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Who owns undersea cables?

Nearly all global internet traffic travels through massive fibre optic cables resting on the ocean floor, managed not by governments but by tech giants like Google and Meta. As platforms fight automated content like AI slop, the physical infrastructure carrying this digital data becomes immensely valuable, relying on deep sea maintenance ships to keep the web connected.

Stories that explain this

Snapchat to stop recommending fully AI-generated videos on its feed

Questions this opens up

Who repairs broken cables? How fast is data? Who guards the deep sea?

Related explainers

What is 'AI slop'? The business of feeds The cost of junk Can data centres go green? Where do deleted files go? What happens to abandoned websites? Why human content wins How long do servers last?

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