AI Concentration of corporate power a ‘huge’ concern: UN rights chief
By AFP
November 11, 2025
Image: — © AFP Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV
Nina LARSON
A few tech giants accumulating massive power coupled with artificial intelligence is posing huge global rights challenges and needs regulation, the UN human rights chief told AFP in an interview.
Amid increasing worries over threats to democracy and with a growing number of countries at risk of sliding towards autocracy, Volker Turk said a key concern was the seeming unbridled power of a small number of technology companies.
In an interview this week at the UN rights office overlooking Lake Geneva, he pointed to how seven or eight big tech companies now boast more wealth than the entire economies of even industrialised nations.
“They have amassed an immense amount of power,” he said.
“And power, we all know, if it is not circumscribed by rule of law, by international rights law, can lead to abuse.
“It can lead to an exercise of powers to subjugate others.”
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said he was deeply “worried that corporate power, if it’s not constrained by the law and by international rights standards, is going to be a huge issue for us”.
“It’s an area where I think we as the human rights community will have to focus much more.”
– ‘Extremely manipulative’ –
Turk did not mention any company by name.
But he spoke just days after Tesla shareholders endorsed a pay package that could reach $1 trillion for its chief executive Elon Musk — already the world’s richest person and owner of social media platform X.
Other high-profile tech figures like Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos also figure among the world’s wealthiest people.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said a few tech giants had amassed ‘an immense amount of power’ – Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP Tom Brenner
Turk this year voiced alarm to the UN Human Rights Council over the influence wielded by “unelected tech oligarchs”.
They “have our data: they know where we live, what we do, our genes and our health conditions, our thoughts, our habits, our desires and our fears”, he told the UN’s top rights body.
“They know how to manipulate us.”
The fact that tech titans are racing to roll out generative artificial intelligence tools adds to the concern of many experts.
“Generative AI can have huge potential to resolve some of the biggest problems that we face, but we also can see the shadow side,” Turk said.
He highlighted the impact AI-enhanced social media could have on election campaigns and other democratic processes.
It can be “extremely manipulative”, he warned, and “can distort views, distract people from real life… the real issues”.
– ‘Climate denial’ –
Turk cautioned that “AI that is unregulated can be a huge source of distraction, which then takes away the political energy that we need in order to actually fight autocratic tendencies, to push back on lack of control”.
At the same time, AI is being used for “distorting reality”, he said, adding he did not want to say it was creating alternative realities, “because they are not realities. It is fake”.
And they are not harmless, he warned.
“The right to truth, the right to science are fundamental issues,” Turk said.
With the UN climate conference under way in Brazil, he also decried the harm from climate change disinformation.
“I’m shocked to hear leaders talk about climate denial again, when we all know that we are already overshooting the goal that was set 10 years ago with the Paris Agreement,” he said.
“What are we thinking? What are we doing to our children, our grandchildren, future generations?” he asked.
“There will be questions asked about accountability in the future, but then it’s too late.”
By AFP
November 11, 2025
Image: — © AFP Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV
Nina LARSON
A few tech giants accumulating massive power coupled with artificial intelligence is posing huge global rights challenges and needs regulation, the UN human rights chief told AFP in an interview.
Amid increasing worries over threats to democracy and with a growing number of countries at risk of sliding towards autocracy, Volker Turk said a key concern was the seeming unbridled power of a small number of technology companies.
In an interview this week at the UN rights office overlooking Lake Geneva, he pointed to how seven or eight big tech companies now boast more wealth than the entire economies of even industrialised nations.
“They have amassed an immense amount of power,” he said.
“And power, we all know, if it is not circumscribed by rule of law, by international rights law, can lead to abuse.
“It can lead to an exercise of powers to subjugate others.”
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said he was deeply “worried that corporate power, if it’s not constrained by the law and by international rights standards, is going to be a huge issue for us”.
“It’s an area where I think we as the human rights community will have to focus much more.”
– ‘Extremely manipulative’ –
Turk did not mention any company by name.
But he spoke just days after Tesla shareholders endorsed a pay package that could reach $1 trillion for its chief executive Elon Musk — already the world’s richest person and owner of social media platform X.
Other high-profile tech figures like Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos also figure among the world’s wealthiest people.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said a few tech giants had amassed ‘an immense amount of power’ – Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP Tom Brenner
Turk this year voiced alarm to the UN Human Rights Council over the influence wielded by “unelected tech oligarchs”.
They “have our data: they know where we live, what we do, our genes and our health conditions, our thoughts, our habits, our desires and our fears”, he told the UN’s top rights body.
“They know how to manipulate us.”
The fact that tech titans are racing to roll out generative artificial intelligence tools adds to the concern of many experts.
“Generative AI can have huge potential to resolve some of the biggest problems that we face, but we also can see the shadow side,” Turk said.
He highlighted the impact AI-enhanced social media could have on election campaigns and other democratic processes.
It can be “extremely manipulative”, he warned, and “can distort views, distract people from real life… the real issues”.
– ‘Climate denial’ –
Turk cautioned that “AI that is unregulated can be a huge source of distraction, which then takes away the political energy that we need in order to actually fight autocratic tendencies, to push back on lack of control”.
At the same time, AI is being used for “distorting reality”, he said, adding he did not want to say it was creating alternative realities, “because they are not realities. It is fake”.
And they are not harmless, he warned.
“The right to truth, the right to science are fundamental issues,” Turk said.
With the UN climate conference under way in Brazil, he also decried the harm from climate change disinformation.
“I’m shocked to hear leaders talk about climate denial again, when we all know that we are already overshooting the goal that was set 10 years ago with the Paris Agreement,” he said.
“What are we thinking? What are we doing to our children, our grandchildren, future generations?” he asked.
“There will be questions asked about accountability in the future, but then it’s too late.”
Leaked data: Minor details create a damaging big picture
By Dr. Tim Sandle
SCIENCE EDITOR
By Dr. Tim Sandle
SCIENCE EDITOR
DIGITAL JOURNAL
November 10, 2025
How much of your data is going missing? Image by Tim Sandle.
Since 2004, over 23 billion accounts have been compromised, exposing nearly 58 billion data points, including sensitive personal details like eye colour, shoe size and more. This translates to 28.8 million individual pieces of information. To put that into perspective, this is nearly equivalent to the entire population of Australia having their physical traits leaked online.
The company Surfshark has recently analysed data from 160 countries, grouped 100 different types of leaked data points into nine distinct categories, and provided an overview shared with Digital Journal.
The danger surrounding this is not simply a stolen password; it is the aggregation of seemingly minor details. When physical features like height, shoe size, or even eye colour are added to the mix, it provides personally identifiable information that enables account takeovers, very personalised and sophisticated identity theft, financial loss, and fraud schemes.
Overview of different leaked data points
In the report, Surfshark looked at countries with populations over one million and grouped types of leaked data points into nine distinct categories: personal information, passwords, education, finance, location, social media, physical characteristics data, vehicle data, and other.
Overall, the password category (containing information about exact passwords, their hints, security questions, and their answers) accounts for 30% of all leaks, with the actual password field being the most frequently exposed single data point. This data point alone has been leaked 10.4 billion times, accounting for nearly a quarter (23%) of all data points.
Personal information (29%) and location data (23%) categories follow closely. When analysing the most leaked data types by country, the US stands out by ranking in the top three for 18 of the 20 most leaked data types. These include first name, last name, full name, phone, address, and location.
More than just usernames and passwords
While login credentials and contact details are the most commonly compromised in data leaks, the scope of exposed information often extends to highly personal, physical attributes of an individual’s life. Although these data categories are less frequently leaked, they are crucial in augmenting a digital profile with real-world characteristics, making the concept of “digital doppelgänger” chillingly plausible.
Israel leads the world in the exposure of physical features data, followed by France, Australia, and the US.
The leaks are so detailed that security researchers can identify which countries lead in particular attributes:Israel has the most leaks related to height;
France leads in exposed data on eye colour, hair colour, and weight;
The U.S. ranks first for leaked shoe size data.
According to Sereika, the real danger arises when various data points are combined. The more personalized the information criminals have, the easier and more dangerous an attack becomes. While you can reset a leaked password, your eye colour, once exposed, is lost forever. People have to pay more attention to what information they share online.
To protect your digital footprint the report advises reviewing your online presence, limiting the amount of personal information you share, and demanding greater data security from the companies people entrust with their data.
November 10, 2025
How much of your data is going missing? Image by Tim Sandle.
Since 2004, over 23 billion accounts have been compromised, exposing nearly 58 billion data points, including sensitive personal details like eye colour, shoe size and more. This translates to 28.8 million individual pieces of information. To put that into perspective, this is nearly equivalent to the entire population of Australia having their physical traits leaked online.
The company Surfshark has recently analysed data from 160 countries, grouped 100 different types of leaked data points into nine distinct categories, and provided an overview shared with Digital Journal.
The danger surrounding this is not simply a stolen password; it is the aggregation of seemingly minor details. When physical features like height, shoe size, or even eye colour are added to the mix, it provides personally identifiable information that enables account takeovers, very personalised and sophisticated identity theft, financial loss, and fraud schemes.
Overview of different leaked data points
In the report, Surfshark looked at countries with populations over one million and grouped types of leaked data points into nine distinct categories: personal information, passwords, education, finance, location, social media, physical characteristics data, vehicle data, and other.
Overall, the password category (containing information about exact passwords, their hints, security questions, and their answers) accounts for 30% of all leaks, with the actual password field being the most frequently exposed single data point. This data point alone has been leaked 10.4 billion times, accounting for nearly a quarter (23%) of all data points.
Personal information (29%) and location data (23%) categories follow closely. When analysing the most leaked data types by country, the US stands out by ranking in the top three for 18 of the 20 most leaked data types. These include first name, last name, full name, phone, address, and location.
More than just usernames and passwords
While login credentials and contact details are the most commonly compromised in data leaks, the scope of exposed information often extends to highly personal, physical attributes of an individual’s life. Although these data categories are less frequently leaked, they are crucial in augmenting a digital profile with real-world characteristics, making the concept of “digital doppelgänger” chillingly plausible.
Israel leads the world in the exposure of physical features data, followed by France, Australia, and the US.
The leaks are so detailed that security researchers can identify which countries lead in particular attributes:Israel has the most leaks related to height;
France leads in exposed data on eye colour, hair colour, and weight;
The U.S. ranks first for leaked shoe size data.
According to Sereika, the real danger arises when various data points are combined. The more personalized the information criminals have, the easier and more dangerous an attack becomes. While you can reset a leaked password, your eye colour, once exposed, is lost forever. People have to pay more attention to what information they share online.
To protect your digital footprint the report advises reviewing your online presence, limiting the amount of personal information you share, and demanding greater data security from the companies people entrust with their data.
By AFP
November 11, 2025
ICANN, a US-based non-profit, manages all internet addresses
- Copyright AFP Adek BERRY
Tom BARFIELD
The risk of the internet fragmenting into national “splinternets” will likely be averted in a UN vote next month, the head of the authority that manages web addresses told AFP on Tuesday.
“The vast majority of the countries that we have met with, including countries who in the past have been very sceptical… believe the current model of governing the internet has worked,” Kurtis Lindqvist, head of ICANN, said at the Web Summit tech gathering in Lisbon.
Officials from UN member countries are to meet December 15-16 to review the rules that have applied to internet over the past two decades.
Some proposals circulating call for control of managing internet addresses being taken away from the US-based non-profit Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) that Lindqvist runs.
Pressure has built in recent years to give that power to governments and trade groups.
But ICANN has warned that any such move could lead to a fragmented “splinternet” in which it could prove expensive or impossible for people to connect across separate address systems.
Lindqvist said “there’s some careful optimism” that the existing system will remain in place. “But let’s see what happens in December.”
He added that “negotiations really start now” on the text that will be adopted at the meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
– ‘Phenomenally successful’ –
ICANN is best known for coordinating global allocation of internet addresses — whether the easily-remembered versions people type into web browsers, or the strings of numbers used by computers known as IP addresses.
Having a single agreed-upon address system worldwide means that anyone in any country can easily reach people elsewhere on the globe by visiting their website or sending an email.
The internet’s social and business benefits are “only possible because we have a uniform technical standard, we have uniform identifiers that are reachable throughout the entire internet,” Lindqvist said.
“If we start fragmenting this by raising barriers or through policy actions, then we start diminishing this value creation”.
Over the decades the internet has existed, “we have unfortunately been so phenomenally successful with this that people are starting to take the internet for granted, and that’s the real risk,” Lindqvist added.
The ICANN chief further called for the UN to end the practice of reviewing internet governance every 10 years.
“The model of governing the internet has been successful… We know it works,” he said, adding that “that seems to be agreed to by most member states”.
By contrast, in terms of regulation of AI — this decade’s erupting technology — “everything literally is on the table” in talks among governments, Lindqvist said.
From proposals for independent governance along ICANN lines to a dedicated UN AI agency, “It’s the same as the late ’90s, literally it’s the same spectrum,” he said.
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