Hacker News Recap January 31st, 2026 | Euro firms must ditch Uncle Sam's clouds and go EU-native
10 snips
Feb 1, 2026 Discussions cover EU data sovereignty and the push for region-native cloud providers. Finland's proposed social media clampdown and its trade-offs with privacy come up. Mobile carriers' ability to access GPS and the privacy implications are explored. A tiny in-browser Mandarin tone model, a stalled OpenAI–NVIDIA megadeal, and YouTube blocking background playback on privacy browsers are highlighted.
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EU-Native Clouds Improve Data Sovereignty
- European firms face growing pressure to migrate from U.S. cloud providers to EU-native alternatives for data sovereignty.
- Moving to EU-native clouds boosts compliance but introduces compatibility, cost, and feature trade-offs.
Finland Considers Australia-Style Platform Rules
- Finland may adopt Australia-style social media restrictions combining moderation, algorithm tweaks, and identity checks.
- The policy aims to curb misinformation but risks privacy trade-offs and user migration to less-regulated platforms.
Carriers Can Log Your GPS Coordinates
- Mobile carriers can access device GPS coordinates by integrating location data with network logs.
- This enables services and emergency response but raises consent and privacy concerns.