in 2004 andThey would be equivalent to approximately $240 in 2024. The DS also experienced reductions during its life cycle, reaching $99.99 in 2011. The Switch, in contrast, has maintained its base price for eight years, something unusual in the consumer electronics industry. The accumulated inflation since 2017 has reduced the real value of the price by approximately 20%. For comparison, the PlayStation 2 dropped its price from $300 to $100 in less than a decade. But the Switch unifies two segments: while the DS competed exclusively as a portable platform (coexisting with the Wii and Wii U as home consoles), each Switch unit captures both the traditional home console and handheld audiences. The difference: the software. Beyond hardware, software performance reveals a gap between both systems. According to data from November 2025the Switch has sold 1,452.79 million software units throughout its life cycle, compared to the 948.76 million that the DS reached at the end of its production. A difference of 53% in favor of the Switch that indicates a greater commitment on the part of its user base. Put another way: each Switch owner has purchased an average of approximately 9.4 games, compared to 6.2 for DS users. The Switch catalog, which includes ports and remasters of titles previously exclusive to other platforms, has reached an audience that goes beyond the traditional Nintendo. PS2 objective. The Switch is still below the absolute industry record: Sony’s PlayStation 2 maintains the position of best-selling console of all time with figures that exceed 160 million units. This brand has generated some controversy after Sony updated its historical data including sales that were not previously listed in its public records. To reach that figure, the Switch would need to sell approximately 4.63 million additional units. However, Nintendo’s current projections contemplate only 750,000 more units until the end of the fiscal year. Besides, Switch 2 It has already sold 17.37 million units. The coexistence of both models on the market could accelerate the withdrawal of the original hardware. Images | Xataka In Xataka | The most recurring criticism of Nintendo Switch 2 is that “it does not innovate.” We have tried it and we have something to say about it

It is a parks company that also makes movies

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The Walt Disney Company just announced that Josh D’Amaro, 54, will assume the position of CEO on March 18, thus closing almost three years of speculation about who would succeed Robert A. Iger. The board of directors voted unanimously in his favor, appointing the 28-year veteran to the company he currently leads. Disney Experiencesthe division that generated 36 billion dollars during fiscal year 2025 and contributes approximately 60% of corporate profits. The experience. D’Amaro comes to the position with deep experience in the physical operation of the Disney business (logistics, hotel management, multimodal transportation systems, customer satisfaction) but without significant experience in the film or television production that has historically defined the company. It is a commitment to profitability over glamour. Since 1998. D’Amaro’s career at Disney began in 1998 in Disneyland Resort. For more than a quarter of a century, he rose through various positions: CFO of consumer product licensing, overseer of the most ambitious expansion in the history of Disney’s Animal Kingdom (which included the attraction Pandora – The World of Avatar), president of Disneyland Resort in California and, finally, president of Walt Disney World in Florida, where he coordinated 75,000 employees. The Chapek stage. When Bob Chapek was promoted to CEO in 2020D’Amaro assumed his position at the helm of what was then called Disney Parks, Experiences and Products. The division, renamed Disney Experiencesjust reported quarterly revenue exceeding $10 billion for the first time in the company’s century-old history. With 185,000 employees worldwide, it operates twelve theme parks, 57 resort hotels, an expanding fleet of cruise ships and the consumer products business, including video games. Bet on experience. Disney Experiences generated 71% of the company’s operating income during the fiscal first quarter of 2026, despite representing only 38% of total revenue. While streaming barely broke even in 2024 after years of multibillion-dollar losses, theme parks maintained solid margins even during the pandemic. In 2023, Disney announced a plan to invest 60 billion dollars in a decade to expand this division. Turn towards the experiential. This shift responds to broader transformations in cultural consumption, not just at Disney. He theme park tourism grew at a compound annual rate of 9.2% between 2020 and 2024, driven by a generational preference for experiences over material possessions, something we have already talked about with the live entertainment boom. A theme park offers something that streaming can’t replicate, and Disney knows it. What’s up with Dana Walden. The other candidate for the CEO chair has been named president and creative director, becoming the first executive to hold this position in Disney’s 103-year history. The position unifies the company’s creative strategy under one leadership. From ABC and ESPN to Disney+ and Hulu, everything falls under Walden’s mandate, who will report directly to D’Amaro. With more than three decades in the television industry, Walden spent 25 years at 21st Century Fox, where as CEO of Fox Television Group he transformed the network into a ratings leader. Under his supervision, series such as ’24’, ‘Glee’, ‘Modern Family’, ‘This Is Us’, ‘Homeland’ were produced… When Disney acquired Fox in 2019Walden became head of Disney Television Studios and later, co-president of Disney Entertainment. The teams under his direction have accumulated more than 1,200 awards, including 400 Emmys, and recent series such as ‘The Bear’, ‘Shōgun’ or ‘Only Murders in the Building’ have consolidated Disney’s prestige on television. Immediate challenges. D’Amaro will need to quickly articulate a strategic vision that balances continued investment in parks (where his expertise lies) with strengthening the entertainment business. Streaming, although now profitable, shows some stagnation. And then there is the precedent of Bob Chapekalso hailing from the parks division, who lasted just two years before being ousted amid public conflicts with Iger. This time the consensus has been greater, but… is it what Disney needs? Header | Disney – Matt H. Wade In Xataka | Disney Adults: how the parks are filling up with childless adults who leave their salaries in nostalgia

The world had been in love with US technology for 25 years. We are finally unhooking

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We have been living within a digital ecosystem designed in the United States for more than two decades. Big technology companies not only built the dominant social networks, but also built a network of services around them without real substitutes. From Europe we have been talking for years about technological sovereignty and a possible disengagement – even if it is partial. There are more and more proposals, but at the moment it is more of a wish than reality. Difficult, but not impossible. Become completely independent from American technology In software it is complicated, but feasible. Our colleague Jose told it just a few days ago, leaving aside giants like Google, WhatsAppAmazon, or Instagram. The changes made something very clear: the United States has taken over the great pillars of daily technological life: Internet searches Sending messages online shopping Social networks Email accounts Operating systems The dependence is total, and assuming it is uncomfortable. Countries like France have banned to its officials the use of American platforms such as Zoom and Teamsto promote a video conferencing platform developed in France and under the name Visio. The objective is clear: reduce dependence on foreign technology, minimize costs and achieve a communication standard under European legal control. The UpScrolled case. Behind him TikTok ownership changewhich went from being mainly in Chinese hands to being under the lap of large American companies, the use of social networks like Upscrolledan app founded by the Palestinian Issam Hijazi as a challenge to big technology companies. During the last week of January, Upscrolled was the most downloaded social network above Threads, WhatsApp and TikTok in the United States App Store. A paradigmatic case in which Americans themselves opt for alternatives outside their country. The Proton case. Although less recent, the proton case It is one of the most ambitious in the last five years. From being protagonists only for ProtonMail (end-to-end encryption by default, European jurisdiction and independence from the Big Tech model), to a whole suite with calendar, VPN and storage alternatives. According to the company, its apps already have more than 100 million users. Good number, but far from more than 100 thousand millions of users who have Google services. The distance remains enormous, and explains why technological disengagement continues to be, for the moment, more of a political and cultural gesture than an everyday reality. Prepared for the worst. At the end of January, the Wall Street Journal reported a scenario starring even more tension. The Greenland case has been the flame necessary to finish lighting the fuseand the main managers of European strategic sectors want to move both their systems and data to local centers. Thinking about a 100% European software ecosystem does not seem entirely realistic. But imagining a scenario in which the dependency is not complete sounds a little better. Image | Xataka In Xataka | We criticize the EU a lot with its obsession with regulating Big Tech. There are at least two examples that justify this obsession

Critical dress rehearsal leak forces NASA to delay Artemis II

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If we learned something with Artemis I in 2022 is that liquid hydrogen is possibly the biggest enemy of NASA’s patience in its missions. And in the last few hours the US space agency has confirmed what many of us feared after a difficult weekend: the launch of Artemis IIthe mission that must take astronauts around the Moon, officially delayed until March. An accumulation of errors. These days NASA had on its agenda to do a ‘general rehearsal’ for the launch of this new mission that aims to test its equipment to take the final leap: put man on Mars in the future. And everything seemed to be ready, with the astronauts in strict quarantine since January 23. But in the end, Florida’s weather reminded us again that it reigns supreme with freezing temperatures and strong winds that forced these plans to stop. Some specific limits. A priori, these adverse conditions should not be a problem for cutting-edge operation, but the reality is that the SLS rocket has very strict operating limits: it cannot safely load fuel if the temperature drops below 4.4ºC for more than 30 minutes. Something that eliminated the launch window that It was scheduled between February 6 and 7moving hope to February 8. The coup de grace. But if the weather was already a big problem, in the last few hours the last major inconvenience has arrived while retrying to refuel under more favorable conditions. It was none other than a leak of liquid hydrogen that was detected at the umbilical interface of the rear service mast while the test was being carried out. Something that has forced everything that was being done to stop, and logically to make decisions that are very hard. Safety first. Although the agency managed to complete many of the test objectives, the hydrogen concentration exceeded safety limits, forcing the rocket to be drained. Administrator Jared Isaacman has been blunt– Crew and vehicle safety is the top priority, so no launch window will be forced. A ‘dejà vu’. For fans of the Artemis show, this sounds painfully familiar. The situation is almost a carbon copy of what was experienced with Artemis I in 2022and although at that time it was not the weather, there were recurring technical failures such as propellant leaks and problems with the pressure fans that caused multiple cancellations of the general rehearsal. Because of those technical problems, they were forced to return the rocket to the Vehicle Assembly Building for much more thorough checks, pushing the April launch to the end of August. Now the similarity lies in the complexity of liquid hydrogen, an ultracold and extremely difficult to contain fuel that remains the Achilles heel of these missions. What will happen now? For now, with all these problems behind us, the launch window that lasted until February 11 has been completely ruled out. This forces us to look for a new date that NASA aims for sometime in March 2026although without specifying a specific day. To do this, they must still analyze data and above all have a successful general rehearsal to validate the safety of the operation. As far as the astronauts are concerned, it no longer makes sense for them to remain quarantined at the Kennedy Space Center, so they will return to Houston until there is a new firm launch date. Images | POT In Xataka | Claude begins to seem unstoppable: NASA has already used him to plan routes for the Perseverance rover on Mars

The European Bizum will soon be a reality. It is very bad news for VISA and Matercard

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Europe will have its pan-European mobile payment system. Although we all thought that we would have a unique and universal Bizum For EU countries, what will happen will be a little different, but just as effective and probably better: long live interoperability. European Bizums connect. As indicated in CincoDíasBizum and the rest of the European platforms that imitated those free transfer functions easily accessible from mobile phones have finally joined forces. all friends. That was the last obstaclebecause all of them wanted to become the unique and universal Bizum. That would have forced the rest of the platforms to say goodbye to make way for that single platform, but instead what will happen is that the different platforms will be interoperable. The agreement includes 130 million connected users. Thanks to this interoperability project, 130 million EU (and Norwegian) citizens will be able to use this system. Not only that: the interoperable platform will be prepared to accept those from other European countries such as Switzerland or even others from markets not belonging to the euro zone. The key is in SPL. This interoperability can be achieved thanks to the so-called Standard Proxy Lookup (SPL), a “directory” service at the European level managed by the European Payments Council (EPC). This service allows banks to check which IBAN corresponds to each telephone number. Everything runs on the SEPA Instant Transfer infrastructureand thanks to new EU regulations, these transfers will soon be mandatory free or will have the same cost as a standard transfer, eliminating the traditional abusive commissions for immediate transfers. In 2026, personal payments. The technical implementation will begin in the coming months, and it is expected that before the end of the year a Spaniard with Bizum will be able to send money to a German with Wero and vice versa in a transparent and simple way. In theory, the operation of the system will not change for users, who will simply have to enter the recipient’s mobile number, regardless of the EU country, so that the transfer is carried out instantly. Shops in 2027. These personal payments with the European Bizum will end up giving rise to the other great option of the system: payments in electronic stores and points of sale. This option will arrive a little later, in 2027, and will undoubtedly be the great spearhead of these platforms against the two fierce competitors that dominated this segment. Setback for Visa and Mastercard. This agreement allows the European Union to have an internal payment system that will allow it to reduce its dependence on the systems that have been the de facto industry standard for decades, those offered by Visa and Mastercard. And a measure of the banks for the banks. European banks are also strengthening their position regarding the digital euro project that the European Central Bank (ECB) is preparing. This currency will in the future allow European citizens to have deposits in central banks without intervention by private banks. That, of course, took power away from these entities, but with this European Bizum they reinforce their role. Another step towards European digital sovereignty. For decades Europe has delegated all its digital systems to companies, especially from the US, and this project confirms an increasingly strong trend: that of European digital sovereignty. When processing payments within a European banking network, citizens’ consumption data does not go to US servers (as happens when using Visa, Mastercard, Apple or Google). And you can use Bizum without a bank card. This agreement does not prevent the platforms from continuing to evolve and improve on their own. This is what Bizum intends to do, which will launch Bizum Pay this year to pay directly in stores with the current account and without the need for a bank card. This will allow us to avoid dependence on Google Pay or Apple Pay, for example, on our mobile phones. It will first offer this option in shops in Spain, and in 2027, in line with the objective of that interoperable European Bizum, in shops in the EU. In Xataka | The Treasury confirms it: payments for dinner and gifts to your friends through Bizum do not go to the Tax Agency

The Sihoo Doro C300 is on sale again

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For those of us who work or study from home, it is undeniable that it is worth investing well in the corner where we usually do so. In this way, we can enjoy a better (and more comfortable) experience. A elevating deskwhich would provide a lot of versatility. But perhaps the most important thing is choose a good chair wellsince spending many hours a day sitting may carry certain health risks. Here we have dozens of different options. Those who play video games usually prefer to shoot a gaming cutting chairalthough there are those who prefer an office or ergonomic one. If you are one of the latter, The Sihoo Doro C300 may fit you very well. More now, it is reduced to 279.99 euros in its official store. Now, if we use the discount code ‘SihooXA’ we will get an extra 6% discount, so its price stays at 263.19 euros. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links An ergonomic chair that adjusts to our posture We are facing a very good opportunity to get a quality chair. The RRP of it is 479.99 euros (529.99 euros for the version with footrest), so it is a direct discount of 200 euros. No need to apply any type of discount coupon or do anything strange: just follow the normal purchasing process. Time to talk about the chair in question. This Sihoo Doro C300 is one of the best products that this brand has. What stands out most about it, without a doubt, is its dynamic lumbar support. Unlike most of the chairs that we see in stores (which have fixed lumbar support), the C300 automatically adjusts to our posture, which means that we always have this part of the body well supported. In addition to this support, its backrest is designed to be flexible and responsive. In this way, even if we change our posture a little while sitting, we will feel that we always have direct contact between back and back. To this we must add its headrest, which is not only very wide, but can be adjusted both in height and depth and in rotation angle. In this way, we will always have the option of having our head supported. More things. The chair, being so configurable, is ideal for people of different heights and weights. In fact, the fact that the chair automatically adjusts to our posture makes it much easier (and much easier) to carry out long sessions without it being uncomfortable. And if we need a little respite, we can recline the backrest up to 130 degrees. At the materials level, the Sihoo Doro C300 is designed to be durable. It also has elastic mesh fabric, which we will appreciate when we use it in very hot weather. Finally, it should be noted its 4D armrests. These can not only be adjusted in height, depth and with lateral rotation (up to 75 degrees), but they will also move in coordination with the backrest. This, put more directly, will be great when reclining the backrest, since we will continue to have our arms supported at all times. Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Sihoo In Xataka | Buying guide on how to make your home workplace ergonomic In Xataka Selection | How to set up your home office: buying guide for stands, monitors and other peripherals, cables, headphones and more

That Oracle speaks out on the soap opera between NVIDIA and OpenAI is a bad sign. That it will not have benefits until 2029, too

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Oracle counted in a tweet that the agreement between NVIDIA and OpenAI has “zero impact” on your financial relationships with the company that owns ChatGPT. This is more complicated than it seems, because the AI ​​business could end up collapsing if a large company like NVIDIA or Oracle shows even a hint of doubt towards OpenAI. The latest statements by Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, have made the market nervous, although Oracle’s path is not very encouraging either. Why is it relevant? Oracle just announced that will raise between 45,000 and 50,000 million of dollars this year through debt and equity issuance to build cloud infrastructure for its large AI clients. Among them, OpenAI stands out with a contract of 300,000 million of dollars for five years that starts in 2028. The problem is that OpenAI is not profitable right now, and Oracle needs OpenAI to raise capital so that it can pay it. It is a circular financing circuit where everyone depends on everyone Keep signing checks. The numbers don’t add up yet. The contract with OpenAI involves about $60 billion annually starting in 2028. To fulfill it, Oracle must buy approximately 400,000 chips NVIDIA’s GB200, with an estimated cost of $40 billion just for its flagship data center in Abilene, Texas. Meanwhile, OpenAI’s total revenue in 2025 was around $13 billion, according to Bloomberg. Oracle is betting its bottom line that a company that currently burns more cash than it generates can pay bills equal to five times its current annual revenue. The alarm signals. In January, investors accused Oracle of hiding the need for more debt to finance its AI infrastructure, according to Reuters. Oracle’s debt-to-equity ratio is at 6x, and credit default swaps reached levels not seen since the 2008 financial crisis in December, according to point Bloomberg. In addition to all this obstacle, Oracle’s action has fallen 50% from its September peak, when it announced precisely the agreement with OpenAIerasing some $460 billion in market capitalization. ANDnegative n until 2029. Developing data centers for AI has pushed Oracle’s free cash flow into negative territory, where it is expected to remain until 2030, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Jefferies esteem that the company will need to raise more funds in 2027 and subsequent years, since cash flow will not return to positive until 2029. Oracle plans to raise 50 billion: half through equity, with convertible preferred securities and a share sale program of up to 20 billion, and the other half through a single bond issue in early 2026. Between the lines. What really worries the market is the structure of mutual dependence. NVIDIA funds OpenAI. OpenAI pays Oracle. Oracle buys chips from NVIDIA. Everyone’s income growth depends on everyone else continuing to write checks. When Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, declared to journalists that the 100 billion agreement with OpenAI “was never a commitment” and that they would invest “step by step”, Oracle had to come out with that tweet to calm the waters. And that tweet is precisely the type of communication that worries investors. Cover image | IEEE Awards, Hartmann Studios, Wikimedia Commons In Xataka | The CEO of Airbnb is clear that there are companies with too many meetings: his trick is to follow Jony Ive’s philosophy

has many obstacles ahead

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The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has announced from Dubai a package of five measures with the intention of regulating digital platforms, among which stands out the total prohibition of access to social networks for minors under 16 years of age and criminal sanctions against the manipulation of algorithms. The proposals will still need to go through Congress. Advertisement. Social media has become a “failed state where laws are ignored and crimes are tolerated,” counted Pedro Sánchez this Tuesday at the World Governments Summit in Dubai. It is not the first time that the president has attacked the platforms, since less than two weeks ago he already proposed in Davos end anonymity on networks and hold their owners criminally responsible. Now he has finalized legislative measures that, according to Sánchez, will begin to be processed “next week.” The five measures announced. Package Included: Prohibition of access to social networks for minors under 16 years of age, forcing platforms to implement effective age verification systems. Criminal liability for platform managers if they do not remove hateful or illegal content. Legal punishment for the manipulation of algorithms and the deliberate amplification of illegal content. Creation of a tracking system, referred to by Sánchez as a “footprint of hate and polarization”, that will quantify how platforms amplify social division and will serve as a basis for future sanctions. Collaboration between the Government and the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate and prosecute crimes committed by Grok (X’s AI), TikTok and Instagram. Qprohibition of minors. Spain would thus follow in the footsteps of France or Australia, which have already legislated in this direction with age limits of 15 and 16 years respectively. The preliminary draft of Organic Law for the Protection of Minors in Digital Environmentsapproved in June 2024 and currently being processed by parliament, was already contemplating raising the minimum age to open a network account without parental consent from 14 to 16 years. What the Government is now proposing is to introduce an amendment that expressly reflects this total prohibition and forces platforms to implement age verifications. The President of the Government justified the measure stating that children are exposed “to a space of addiction, abuse, violence, pornography and manipulation.” Criminal liability for directors. Although the European Union already holds large platforms accountable through the Digital Services Regulation (DSA), which until now has allowed fines to be imposed as the 120 million euros to X Due to breaches of transparency, the measure announced by Sánchez differs in attributing direct criminal responsibility to the directors. According to the announcement, this will be articulated through an Organic Law Project that must pass through Parliament. Algorithms and illegal content. Criminalizing algorithmic manipulation is perhaps the most ambitious and least detailed measure. Sanchez stated that “no more hiding under the code and saying that technology is neutral”, pointing to platforms whose algorithms amplify misinformation “in exchange for benefits.” The initiative will also begin through an Organic Law Project, although the president has not specified what exactly he means by “manipulating algorithms” or how this manipulation will be proven. The “Footprint of Hate” as a measurement tool. The proposed system aims to quantify and reveal how platforms “fuel division and amplify hate,” something Sánchez recognized which until now was considered “invisible and impossible to quantify”. This tool would serve as a basis for defining future sanctions, establishing that spreading hate must have a “legal, economic and ethical” cost that platforms cannot ignore. However, no details have been provided on how it will technically work or what metrics it will use. Platform-specific investigations. The Government will work with the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate possible crimes by Grok, TikTok and Instagram. Just like points out The Country, in the case of Grokthe Ministry of Youth and Children already sent a letter weeks ago to the Prosecutor’s Office requesting that they investigate whether The controversy motivated the European Commission to open an investigation. Union with other countries. Sanchez recognized that it is “a battle that far exceeds the borders of any country” and announced that Spain has joined forces with five other European countries in a “Coalition of the Digitally Willing”, which promises to impose stricter, faster and more effective regulation. From the media El Confidencial they count that the first meeting of this coalition will be held in the coming days, although the details have not been revealed or which countries comprise it. Many obstacles. It is not the first time that the President of the Government has leaned towards the regulation of social networks. Just like account El Mundo, a year ago in Davos, already pointed out that platforms are “eroding democracies”, and in November it announced an investigation against Meta for alleged violation of the privacy of millions of users. The complication of this package of measures is finding a practical implementation, on the one hand by the parliamentary minority of the Government, and on the other the technical complexity required to effectively implement systems such as age verification or the detection of algorithmic manipulation. To all this we must add a big melon: What is a social network? Which are considered social networks and which are not? More and more governments want to limit them, but implementing practical measures will be a difficult task. Cover image | The Moncloa (Flickr) In Xataka | Instagram has wreaked havoc on tourism in half the world. AI has arrived to multiply it by a thousand

Andalusia’s measures to prevent Leonardo from becoming a catastrophe

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This Wednesday the weather situation In many parts of Spain it is really complicated and Andalusia is one of the points where we are going to have greater impact with the storm Leonardo. Not because it is going to rain in large quantities, that too, but because the land is literally oversaturated with water. This has caused the authorities to begin to take measures such as the suspension of in-person activity in educational centers. The advertisement. This was announced by the president of the Andalusian Regional Government, Juan Manuel Moreno, this Tuesday after presiding over the advisory committee of the Emergency Plan that has decreed the suspension of classes in all the Andalusian communityexcept in Almería. This is complemented by the elevation of the Emergency Plan for the Risk of Floods to the emergency phase at level 2. There will still be classes. What was announced by the Andalusian executive is not the complete suspension of teaching activity in educational centers, but rather the transfer to telematic mode. In this way, the infrastructure that was already used in the covid pandemic is rescued with the aim that students continue receiving classes but without traveling to educational centers. The exception of universities. This alteration in the way classes are taught affects the educational centers over which the Junta de Andalucía has jurisdiction, but does not affect the universities. In this case, the decision is left in the hands of the rectors to continue supporting face-to-face classes, although in this case the focus is mainly on the evaluation periods, or to suspend teaching activity. This is something that is expected to be decided later this Tuesday afternoon when each university evaluates the risk of its students’ place of residence. At this time, we know that the University of Cádiz has postponed their exams due to this storm red alert. Reduce the number of trips. Preventing students from having to travel to educational centers to develop responds to the need to avoid traveling through areas that may be flooded. The question we ask ourselves in this case is what will happen to the workers who must go to their jobs. In this case, the activation of level 2 and the orange or red alerts from the AEMET protects the worker within article 21 of the Occupational Risk Prevention Law. In this case, it is pointed out that the worker has the right to interrupt his activity and leave the workplace if there is a “serious risk” to his health. Furthermore, the Royal Decree-Law 4/2023 It also establishes the obligation to prohibit the development of certain outdoor tasks if the worker’s safety cannot be guaranteed. In practice. If it is not possible to go to work due to short roads or flooding in the area, the absence from work is automatically considered justified by force majeure. It must be taken into account that the Workers’ Statute in its article 37.3g pick up a paid leave of up to four dayscovering absences due to force majeure when travel to the workplace is dangerous. That is why, to avoid exposure to risk, the prevailing recommendation in these cases is the implementation of teleworking. ES-Alert Notice. At this time there are some specific areas of Andalusia that have an active red alert due to very adverse weather conditions. These are the regions of Jerez and Campo de Gibraltar, points of Malaga such as Ronda, the area of ​​the Jaén bridges and others. Here the Board plans to send an ES-Alert notice at 20:00 due to the great risk of flooding, although there is the possibility that it will be expanded to other areas where the AEMET indicates that there may also be a similar risk of receiving a large amount of rainfall. Emergency level 2. This is an important qualitative leap in disaster management in Spain, since it implies that the management of the emergency becomes a total autonomous competence, coordinating all local and state resources under the same operational umbrella. Furthermore, the pre-activation of the Military Emergency Unit is not a formality, but rather seeks to gain vital time in the presence of floods in the areas most prone to it. Mobilizing the EMU in advance avoids delays of between 4 and 5 hours in the effective deployment on the ground in case the situation overflows, allowing almost immediate intervention. Images | Pablo FJ on Flickr In Xataka | Spain is preparing for a “festival” of storms in February: with more rain than normal and hardly any cold

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