Europe Braces as Storm, TikTok, and Elections Dominate

The European Union has ordered TikTok to modify its "addictive design" or face substantial fines, following an investigation into the video-sharing platform's adherence to online safety regulations. Simultaneously, businesses in Malawi protested new tax changes, leading to a delay in their implementation, while Storm Leonardo continued to batter parts of Europe and northern Africa. In Japan, the ruling conservative party is projected to win a landslide victory in the lower house elections.

The European Commission's investigation, which began in February 2024, found that TikTok had not adequately assessed how features like autoplay could harm users, including children, and failed to implement measures to mitigate the risks, according to BBC Technology. A TikTok spokesperson, however, told the BBC that the findings were a "categorically false and entirely meritless depiction of our platform" and that the company planned to challenge them.

In Malawi, thousands of businesses closed in protest against the new Electronic Tax Invoicing System (EIS). Demonstrations across the country's four main cities led to a delay in the introduction of the new tax regime, which business owners claimed would cripple their livelihoods, The Guardian reported. Tens of thousands of people had signed petitions that were presented to tax authorities this week.

Meanwhile, Storm Leonardo brought torrential rain and strong winds to Spain and Portugal, with the Iberian peninsula under severe weather alerts, according to The Guardian. Spain's state meteorological agency issued its highest red alert for heavy rainfall in Cádiz and parts of Málaga. Flash floods in Morocco forced over 100,000 people to evacuate.

In Japan, exit polls predicted a landslide victory for the conservative governing party in Sunday's lower house elections, The Guardian reported. The Liberal Democratic party (LDP) was projected to win between 274 and 328 seats out of a total of 465, according to an exit poll by the public broadcaster NHK.

In other news, voluntary student loan repayments are on the rise in England. Luke England, who recently became a father, is trying to clear his student debt by making voluntary payments, aiming to clear the debt within six years, according to BBC Business. "There's a hundred other things that I could put that money to," Luke said.