The Supreme Court on Tuesday (November 4, 2025) orally indicated that regular competitions and tournaments may be excluded from the ambit of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 as they do not come under the definition of ‘betting and gambling’.

The 2025 law bans real money games, related banking services and advertisements.

What does the new online gaming Act outline? | Explained

A Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan was hearing a request made by a “chess player” who plays the game online as a “livelihood” and said he was about to launch an app.

“India is a strange country… you say you are a player, that you want to play, it is your only source of income and you want to join these proceedings here… Are you betting or gambling? How do you raise an income?” Justice Pardiwala asked the counsel for the player.

The counsel, speaking on behalf of his client, said he was a chess player who participated in “tournaments”.

“Then there is no problem for you [from the Act]. They [the government] does not object to tournaments… Tournaments are completely excluded… So why come here? Now, really, tell us, are you playing in tournaments or not?” Justice Pardiwala questioned the chess player.

Additional Solicitor General N. Venkataraman, appearing for the Union Government, remarked the petitioner “does not play tournaments”.

The counsel for the petitioner denied his client was into betting or gambling. He said these were online tournaments organised by companies. “I pay a participation fee and take a prize,” he submitted.

Justice Pardiwala agreed to tag the plea with a batch of petitions filed by online platforms which have challenged the new law.

The Court scheduled the case for detailed hearing on November 26 even as senior advocate C.A. Sundaram and advocate Rohini Musa, appearing for the platforms, conveyed urgency.

“We have been shut down for a month,” Mr. Sundaram submitted.

In a previous hearing, the senior counsel had complained that the law had not left the companies with any “avenue of functioning”, compelling them to resort to lay-offs. The companies have sought an interim stay of the implementation of the 2025 Act.

The Bench ordered the government to file a comprehensive counter-affidavit in Court in response to the petitions.

The government has argued that the law was necessary to curb the rapid mushrooming of online money games creating “serious risks for individuals, families and the nation”. It has maintained that online money games had exploited loopholes in the law and caused deep social harm. The Centre has argued that an estimated 45 crore people were negatively affected by online money games and faced a loss of more than ₹20,000 crore playing them.

On September 8, the Supreme Court transferred to itself separate petitions challenging the law, pending scattered across various State High Courts, including Delhi, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.

The writ petitions filed by online platforms and stakeholders in the high courts had argued that the law was a violation of the right to equality and freedom of expression, federalism and the settled distinction drawn between games of skill and those of chance.

The government has argued that the legislature cannot be a mute spectator when online money gaming platforms raise serious concerns due to reports of addiction, financial losses, money laundering, and even cases of loss of lives linked to heavy monetary losses.

The Centre has argued that investigations have revealed that “some gaming platforms were being used for terror financing and illegal messaging, which compromise the country’s security”.

Besides, it stated that gambling and betting were already restricted under Indian laws such as the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and by various State legislations. The online domain had remained largely unregulated.

Chinese smartphone maker iQOO on Tuesday (November 4, 2025) announced that their upcoming flagship smartphone iQOO 15 will use the Samsung 2K M14 LEAD OLED display with a peak brightness of 6,000 nits and a 144 Hz refresh rate.

The sub-brand of Vivo said claims that this Samsung’s display is being used for the first time in any Android phone. The 2K display will hit 2600 nits in HBM mode.

Further, iQOO 15 will also support Dolby Vision and triple ambient light sensors for instant brightness adjustment.

The iQOO 15 will run on Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and operate on newly introduced OriginOS 6 based on Android 16. On top of it, the new phone will use a Q3 chip for better gaming performance. It will also support ray tracing.

(For top technology news of the day, subscribe to our tech newsletter Today’s Cache)

iQOO 15 will sport a triple 50 MP camera system with a 50 MP Sony IMX921 VCS main sensor, a 50 MP Sony IMX882 periscope telephoto lens, and a 50MP ultrawide camera. It will have a 32 MP front camera.

iQOO 15 is going to ship with a 7,000 mAh battery supported by a 100W fast charger inside the box along with 40W wireless charging support. The company also claims that it will have India’s largest 8K VC cooling system for better thermal management.

The iQOO 15 will be launched in Alpha Edition, featuring a matte black finish and Legend Edition, paired with tri-color pattern logo.

The iQOO 15 will launch in India on November 26.

The successful launch of India’s CMS-03 (GSAT-7R) satellite aboard the LVM3-M5 rocket on November 2, 2025, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota will provide a major boost to the country’s pursuit of maritime security and technological self-reliance.

The 4,400 kg multi-band communication satellite, designed and developed indigenously by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), is the heaviest communication satellite launched into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) from Indian soil. It will play a crucial role in enhancing the Indian Navy’s operational reach, situational awareness, and surveillance capabilities across the Indian Ocean Region.

Secure communication coverage

The GSAT-7R is the successor to the GSAT-7 “Rukmini,” India’s first dedicated military satellite, launched in 2013. While Rukmini revolutionised naval communications by providing real-time data links across the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, the GSAT-7R significantly upgrades these capabilities. Equipped with multi-band transponders (UHF, S, C, and Ku bands), the GSAT-7R enables seamless voice, data, and video communication between naval ships, submarines, aircraft, and Maritime Operations Centres (MOCs). The satellite’s advanced payload ensures high-capacity, secure, and jam-resistant communication — vital for network-centric warfare and joint operations with the Army and the Air Force.

With a lifespan of 15 years, the GSAT-7R extends secure communication coverage up to 2,000 km from India’s coastline, encompassing vast stretches of the Indian Ocean Region. This expanded coverage will allow the Indian Navy to monitor critical sea lanes, chokepoints, and potential maritime threats more effectively. It will support continuous coordination among naval assets deployed on anti-piracy, anti-submarine, and humanitarian missions, ensuring real-time situational updates and rapid response capabilities.

Moreover, the GSAT-7R will enhance maritime domain awareness (MDA) by integrating space-based communication with surveillance platforms, such as coastal radars, reconnaissance aircraft, and unmanned systems. This synergy will allow the Navy to maintain an uninterrupted watch over the region’s dynamic maritime environment, strengthening India’s ability to deter and respond to any hostile activity.

According to experts, the launch of the GSAT-7R underscores India’s growing self-reliance in defence space technology under the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat. By securing robust and indigenous satellite communication infrastructure, the Navy can operate independently of foreign systems, ensuring confidentiality and reliability in strategic operations.

Quantum leap

In essence, the GSAT-7R represents a quantum leap in India’s maritime communication and surveillance architecture, empowering the Indian Navy to maintain a vigilant, connected, and technologically advanced presence across the Indian Ocean Region.

The Navy’s satellites, sensors, radars, unmanned aerial vehicles, and surveillance aircraft relay real-time data to the Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC), now being upgraded into a National Maritime Domain Awareness (NMDA) platform. The NMDA will integrate data from multiple sources to create a unified operational picture for naval commanders. Using AI-enabled analytics, it will enhance situational awareness, improve surveillance, and support swift decision-making. The system will help detect and counter threats such as illegal fishing, smuggling, piracy, and maritime terrorism, strengthening India’s maritime security and safeguarding its strategic interests across the Indian Ocean Region.

Amazon is demanding that artificial intelligence startup Perplexity put a stop to its bot shopping for people at the e-commerce giant’s retail platform, the companies said on Tuesday.

Amazon sent Perplexity a cease-and-desist letter that sets the stage for a lawsuit if AI agent Comet continues to serve as a personal shopper for customers.

“We’ve repeatedly requested that Perplexity remove Amazon from the Comet experience,” an Amazon spokesperson said in response to an AFP inquiry.

“Particularly in light of the significantly degraded shopping and customer service experience it provides.”

Amazon also contends that Comet’s automated shopping is violating terms of service by not disclosing it is independently doing the shopping for users.

In a blog post, San Francisco-based Perplexity accused Amazon of using a “bully tactic” to scare “disruptive companies” from making shopping easier for people.

Like other generative AI tools, Comet has evolved beyond finding information or crafting text to independently performing computer tasks such as booking reservations or tending to online shopping.

Amazon says Perplexity has failed to take personalised recommendations into account and its AI agent is making mistakes regarding delivery times.

The retail colossus also argued that Perplexity uses tactics to gain “unauthorized access” for shopping at the platform, failing to operate “transparently.”

Amazon is testing its own AI agents capable of handling all stages of shopping for customers and uses data it collects to target products and ads.

Perplexity, valued recently at some $20 billion, is among tech firms developing AI agents that work in web browsers, tending to internet tasks for users.

Generative AI star OpenAI last month launched a ChatGPT Atlas web browser on Apple computers that is capable of shopping at some websites.

Similar AI agent shopping capabilities are expected to be added to Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge browsers in coming months.

Possessing or publishing pornography showing strangulation or suffocation is to become a crime in the UK, the government announced Tuesday.

The plan follows an independent review which found that depictions of strangulation are rife online and that this had helped make the act a “sexual norm”, a government statement said.

Non-fatal strangulation is already a criminal offence in the UK, but it is not currently illegal to show it online.

These measures will help protect women and girls from online abuse, the government said.

“Viewing and sharing this kind of material online is not only deeply distressing, it is vile and dangerous,” technology minister Liz Kendall said.

“Those who post or promote such content are contributing to a culture of violence and abuse that has no place in our society.”

Tech platforms will be legally required to take “proactive steps” to prevent users from seeing such content, such as through moderation tools or stricter controls, the government said.

A separate amendment will extend the time limit for victims of intimate image abuse to report these crimes from six months to three years.

The UK implemented its Online Safety Act in July aiming to hinder youngsters from encountering content relating to porn as well as suicide, self-harm and eating disorders.

It requires websites and apps hosting potentially harmful pages and posts to implement age checks using measures such as facial imagery or credit cards.

Those found to be failing can face fines of up to £18 million ($23 million) or 10 percent of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater.

Australia has added message board Reddit and livestreaming service Kick to its list of social media platforms that must ban children younger than 16 from holding accounts.

The platforms join Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X and YouTube in facing a world-first legal obligation to shut the accounts of younger Australian children from December 10, Communications Minister Anika Wells said on Wednesday.

Platforms that fail to take reasonable steps to exclude children younger than 16 could be punished with a fine of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million).

“We have met with several of the social media platforms in the past month so that they understand there is no excuse for failure to implement this law,” Wells told reporters in Canberra.

“Online platforms use technology to target children with chilling control. We are merely asking that they use that same technology to keep children safe online,” Wells added.

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, who will enforce the social media ban, said the list of age-restricted platforms would evolve with new technologies.

The nine platforms currently age-restricted meet the key requirement that their “sole or significant purpose is to enable online social interaction,” a government statement said.

Inman Grant said she would work with academics to evaluate the impacts of the ban, including whether children sleep or interact more or become more physically active.

“We’ll also look for unintended consequences and we’ll be gathering evidence” so that others could learn from Australia’s achievements, Inman Grant said.

Australia’s move is being closely watched by countries that share concerns about social media impacts on young children.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told a United Nations forum in New York in September that she was “inspired” by Australia’s “common sense” move to legislate the age restriction.

Critics of the legislation fear that banning young children from social media will impact the privacy of all users, who must establish they are older than 16.

Wells recently said the government seeks to keep platform users’ data as private as possible.

More than 140 Australian and international academics with expertise in fields related to technology and child welfare signed an open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last year opposing a social media age limit as “too blunt an instrument to address risks effectively.”

IBM will cut thousands of roles this quarter while it continues to shift focus to higher-growth software and services, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday.

“We routinely review our workforce through this lens and at times rebalance accordingly,” Bloomberg quoted a company spokesperson saying. “In the fourth quarter we are executing an action that will impact a low single-digit percentage of our global workforce.”

Under chief executive Arvind Krishna, IBM has honed in on software as it looks to benefit on increased spending on cloud services through its “Red Hat” division, as businesses integrate artificial intelligence technology.

However, IBM last month recorded a slowdown in growth in the key cloud software segment, raising alarm bells among investors betting heavily on Big Blue’s ability to benefit more from booming cloud services demand.

Its shares, which have risen over 35% this year, were down close to 2% on Tuesday.

IBM employed about 270,000 workers as of the end of 2024.

Some U.S. workers may be affected by the job reductions, but employment in the country is anticipated to remain roughly the same year over year, the report said, citing an IBM spokesperson.

An Indian appeals tribunal on Tuesday set aside an antitrust watchdog’s five-year ban on Meta-owned WhatsApp sharing user data with other Meta entities for advertising, but upheld a fine, marking a partial win for the U.S. tech major.

WhatsApp had challenged the Competition Commission of India’s November 2024 ban on data sharing between WhatsApp and other Meta entities, warning it may have to roll back some features.

Meta also criticised the CCI for not having the “technical expertise” to understand the ramifications of its order.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) lifted the data-sharing ban, noting that “the rationale for the…ban was missing altogether”.

However, it upheld the $25.4 million fine that the CCI had imposed, saying Meta abused its dominance by imposing unfair conditions.

The case began in 2021 amid criticism of WhatsApp’s privacy policy changes, with the CCI’s probe finding that the policy pushed users to accept the change or risk losing access to the service.

“While we evaluate the written order, we continue to reiterate that WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy update did not change the privacy of people’s personal messages which remain end-to-end encrypted,” a spokersperson for Meta told Reuters in an emailed response.

India is Meta’s biggest market with the highest number of users on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp worldwide.