The chief executives of some of the biggest operator groups in Europe warned massive amounts of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) are still exchanged online each year and pressed authorities to give them the power to block it.
Margherita Della Valle from Vodafone Group, Christel Heydemann at Orange, Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer with Telenor Group and Allison Kirkby at BT Group want authorities to provide their companies with the legal clarity to prevent the sharing of more than 100 million CSAM files each year.
They have written an open letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and European Council President Antonio Costa warning the trading of CSAM material online is “at industrial scale”.
The CEOs argue differences in legal frameworks makes it difficult for telecom and internet service providers to fully pull their weight in tackling the problem, making the removal of barriers to “blocking access to domains and URLs” linked with CSAM a matter of urgency.
The CEOs believe an organisation with the oversight to identify and tackle CSAM throughout the European Union is necessary. They also want interim measures to the same end while such a group is being set-up.
Equally, the executives believe any such authority must be strictly overseen and its focus kept squarely on CSAM.
They called for governments in the region not within the EU to join the efforts with their own legal frameworks.
“Children need protection now, not in several years’ time.”
“The scale of abuse demands decisive action, so Europe must show global leadership.”
Unacceptable
Della Valle, Heydemann, Fasmer and Kirkby pointed to Internet Watch Foundation statistics indicating 62% of “confirmed CSAM web pages” were hosted in the EU in 2024.
A cyber tipline operated by the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children “receives tens of millions of reports” involving children mostly aged between seven-and ten-years old.
“Girls are disproportionately targeted”, the executives noted.
They branded it “simply unacceptable” for CSAM to remain accessible due to delays in removing it at the source.
The post EU operator chiefs press for urgent CSAM blocks appeared first on Mobile World Live.
The European Commission (EC) and the European Space Agency (ESA) named Spain-based Hispasat as the lead contractor for its IRIS2 European satellite network, handing it a budget of more than €1.6 billion.
Owned by Spanish defence company Indra Group, Hispasat has been charged with providing antenna infrastructure, control systems and ground network connectivity for IRIS2.
It will also lead the development of the system’s very low Earth orbit layer, operating at altitudes below 750km. This layer is designed to provide direct connectivity services to mobile devices and for IoT, providing access for European startups and SMEs.
The agreement further guarantees Hispasat access to non-geostationary orbits in regions of high strategic interest, complementing its range of capabilities and geographic coverage.
To that end, Hispasat has committed an investment of up to €600 million in exchange for obtaining “exploitation rights” in regions of high strategic interest and commercial value for the business it already operates through its geostationary fleet.
The award comes following talks between the EC, ESA and SpaceRISE, a satellite consortium formed between Eutelsat, SES and Hispasat.
Luis Mayo, CEO of Hispasat, noted the agreement helps it strengthen its position among the leaders of the European space industry and in its main business areas.
The IRIS2 programme will deploy a network of 330 new LEO satellites and 12 medium earth orbit (MEO) birds, with initial services due to begin in 2030. In total, €15.6 billion will be invested in the project, with €11.6 billion coming from public funds and €4 billion from the SpaceRISE consortium.
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Telefonica detailed an operation to increase connectivity provision across more than 2,700 sites in Spain for an expected boost in network demand from viewers turning out to see a solar eclipse on 12 August.
The operator has undertaken network optimisation and capacity expansion work in locations across 31 areas of Spain covering the thousands of kilometres where the event is likely to be visible.
Tasks included actions to “parameterise the mobile network”, intelligently reconfiguring base stations and adapting them to traffic demand.
Telefonica noted preparations started five months ago and form part of wider planning to bolster coverage for events expected to be popular during the local holiday season.
In planning for the eclipse, it analysed coverage in more than 400 potential observation points identified by the country’s Autonomous Regions. It expects “extraordinary demand for connectivity from national and international observers” at the sites.
The astronomical event is expected to be visible in areas including Aragon, Asturias, the Balearic Islands, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, Catalonia, Community of Madrid, Valencian Community, Galicia, La Rioja, Navarra and the Basque Country.
The post Telefonica shines light on work to aid eclipse viewers appeared first on Mobile World Live.
Europe risks becoming dependent on foreign orbital computing infrastructure as U.S. companies and China’s government-led push accelerate the development of space-based data centers, according to the European Space Policy Institute.
The post Think tank warns Europe’s orbital compute gap is widening appeared first on SpaceNews.
Neuraspace, the Portuguese space traffic management startup, announced around $18 million in fresh funding Aug. 5 to expand European space domain awareness and defense capabilities.
The post Neuraspace raises $18 million to expand sovereign space awareness appeared first on SpaceNews.
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