Tech Gets Real

Inside the UK's under-16 social media ban - Heather Burns interview

In this extended episode of Tech Gets Real, veteran digital policy expert Heather Burns joins the show to chat about the UK’s plans to ban social media for under-16s, and to force Apple and Google to conduct surveillance on the photos people take on their phones. It’s a fascinating conversation about how safety tech vendors may have defeated digital rights advocates in the battle for the attention of British politicians. Heather Burns’s book, Understanding Privacy https://www.amazon.com/-/en/Heather-Burns-ebook/dp/B0C9JSW7S7 [https://www.amazon.com/-/en/Heather-Burns-ebook/dp/B0C9JSW7S7] Heather’s website https://heatherburns.tech/ [https://heatherburns.tech/] Heather’s profile on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/heatherburnstech.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/heatherburnstech.bsky.social] Tech Gets Real is a show about staying in control in a time of rapid technological change, presented from a European perspective. I'm veteran tech journalist David Meyer, and I've been covering tech policy for two decades. If you like this, please hit like and subscribe, and share it with others who might find it useful. REFERENCES: BBC on Makerfield by-election https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yzgpe2ld3o [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yzgpe2ld3o] UK government announcement on client side scanning https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-plans-to-stop-children-taking-sharing-or-viewing-nude-images [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-plans-to-stop-children-taking-sharing-or-viewing-nude-images] UK government announcement on social media age limit https://www.gov.uk/government/news/social-media-to-be-banned-for-under-16s-in-landmark-government-move-to-givekids-their-childhood-back [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/social-media-to-be-banned-for-under-16s-in-landmark-government-move-to-givekids-their-childhood-back] Deutsche Welle on Elon Musk suing German broadcaster ZDF https://www.dw.com/en/elon-musk-sues-zdf-hunt-for-migrants-belfast/a-77571443 [https://www.dw.com/en/elon-musk-sues-zdf-hunt-for-migrants-belfast/a-77571443] My ISMG article on the client-side scanning news https://www.govinfosecurity.com/uk-vows-device-level-controls-for-smartphone-underage-nudes-a-31933 [https://www.govinfosecurity.com/uk-vows-device-level-controls-for-smartphone-underage-nudes-a-31933] Politico on Italy’s Meloni rejecting social media age ban https://www.politico.eu/article/meloni-says-social-media-ban-for-kids-is-no-panacea/ [https://www.politico.eu/article/meloni-says-social-media-ban-for-kids-is-no-panacea/] Edrith blog post on age ban arguments https://www.edrith.co.uk/p/social-media-ban-responses-to-10 [https://www.edrith.co.uk/p/social-media-ban-responses-to-10] Southport public inquiry website https://www.southport.public-inquiry.uk/ [https://www.southport.public-inquiry.uk/]

Why Trump’s Anthropic AI export ban is a gift to Europe

The Trump administration has placed export controls on Anthropic’s industry-leading Mythos and Fable models, prompting the company to disable access to both for everyone in the world. Europe’s reaction show how dangerous this is for the US – having been shown the danger of relying on US tech, countries such as France and the UK are now more likely to fund their own alternatives. Welcome to tech sovereignty. Tech Gets Real is a show about staying in control in a time of rapid technological change, presented from a European perspective. I'm veteran tech journalist David Meyer, and I've been covering tech policy for two decades. If you like this, please hit like and subscribe, and share it with others who might find it useful. REFERENCES: Anthropic’s statement about Mythos and Fable https://www.anthropic.com/news/fable-mythos-access [https://www.anthropic.com/news/fable-mythos-access] Business Insider on the tech world’s reaction https://www.businessinsider.com/reaction-to-trump-controls-on-anthropic-fable-and-mythos-2026-6 [https://www.businessinsider.com/reaction-to-trump-controls-on-anthropic-fable-and-mythos-2026-6] Reuters on Amazon sparking Mythos drama https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/amazon-voiced-concerns-about-anthropic-ai-models-before-us-governments-crackdown-2026-06-13/ [https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/amazon-voiced-concerns-about-anthropic-ai-models-before-us-governments-crackdown-2026-06-13/] Financial Times on NSA using Mythos for cyber attacks https://www.ft.com/content/d02d91b3-2636-454e-9442-dc7e69f51815 [https://www.ft.com/content/d02d91b3-2636-454e-9442-dc7e69f51815] Jordan Bardella’s X post about Mythos https://x.com/J_Bardella/status/2065714468609282417 [https://x.com/J_Bardella/status/2065714468609282417] Kanishka Narayan’s video about Mythos https://x.com/KanishkaNarayan/status/2066157359638962632 [https://x.com/KanishkaNarayan/status/2066157359638962632] Al Carns’s X post about Mythos https://x.com/AlistairCarns/status/2065754367739805770 [https://x.com/AlistairCarns/status/2065754367739805770]

Why Apple won't bring Siri AI to Europe

Apple is blaming a competition law called the Digital Markets Act (DMA) for its refusal to roll out the new Siri AI virtual assistant in Europe. Here’s what that’s all about – and this is no clear-cut argument. You have no idea how many times my recorded “Siri” triggered my iPhone during editing. Tech Gets Real is a show about staying in control in a time of rapid technological change, presented from a European perspective. I'm veteran tech journalist David Meyer, and I've been covering tech policy for two decades. If you like this, please hit like and subscribe, and share it with others who might find it useful. REFERENCES: Apple’s statement on delaying Siri AI in the EU https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/06/due-to-dma-siri-ai-delayed-in-eu-for-ios-27-and-ipados-27/ [https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/06/due-to-dma-siri-ai-delayed-in-eu-for-ios-27-and-ipados-27/] TechCrunch on Apple releasing Apple Intelligence in the EU https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/28/apple-intelligence-is-coming-to-the-eu-in-april-2025/ [https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/28/apple-intelligence-is-coming-to-the-eu-in-april-2025/] European Commission consultation on Google Search DMA remedies https://digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu/dma100209-consultation-proposed-measures-google-search-data-sharing_en [https://digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu/dma100209-consultation-proposed-measures-google-search-data-sharing_en] Security researcher Lukasz Olejnik on Google Search and the DMA https://techletters.substack.com/p/the-european-commission-is-turning [https://techletters.substack.com/p/the-european-commission-is-turning]

US Cloud Act collides with EU tech sovereignty push

Europe’s push for technological sovereignty just stepped up, with the European Commission proposing a new law that would probably shut US Big Tech firms out of the lucrative public sector cloud market, thanks to US surveillance law. Cloud Act, meet the Cloud and AI Development Act. Tech Gets Real is a show about staying in control in a time of rapid technological change, presented from a European perspective. I'm veteran tech journalist David Meyer, and I've been covering topics like online privacy and freedom for two decades. If you like this, please hit like and subscribe, and share it with others who might find it useful. REFERENCES: European Commission press release on Tech Sovereignty Package https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_1187 [https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_1187] Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA) https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/proposal-cloud-and-ai-development-act-cada [https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/proposal-cloud-and-ai-development-act-cada] My ISMG article on the Tech Sovereignty Package recently being delayed https://www.govinfosecurity.com/europe-again-delays-digital-sovereignty-push-a-31760 [https://www.govinfosecurity.com/europe-again-delays-digital-sovereignty-push-a-31760] The EFF on the US Cloud Act https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/02/cloud-act-dangerous-expansion-police-snooping-cross-border-data [https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/02/cloud-act-dangerous-expansion-police-snooping-cross-border-data] CCIA Europe on Cloud and AI Development Act https://ccianet.org/news/2026/06/discriminatory-eu-cloud-and-ai-development-act-risks-severe-market-fragmentation/ [https://ccianet.org/news/2026/06/discriminatory-eu-cloud-and-ai-development-act-risks-severe-market-fragmentation/]

Temu's €200M safety fine is a bit geopolitical

Europe has fined Temu for selling illegally dangerous stuff on its platform. This is a reminder that the Digital Services Act isn’t all about online speech, nor is it all about punishing US companies. But that doesn’t mean this €200 million DSA fine isn’t geopolitical – after all, the EU has big problems with China too these days. Tech Gets Real is a show about staying in control in a time of rapid technological change. I'm veteran tech journalist David Meyer, and I've been covering topics like online privacy and freedom for two decades. If you like this, please hit like and subscribe, and share it with others who might find it useful. REFERENCES: European Commission statement on Temu fine https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_1178 [https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_1178] Tech Policy Press on the Trump administration’s X fine reaction https://www.techpolicy.press/trump-administration-locks-arms-with-musks-x-against-eu-tech-enforcement/ [https://www.techpolicy.press/trump-administration-locks-arms-with-musks-x-against-eu-tech-enforcement/] Industrial Accelerator Act legislative timetable https://www.europarl.europa.eu/legislative-train/theme-a-new-plan-for-europe-s-sustainable-prosperity-and-competitiveness/file-industrial-decarbonisation-accelerator-act [https://www.europarl.europa.eu/legislative-train/theme-a-new-plan-for-europe-s-sustainable-prosperity-and-competitiveness/file-industrial-decarbonisation-accelerator-act]