Australia enforces strict age controls on social media for under-16s, sparking global regulatory debates. In the U.S., Microsoft, HP, and Dell shift supply chains to avoid rising tariffs. Meanwhile, Bitcoin miners embrace AI infrastructure, fueling the next wave of innovation and demand.
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Australia has become the first country to ban social media access for teens under 16, passing legislation that mandates strict age controls on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Non-compliance could result in fines up to AUD $50 million.
Albanese reinforced the government's message of support, asserting:
"Platforms now have a social responsibility to ensure the safety of our kids is a priority for them. We're making sure that mums and dads can have that different conversation today and in future days. We've got your back is our message to Australian parents."
The proposed ban will not take effect until next year at least. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese highlighted the impact:
"Social media is doing harm to our children. Parents can now have a different discussion with their young ones, one that will result in better outcomes and less harm."
Critics question the law’s feasibility, citing technical challenges and political motives, but the move is sparking global interest in tighter tech regulations.
Companies act swiftly to mitigate potential tariff hikes on Chinese imports as new administration approaches
Major U.S. technology companies, including Microsoft, HP, and Dell, are expediting efforts to reconfigure their supply chains away from China in anticipation of President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House and his promised tariff increases on Chinese goods.
Microsoft has instructed its suppliers to accelerate the production of components for its cloud server infrastructure between November and December to avoid the expected tariffs, according to sources familiar with the matter. The company is also pushing to relocate the assembly of its Xbox game consoles and Surface laptops outside of China as soon as possible, aiming to complete the transition for Surface laptops by the end of next year.
HP and Dell, ranking among the world's largest PC manufacturers, are in discussions with their suppliers to boost component production in the current and following month. They are also reassessing their procurement strategies for 2025, focusing on reducing reliance on Chinese-made parts for their laptops and computers.
"We have been in meetings with several U.S. clients, and they are all eager to know whether we can further accelerate our plan to have meaningful production outside of China,"
an executive from an electronics component supplier for HP, Apple, and Microsoft told media observers.
The increased production of Chinese-made components in the short term is intended to rapidly scale up device assembly in countries not subject to U.S. tariffs, such as those in Southeast Asia. This strategy is part of a broader effort to mitigate the impact of the anticipated tariff hikes.
In response to Trump's announcement on Monday of an additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports and 25% on imports from Mexico and Canada effective on his first day in office, companies are utilizing warehouses and logistics centers outside of China to manage the increased output. HP, for instance, is significantly ramping up component production in Thailand and other Southeast Asian nations, with suppliers setting up new warehouses and expanding production capacities to meet demand.
Dell is also exploring the feasibility of diversifying its production bases within Southeast Asia, beyond its current operations in Vietnam, to further reduce geopolitical risks and enhance supply chain resilience.
The tech industry's move away from China has been gaining momentum even before the election, with companies like Apple increasing iPhone production in India earlier this year. Electronics manufacturers supplying Nvidia and Tesla are monitoring the situation closely and are prepared to adjust production to U.S. soil if necessary.
Chiu Shih-fang, a supply chain analyst at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, noted that supply chain diversification has entered a critical phase.
"There is a growing urgency for component-level suppliers to move quickly and build up production capacity in ASEAN following Trump's victory," Chiu said.
HP referred to a blog post by Chief Supply Chain Officer Ernest Nicolas from August, stating:
"Our vision is to create a supply chain that meets the demands of today while being prepared for the challenges of tomorrow. By remaining resilient and fostering a culture of continuous improvement, we're confident that we can achieve this."
Crypto miners are leveraging their advanced equipment and access to low-cost energy to tap into the booming artificial intelligence (AI) sector. As the demand for computational power surges, these miners are uniquely positioned to profit from the AI revolution.
Energy has become a hot commodity in the AI world. Cloud computing provider CoreWeave recently inked a $3.5 billion deal with Core Scientific, an Austin-based bitcoin miner. The agreement involves CoreWeave paying $290 million annually over 12 years for Core Scientific's data centers to host AI-related computing hardware, with CoreWeave covering all capital expenditures. The deal was so favorable that Core Scientific's stock doubled to $10 in early June, prompting some observers to view the company as the new "picks and shovels" play for AI.
"The demand is insatiable," says Adam Sullivan, Core Scientific’s CEO. "If we just execute on what is within our current contracted power today, we'd be a top 10 data center company in the United States hosting a very significant portion of AI that's done in the United States over the coming years. We've been working very closely with Nvidia and a number of different partners on the development and design of what's required to operate these chips."
The soaring demand for heavy-duty computing capacity, driven by AI applications like ChatGPT—which requires ten times the electricity of traditional Google searches—is putting a premium on companies like Core Scientific that have access to cheap power in states such as Texas and North Dakota. Having sufficient power available now is vital, especially when building high-performance computing (HPC) data centers from scratch typically takes 3-5 years, with current wait times for electrical-grid connections stretching up to six years, according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
The global ASIA competition will also be attempting to identify global sources of power, intensifying the race for energy resources essential for AI development.
However, miners cannot easily repurpose their excess electric capacity for AI.
"I think people are very focused on power right now, but there's a lot of other pieces that are very important if you want to transition your business from bitcoin mining to HPC,"
says Wes Cummins, CEO of data center developer Applied Digital. Fiber-optic cabling is crucial in high-performance computing because it enables high-speed data transfers.
Despite these challenges, several miners are adjusting their operations to capitalize on the AI wave:
Iris Energy (IREN): Formerly known as Iris Energy, IREN was among the earliest companies to recognize the opportunity. JPMorgan calculates it is best positioned to take advantage of the HPC/AI demand, based on its track record of building high-quality data centers on time. The company recently purchased 816 Nvidia H100 GPUs—arguably the most powerful chips for AI.
"Outside of Core Scientific, IREN and maybe Hut 8, we haven’t really seen that level of materialized revenue coming from the AI business," says Mike Colonnese, an analyst at H.C. Wainwright.
Hut 8: The Miami-based bitcoin miner announced a $150 million investment from Coatue Management to build AI-related infrastructure. "We want to work with partners that have scale or will be there for a long period of time for us to grow and continue building with, well-known names within the broader ecosystem and the AI sector, and we are in conversations with many of these counterparties," says Asher Genoot, CEO of Hut 8.
"Hut 8 has demonstrated its ability to stand up greenfield sites for energy assets and data centers relatively quickly and inexpensively," agrees Mark Palmer, an analyst at investment banking firm Benchmark.
Applied Digital: One of the first miners to pivot to building HPC data centers, Applied Digital recently signed a letter of intent with an unnamed U.S. hyperscale computing provider for a lease of 400 megawatts.
"We really see ourselves as an HPC infrastructure company in the future," says CEO Cummins.
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