business

Brussels fine to Google with 2,950 million. The worst thing is that the EU points to a sale from its advertising business

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Brussels has launched a resounding notice to the technology industry: 2,950 million euros of fine to Google for abusing its position in the digital advertising market, As announced today the European Commission. The investigation points to self -preference practices that reinforced their domain in the Adtech chain and harmed competitors, advertisers and editors. The Community Executive suggests that the solution could go uninverting part of their advertising business. It is a movement that raises pressure on large technological ones and reinforces the regulatory role of the European Union. The case has a long journey in Brussels. The European Commission started in 2021 A file on Google’s power in the digital advertising sector, after detecting indications of dominant position abuse. In 2023 a specifications were issued that the company answered at the end of that year. The research analyzed Google activity in strategic markets such as the DFP advertisements and Google Ads and DV360 programmatic purchase tools, both with presence throughout the European economic space. What Brussels has ordered and what Google is played The core of the decision is in self -preference. The commission argues that, at least since 2014, Google took advantage of its domain on the DFP advertisements and in the Google Ads and DV360 tools for Grant advantages to your own platformA ADX. DFP warned ADX on the value of rival offers, and purchase tools prioritized participating in that same platform. This dynamic would have reduced competition and consolidated Google’s power in the advertising chain. For Brussels, it is a behavior designed to reinforce its position and its ability to collect high rates. Brussels set the sanction of 2,950 million euros based on its 2006 standards for anti -political fines. The calculation took into account “various elements, such as the duration and severity of the infraction, as well as ADX’s business volume in the EEE.” The commission defends that the amount is proportionate to the infraction and necessary to avoid new self -preference practices. The figure makes this file one of the most significant in the field of digital competence in Europe, reinforcing the role of the body as a regulator. The commission has given Google 60 days to present a plan that ends the conflicts of interest detected in the advertising chain. Once received, Brussels will evaluate whether the proposed measures really eliminate these practices. In its decision, the agency has already advanced its preliminary position: Only a partial disinvestment of advertising services I would solve the root problem. If Google’s proposal does not meet the criteria, the European regulator may impose structural remedies. Brussels hardens their pulse with technological while in Washington political discourse intensifies. Donald Trump published last month A message in Truth social criticizing laws and digital regulations that, according to him, “are designed to harm or discriminate against US technology companies.” He warned that it will impose tariffs and restrictions on countries that maintain these policies. Although he did not explicitly mention the European Union, its administration has repeatedly shown its discomfort with the measures against companies such as Google, Meta or X. The scope of this sanction goes beyond Google. Brussels seeks to reduce the dependency of editors and advertisers of a single intermediary, which could promote the Competition in digital advertising services. A mandatory divestment would open space for rivals in key segments such as advertisements and programmatic purchase platforms. The sector, accustomed to operating under the control of a few technological giants, could see changes in prices, access to commercial data and conditions. The EU thus reinforces its role as a referee in strategic digital markets. “Today’s decision shows that Google abused its dominant position in advertising technology, harming editors, advertisers and consumers. This behavior is illegal according to the EU antimonopoopoolio standards. Google must now present a serious solution to address their conflicts of interest and, if it does not, we will not hesitate to impose forceful measures,” said the Spanish commissioner Teresa Teresa Ribera, responsible for the competence of the community. Beyond the economic sanction, the decision of Brussels gives legal basis to those affected to claim. European regulations establish that commission resolutions are conclusive evidence that the infraction occurred. The Antitrust Damage Directive, together with a practical guide on the calculation of damages, facilitates that companies and individuals Get compensation. Thus, this case not only seeks to correct the market, but also repair those who suffered the consequences of the practices that reinforced Google’s domain in digital advertising. Just days ago, Google dodged in the United States the scene of selling Chrome. However, Europe has opened a new front: the possibility of forcing him to separate part of his advertising business. The plan that the company present in Brussels will be key to defining the outcome. If it does not convince, the European case could exceed the American process in impact, sitting a precedent that would affect the entire technological sector. Images | Alex doubt In Xataka | Apple’s most lucrative agreement has just improved: Google will pay without being able to prevent Microsoft from doing the same

The US government prepares a law that threatens death its business abroad

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The strip and loosen of Nvidia and the US government has no end. The soap opera starring the GPU for artificial intelligence (AI) H20 It has finished, but another one is already taking shape. In the middle of last April the US Department of Commerce imposed new restrictions to The export to China of this chipwhat in practice caused that it stop arriving at the Chinese clients of this company. Three months later and after arduous negotiations Nvidia got the license again I needed to sell the H20 GPU in China. Currently Chinese clients from Nvidia They are not buying this chip Because the administration of the cyberspace of China (CAC), which is the main Internet regulatory body in this country, This GPU is thoroughly investigating Because he suspects that he could incorporate a rear door of difficult location by Chinese experts. Nvidia has denied it, but it seems that this GPU is sentenced in China. Be as currently the company led by Jensen Huang has a major problem. And he doesn’t have it in China. He has it in the US. Last Tuesday, American legislators presented a bill in which they propose to demand chips designers for the US to prioritize the national orders of these GPU before giving them to foreign buyers. However, this is not all. In addition, this bill explicitly proposes that exports of the highest range IA GPUs are denied. If this initiative thrives the business of Nvidia, AMD and other US companies abroad will suffer a lot. The Trump administration has changed strategy about China and Nvidia As expected, Nvidia has not stayed with crossed hands. A spokesman for this company has made the following statement to Tom’s hardware: “Our sales to customers around the world do not deprive the US customers. The Chinese chips industry has advanced a lot during the last five years, and will surely continue to do so From one thing we can be sure: everything that is happening in the US has China as a backdrop. The Chinese industry of integrated circuits has advanced a lot during the last five years, and certainly will continue to do so. It is very likely that in 2026 Chinese manufacturers have their own extreme ultraviolet lithography equipment (UVE). And currently Huawei, Moore Threads, Cambricon Technologies and other Chinese companies have GPU for some scenarios They compete with the Nvidia and AMD chips. The independence of the Chinese semiconductor industry is underway. The best output given this juncture for the US is none other than to deliver to China in a controlled way advanced chips for AI, but less powerful than the most capable that design Nvidia, AMD or brains. In this way this Asian country may relax a bit its ambition for development and independence. This is exactly what the Trump administration is doing by allowing Nvidia to give your GPU your H20 again, as Chris Miller holdsthe author of ‘The chips war’in his Newsletter. The Chinese government He is urging Chinese companies that are dedicated to the development of large models of AI to use in their servers integrated circuits of Chinese origin, so it is reasonable to anticipate that Nvidia will gradually lose presence in China. Even so, this company will continue with good health because His robustness in the global market It is undeniable. What is not clear is what will happen if the bill we have spoken a few lines outstands. The US is interested in continuing to sell its chips abroad, but this initiative defends that the best exclusively should be left. China already knows what this measure implies, but now it is possible that other countries also try it. Even if they are US allies. Image | Gage Skidmore | Nvidia More information | Tom’s hardware In Xataka | Ten Chinese companies in Chips and IA have allied with a common goal: to put an end to the domain of Nvidia

Anthropic is worth 183,000 million even though he invoices 5,000 million a year. Or it is the business of the century, or it is the madness of the century

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Anthropic has just closed A financing round of 13,000 million dollars that values ​​it in 183,000 million. The figure sounds like madness when we put it in context: the company invoices 5,000 million a year. The figures. Anthropic is valued 36 times. Google, to compare, quotes 6 times. Apple at 8. Microsoft to 14. They are mature companies in front of a startup, but none remotely approaches this multiple. The round F It has been led by ICONIQ Capital, with Fidelity and Lightspeed as co-investors. Heavyweights such as Blackrock, the sovereign background of Qatar and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan have participated. What has happened. In just eight months, Anthropic has multiplied its income by five: from 1,000 million to 5,000 million in August (annualized). It is one of the fastest growth in the history of technology. Claude Codeits programmers tool, generates 500 million in annualized revenues. It has multiplied its use in three months since its complete launch in May. The context. The AI ​​career has become a war of valuations disconnected from classical financial reality. OpenAI negotiates an assessment of 500,000 million. XAI of Musk looks for 75,000 million. Investors are betting Billions to these companies will dominate the future. Anthropic serves 300,000 business clients. Its large accounts (those that pay more than $ 100,000 a year) have multiplied by seven in twelve months. Yes, but. Developing elite AI models is very expensive. Anthropic depends on Amazon and Google for his computational infrastructure, and costs him billions annually. The costs are not going down, they are accelerating. Sam Altman, CEO of Openai, has said that his company will need to invest billions of dollars. The generative AI business remains structurally deficient for almost all participants. Nvidia always wins. Between bambalins. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, has admitted in An internal memo that is not “excited” to accept money from sovereign funds of dictatorial governments. But says It is difficult to direct a business excluding “bad investors.” The company has promised to use 13,000 million to expand capacity, deepen international security and expansion research. It is also developing specific products by industry. The end of a dream. A few months ago We speculated that Apple could buy Anthropic to accelerate your entry into AI. With an assessment of 183,000 million, that option has been buried: it would be 60 times more expensive than Beats, Apple’s greatest acquisition in its history. Not even Tim Cook (who He was open to check) With 150,000 million in cash available, you can justify such a check before your shareholders. The big question. Are we facing the birth of the new technological giants or the greatest bubble from the Puntocom? With assessments that multiply by 36 income, the margin of error is non -existent. Investors are betting on Anthropic and their rivals will not only dominate AI, but the AI ​​will transform the entire global economy. If they are right, 183,000 million will seem cheap. If they are wrong, it will be a historical disaster. Outstanding image | Anthropic, Xataka In Xataka | People are celebrating funerals by the Ia withdrawn for a reason: they are not a “tool” but a support

Thus changes the most lucrative business of Tim Cook

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The most profitable agreement in technological history has just changed its rules of the game. Google can continue paying Apple for being the predetermined search engine in Safaribut you can no longer shield that position with an exclusivity contract. Why is it important. Judge Amit Mehta has allowed Google to continue its payments to Apple and other distribution partnersbut with a fundamental condition: they will not be able to condition those payments to exclusivity. The company may pay to appear pre -installed, but it will not be able to prevent its competitors from doing the same. In figures. Google pays more than 26,000 million a year for these distribution agreements, with Apple as the main beneficiary. For Google, it is an investment that is worth it: about 40% of its searches in the United States arrive through Safari. And the agreement serves as a deterrent so that Apple does not throw its own search engine. For Apple, it represents practically pure income that are direct to your results account. New rules. Apple is now in a privileged position. You can keep Google as a predetermined option if you are still the one who pays best, but you can also offer that position to Microsoft with Bing, to Perplexity or even several search engines at the same time. It is the passage of a forced marriage to an open market. Smartphones manufacturers are free to preinstall or promote other search engines next to Google’s. Samsung could offer Bing as an outstanding alternative. Mozilla could diversify his options in Firefox. Between the lines. The judge’s decision speaks of a concern for the future rather than for the past. Mehta repeatedly mentions the boom of the generative AI and how Chatgpt The competitive panorama has changed. He did not want to intervene too much in a market that is being “rapidly transformed” by new actors. This caution has saved Google from a greater evil. Justice asked for the forced sale of Chrome and much more severe restrictions. The judge considered that it would be “very complicated and risky”. The market has celebrated the decision with 8% increases in Google and 4% in Apple. Turning point. This failure marks the beginning of a new era in the distribution of search engines. Apple can now experiment with hybrid models: Google for general searches. PERPLEXITY FOR IA Consultations. Specialized search engines for concrete niches. Or simply stay with who pays more at all times. The threat. For Google, the risk is not only to lose exclusivity but also face a permanent auction. If Microsoft decides to bet strongly to conquer safari, the costs could shoot. And if Apple decides to diversify options, Google would lose control over an important part of its traffic. The true winner of this sentence is not Google, who has dodged fragmentation but loses his fort. It is Apple, who maintains its huge income and earns the freedom to choose the best bidder at all times. Tim Cook has just seen how his most lucrative business becomes even more valuable. In Xataka | Browsers prepare for the most radical transformation in their history. One in which the IA will be Outstanding image | Solen Feyissa

one that also threatens to reconfigure your business

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If you ever imagined that Chrome would end up in the hands of another company, it will not happen. Ni OpenAi nor perplexitywith their ambition to compete in searches, they will have the opportunity to stay with him. According to Reutersa federal judge has ruled out the most drastic measure in one of the most relevant antitrust cases of the digital era. Google will keep control of its star and Android browser, but it is not empty: the failure forces you to give up land in another way. What decided today: Judge Amit P. Mehta ruled that Google will not have to sell Chrome or Android, but must accept significant limits in their distribution contracts. The sentence prohibits exclusive agreements for Chrome, Search, the Assistant of Google and Gemini, accepting part of the company’s proposals. The ruling, issued on Tuesday by the Columbia district court, is a turning point in the case that has put the power of the search engine under the magnifying glass. Share data: Google will have to offer your rivals key information from your search engine. The magistrate established that only companies that meet specific criteria can access it, which limits the scope of the opening. The objective is to facilitate competition in a market where Google domain is nourished by exclusive use signals. The ruling rules out, however, the government’s request to deliver a greater volume of data. The ‘default’ under magnifying glass: The court also restricted the agreements that guarantee Google the predetermined position in browsers and mobile devices. These exclusivities had been key to maintaining their dominant presence, ensuring that millions of users use their services. Although all payments to partners are not prohibited, the judge seeks to limit the scope of these practices. The company had proposed to eliminate some contracts to reduce the pressure of the case. The Department of Justice had requested much more aggressive measures: Chrome’s forced sale, the end of all distribution contracts and much broader access to search engine data. The judge rejected that roadmap and leaned for an intermediate approach. “The courts must address the design of remedies with a good dose of humility,” he wrote in his ruling. The sentence avoids a radical restructuring of Google, but does not leave it without obligations. Data advantage effect: The sentence points to the heart of Google’s competitive advantage: its search signal monopoly. By forcing data with selected rivals, the judge alters one of the levers that have consolidated their position for decades. Although the company maintains control of its key products, the risk is that others can replicate or improve its results. It is a subtle but potentially deep blow for your business model. The case began in 2020, when the Department of Justice and a group of states sued Google for abusing their position in online searches. Three years later, a ten -week trial put his business model and contracts under the microscope. Among the tests they stood out the 26.3 billion dollars that the company paid in 2021 to ensure be the default engine in browsers and mobiles. The judge ruled last year that Google had acted as monopoly. The ia: While the case advanced, the technological panorama also changed. Search engines are no longer the only starting point: attendees based on AI have begun to assume tasks such as planning trips, summarizing documents and responding complex consultations. Google has reacted with own products such as Ai mode and Geminiintegrating generative directly into the results page. The ruling not only marks legal limits, it also arrives in full transition from the model that cemented its domain. Google plans to appeal, and the process aims to extend for a long time. The judge’s decision is not the end, but the beginning of a new legal stage that will test how digital monopolies are regulated. Meanwhile, the company must adapt to ordered restrictions. The case is emerging as a reference for other judgments that face technological giants. Images | Xataka with Gemini 2.5 In Xataka | “I’m afraid we’re going to be more busy”: Jensen Huang Discrepa from Musk and sees at AF a deep labor transformation

Storing CO2 is now a business and the first submarine reservoir is in Europe

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Europe already has its first large underwater warehouse of carbon dioxide. The Northern Lights projectdriven by equinor, Shell and totalenergies, just Inject the first tons of CO2 in a reservoir located 2,600 meters under the seabed on the western coast of Norway. Why is it important. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is emerging as one of the few ways to reduce emissions in difficult sectors of decarbonizesuch as cement production, steel or energy from waste. Until now, these technologies looked as experimental or too expensive. With this project, Europe thus opens a commercial system for CO2 transport and storage. As assured Anders Opedal, CEO of Equinor, “This demonstrates the viability of carbon storage as a scalable industry.” In detail. The stored CO2 comes from the cement of Heidelberg Materials in Brevik, south of Norway. After being liquefied and transported by boat until Øgarden, it was pumped by a 100 -kilometer pipeline to the submarine reservoir known as Aurora. The first phase of the project will inject 1.5 million tons per year of CO2, although this same year Northern Lights gave green light to an expansion of the project thanks to a commercial agreement with Stockholm Exergi. A larger bet. The investment of 7.5 billion Norwegian crowns (about 740 million euros) will be the trigger for that expansion with a second phase that The capacity will increase More than 5 million tons per year from 2028. In addition to Stockholm Exergi, among the first clients is also the Danish Ørsted, the Dutch Yara and the Heidelberg Materials itself. “With the beginning of Northern Lights operations, we enter a new phase for the carbon storage industry in Europe,” affirmed Arnaud Le Foll, Vice President of Carbon Neutrality Business in Totalenergies. And now what. Although it is of course a true turning point, the doubt remains in the air about whether the model will scaling enough to contribute in a real way to the climatic objectives that are proposed by Europe. Norway opens the way, but the key will be especially in how much business, and how much reduction of emissions, these reservoirs can generate in the coming years. Cover image | Equinor In Xataka | The Era of Petroestados is ending: China is the first “electrostate” of the world and not because of its climatic moral

Spanish stadiums seek money desperately, and it is not by whim. 19 days of business a year are no longer enough

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The City has just signed the one who wants. The Al-Hilal has paid Neymar more than 100 million a year. Chelsea spends 300 million in a summer and nothing happens. And meanwhile, Real Madrid has to convert the Bernabéu into a shopping center with retractable grass to try to keep up. This is the story that nobody tells when he talks about Why are Spanish stadiums transforming into money 365 days a year. It is not so much innovation as survival. The problem began when the Premier League began to distribute 2,000 million a year only in television rights. Then the clubs arrived. The City, the PSG, the Newcastle. Then Arabia Saudi appeared offering contracts that make the gulf sheikhs look poor. Spanish clubs look at their income and make accounts. The last of the Premier enters more on television than the Liga room. Nottingham Forest can pay wages that Sevilla or Valencia cannot be allowed. And when they try to compete for a decent player, a Saudi club appears offering the triple. The solution? Squeeze the stadium to the last drop. Concerts, weddings, tours, restaurants, hamburger competitions, whatever. Because 19 League games a year no longer give to pay the squad of a half -table team. The Valencian metaphor The Roig Arena is about to open its doors and already has A long list of confirmed events. It will be the largest covered pavilion in Spain, with capacity for 18,600 people in concerts. Juan Roig, owner of Mercadona, has set 280 million pocket to make it come true. Six kilometers, on the other side of Valencia, is the skeleton of the Nou Mestalla. Abandoned for 16 yearsin an uncomfortable limbo for all – club, hobby, city, town hall – but it’s too late to reculate. The works have just resumed because there was no other. Among those six kilometers there is an uncomfortable reality: Roig Arena is going to eat the event market that Valencia CF needs desperately. The club expects the Nou Mestalla, when finished in 2027, it works 365 days a year to generate the income that allows you to survive. But by then, Roig’s pavilion will have already taken many of the concerts and large events that are not outdoor football. Roig’s play is brilliant: A multipurpose space that does not depend on signings, or qualify for Europe, or compete with petrodollars. It only needs people to want to see Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny OA who visits Valencia now that he will have an ideal place. And that fits wonderful with the culture of the event that prevails in this era. Meanwhile, Peter Lim has Valencia on the edge of the abyss, with a half -stadium to make when open will be late for the party. And there go the shots of this story. How Spanish football has discovered that the sports brick business does not work as before. And cases in Madrid and Barcelona Real Madrid had everything calculated. Great 1,347 million in the new Santiago Bernabéu was not a whim, it was a need to continue competing against City or PSG. The plan was brilliant: concerts all year, A 900 square meters StarbucksTours to 30 euros per head. Taylor Swift left 9 million in two nights. At that rate, you amortized the investment and you have to sign. But they did not pay enough attention to a detail. The neighbors. 95 decibels when the legal limit is 58. 24 complaints that did not see enough the club’s proposal to sound free home. 2.6 million in fines. Concerts suspended until further notice. The most expensive stadium in Europe cannot do its business because the houses are 30 meters. And without that extra income, how do you compete with petrodollars? Atlético tried to capture that value thanks to the fact that its stadium, the Metropolitan, is in the middle of nowhere compared to the central Bernabéu. And with it it started until The threats of complaints arrived. But for now he will shelter ten concerts by Bad Bunny, a million admitted by concert. Meanwhile, Barça is getting 1,450 million at Camp Nou after losing 100 million a year playing in Montjuïc. Is The perfect paradox: You need to spend money that you don’t have to generate money you need to compete with clubs that have infinite money. The plan is that the new stadium Generate 247 million annually. Not only football, of course. Of everything that can be monetized. Because with 19 League games it does not even arrive to pay the interests of the Goldman Sachs credit. The boom that everyone wants to hunt Spain He invoiced 725 million in live music in 2024. Third consecutive record. Fomo and social networks are gasoline. The clubs look at these figures and salivan. If they can stay with a piece of that cake, they can sign a decent side. Maybe. That’s why everyone looks at their stadiums thinking: how is more paste of these bricks? Betis is reforming Villamarín, not to give many concerts or host a shopping center, but for Give a hotel, a well -being center and a clinic. Athletic studies what to do with San Mamés while throwing very expensive entrances in exchange for a postin experience, talk with a player and manager included. Everyone has understood the message: or you find new sources of income or become the quarry of the Saudis. The stadiums of the future will not be football stadiums that also do other things. Will be multipurpose spaces where football is occasionally played. Juan Roig has understood it perfectly. That is why he builds pavilions, he does not buy soccer clubs. He could rescue Valencia CF – his brother has Villarreal and is managing it wonderfully – but that movement has not been given and already seems completely discarded. Another without running out presided over the club in the nineties and came out regular. The clubs that understood this in time may survive. Those who continue to think that … Read more

The price of gold is in the clouds so that has created a new criminal business: “narcomineros”

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In Stilfontein, an ancient mining town in South Africa, neighbors no longer fear the void of abandoned tunnels, but to strangers who arrive in cars loaded with rifles. “A few days come, they buy tools, they disappear,” said a local merchant. They are not traditional miners. They are armed bands that dispute, underground, an increasingly valuable booty: gold. Similar scenes are repeated in the Forests of the Amazon, in the Colombian Cauca rivers or in the tunnels of the Peruvian Andes. What was artisanal gold fever has become a silent war. The precious metal that in London or Dubai represents refuge and financial stability, in the field is stained by mercury, blood and organized crime. Goldery Fever of the 21st Century. According to Reuters estimatesthe price of gold has tripled in the last decade and rose more than 25% only so far this year. On August 21, the ounce, a historical record was quoted around $ 3.331. Amid inflation, commercial wars and geopolitical tensions, investors seek in gold which always represented: security. But that fever does not translate only into bullion in vaults. It has also unleashed a metal race in the most fragile areas of the planet. The SWISSAID NGO has counted in a report that 435 tons of gold – about 31,000 million dollars – came out of contraband of Africa in 2022, twice as much before. In Peru, the first producer of South America, the regulatory authority itself calculated that 40% of last year’s gold exports were illegal. For its part, the UN He has warned that organized crime is already embedded in global gold supply chains. “The mafias are earning more money with gold than with cocaine,” has summarized for Financial Times Sasha Lezhnev, Anntry analyst. From the subsoil to the global market. A report for Financial Times He has detailed it quite accurately, since the illegal scheme is repeated: the metal leaves an Amazonian garimpo, an abandoned mine in South Africa or a site controlled by paramilitaries in Sudan; Cross borders by smuggling or with false licenses; He arrives in Hubs like Dubai, Switzerland or India; and once molten in standard bullions, it is integrated without friction to the international financial system. In Dubai, indicated as a “washing machine” of the world gold, it is enough to pay in cash to obtain refined bars with Emiratí seal. From there they re -export to Switzerland, London or Hong Kong. A merchant He has admitted it Non -Rodeos: “We are not going to buy gold. We acquire it in the wholesale market, we give the money and receive it. No one asks where it comes from.” Modus Operandi Global. On the one hand, in Latin America, groups such as the Gulf clan in Colombia or the PCC in Brazil already operate mines and dredgers. In Peru, almost 40 workers have been killed in deposits. On the other hand, in South Africa, the calls Zama Zamas They work under the control of mafias in abandoned mines, where authentic underground wars are fought. In Sudan, gold finances the RSF militia, accused of atrocities in the civil war. Logistics remembers drug trafficking: clandestine flights, improvised clues, corruption networks. With a crucial difference: while cocaine is always illegal, gold is legalized at the moment it merges into a ingot. The consequences are devastating. According to FTMercury poisons Ríos del Amazonas, fauna disappears and communities such as Yanomami suffer hunger, malaria and violence. “When the Garimpo arrives, diseases and drugs arrive,” explained the indigenous leader Juarez Saw. In South Africa, entire villages survive around ghost mines, trapped between poverty and violence. And in Sudan, gold has become a fuel of a civil war that already adds more than 150,000 dead. Governments against the strings. States try to react, with partial achievements. In Brazil, the Lula Government destroyed camps In the Yanomami Earth and boasts a 98% drop in illegal mines there and 40% less in gold exports. But the miners return when the operation ends. In South Africa, the police cut access to tunnels, without stopping the power of the mafias. In Sudan, international pressure has forced Dubai to harden purchase controls, although in his gold of gold there are still ingots of uncertain origin. The pattern is repeated: local corruption, territories impossible to monitor and criminal networks better financed than the states themselves. The formal market, innocent? The legal circuit is not alien either. The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) sets global standards, but is a private club and traders club. Its liquidation system concentrates world trade without public supervision. The European Central Bank warns that the opacity and concentration of the gold market represent a risk for global financial stability. Bernhard Schnellmann, former director of the Swiss Refinery Argor Heraeus, He has synthesized it in his opinion column for FT: “Gold is too important to leave it in the hands of private clubs.” The new oil of the crime. The gold, eternal symbol of wealth and security, is today the new oil of the crime: a resource that feeds mafias, destroys jungles and finances wars. For investors in London or Dubai it is an active refuge. For clandestine miners in the Amazon or South Africa, it is a promise of escape that often ends in violence. In the vaults, a 400 -ounces ingot is identical regardless of its origin. But behind each bar can hide rifles, malaria, corruption and poisoned rivers. Image | Pexels and Africraigs Xataka | The price of copper reached maximum for a tariff that was not. The result: the biggest fall in almost 40 years

block everything to protect the football business

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It seemed inevitable, and so it has been: football has returned, and with it, LaLiga IPS blocks in Spain. On Friday, the 2025/26 season began, and since then numerous users have been able to verify how those indiscriminate and massive blockages of IPS have also started. The nightmare does not seem to have a solution in sight. The League returns, the blockages return. The beginning of the season last Friday led the beginning of the IPS mass blocks. The first game, held on Friday at 7:00 p.m. It will start To show the message “HTTP 451 – File unavailable for legal resons” on various websites. Blockages, as they point out In Bandanchathey have continued producing throughout the weekend, but in fact they have intensified. Blackhole: We don’t even know what happens. Normally when the operators followed LaLiga’s “orders” when blocking IPS offered some type of message like that to inform users that a certain IP or website was not accessible. This weekend we have seen how Movistar went to the “Blackhole” type blocking in which traffic to that IP address is discarded without more, as if it fell into a “black hole.” There is no error message and the browser or apps are waiting until the “Timeout“And the waiting time is exhausted to respond to the request. The impression for the user is that this server simply does not exist. What operators have blocked. As indicated by various users affected in X, the blockages seem to have expanded: Movistar continues to perform them, but also both Masorange and Vodafone seem to have begun to block strictly. In Vodafone, they point out in Bandancha, a message is now showing that “for reasons outside Vodafone this website is not available.” Complaints everywhere. Several users HE They complained precisely from Those blockages of This operatoras happened in other cases in other competitors. Digi also seems have applied these blockages. After a critic of a user, the operator responded in X Explaining that these blockages are not “a decision of ours, but in compliance with a sentence in favor of LaLiga.” Others that until now did not seem to have applied these blockages, such as lowi, also seem to have initiated this type of actions According to affected users. Just for sinners. As it was happening since March, the impact of the blockages is difficult to measure, but There are many Users With business and legitimate websites on the Internet that have been affected by All sides. The attacks focus especially on CDN platforms how to see or cloudflarewhich make use of shared IPS: when operators block one of those IPS, they not only block the IPTV service that is pursued with that concrete IP, but hundreds and even thousands of websites that share that same IP address. LaLiga FUD. In recent days LaLiga had paid to publish editorial articles In several general media in addition to promoting The video “You have pirate football. They have you.” In these contents the objective was the same: to disseminate the message that those who use IPTV services of illegal streaming end up being potential victims of malware. To these statements were added others that pointed out that these types of activities could also serve to finance drug trafficking. The biter bit. At no time are evidence of this cause-effect relationship, and we are facing a clear chaos of the commercial strategy known as FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt, in Spanish fear, uncertainty and doubt) that disseminates negative, vague or bewoman information in order to harm a competitor. The truth is that anything has never been demonstrated in that regard, but LaLiga was fined a few months ago with a million euros by Collect biometric data Of the spectators without permission. The case is in the Constitutional. Both rootedcon and cloudflare have started various legal actions separately to try to stop the blockages, but for now those attempts They have not paid fruit. At this time these cases have been presented before the Constitutional Courtbut it is not expected that in the short term a resolution will occur. The blockages are going to be a nightmare, but they can dodge. The beginning of the season has therefore demonstrated what we all feared: that LaLiga will maintain (or intensify) those indiscriminate blocks of IPS. This first day has caused Fridays, Saturday, and Sunday, but there will also be left today and tomorrow, which means that predictably There will be more blockages these days. There is a way to avoid them: Use a VPN that allows us to have normal Internet access. In Xataka | “Every time there is football, the website falls”: the collateral effects of LaLiga blockages in thousands of users

The future of the Internet is flooding of ia. And there are those who have already seen a business niche: content made by humans

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Internet has been filled with Searches results generated by artificial intelligence and of ‘Slop‘. The first is already reducing clicks to halfand points to collapse for the media. The second is something that users will have to live if the platforms do not get more serious to improve the filtering. Among all the tangle of new and ancient actors, an old Google opponent has returned to position itself as an alternative to the current in this era. Forks Duckdukgo. What are they doing. Duckckgo is an alternative search engine focused on offering the greatest possible privacy to its users, and for this, use, for example, the Bing searches. After 16 years since its foundation, the company has launched a Filter of images generated with AI that frames in its philosophy of the “private, useful and optional” functions. For the end user, this means being able to see or hide the images generated by the general search of images, something that is already problematic in Google where, for example, we come to see distorted results, even in examples as recognizable as ‘The young woman of the pearl’. The company has already shown that it can be differentiated, with Duck.aian own chatbot that anonymizes conversations and does not use them for training. How do they. To use this filter, the company is not using an engine driven by artificial intelligence or something similar. Those responsible have detailed the method, and is based on using manual open source block lists that the popular content blocker provides Ublock Origin and the Ublacklist’s Hage AI Blocklist, a browser extension created so that users can manually filter concrete websites of their Google results. Effectiveness. One of the big problems of the contents generated with AI is that they not only come from repositories that clearly indicate it, such as Midjourney explore, for example. In this sense, from DuckDuckgo They recognize That the filter “will not capture 100% of the results generated by AI”, but “will considerably reduce the amount of images generated that are shown.” Examples of images generated by AI that do not come out when activating the filter. Some of them is not as obvious as the largest in the first row. In our case, for example, we have sought “dog jumping” without activating the filter so as not to see. And he has found the image of a dog jumping with a suspicious origin: Freepik. It was an image generated by AI that has stopped appearing when activating the filter. Next to him was more of the same source that he has also leaked. The challenge. The filtering works well, but the challenge for companies such as Duckduckgo is capital, because Freepik already serves as “generated with AI”. But what happens when a random image that we find in media like this has no label to indicate it? There they have to play methods that use verification system with detailed analysis of the image, which makes the resources required to do so effectively fire. Beyond images, the difficulty is in the filtering of websites with texts generated by artificial intelligence. Openai, for example, launched A tool to detect plagiarismand then He withdrew it silently. Although according to leaks now they have a tool that operates, They do not throw it. The problem. Detectors do not just work well, and after reaching accuse students of using and erruniversity professors are suffering the phenomenon: To make undetectable texts, students are resorting to rewriting tools that worsen their quality. Google, a strong defender of the generative AI, has opened Its Synthid water brand technology. The inconvenience? We continue needing a universal standard that at the moment does not arrive. And even if it arrives, users will not always want to mark their creation as done with ia. For example, the images generated with Google image indicate its nature with the “AI” icon, but erase or cut it is very simple. The snowball does not stop, The hole. According to the Empty Internet Theory either ‘Dead Internet Theory‘, Much of the content that exists in the network is created by automated bots and algorithms, and with generative intelligence, the thing is going more. In addition, Google’s preview has only been the first step: now it touches Ai mode, which no longer delivers a results, talk. So, although we win comfort, there will be a huge hole for companies such as Duckckgo, looking for that the basic unit of communication on the Internet is still aliveor that knowledge remain something democratized without Loot all Internet content. As an idea, DuckDuckgo can deepen including filters throughout web navigation: it can be distinguished from browsers with AI with a different approach to Your browser. Images | Xataka In Xataka | People did not stop hacking virtual work interviews with AI. Solution: We want to meet you in person

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