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Satellite communications networks have proved resilient amid a crackdown. Amid growing protests and escalating violence in Iran, the countrys government has blocked access to domestic communications systems and imposed a nearly week-long internet blackout. But Starlink, the satellite internet service run by SpaceX, only uses personal terminals that connect to its constellation, and doesnt rely on any regime-controlled infrastructure. As a result, technology has now become a lifeline, and one of the only ways people in Iran can bring their disturbing reality on the ground to the rest of the world. The biggest part of the communication [in the country] is being handled by Starlink, Amir Rashidi, the director of internet security and digital rights at the Miaan Group, an organization thats been tracking the communications blackout in Iran, tells Fast Company. Without the Starlink, you won’t see any of these videos, or you won’t receive any news. Indeed, it is still incredibly difficult to ascertain firsthand information from inside Iran. Foreign reporters only have limited access to the country, and phone calls have also been restricted by the government. The full extent of the carnage is unclear, but some officials suspect thousands of people may already be dead. More may happen with Starlink in Iran in the coming days. SpaceX has now waived the initial Starlink subscription fee for users in Iran, and organizers have been sharing details on how to use the technology, as securely as possible, amid a brutal crackdown. President Donald Trump said earlier this week he plans to communicate with Elon Musk about expanding service in the region. The Trump Administration is committed to helping to preserve and protect the free flow of information by the most effective means to the people of Iran in the face of the Iranian regimes brutal repression, a State Department spokesperson, declining to share more specifics, told Fast Company on Wednesday. SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment. The situation is a reminder that, in an emergencyand amid political upheavalinternet access can be a critical tool. Indeed, its easy to view Starlink as a fundamentally authoritarian-proof technology. But satellite internet, like any platform, isnt completely immune from authoritarian intimidation. And while SpaceX is providing a critical service in the moment, the company, and Elon Musk, are private entities whose goals arent guaranteed to align with values of free speech, or even the foreign policy interests of the United States. The fundamental issue is that the interests of Elon Musk are not the interests of the United States, Gordon LaForge, a researcher at the think tank New America, tells Fast Company. Sometimes they might be in alignment, but sometimes they won’t be. Limited access Right now, even as protests overtake much of the country, only a small number of Iranians there have access to Starlink terminals, which are generally needed to connect to the countrys constellation of low-Earth satellites. This hardware can be difficult to come by. Iran doesnt have authorized Starlink sellers, which means ordinary people need to find them on the black market, where they’re expensive, as Forbes previously reported several years ago. Right now, there just arent that many terminals overall, though reports indicate the number has grown recently. As of December 2022, Elon Musk had said there were around 100 terminals in the country. By the end of 2024, there were reportedly about 20,000 Iranian users, and there are possibly tens of thousands more there now, Rashidi says. Still, 90 million people live in Iran, which means most people wont have Starlink anytime soon. But the Iranian government is also taking active steps to disrupt the service. The Iranian legislature passed a law banning Starlink last year, and people who use it face the risk of going to prison, or, potentially, the death penalty, if theyre accused of using the technology for espionage. Though the Iranian government has, in the past, complained about how easy it is to hide Starlink devicessome hardware can fit in a backpackofficials have also reportedly started scanning the country for signs of terminals, even using drones to hunt for dishes and terminals that might be installed on rooftops. Starlink might also be susceptible to jamming. The Iranian government appears to have partially interfered with the service, in some places, by jamming the GPS connection that Starlink relies on, and, in effect, reducing Starlinks total capabilities. One Iranian internet access group, in a post on X, said they were able to collaborate with SpaceX on a software update that blunted the impact of this interference. Notably, these issues dont seem to have taken Starlink completely offline, and Penn State professor Sascha Meinrath, who studies satellite constellation bandwidth, told Fast Company that this method may only work in fairly constrained areas. Rashidi, from the Miaan Group, likened the jamming to a nuisance. It was like a fly sitting on your face or on your nose. You can easily move your hand and push the fly away, he told Fast Company. You feel uncomfortable, but that won’t kill you. Still, this disruption may foreshadow future attempts by other governments to try to undercut Starlink service, and shows there are ways to undermine the service. Down the line, as SpaceXs commercial infrastructure becomes increasingly enmeshed in U.S. national security and defense systems, theres also an increasing incentive for foreign adversaries to investigate ways to take it down. Researchers in China have already studied ways to jam a service like Starlink with a swarm of drones. Who benefits? Starlink often becomes a key communication platform in places experiencing incredible political upheaval, includingmost recentlyin Ukraine, Gaza, and Venezuela. In emergencies, it might even help provide the service. SpaceX provided free terminals to Ukraine, and is providing free Starlink connections in Venezuela until next month. Internet access is critical for people on the ground, but theyre also geopolitical: These deals have further lubricated SpaceXs relationship with the U.S. government, and, today, the company now holds myriad contracts with both civilian and defense agencies. The State Department is even actively promoting the Starlink service globally, particularly in Africa, as ProPublica reported last year. But while these deals might read through the lens of anti-authoritarianism, or internet freedom, they should primarily be understood as efforts to advance U.S. foreign policy interests, and the interests of SpaceX and Elon Musk, experts tell Fast Company. Theres always the risk that Musk, or SpaceX leadership, will switch off the service in order to effect a desired political outcome. In one critical example: a few years ago, Musk suddenly ordered the shutdown of the Starlink service in one contested area in Ukraine, leaving troops without communications and disrupting their counteroffensive, according to Reuters reporting last year. Take Ukraine, where Starlink is indispensable to the Ukrainian military, Gordon LaForge, a senior policy analyst at the liberal think tank New America, tells Fast Company. When Musk threatened to withdraw Starlink, the Pentagon stepped in to pay for the service. And of course Musk personally attains a level of direct geopolitical influence that few other individual businesspersons or private citizens of any sort can achieve. SpaceX uses geopolitical conflicts to showcase its ability and the indispensability of its services for secure communications, adds Joscha Abel, a researcher based at the University of Tübingen who has written about the service. Tech corporations like SpaceX frequently align themselves with the geostrategic objectives of the U.S. government to earn profitable public contracts and see their technologies embedded in national security and military planning. In other words, Starlink had been marketed to Ukraine as a liberatory technology that would help them in their fight against Russia, but depending on it ultimately subjected its troops to the political preferences of the companys leadership. And while Musk has fashioned himself a free speech advocate, he has, in the past, taken steps to silence critics on his social media platform, X. Like many other leaders, he also has business ties in some authoritarian countries, places operating open platforms wont always necessarily suit his business interests. When an essential technological instrument of U.S. policy is in the hands of a private individualand a mercurial one at that, explains LaForge, it increases the risk of policy capture and outcomes that are not in the public interest.”
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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is investigating a salmonella outbreak linked to dietary supplement powder that left 45 people sick and a dozen people hospitalized across the country. In the wake of the outbreak, New York-based Superfoods, Inc. has issued a voluntary recall of Live it Up-brand Super Greens dietary supplement powder in the original and wild berry flavors. However, the FDA cautions that additional products might join the recall during its investigation. To determine a source of contamination, FDA is conducting a traceback investigation of products ill people reported consuming before becoming ill and is working with state partners to sample products of concern, the agency stated in its Wednesday, January 14, notice. Additional products may be contaminated, and this advisory will be updated as more information becomes available. According to the FDA, the salmonella strand has infected 45 people across 21 states between August 22, 2025, and December 30, 2025. There have been 12 cases of hospitalization and no reported deaths. Which products are affected? Superfoods has recalled its Live it Up-brand Super Greens dietary supplement powder in the original and wild berry flavors. The recall includes any products with a best-by date between August 2026 and January 2028. [Photos: via FDA] Where was the product sold? Live it Up-brand Super Greens dietary supplement powder is sold nationwide, primarily through the digital storefronts of Amazon, eBay, and Walmart. According to an outbreak map published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), outbreaks have been reported in the following states: Alabama Connecticut Delaware Iowa Illinois Kentucky Massachusetts Maine Michigan Minnesota Missouri Nebraska New York Ohio Pennsylvania South Carolina Tennessee Utah Vermont Washington Wisconsin [Screenshot: via CDC] What should I do if I have this product? You can either toss or return any of the impacted Super Greens dietary supplement powders youve purchased. You should also thoroughly clean and sanitize anything that the product has touched, such as surfaces in your fridge or containers. What salmonella symptoms should I look out for? Did you already consume the supplement powder? If so, there are clear signs of salmonellosis to look out for over the following days. According to the FDA, salmonella can cause abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and fever. In more severe cases, it can bring on additional symptoms including: Aches A rash High fever Headaches Lethargy Blood in the urine or stool The elderly, children younger than 5, and individuals with a weakened immune system are more likely to have a severe case of salmonellosis. Typically, a person who consumes food with salmonella and develops an infection will first experience symptoms within 12 to 72 hours. These symptoms usually last between four and seven days. Contact your doctor if you exhibit any salmonellosis symptoms.
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E-Commerce
Two data breaches, multiple class action lawsuits, and a removal from the Apple App Store later, the popular and controversial dating safety app Tea for Women is back and launching a new website version of its services today. Billed as a Yelp for men, Tea was created in 2023 but was relatively unknown until July 2025, when it quickly became a viral sensation and shot to the top of App Store downloadsat one point outranking ChatGPT on the Apple App Store. Similar to Are We Dating the Same Guy? Facebook groups, Tea offered women what they thought was a secure forum to obtain information and advice on men they had matched with on dating apps. Women using the platform wanted to ensure that romantic prospects were safe to meet in person and to root out abusers, predators, and cheaters, which Tea allowed them to do through built-in background checks, a sex offender map, and reverse image searches. Users could also vote on whether a mans behavior was desirable or shady by selecting red or green flag icons under someones post, offering the creator a sort of pulse check that they might otherwise have had to wait for until their next girls’ night out. But after landing on the publics radar, the app quickly faced backlash and sparked debates about gender divides in dating and mens right to privacy in a digital-first era. Back-to-back data breaches ensued: Hackers gained access to 72,000 images, including users government IDs and selfies, and over 1 million messages, then posted them to 4chan, an anonymous forum primarily used by men and historically a home to incel culture and hate speech. [Image: Tea] Legal fallout and App Store ban At least 10 potential class action lawsuits followed, alleging that Tea had been negligent in its data practices. At the time of the hack, Teas privacy policy asserted that users’ selfies were deleted once their profiles had been verified. Images leaked in the breach, however, dated back to 2023, contradicting the apps own privacy policy. (As of August 11, 2025, Teas privacy policy has been updated to state that it retains user data for as long as [a users] account is active as needed to provide [a user] the Services, or where we have an ongoing legitimate business need.”) In October, the app was removed from Apples App Store for failing to meet standards around privacy, content moderation, and user experience. On the Google Play Store, where Tea is still available for download, a notable number of negative reviews complain of glitchiness, trouble staying logged in, and a lack of free features. Some reviewers also reported that they were denied the ability to use the app after submitting a selfie to prove their gender identityTea is a women-only platformalleging that they were rejected for not appearing feminine enough. New Tea aims to right past wrongs The launch of Tea 2.0, the new website version of the app, aims to remedy these safety issues and expand access to the platform, according to Jessica Dees, the platform’s head of trust and safety. Launching our web experience is a strategic move toward platform resilience, allowing us to establish a scalable hub that isnt dependent on a single distribution channel,” Dees wrote in an email to Fast Company. She added that Tea has brought on experts in the trust and safety field to address community safety specifically. “This transition provides us with technical flexibility as we implement more robust moderation workflows, Dees wrote. This isnt a choice between a new site and better moderation. It’s about building a long-lasting experience that gives women access to safety, wherever they are. [Image: Tea] How will the new Tea be different? The website will offer users the ability to crowdsource information on a potential date like it did before. The extra safety features, which cost $14.99 a month, will continue to be available on the mobile version of Tea (still only available to Android users) and will be incorporated into the website in the future, Dees says. Additionally, Android users can access new features including a virtual speakeasy where users can vote on polls, engage with topic-specific forums, and post anonymous audio messages, as well as an AI-powered dating coach that can analyze and suggest responses to messages with dating app matches. Dees wrote that Tea is taking concerns about privacy seriously, both from women who may have been impacted by the past data breaches or fear being part of one in the future, as well as men who have voiced anger and concern over posts about them that were not independently verified and may have included false or even defamatoryassertions. Tea helps women review patterns and potential red flags rather than relying on isolated claims, Dees wrote. By enabling women to exchange real-world insight in a moderated environment, [Tea] helps create earlier awareness, reduce risk, and support safer decision-making, which can be life-saving in a dating landscape where many forms of harm escalate precisely because warning signs are missed or shared too late. Tea now offers non-users a method to request content removal through its website. [Image: Tea] The platform is also partnering with a third-party identity verification service to eliminate any friction for women who had issues gaining access to Tea by submitting a selfie, which was previously required during the account creation process. Dees did not provide specific examples of what information users will be required to submit. Users are given a range of options regarding the information they provide when creating an account, and the information they choose to provide is evaluated using a variety of techniques before they are granted access to the platform, Dees wrote. Fans want more Tea The announcement of Teas return has been met with excitement. Although Dees declined to share the size of the websites VIP waitlist, it has a massive existing fanbase to rely oneven after the breaches. The app surpassed six million downloads before it was removed from the App Store, and according to Dees, an in-app poll that garnered 34,000 responses found that 73% of users felt Tea had made dating a safer experience for them. Thank God, one commenter wrote of the platforms return. [T]his app saves lives when the legal system fails to protect us!!
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