UK tightens online safety rules & AI governance moves in India - News (Feb 17, 2026)
February 17, 202612m 28s
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Today's topics: UK tightens online safety rules - UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised faster fixes to the Online Safety Act to cover AI chatbots, curb addictive social-media design like endless scroll, and strengthen age checks. Proposals include Ofcom data-preservation rules after child deaths and tighter action against deepfakes and illegal content. AI governance moves in India - India outlined a “techno-legal” AI safety approach inspired by its Digital Public Infrastructure model, aiming for responsible AI by design rather than after-the-fact compliance. The plan includes governance guidelines, possible AI safety institutes, and “light-touch” regulation to balance innovation and risk control. US–Iran talks and military pressure - Indirect US–Iran nuclear talks in Geneva, mediated by Oman, ended with claims of agreement on guiding principles but no public US readout yet. Meanwhile, Trump administration warnings, a regional military build-up, and reported planning for potential support to Israeli strikes keep pressure high around sanctions relief, enrichment limits, and missiles. Ukraine war talks in Geneva - Ukraine and Russia are set for another US-brokered round in Geneva with low expectations as territory remains the core dispute. The fighting continues along a roughly 1,250-kilometer front, with intensifying drone and missile exchanges and a US June deadline for a settlement. Europe pushes rearmament message - Britain and Germany’s top military leaders made a rare joint public case that rearmament is a moral necessity to deter Russia, calling for “whole-of-society” defense readiness. Sweden’s intelligence assessment also warns Russia’s hybrid threats and risk-taking around the Baltic are rising. US–Hungary civilian nuclear deal - The US and Hungary signed a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement aimed at small modular reactors, fuel supply diversification, and spent-fuel management. The Rubio–Orbán deal seeks to reduce reliance on Russian nuclear technology and expands US influence in Central Europe’s energy sector ahead of Hungary’s election. New blood test detects cancer earlier - Researchers reported an ultra-sensitive optical blood sensor that detected lung-cancer-related microRNA at sub-attomolar levels using CRISPR-Cas12a, quantum dots, and low-noise second harmonic generation on MoS₂. The platform could enable earlier screening and adaptable biomarker testing for cancers and other diseases. Mini spinal cord models injury repair - Northwestern scientists built a lab-grown human mini spinal cord organoid that includes microglia, letting them model inflammation, scarring, and neuron loss after injury. Their “dancing molecules” supramolecular therapy reduced scar-like tissue and boosted neurite outgrowth, supporting future regenerative medicine trials.
Episode Transcript
UK tightens online safety rules
Let’s start in the UK, where Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is promising faster action to close gaps in the Online Safety Act—especially where children and AI tools are concerned. The law became official in 2023, but it was written before today’s wave of chatbots and widely used generative AI. Starmer says the government recently “won” a battle with X after threatening action over Grok, its AI assistant, allegedly generating non-consensual sexual deepfakes. His message now is broader: tackle not just one platform, but the entire ecosystem of AI bots.
The proposals being discussed would explicitly bring AI chatbots under the Online Safety Act, and go after the features many parents and researchers have criticized for years—auto-play, endless scrolling, and other design choices that can encourage compulsive use. Starmer also wants tougher measures to stop children getting around age limits, including looking at how VPNs can be used to bypass checks.
There’s also a striking data-preservation element. One idea would require coroners to notify Ofcom each time a child aged 5 to 18 dies, so regulators can ensure platforms don’t erase data that could be relevant to understanding the death. In a related push tied to the Crime and Policing Bill—and a campaign known as “Jools’ Law”—companies would have to preserve potentially relevant data within five days. That’s meant to address a recurring problem: by the time families, coroners, or police ask for information, it may already be gone. The campaign was driven by Ellen Roome, whose 14-year-old son died in 2022; she suspects an online challenge may have played a role but says she hasn’t been able to access the data needed to confirm it.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall says consultation matters, but argues the UK needs the power to move quickly once choices are made—because tech policy, in her view, has moved too slowly since early Online Safety Act debates began back in 2017. Opposition parties are split on tone but not on pressure: critics from the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats call the consultation “inaction” and want tougher steps, including ideas like restricting certain platforms for under-16s and putting a potential child social-media ban to a vote in Parliament. Campaigners broadly welcome the direction, but many are still asking for stronger, clearer enforcement.
AI governance moves in India
Staying with AI governance, India is sketching out its own plan—one it describes as a “techno-legal” framework for AI safety. Principal Scientific Adviser Ajay Sood says the goal is to bake obligations into systems from the earliest stages of design and deployment, rather than treating compliance as a box-ticking exercise after products are already out in the world.
India is taking cues from its Digital Public Infrastructure model—open, interoperable systems that helped scale identity and payments. The idea is to bring that same template to AI: practical standards, clear accountability, and potentially AI safety institutes to support oversight. Sood is advocating what he calls a light-touch approach—avoid heavy command-and-control rules that could choke innovation, but still put real guardrails around risks. These comments come as New Delhi hosts the India AI Impact Summit, with senior international figures in attendance, and as India positions itself to be a major player in “AI as a service” over the next few years.
US–Iran talks and military pressure
Now to Geneva, where diplomacy is busy, complicated, and closely watched. A second round of indirect nuclear talks between the United States and Iran has ended, hosted at Oman’s mission and mediated by Oman. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi says there’s an understanding on broad “guiding principles,” while emphasizing that the hard work is still ahead. The US hasn’t publicly offered its own readout yet.
These talks are taking place under a shadow of threats and force postures. President Donald Trump has said he believes Iran wants a deal, but warned of “consequences” if it doesn’t. He’s also pointed to last summer’s US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites, arguing a deal could have prevented that escalation.
The region is also seeing an uptick in visible military activity. Reports track a US build-up that includes the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and additional destroyers, combat ships, and fighter aircraft. Iran, for its part, is signaling it won’t be intimidated. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has publicly rebuked US warnings, and the IRGC has run maritime drills in the Strait of Hormuz—a choke point for global oil shipping.
The core issue, as ever, is scope. Tehran says it wants to focus on the nuclear program and sanctions relief. Washington has previously suggested it also wants to address missile development and other regional concerns—items that Iran often treats as non-starters. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says a diplomatic outcome is possible but “very difficult,” and cautions against overselling the near-term chances.
Ukraine war talks in Geneva
And there’s another layer: reporting from US media says senior US military and intelligence officials are discussing what American support could look like if Israel carries out strikes on Iran—particularly against Iran’s ballistic missile program—should diplomacy fail. The discussions reportedly include practical questions like aerial refueling and potential overflight permissions.
Overflight is a political minefield. Countries along potential routes—Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE—have publicly said they wouldn’t allow their airspace to be used to support strikes on Iran, and there’s no indication they’ve changed that position. At the same time, the Pentagon’s posture appears to be shifting toward more firepower in range, with plans reported to redeploy the Ford carrier group from the Caribbean into the Middle East. The message is deterrence and leverage—but it also raises the stakes around any miscalculation.
Europe pushes rearmament message
Geneva is also the setting for fresh, US-brokered contacts tied to the war in Ukraine. A Ukrainian delegation is traveling for talks with Russian officials just ahead of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Expectations are restrained. The United States has reportedly set a June deadline for reaching a settlement, but the hardest questions—occupied territory, future security arrangements, and what Moscow would demand in return—remain fundamentally unresolved.
On the battlefield, the pattern is grimly familiar: a long, grinding front of roughly 1,250 kilometers, continued Russian aerial attacks that hit homes and energy infrastructure, and Ukraine’s expanding ability to strike deeper into Russia with longer-range drones. Russia’s Bryansk region reported a particularly intense wave—its governor claimed 229 Ukrainian drones were shot down in 24 hours. Ukraine’s Air Force, meanwhile, says Russia launched dozens of long-range drones overnight along with missiles.
Russia’s delegation is again led by Vladimir Medinsky, joined by senior figures including military intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov. Ukraine’s side is expected to be led by Rustem Umerov, with Ukraine’s closed airspace forcing time-consuming overland travel for officials. The Kremlin says the agenda will cover a “broader range of issues,” including territory, but any real movement would still need approval at the very top—and analysts note that a year of US peace efforts hasn’t stopped the fighting.
US–Hungary civilian nuclear deal
That ongoing war is feeding a wider shift across Europe: a louder, more direct push for rearmament—and not just from politicians. Britain and Germany’s top military leaders have issued an unusually public joint appeal, arguing the public should accept the moral case for rebuilding defense capacity and preparing for the possibility of conflict with Russia.
Air Chief Marshal Richard Knighton, the UK’s chief of the defence staff, and Germany’s chief of defence, General Carsten Breuer, say Russia’s posture has “shifted decisively westward,” and that Europe needs a step change in security planning. Their argument is blunt: deterrence fails when adversaries see weakness or disunity.
They’re calling for “whole-of-society defence,” meaning more resilient infrastructure, stronger supply chains, research partnerships with the private sector, and national institutions that can function under sustained pressure. Politically, it’s a tough sell. Polling suggests many voters are wary of higher taxes or spending cuts to fund defense—yet many also think a major war is becoming more likely.
Concrete plans are already in motion. Germany is moving ahead with a permanent deployment of a 4,000 to 5,000-strong brigade on NATO’s eastern flank and has changed its constitution to allow essentially unrestricted defense funding. The UK is planning up to six new munitions factories to keep production “always on.” Swedish intelligence is also warning that Russia has increased hybrid activity and appears more willing to take risks around Sweden and the Baltic, regardless of whether Moscow ultimately succeeds or fails in Ukraine.
New blood test detects cancer earlier
In Central Europe, energy security is mixing with geopolitics. The United States and Hungary have signed a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement, signed in Budapest by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The deal aims to lay the groundwork for long-term collaboration, including small modular reactors and spent-fuel storage.
A key detail: Hungary will buy nuclear fuel from American suppliers for the first time, and Holtec International is expected to assist with spent nuclear fuel management. US officials are framing this as a way to reduce Russian and Chinese influence in the region’s energy sector, while expanding markets for American nuclear technology.
The timing is also political. Hungary has elections coming in April, and Orbán has maintained comparatively close ties with Russia even during the war in Ukraine. Hungary’s existing nuclear backbone—the Paks plant—includes Russian-made reactors that provide about half the country’s electricity, and the US previously lifted sanctions to enable upgrades there. Supporters see the new agreement as diversification; critics see it as Washington leaning into a relationship that remains controversial within the European Union over rule-of-law concerns.
Mini spinal cord models injury repair
Finally, let’s end with two science stories that point to where medicine may be headed—earlier detection and better repair.
First, researchers reported a light-based blood sensor that can detect extremely small traces of cancer biomarkers—potentially early enough that a tumor wouldn’t yet show up on imaging. The work, published in Optica, combines DNA nanotechnology, quantum dots, and CRISPR-Cas12a with a low-noise optical method called second harmonic generation on a molybdenum disulfide surface. In simple terms: when the target biomarker is present, CRISPR triggers a change that causes a measurable drop in an optical signal. Because the background noise is so low, the system can pick up signals at extraordinarily tiny concentrations—sub-attomolar levels in lung-cancer-related tests. The team demonstrated detection of miR-21, a microRNA associated with lung cancer, including in human serum. The long-term goal is miniaturizing the optics so it could become a portable tool for routine screening and monitoring.
Second, Northwestern University researchers have created an advanced lab-grown “mini spinal cord” organoid to study traumatic spinal cord injury. What makes this model stand out is that it includes microglia—immune cells that shape inflammation—so the organoid better mimics what happens after real injuries, including cell death, scarring, and inflammatory cascades. The team simulated both laceration and compression injuries, then tested their regenerative therapy known as “dancing molecules.” After treatment, they saw stronger neurite outgrowth—meaning nerve extensions began growing again—along with reduced scar-like tissue and lower inflammation. The study adds weight to earlier animal results and supports continued development toward human-focused regenerative treatments.
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Support The Automated Daily directly:
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Today's topics: UK tightens online safety rules - UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised faster fixes to the Online Safety Act to cover AI chatbots, curb addictive social-media design like endless scroll, and strengthen age checks. Proposals include Ofcom data-preservation rules after child deaths and tighter action against deepfakes and illegal content. AI governance moves in India - India outlined a “techno-legal” AI safety approach inspired by its Digital Public Infrastructure model, aiming for responsible AI by design rather than after-the-fact compliance. The plan includes governance guidelines, possible AI safety institutes, and “light-touch” regulation to balance innovation and risk control. US–Iran talks and military pressure - Indirect US–Iran nuclear talks in Geneva, mediated by Oman, ended with claims of agreement on guiding principles but no public US readout yet. Meanwhile, Trump administration warnings, a regional military build-up, and reported planning for potential support to Israeli strikes keep pressure high around sanctions relief, enrichment limits, and missiles. Ukraine war talks in Geneva - Ukraine and Russia are set for another US-brokered round in Geneva with low expectations as territory remains the core dispute. The fighting continues along a roughly 1,250-kilometer front, with intensifying drone and missile exchanges and a US June deadline for a settlement. Europe pushes rearmament message - Britain and Germany’s top military leaders made a rare joint public case that rearmament is a moral necessity to deter Russia, calling for “whole-of-society” defense readiness. Sweden’s intelligence assessment also warns Russia’s hybrid threats and risk-taking around the Baltic are rising. US–Hungary civilian nuclear deal - The US and Hungary signed a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement aimed at small modular reactors, fuel supply diversification, and spent-fuel management. The Rubio–Orbán deal seeks to reduce reliance on Russian nuclear technology and expands US influence in Central Europe’s energy sector ahead of Hungary’s election. New blood test detects cancer earlier - Researchers reported an ultra-sensitive optical blood sensor that detected lung-cancer-related microRNA at sub-attomolar levels using CRISPR-Cas12a, quantum dots, and low-noise second harmonic generation on MoS₂. The platform could enable earlier screening and adaptable biomarker testing for cancers and other diseases. Mini spinal cord models injury repair - Northwestern scientists built a lab-grown human mini spinal cord organoid that includes microglia, letting them model inflammation, scarring, and neuron loss after injury. Their “dancing molecules” supramolecular therapy reduced scar-like tissue and boosted neurite outgrowth, supporting future regenerative medicine trials.
Episode Transcript
UK tightens online safety rules
Let’s start in the UK, where Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is promising faster action to close gaps in the Online Safety Act—especially where children and AI tools are concerned. The law became official in 2023, but it was written before today’s wave of chatbots and widely used generative AI. Starmer says the government recently “won” a battle with X after threatening action over Grok, its AI assistant, allegedly generating non-consensual sexual deepfakes. His message now is broader: tackle not just one platform, but the entire ecosystem of AI bots.
The proposals being discussed would explicitly bring AI chatbots under the Online Safety Act, and go after the features many parents and researchers have criticized for years—auto-play, endless scrolling, and other design choices that can encourage compulsive use. Starmer also wants tougher measures to stop children getting around age limits, including looking at how VPNs can be used to bypass checks.
There’s also a striking data-preservation element. One idea would require coroners to notify Ofcom each time a child aged 5 to 18 dies, so regulators can ensure platforms don’t erase data that could be relevant to understanding the death. In a related push tied to the Crime and Policing Bill—and a campaign known as “Jools’ Law”—companies would have to preserve potentially relevant data within five days. That’s meant to address a recurring problem: by the time families, coroners, or police ask for information, it may already be gone. The campaign was driven by Ellen Roome, whose 14-year-old son died in 2022; she suspects an online challenge may have played a role but says she hasn’t been able to access the data needed to confirm it.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall says consultation matters, but argues the UK needs the power to move quickly once choices are made—because tech policy, in her view, has moved too slowly since early Online Safety Act debates began back in 2017. Opposition parties are split on tone but not on pressure: critics from the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats call the consultation “inaction” and want tougher steps, including ideas like restricting certain platforms for under-16s and putting a potential child social-media ban to a vote in Parliament. Campaigners broadly welcome the direction, but many are still asking for stronger, clearer enforcement.
AI governance moves in India
Staying with AI governance, India is sketching out its own plan—one it describes as a “techno-legal” framework for AI safety. Principal Scientific Adviser Ajay Sood says the goal is to bake obligations into systems from the earliest stages of design and deployment, rather than treating compliance as a box-ticking exercise after products are already out in the world.
India is taking cues from its Digital Public Infrastructure model—open, interoperable systems that helped scale identity and payments. The idea is to bring that same template to AI: practical standards, clear accountability, and potentially AI safety institutes to support oversight. Sood is advocating what he calls a light-touch approach—avoid heavy command-and-control rules that could choke innovation, but still put real guardrails around risks. These comments come as New Delhi hosts the India AI Impact Summit, with senior international figures in attendance, and as India positions itself to be a major player in “AI as a service” over the next few years.
US–Iran talks and military pressure
Now to Geneva, where diplomacy is busy, complicated, and closely watched. A second round of indirect nuclear talks between the United States and Iran has ended, hosted at Oman’s mission and mediated by Oman. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi says there’s an understanding on broad “guiding principles,” while emphasizing that the hard work is still ahead. The US hasn’t publicly offered its own readout yet.
These talks are taking place under a shadow of threats and force postures. President Donald Trump has said he believes Iran wants a deal, but warned of “consequences” if it doesn’t. He’s also pointed to last summer’s US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites, arguing a deal could have prevented that escalation.
The region is also seeing an uptick in visible military activity. Reports track a US build-up that includes the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and additional destroyers, combat ships, and fighter aircraft. Iran, for its part, is signaling it won’t be intimidated. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has publicly rebuked US warnings, and the IRGC has run maritime drills in the Strait of Hormuz—a choke point for global oil shipping.
The core issue, as ever, is scope. Tehran says it wants to focus on the nuclear program and sanctions relief. Washington has previously suggested it also wants to address missile development and other regional concerns—items that Iran often treats as non-starters. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says a diplomatic outcome is possible but “very difficult,” and cautions against overselling the near-term chances.
Ukraine war talks in Geneva
And there’s another layer: reporting from US media says senior US military and intelligence officials are discussing what American support could look like if Israel carries out strikes on Iran—particularly against Iran’s ballistic missile program—should diplomacy fail. The discussions reportedly include practical questions like aerial refueling and potential overflight permissions.
Overflight is a political minefield. Countries along potential routes—Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE—have publicly said they wouldn’t allow their airspace to be used to support strikes on Iran, and there’s no indication they’ve changed that position. At the same time, the Pentagon’s posture appears to be shifting toward more firepower in range, with plans reported to redeploy the Ford carrier group from the Caribbean into the Middle East. The message is deterrence and leverage—but it also raises the stakes around any miscalculation.
Europe pushes rearmament message
Geneva is also the setting for fresh, US-brokered contacts tied to the war in Ukraine. A Ukrainian delegation is traveling for talks with Russian officials just ahead of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Expectations are restrained. The United States has reportedly set a June deadline for reaching a settlement, but the hardest questions—occupied territory, future security arrangements, and what Moscow would demand in return—remain fundamentally unresolved.
On the battlefield, the pattern is grimly familiar: a long, grinding front of roughly 1,250 kilometers, continued Russian aerial attacks that hit homes and energy infrastructure, and Ukraine’s expanding ability to strike deeper into Russia with longer-range drones. Russia’s Bryansk region reported a particularly intense wave—its governor claimed 229 Ukrainian drones were shot down in 24 hours. Ukraine’s Air Force, meanwhile, says Russia launched dozens of long-range drones overnight along with missiles.
Russia’s delegation is again led by Vladimir Medinsky, joined by senior figures including military intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov. Ukraine’s side is expected to be led by Rustem Umerov, with Ukraine’s closed airspace forcing time-consuming overland travel for officials. The Kremlin says the agenda will cover a “broader range of issues,” including territory, but any real movement would still need approval at the very top—and analysts note that a year of US peace efforts hasn’t stopped the fighting.
US–Hungary civilian nuclear deal
That ongoing war is feeding a wider shift across Europe: a louder, more direct push for rearmament—and not just from politicians. Britain and Germany’s top military leaders have issued an unusually public joint appeal, arguing the public should accept the moral case for rebuilding defense capacity and preparing for the possibility of conflict with Russia.
Air Chief Marshal Richard Knighton, the UK’s chief of the defence staff, and Germany’s chief of defence, General Carsten Breuer, say Russia’s posture has “shifted decisively westward,” and that Europe needs a step change in security planning. Their argument is blunt: deterrence fails when adversaries see weakness or disunity.
They’re calling for “whole-of-society defence,” meaning more resilient infrastructure, stronger supply chains, research partnerships with the private sector, and national institutions that can function under sustained pressure. Politically, it’s a tough sell. Polling suggests many voters are wary of higher taxes or spending cuts to fund defense—yet many also think a major war is becoming more likely.
Concrete plans are already in motion. Germany is moving ahead with a permanent deployment of a 4,000 to 5,000-strong brigade on NATO’s eastern flank and has changed its constitution to allow essentially unrestricted defense funding. The UK is planning up to six new munitions factories to keep production “always on.” Swedish intelligence is also warning that Russia has increased hybrid activity and appears more willing to take risks around Sweden and the Baltic, regardless of whether Moscow ultimately succeeds or fails in Ukraine.
New blood test detects cancer earlier
In Central Europe, energy security is mixing with geopolitics. The United States and Hungary have signed a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement, signed in Budapest by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The deal aims to lay the groundwork for long-term collaboration, including small modular reactors and spent-fuel storage.
A key detail: Hungary will buy nuclear fuel from American suppliers for the first time, and Holtec International is expected to assist with spent nuclear fuel management. US officials are framing this as a way to reduce Russian and Chinese influence in the region’s energy sector, while expanding markets for American nuclear technology.
The timing is also political. Hungary has elections coming in April, and Orbán has maintained comparatively close ties with Russia even during the war in Ukraine. Hungary’s existing nuclear backbone—the Paks plant—includes Russian-made reactors that provide about half the country’s electricity, and the US previously lifted sanctions to enable upgrades there. Supporters see the new agreement as diversification; critics see it as Washington leaning into a relationship that remains controversial within the European Union over rule-of-law concerns.
Mini spinal cord models injury repair
Finally, let’s end with two science stories that point to where medicine may be headed—earlier detection and better repair.
First, researchers reported a light-based blood sensor that can detect extremely small traces of cancer biomarkers—potentially early enough that a tumor wouldn’t yet show up on imaging. The work, published in Optica, combines DNA nanotechnology, quantum dots, and CRISPR-Cas12a with a low-noise optical method called second harmonic generation on a molybdenum disulfide surface. In simple terms: when the target biomarker is present, CRISPR triggers a change that causes a measurable drop in an optical signal. Because the background noise is so low, the system can pick up signals at extraordinarily tiny concentrations—sub-attomolar levels in lung-cancer-related tests. The team demonstrated detection of miR-21, a microRNA associated with lung cancer, including in human serum. The long-term goal is miniaturizing the optics so it could become a portable tool for routine screening and monitoring.
Second, Northwestern University researchers have created an advanced lab-grown “mini spinal cord” organoid to study traumatic spinal cord injury. What makes this model stand out is that it includes microglia—immune cells that shape inflammation—so the organoid better mimics what happens after real injuries, including cell death, scarring, and inflammatory cascades. The team simulated both laceration and compression injuries, then tested their regenerative therapy known as “dancing molecules.” After treatment, they saw stronger neurite outgrowth—meaning nerve extensions began growing again—along with reduced scar-like tissue and lower inflammation. The study adds weight to earlier animal results and supports continued development toward human-focused regenerative treatments.
Subscribe to edition specific feeds:
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