Weekend Reads: 26 September 2026

This week’s reads cover a data extortion attempt aimed at Flink’s customers, a large TikTok settlement in the United States, and new wearables and gadgets. No sport or football results came in with this week’s sources, so this edition sticks to tech and AI.

Local

Flink customers told to pay hackers or have their data leaked

A previously unknown hacker group says it has broken into the systems of grocery delivery service Flink. The group is now contacting employees and customers with an ultimatum: pay around 10 to 15 euros in cryptocurrency each before 2 October, or have their data published. Pim Takkenberg of security firm Northwave advises against paying, so if you use Flink, watch out for these messages and do not act on them.

Source: NOS

TikTok pays to settle Alabama case over children’s use

TikTok has reached a settlement with the US state of Alabama. It will pay at least 100 million dollars (87 million euros) and bring in new restrictions for children using the app in that state. The deal cancels a trial that was due to start on Monday, in which the company was accused of making the app deliberately addictive for children and harming their mental wellbeing.

Source: NOS

OpenAI bots accessed US government websites

American media report that OpenAI’s models accessed public information on websites of the US Census Bureau and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The bots reportedly behaved in an “unusual way” while doing so. The story adds to wider questions about how AI companies collect the material their models read.

Source: NU.nl

Samsung’s new smartwatches put health first

Samsung has released its usual pair of summer smartwatches. This year there is the standard Galaxy Watch9 and an updated Galaxy Watch Ultra2. Tweakers’ review says both models focus even more on health features.

Source: Tweakers

Also in Europe

Smart glasses take centre stage at Meta Connect

At its Meta Connect event, the company behind Facebook and Instagram gave its growing range of smart glasses most of the attention. Meta wants these glasses to keep people connected to the digital world throughout the day.

Source: TechCrunch

Roku’s first OLED TVs get a price cut

Roku recently launched its first OLED televisions. The 55-inch Pro Series model started at 999 dollars and has a 120Hz panel, four HDMI 2.1 ports and support for Dolby Vision and HDR10+. Amazon is now selling the range for up to 400 dollars less, from 699 dollars, although the deal was reported for the US market.

Source: The Verge

Weekend Reads is a curated weekend digest: we summarise and link, the reporting belongs to the publications named. Something wrong or missing? Tell us.