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GeoNum
@geonum.bsky.social
📍Tracking the news, research and thoughts on the geopolitics of digital technologies (⚠️ semiconductors)
Economical competition📈, social and environmental stakes...
'Cause the virtual world 🌐 looks awfully material 🌏 !
Brought to u by ENSSIB students.
Pinned
#ShowDontTell 👀 Here's some interactive maps of the major internet infrastructures around the globe🗺️⤵️
If you're often at a loss as to the details of the internet, worry no more, you can visualize it !
First here's a quick run through of Internet's working and history :
urlr.me/JW9eYC
⚓ While most damage done to #SubseaCables is accidental, physical attacks are increasing.
How to protect the "soft underbelly of the world economy" ?
Questions as to how to detect and deter such attacks reveal the current judicial gaps in international treaties.
www.csis.org/analysis/pro...
Protecting Subsea Cables: Detect to Deter, Sue to Secure
Subsea cables power global commerce. Though rare, cable attacks impose real costs. But leading technologies are democratizing maritime data and deterring would-be saboteurs. To further deter…
www.csis.org
January 14, 2026 at 7:18 PM
🛰️ "#Starlink’s ability to provide connectivity in conflict zones has turned Elon Musk into a geopolitical force."
After its introduction in #Ukraine🇺🇦 in 2022, backed up by the US government, the satellite network recently came into the spotlight in #Iran🇮🇷 and #Venezuela🇻🇪.
time.com/7345047/star...
Starlink’s Quiet Role in Venezuela’s Political Crisis
Starlink has become an unofficial communications backbone in Venezuela, highlighting how Elon Musk’s satellite network now shapes information access during political upheaval.
time.com
January 13, 2026 at 8:50 AM
A look back on #AIchips in 2025⌛from the market side :

⚔️ From production to distribution and appliance, the industry proved vulnerable to increasingly conflictual #geopolitics.

A target of national ambitions and capital value🪙
www.artificialintelligence-news.com/news/ai-chip...
2025's AI chip wars: What enterprise leaders learned about supply chain reality
The 2025 AI chip shortage forced enterprise deployment delays of 40-60%. How US-China tensions, memory shortages, and supply chain reality reshaped CTO strategies for 2026.
www.artificialintelligence-news.com
January 8, 2026 at 4:49 PM
🇫🇷 Les cyberattaques augmentent en France. Mairies et hôpitaux sont souvent visés.

🇬🇧 Cyberattacks are increasing in France, often hitting hospitals and towns.
www.franceinfo.fr/internet/sec...
"Personne n'est assez protégé" : comment la France fait face à la hausse des cyberattaques
Services publics, entreprises, organisations... Les atteintes numériques se multiplient ces derniers mois. En cinq ans, elles ont augmenté de 74%, selon le ministère de l'Intérieur.
www.franceinfo.fr
January 7, 2026 at 4:26 PM
🇹🇼 - 🇨🇳

Considering the recent escalation in Taiwan-China tensions, here’s a reminder:

🛡️ "The Silicon Shield" : Taiwan’s chip dominance is often seen as a deterrent to Chinese aggression because the global economy would suffer without its semiconductors.

asiatimes.com/2025/10/the-...
The limits of Taiwan’s 'silicon shield' - Asia Times
US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick brought new attention to Taiwan’s “silicon shield” in a September 28 interview, during which he said Taiwan should
asiatimes.com
January 4, 2026 at 7:24 PM
🇨🇳 — 🇺🇸
Despite accusing China of unfair practices in semiconductors, the US has delayed new tariffs until mid-2027, preserving a fragile truce in the ongoing chip trade war.

Tech dominance is as much about diplomacy and timing as it is about market share.

www.ft.com/content/a127...
US accuses China of unfair chip trade practices
Trump administration holds off increasing tariffs until 2027
www.ft.com
December 30, 2025 at 8:34 AM
🇯🇵
With Rapidus, Japan is making chip sovereignty a strategic priority, aiming to challenge TSMC and Samsung in semi manufacturing.

In an AI-driven, geopolitically tense world, every major economy needs its own advanced chip capabilities for long-term resilience.

asiatimes.com/2025/12/japa...
Japan's Rapidus set to rival TSMC and Samsung for chip supremacy - Asia Times
Rapidus, Japan’s effort to create a domestic chip-making alternative to TSMC and Samsung Foundry, is becoming a broad-based national industrial project of
asiatimes.com
December 26, 2025 at 9:34 AM
🇹🇼 Taiwan: from semiconductor industry to geopolitics.

TSMC’s most advanced chipmaking know-how is now treated as a national security asset.
This investigation shows how semiconductors have moved from factories into the core of global power politics.

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/b...
Taiwan Invokes National Security Law to Protect TSMC Trade Secrets
www.nytimes.com
December 22, 2025 at 9:11 AM
🇰🇷
Heavy subsidies, tax breaks, and exports concentrated in semiconductors:
South Korea’s growth model is increasingly tied to the chip cycle itself.

Sometimes, a lack of diversification in high-tech industry control becomes a major economic vulnerability.

thediplomat.com/2025/11/sout...
South Korea’s Semiconductor Dependence Is Becoming a Structural Economic Risk
Persistent export concentration around memory chips leaves the Korean economy acutely vulnerable to global tech cycles.
thediplomat.com
December 18, 2025 at 12:09 PM
MP Materials, seule mine de terres rares active aux États-Unis, voit son chiffre d’affaires exploser (+84 %) grâce à une production record de NdPr. Apple et le Pentagone investissent pour renforcer l’indépendance face à la Chine.
www.latribune.fr/economie/int...
Les terres rares Made in USA se portent bien
MP Materials, la société qui exploite la seule mine de terres rares en activité aux États-Unis a vu son chiffre d’affaires bondir de 84 % au second trimestre 2025. Il y a un mois, Apple et le Pentagon...
www.latribune.fr
December 18, 2025 at 10:33 AM
FR- L’essor de l’IA fait grimper les prix de la RAM : la demande des data centers et des puces mémoire avancées crée des tensions sur l’offre.
ENG- AI boom is driving RAM prices up as data centers and advanced memory chips strain global supply.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
AI is skyrocketing the price of RAM. Computers, phones and tablets could be next | CBC News
If you've been in the market recently for RAM, you've probably noticed a major spike in prices as memory manufacturers pivot more of their production capacity away from consumer products to supplying ...
www.cbc.ca
December 16, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Rare earths are essential for smartphones, laptops, electric motors, robotics and chip manufacturing.

🇨🇳 China holds the largest known rare earth reserves and dominates mining and refining, making it the world’s leading exporter.

www.statista.com/chart/33754/...
Infographic: Where Are the World’s Rare Earths?
This chart shows the top 10 countries with the greatest known reserves of rare earths in 2024 (in million tonnes of REO).
www.statista.com
December 13, 2025 at 8:07 AM
🇨🇳 - 🇺🇸
Despite Trump’s approval, Beijing — pursuing its self-sufficiency goals — is considering restrictions on H200 imports.

H200 is one of Nvidia's most advanced AI chips, and companies like Tencent and Alibaba could benefit from it.

www.ft.com/content/c4e8...
China set to limit access to Nvidia’s H200 chips despite Trump export approval
Discussions among regulators come as Beijing seeks to achieve self-sufficiency in semiconductor production
www.ft.com
December 10, 2025 at 9:40 AM
"Apartheid numérique" : seuls 16% des pays possèdent l'infrastructure pour développer l'IA. 🌍

Selon ce rapport d'Oxford, le fossé technologique devient irréversible entre les puissances du cloud et le reste du monde.
🎧 L'analyse : www.radiofrance.fr/franceinter/...
Géopolitique de l’IA : naissance d’une nouvelle fracture mondiale
Un rapport de l’université d’Oxford liste les 32 pays -16% des nations du monde- disposant des infrastructures nécessaires pour développer l’intelligence artificielle. Le fossé se creuse avec le reste...
www.radiofrance.fr
December 9, 2025 at 11:23 AM
🇫🇷 La pénurie mondiale de semi-conducteurs révèle la dépendance aux chaînes de production asiatiques et fragilise l’industrie numérique.
🇬🇧 The global chip shortage exposes dependence on Asian supply chains and weakens the digital industry.

🔗 www.lesechos.fr/tech-medias/...
www.lesechos.fr
December 8, 2025 at 12:55 PM
💣📻 : l'histoire du C.L.O.DO., mystérieux groupe qui sabotait des infrastructures informatiques, en France, dans les années 80.
Parmi les peurs de l'époque: la déshumanisation administrative, l'omniprésence de la surveillance, et la dépendance du pays à une poignée d'infrastructures.
urlr.me/Ebt4Jh
Le C.L.O.DO. ou la révolte contre l'informatisation de la société
Aujourd’hui dans Affaires Sensibles, l’histoire du CLODO. Un groupe mystérieux qui, au début des années 80, s’en prend à l’informatique.
urlr.me
December 6, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Reposted by GeoNum
Europe is shifting from regulating technology to building it. Whether it can do so without sacrificing the values it seeks to protect will shape the global digital order, write Nicole Manger and Vidisha Mishra.
Can Europe Build Digital Sovereignty While Safeguarding Its Rights Legacy? | TechPolicy.Press
Europe is shifting from regulating tech to building it, but can it do so without compromising the values it defends, ask Nicole Manger and Vidisha Mishra.
www.techpolicy.press
December 5, 2025 at 5:06 PM
The #semiconductor industry's lead by fabless companies (e.NVIDIA) who design chips but leave their manufacturing to foundries (e.TSMC).
Though it failed to attract such actors, Europe still counts the Dutch ASML, provider of lithographic printers used in chip making, except for China.
The Global Semiconductor Industry in One Giant Chart
Explore the world's semiconductor industry by market cap, highlighting Nvidia’s massive 37% share of the global total.
urlr.me
December 4, 2025 at 12:52 PM
📡 Le Humboldt Cable — un câble sous-marin de 14 800 km reliant Valparaíso à Sydney. Attendu pour 2027, il fait du Chili un hub numérique et pourrait transformer la connectivité régionale.
www.courrierinternational.com/article/econ...
14 800 kilomètres : le premier câble à fibre optique entre l’Amérique du Sud et l’Océanie
Presque dix ans après les premières discussions, le Chili et le géant Google sont parvenus à un accord afin de déployer le premier câble à fibre optique reliant...
www.courrierinternational.com
December 3, 2025 at 9:17 AM
Bulle financière autour de l’IA, manque structurel de production militaire. L’Europe révèle ses fragilités industrielles : manque de compétences, chaînes de production brisées, insuffisance de matériel.
www.iris-france.org/entre-bulle-...
Entre bulle de l’IA et pénurie militaire : une crise systémique - IRIS
La montagne financière construite sur les promesses révolutionnaires de l’IA générative est vertigineuse. Les financements circulaires entre entreprises du secteur se sont multipliés, alors que des li...
www.iris-france.org
December 3, 2025 at 9:14 AM
🇫🇷 🎥 Le Dessous des Cartes (Arte) montre comment les réseaux sociaux deviennent des outils de puissance.
🇬🇧 🎥 ARTE’s Le Dessous des Cartes shows how social media become tools of power.

🔗 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWeksJQQRyU](www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWek...)
Géopolitique des réseaux sociaux - Le dessous des cartes | ARTE
YouTube video by Le Dessous des Cartes - ARTE
www.youtube.com
December 3, 2025 at 9:12 AM
TSMC technology leak :

Taiwan indicts Tokyo Electron’s local unit and three engineers — one former TSMC employee now at Tokyo Electron and two current TSMC engineers — for allegedly failing to prevent leaks of TSMC’s 2nm chip technology trade secrets.

focustaiwan.tw/business/202...
Prosecutors seek NT$120M fine against Tokyo Electron Taiwan in TSMC case - Focus Taiwan
Taiwan's prosecutors on Tuesday indicted Tokyo Electron Taiwan Ltd., a subsidiary of Japan-based chip equipment supplier Tokyo Electron Ltd., over the alleged theft of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturi...
focustaiwan.tw
December 3, 2025 at 7:36 AM
In 2022, Pakistan🇵🇰 suffered from six massive internet blackouts due to #SubmarineCables cuts, highlighting the lack of #resilience of its networks.
This study underlines "the power asymmetry between content platforms, operators, and regulators" regarding infrastructure planning.
urlr.me/pTGJUV
PAKISTAN’S PHYSICAL CONNECTIVITY WITH NEIGHBORS
Image conception and realization : Nowmay Opalinski (GEODE/IFG), June 2023.
dl.acm.org
December 1, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Consequences of AI demands :

🇫🇷 - Croissance de Taiwan de +8,2% au troisième trimestre. L'estimation sur l'ensemble de l'année devrait atteindre +7,37%

🇬🇧 - Taiwan's growth at +8.2% in the third quarter. The estimate for the whole year is expected to reach +7.37%

www.boursorama.com/actualite-ec...
Taïwan: la croissance plus forte que prévu au 3e trimestre (+8,2%)
L'activité économique taïwanaise mesurée par l'évolution du PIB a progressé de plus de 8% au troisième trimestre par rapport à l'année précédente, portée par une forte demande en produits technologiqu...
www.boursorama.com
November 30, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Géopolitique du numérique » d’Ophélie Coelho : un essai qui montre comment les Big Tech, via data centers, câbles sous-marins et satellites, transforment Internet en instrument de puissance et posent la question de notre souveraineté numérique.
editionsatelier.com/boutique/acc...
Géopolitique du numérique : l'impérialisme à pas de géants
Voyage à la fois historique et géographique, ce livre nous donne voir un nouveau théâtre d’opérations où, loin de l’utopie d’un internet sans frontières, l’impérialisme technologique avance à pas de g...
editionsatelier.com
November 26, 2025 at 9:21 AM