UK ministers accept $1m from Meta amid social media ban consultation
Ministers have accepted $1m (£728,000) from Meta, the US tech and social media company, to build AI systems for defence, national security and transport, sparking warnings about the UK government’s “alarmingly close relationship with Trump-supporting US tech giants”,The money from Mark Zuckerberg’s company will be used to pay experts to “develop cutting-edge AI solutions … to support national security and defence teams”, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) announced on Tuesday,The money will pay for four British AI experts, coordinated by the government-funded Alan Turing Institute, to “play a pivotal role in rewiring our healthcare, police, transport systems and more”, said Ian Murray, the minister for data and digital government,The move comes after Meta executives had 50 meetings with ministers in the last two years for which data was available, one of the highest levels of direct access of any technology company, a Guardian investigation found,The government is consulting on a ban on social media use by under-16s, which would have a major effect on Meta’s Instagram platform.
Meta said the money had been allocated to the Alan Turing Institute before any ban was floated,Announcing the $1m deal, Meta said it was “proud to help bring top British AI talent into government, fast-tracking the transformation of public services”,DSIT said: “People across the UK could benefit from faster, safer and more reliable public services as leading British AI specialists join government to modernise critical systems used every day – from public safety to transport maintenance,”But the tech justice campaign group Foxglove asked: “What’s Meta getting for its million dollars?” It added: “When it comes to big tech, there’s no such thing as a free lunch,”“This is yet more evidence of the UK government’s alarmingly close relationship with Trump-supporting US tech giants,” said Donald Campbell, Foxglove’s advocacy director.
“It’s deeply worrying that ministers are still naive enough to swallow this kind of lobbying from a handful of Silicon Valley plutocrats – who have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt they do not have the British public’s best interests at heart,”Daisy Greenwell, a co-founder of the Smartphone Free Childhood campaign, said the deal “highlights an uncomfortable reality: tech giants spend vast sums to gain access and influence in policymaking”,She added: “That makes it even more important that decisions about children and online safety are shaped by independent evidence and the public interest, not by the companies whose products are under scrutiny,”The government also announced a new partnership with the San Francisco AI company Anthropic, which will build and pilot a dedicated assistant tool for public services on gov,uk, starting with a model that will give jobseekers career advice “and help to lock down a job”.
Anthropic said the project implementation work was “pro bono”,DSIT said the technology was “part of a cutting-edge plan to use AI agents for national government services, with a pilot expected to begin later this year”,In October, Anthropic announced that the former prime minister Rishi Sunak was taking an advisory role at the $350bn startup,The former Downing Street chief of staff Liam Booth-Smith is a policy and communications adviser to Anthropic,The deals come as ministers wrestle with policy decisions that directly affect Meta and Anthropic.
As well as launching a consultation last week on banning social media use for under-16s, they are also due to set out changes to how creatives’ copyrighted works are protected from being mined to build AI models, such as those made by Anthropic.Beeban Kidron, a cross-bench peer who campaigns on child protection and copyright, said: “This government is walking into dependence on Silicon Valley, is undermining the chance to build a UK AI sector, and above all is busy giving away some of the most precious datasets in the world to Silicon Valley, who could well afford to pay.”The Meta-funded AI experts will be tasked with using AI to develop models that analyse images and videos, enabling councils to prioritise transport infrastructure repairs more effectively.They will also “develop cutting-edge AI solutions which run offline or within secured networks to support national security and defence teams to make vital decisions while safeguarding sensitive data”, the government said.
Vingegaard crashes on training ride in Spain after being tailed by amateur cyclist
Visma-Lease a Bike have reminded amateur cyclists of the dangers of interacting with professional riders on the road following the revelation that Jonas Vingegaard crashed on Monday after being tailed by a fan during a descent near Málaga, Spain.“Jonas Vingegaard crashed during training on Monday. Fortunately, he is OK and did not sustain any serious injuries,” read a team statement. “In general, as a team we would like to urge fans on bikes to always put safety first. For both your own and others’ wellbeing, please allow riders to train and give them as much space and peace as possible
Alcaraz flicks on genius switch to put himself two matches from career grand slam | Tumaini Carayol
One of the biggest matches of Alex de Minaur’s career was already falling from his grasp when his opponent, Carlos Alcaraz, compounded his misery with a selfish stroke of genius. Midway through the third set, the result all but a formality, De Minaur pounded an aggressive forehand down the line and flitted forward to the net.Against nearly any other player in the world, the Australian would have won the point. Against Alcaraz, the world No 1, De Minaur watched on helplessly as the Spaniard chased down the ball and slid to his right, whipping a forehand down-the-line pass that did not come back. De Minaur could not hide his rueful smile
Elina Svitolina humbles Coco Gauff to set up Sabalenka semi in Australian Open
Coco Gauff is known across her sport for her mental toughness and problem-solving abilities, her tendency to grind out wins from unenviable positions. However, down 1-6, 0-3, 0-30 on Tuesday night and sinking quickly, the 21‑year‑old has rarely looked as helpless on a tennis court as when she expressed her despair to her support team. “She’s outdoing me in everything,” she said.This time, there was no way back for the third seed as Elina Svitolina ended a courageous, focused performance by securing the most significant result of the Australian Open so far, dismantling Gauff 6-1, 6-2 to reach her first semi-final in Melbourne.Svitolina, the 12th seed, will next face Aryna Sabalenka, the world No 1, and two‑time Australian Open champion
Early De Minaur onslaught not enough as Alcaraz surges into Australian Open semis
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz is within two victories of a career grand slam after piling more major pain on home hope Alex de Minaur in a largely straightforward Australian Open quarter-final victory, secured 7-5, 6-2, 6-1 in 136 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.The heavily anticipated clash delivered a sensational first set in which De Minaur looked a peer of the world No 1. However, Alcaraz took control beyond the one-hour mark, leaving the last Australian in the singles draw helpless, exasperated and pacing behind the baseline between points.De Minaur is now the third man in the Open era, after Andrey Rublev and Tommy Robredo, to lose his first seven grand slam quarter-finals. He walked off the court downtrodden, and his mood hadn’t lifted by the time he spoke to press half an hour later
Coco Gauff unhappy after racket smashing video at Australian Open goes viral
Coco Gauff has expressed her disappointment after video of her smashing her racket at the Australian Open was picked up on camera.The American was well below her usual high standards during her 6-1, 6-2 defeat by Elina Svitolina on Tuesday. Gauff had trouble with her forehand and serve throughout the match - she double-faulted five times in the first set alone – and hit 26 unforced errors to just three winners, losing in just 59 minutes. She also appeared to believe there was something wrong with her equipment as she struggled with her control, and had three of her rackets restrung in the opening set.After the match, the 21-year-old thought she had found some privacy to vent her frustration in a ramp away leading from Rod Laver Arena
Australian Open 2026 quarter-finals: Alcaraz hammers De Minaur, Svitolina destroys Gauff – as it happened
Here’s Jack’s report…Righto, Jack Snape’s report will be in here and on-site shortly, but otherwise, we’ll see you tomorrow at 12.30am GMT for Rybakina v Swiatek.Fear not, though, we’ve got you in the meantime – there’s football tonight, and for now, Joe Root and Harry Brook are on fire in Sri Lanka.Otherwise, though, peace out.There’ve been precious few tight matches in this year’s Australian Open and day 10 offered more of the same
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