Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Swati KhandelwalSep 21, 2026Data Privacy / Regulatory Compliance Google has been fined €403 million for breaking the EU’s data protection law, the GDPR, in the way three of its features handled people’s location data from May 2018 to February 2020. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC), Google’s lead regulator in the EU, also ordered the company to make its processing comply with the law within 6 months. The DPC has not said publicly which processing the order covers, and it says its full decision will be published later. The three features are Web & App Activity, Location History and Location Accuracy.…

Ethereum’s institutional data hub showed about $120 billion in staked ETH and $40.4 billion in daily average total value locked on layer-2 (L2) networks in a Sept. 21 snapshot.They measure different things: ETH committed to network security and assets held across L2 networks, so adding them together would not measure fresh ETH demand.Meanwhile, US-traded Ethereum ETF sessions saw over $140 million in net outflows from Sept. 15 to 18. Large pools of staked ETH and assets on Ethereum-linked networks can coexist with investors pulling money from a particular investment channel.A staking balance is not a purchase receiptStaking involves depositing ETH…

The Republic of Albania signed the Artemis Accords Monday during a ceremony hosted by NASA at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, joining the coalition of like‑minded nations committed to the responsible and transparent exploration of space. “It is my privilege to welcome the Republic of Albania as the 73rd signatory of the Artemis Accords,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Matt Anderson. “The relationship between our nations goes back more than a century. Today, we extend that partnership into space.” Albania’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Ferit Hoxha signed on behalf of the country. Ambassador of the Republic of Albania to the…

A federal judge has declared that the Trump administration unlawfully terminated $7 billion in grant funding for clean energy programs in disadvantaged communities. The Solar for All program, established during the Biden administration as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, provided dozens of grants for states, municipalities, tribes and nonprofits designed to reduce electric bills, create jobs and address the greenhouse gas emissions warming the global climate.   The Environmental Protection Agency canceled the program after President Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2025. The Conservation Law Foundation, Southern Environmental Law Center, Lawyers for Good Government and Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island sued…

Jonathan Liew’s piece (Raheem Sterling’s bleak tale a reminder of absurd path young footballers face, 17 September) is informative and timely, particularly when set against Jacob Steinberg’s report (‘They are very similar’: Arsenal’s Dowman reminds Merino of Lamine Yamal, 16 September) .The tiny proportion of young footballers originally “signed” by top flight clubs at a ludicrously young age, who then achieve their dreams of a Premier League career, rather than being summarily dismissed at the age of 16 or 17 with the vast majority of their contemporaries, should be a reality check for parents/guardians of all aspiring young athletes.For those…

Claim: Joe Biden’s administration cut 442 reporters from the White House press pool in 2023. Rating: What’s True In 2023, the Biden administration tightened the requirements for obtaining an all-access White House press credential called a “hard pass.” After the stricter requirements went into effect, the number of hard passes issued dropped from 1,417 to 975, in part because many journalists chose not to renew them. What’s False The Biden administration’s changes did not cut or replace reporters in the “press pool,” a small group of journalists historically selected by the White House Correspondents’ Association to receive privileged access and…

Albanese signs declaration with world leaders urging human control over AIAnthony Albanese has joined the leaders of more than 20 countries in signing a statement calling to bring the rapid growth of artificial intelligence under control.“AI must remain under human direction, oversight and control. It must be developed and used in line with international law,” the statement said. double quotation markLeading scientists and executives are warning that the pace of development could outpace our ability to manage emerging risks. The Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, Spain’s PM, Pedro Sánchez, and European Commission president, Ursula von…

While Silicon Valley is spending billions to make AI agents shop for us, the man who pioneered Apple’s retail stores thinks the industry is overestimating how much of shopping people will hand over to machines — and believes physical stores will continue to thrive. Ron Johnson, 66, has heard predictions about the demise of physical retail before. He joined Apple in 2000 to build its retail business as online shopping was beginning to take off, and went on to help create a store network that became central to how Apple sells its products and connects with customers. “AI is a…

Accenture’s majority investment in Dragos has now closed, and Dragos followed it on Monday by announcing that it has completed its acquisitions of NetRise and runZero. The moves are part of Accenture’s $4.1 billion OT cybersecurity push announced in June. Dragos will continue to operate independently with Robert M. Lee serving as its CEO. Lee has also been named chairman of the board. There will be new board members from Accenture, and Dmitri Alperovitch is returning to Dragos’ board.  Key executives — including runZero CEO HD Moore, NetRise CEO Thomas Pace, and NetRise CTO Michael Scott — are joining Dragos…

Bitcoin treasuries kicked off Monday with a bang, with Strategy and Strive announcing they scooping up a combined 2,305 BTC for $182.7 million.  Strategy said in a filing that it last week bought 950 bitcoins for $75.7 million — its first buy since August — and Strive snapped up 1,355 BTC for $107.7 million.  The announcement comes as the price of the biggest cryptocurrency surges. Bitcoin’s price recently stood at $86,008, a 6% 24-hour rise, after hitting as high as $86,282 earlier on Monday.  Strategy, the biggest corporate holder of bitcoin, also repurchased $174 million of its STRC perpetual preferred…