A five-month investigation spanning Sweden, Norway, Belgium, and the Netherlands detailed critical safety lapses, unpaid wages, and squalid housing on sites tied to major global technology firms. Severe incidents include fatal accidents on UK projects, a 2024 accident at a Microsoft substation, and an arc flash electrocution at a Belgian Google facility that left a worker in an induced coma. In Sweden, laborers supporting Microsoft's artificial intelligence expansion endured vermin-infested, unheated housing lacking adequate plumbing during freezing winters.
Key points
Europe's digital infrastructure boom increasingly relies on vulnerable migrant workers ex…: Europe's digital infrastructure boom increasingly relies on vulnerable migrant workers exposed to dangerous working conditions.
Regulatory oversight remains limited, as demonstrated by the closure of the Belgian elect…: Regulatory oversight remains limited, as demonstrated by the closure of the Belgian electrocution probe without finding corporate wrongdoing.
Major technology companies face mounting scrutiny over the severe human costs hidden deep…: Major technology companies face mounting scrutiny over the severe human costs hidden deep within their subcontracted European supply chains.
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Sandu* checked his watch. He was winding down the last 15 minutes of his shift at a vast Google datacentre site in Saint-Ghislain, Belgium, in March, when the call came in. The 34-year-old electrical tester had already worked almost 10 hours, but says such last-minute jobs were normal: “I had no choice. People have been fired after saying no.”
The task was one Sandu had done many times before and involved a series of tests measuring the safety and integrity of the electrical wiring. A protective suit was locked away in an equipment room. The round trip would have added another 15 minutes to the job, he says, and people were waiting, so he decided not to retrieve the suit.
Once in the voltage room, Sandu says the managers confirmed the lines had been de-energised. In the first round, everything went as planned. Then, on the second test, while holding insulated tongs, he linked the cables. But this time, the lines were live.
The blast was immediate and catastrophic. In milliseconds, 400 volts and 12,000 amps hit Sandu’s face and…
Federal regulators are escalating efforts to safeguard critical communications infrastructure against foreign espionage and rampant robocall operations. The Federal Communications Commission is targeting entities like China Mobile and China Telecom to close access points that lower operating barriers for malicious callers. This broader crackdown builds on mounting concerns over sustained state-sponsored cyber intrusions into domestic telecom networks.
Blockchain analysis firm TRM has attributed a cryptocurrency theft targeting Binance to North Korea. The attribution links the nation to the incident, according to reporting from Reuters. No further details regarding the scope of the theft or the specific methods used were disclosed.
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