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The draft AI rules have to be agreed by the European Parliament and European Union member states. A fourth trilogue meeting will be held on Tuesday, a day after EU lawmakers are scheduled to discuss their negotiating stance around foundation models and high-risk AI systems, sources said. Discussions could then be further de-railed by the European parliament elections in June. The EU started working on the draft AI Act in 2021. In May this year, the European parliament agreed on draft legislation including new rules around the use of facial recognition, biometric surveillance, and other AI applications.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Thierry Breton, Dragoș Tudorache, Brando Benifei, Supantha Mukherjee, Foo Yun Chee, Matt Scuffham, Mike Harrison Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, European Union, Reuters, EU, Thomson Locations: Rights STOCKHOLM, BRUSSELS, trilogues, Spain, Stockholm, Brussels

☆ Elon Musk's X to launch premium subscriptions soon
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The logo for social media platform X, following the rebranding of Twitter, is seen covering the old logo in this illustration taken, July 24, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 20 (Reuters) - Elon Musk said on Friday social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, will soon launch two new tiers of premium subscriptions. Earlier this week, the company started charging new users $1 in New Zealand and the Philippines as a test case for accessing the platform. Musk has acknowledged that the platform has taken a hit on revenue and has blamed activists for pressuring advertisers. To generate revenue, Musk started charging $8 per month for the blue check subscription service and tried to woo advertisers back to X with offers of discounts.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Elon Musk, Musk, Gursimran Kaur, Supantha Mukherjee, Savio D'Souza, Jason Neely Organizations: Twitter, REUTERS, Supantha, Thomson Locations: New Zealand, Philippines, Bengaluru, Stockholm

As demand has slowed in countries such as the United States, Nokia and rival Ericsson (ERICb.ST) have tried to offset some of the weakness with higher sales to India, a low-margin market. Nokia is targeting savings of between 800 million euros ($842 million) and 1.2 billion euros by 2026, its deadline to deliver a long-term comparable operating margin plan of at least 14%. Nokia expects at least 400 million euros of savings in 2024, and a further 300 million euros in 2025. Quarterly comparable net sales fell to 4.98 billion euros from 6.24 billion last year, missing an estimate of 5.67 billion euros according to a LSEG poll. "There are signs here and there that demand would start to pick up again but it's too early to call it a broad-based trend," Lundmark said.

Persons: Albert Gea, Pekka Lundmark, Lundmark, it's, Supantha Mukherjee, Anne Kauranen, Anna Ringstrom, Clarence Fernandez, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Mobile World Congress, REUTERS, STOCKHOLM, Nokia, Ericsson, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Barcelona, Spain, American, HELSINKI, Finnish, United States, India, North American, China, Stockholm, Helsinki

A general view of an exterior of the Ericsson headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, January 24, 2020. The Swedish telecom equipment maker's shares fell 9% in early trade to lows last seen in 2017, when the company was going through another downturn. Gear makers such as Ericsson and Nokia (NOKIA.HE) have been hit by a slowdown in spending by telecoms companies. Mellander said the company had increased its previously announced 2023 cost saving target of 11 billion Swedish crowns ($1.01 billion), including the laying off 8,500 employees, to 12 billion crowns. India has been a rare growth area with sales quadrupling to about 10 billion crowns, but that is expected to slow down next year.

Persons: Fredrik Sandberg, Carl Mellander, Mellander, Borje Ekholm, Supantha Mukherjee, Terje Solsvik, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Ericsson, TT News Agency, REUTERS, Reuters, Gear, Nokia, Jefferies, Thomson Locations: Stockholm, Sweden, India, STOCKHOLM, North America, Swedish

☆ Web Summit CEO apologises for comments on Israeli conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JERUSALEM, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Web Summit Chief Executive and founder Paddy Cosgrave on Tuesday apologised for comments he made on the Israeli-Hamas conflict that prompted some technology companies and investors to withdraw plans to attend its conference in Portugal next month. Web Summit, one of the world's largest tech conferences, will take place in Lisbon from Nov. 13-16, with attendees from companies such as Meta (META.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O) to investors such as Atomico. "War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and should be called out for what they are," wrote Cosgrave, who was born in Ireland. Among executives to have cancelled their participation at Web Summit are AI21 Labs' Ori Goshen; Tome's Keith Peiris; Sequoia Capital partner Ravi Gupta; Yinon Costica, co-founder of Israeli cybersecurity unicorn Wiz; and Y Combinator’s Garry Tan, according to LinkedIn and X posts. Philippe Botteri, CEO of tech investor Accel, said in a LinkedIn post on Monday he would no longer speak at Web Summit.

Persons: Paddy Cosgrave, Cosgrave, I’m, Leo Varadkar's, Israel, Cosgrove, Goshen, Tome's Keith Peiris, Ravi Gupta, Yinon Costica, Y, Garry Tan, Philippe Botteri, Portugal Dor Shapira, Steven Scheer, Supantha Mukherjee, Josephine Mason, Alison Williams, Mark Potter Organizations: Web, Microsoft, Palestinian, Hamas, Irish, AI21 Labs, Sequoia Capital, Thomson Locations: Portugal, Lisbon, Gaza, Israel, Ireland, Jerusalem, Stockholm, London

AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration taken June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSTOCKHOLM, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) companies have become the major driver of unicorns -- startups reaching $1 billion valuation -- with 60% of the new ones falling in this category, according to a report from venture capital firm Accel. AI foundation models, developed by Microsoft-backed OpenAI, Meta and others, are capable of generating text, images or other media in response to prompts. Europe, home to AI startups such as AI video avatar platform Synthesia and Stability AI, is already producing 50% more AI publications than the United States with similar citation rate, according to the report. Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm, editing by Deborah KyvrikosaiosOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Philippe Botteri, Botteri, Supantha Mukherjee, Deborah Kyvrikosaios Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Accel, Microsoft, Nvidia, Thomson Locations: Rights STOCKHOLM, Israeli, Meta, Europe, United States, Stockholm

The logo of Meta Platforms' business group is seen in Brussels, Belgium December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Meta Platforms Inc FollowSTOCKHOLM, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Meta (META.O) said on Friday it was taking steps including removing praise and substantive support for Hamas from its platforms after the European Union reprimanded social media companies for not doing enough to tackle disinformation. Following the attack, Hamas has taken scores of Israeli and foreign hostages to the Palestinian enclave of Gaza. Meta said it was aware of Hamas' threats to broadcast footage of the hostages and it would swiftly remove any such content and prevent copies being re-shared. While Hamas is banned from the platforms, Meta allows social and political discourse - such as news reporting, human rights related issues, or academic, neutral and critical discussion.

Persons: Yves Herman, Meta, Supantha Mukherjee, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Union, Facebook, Hamas, European Commission, Digital Services, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, Israel, Gaza, Stockholm

Reuters reviewed a confidential draft of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN) "guide to AI ethics and governance," whose content has not previously been reported. In contrast to the EU's AI Act, the ASEAN "AI guide" asks companies to take countries' cultural differences into consideration and doesn’t prescribe unacceptable risk categories, according to the current version reviewed. With almost 700 million people and over a thousand ethnic groups and cultures, Southeast Asian countries have widely divergent rules governing censorship, misinformation, public content and hate speech that would likely affect AI regulation. The ASEAN guide advises companies to put in place an AI risk assessment structure and AI governance training, but leaves specifics to companies and local regulators. EU officials and lawmakers told Reuters that the bloc would continue to hold talks with Southeast Asian states to align over broader principles.

Persons: Stephen Braim, Alexandra van Huffelen, Fanny Potkin, Supantha Mukherjee, Panu, Sam Holmes Organizations: Reuters, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN Digital, Companies, IBM, Google, ASEAN, Technology, United States, NIST, U.S . Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards, Meta, Southeast, EU, European Commission, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, STOCKHOLM, Thailand, United, Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea, Brussels, Singapore, Stockholm, Bangkok

Many start-up companies like Klarna are adding AI to their product portfolio to boost valuations as they wait for their turn to hit the public markets through an initial public offering. To prevent any privacy issues, Klarna's AI does not allow images of people's faces or bodies to appear, he said. Google's (GOOGL.O) Lens tool also has search features that allow the mixing of photos and text in searches. The shopping lens is available to consumers in the U.S., UK, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Norway, Klarna said. Klarna, once Europe's most valuable startup, allows shoppers to buy online through its merchant partners and pay in installments using its "buy now, pay later" service.

Persons: David Sandström, Sandström, Klarna, Supantha Mukherjee, Jane Merriman Organizations: Google, Thomson Locations: STOCKHOLM, U.S, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Stockholm

Oct 3 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms (META.O) is looking to introduce ad-free subscription plans for Instagram and Facebook users in Europe, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The proposal is an attempt by Meta to comply with European Union regulations that threaten to curb its ability to personalize ads for users without their consent and hurt its major revenue source. Offering a choice between a free, ad-supported plan and a paid subscription might lead to users opting for the former, helping Meta comply with regulations without affecting its ad business. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsIn comparison, Netflix (NFLX.O) charges 7.99 euros for a basic subscription plan, while Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) YouTube Premium costs about 12 euros and Spotify's (SPOT.N) Premium service is priced at about 11 euros. Meta was fined 390 million euros earlier this year by Ireland's Data Privacy Commissioner, and told it cannot use the so-called "contract" as a legal basis to send users ads based on their online activity.

Persons: Apple's, Dado Ruvic, Meta, Supantha Mukherjee, Akash Sriram, Jyoti Narayan, Sonia Cheema, Arun Koyyur Organizations: Instagram, Meta, Union, Reuters, REUTERS, Netflix, YouTube, Ireland's, EU, Protection, European, Thomson Locations: Europe, Stockholm, Bengaluru

The French competition authority (FCA) said on Wednesday it conducted the dawn raid a day earlier on a company in the "graphics cards sector", it said. French newspaper Challenges and the Wall Street Journal identified the company as Nvidia (NVDA.O). While GPU prices start from over $1,000, the ones favoured by AI companies can cost well over $10,000. Nvidia has a presence in both sectors, and if any startup is planning to create an AI company, they would need to depend on Nvidia for the chips. Various French authorities have looked at Big Tech companies previously, including issuing a fine to Google in 2021 for infringing EU competition law.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Charlotte Colin, Dubuisson, Colin, Supantha Mukherjee, Dominique Vidalon, Emelia Sithole Organizations: NVIDIA, REUTERS, Rights, Nvidia, Big Tech, Wall Street Journal, Intel, AMD, Tesla, Oracle, Google, Microsoft, Thomson Locations: Rights STOCKHOLM, FRANCE, France, Stockholm, Paris

The first phase of the construction of the Northvolt Six factory just outside Montreal will begin this year and it is expected to be operational in 2026. Northvolt will invest $3.2 billion of the total with the local and federal government each contributing $1 billion, Northvolt Co-Founder Paolo Cerruti told Reuters. "We looked at 70 different sites at the beginning of this process," Cerruti said. The $369-billion U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed last year has prompted companies including Northvolt to look across the Atlantic, attracted by hefty subsidies and cheaper energy. "This size of investment and project can not happen if you don't have an anchor customer," he said.

Persons: Northvolt, Paolo Cerruti, Cerruti, Supantha Mukherjee, Divya Rajagopal, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Reuters, Northvolt, Canada, Ontario, BMW, RIC, Volvo, Thomson Locations: STOCKHOLM, TORONTO, Swedish, Quebec, Canadian, Montreal, Northvolt North America, United States, Canada, Scania, North America, Stockholm, Toronto

☆ French authorities received a software update for Apple's iPhone 12 - ministry source
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Elizabeth Pineau | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, Sept 26 (Reuters) - French authorities have received a software update from Apple (AAPL.O) for its iPhone 12 and are reviewing it, a source at the French digital ministry told Reuters on Tuesday, as the U.S. tech giant sought to avoid any risk of a costly recall. France had threatened a recall if Apple had refused to do a software update. Apple launched the iPhone 15 earlier this month and the iPhone 12 is not available to buy from Apple directly. The iPhone 12 update is set to be similar to any of these regular software fixes. Apple pings iPhones for eligible software updates and users install them.

Persons: Apple, pings, Elizabeth Pineau, Supantha Mukherjee, Benoit Van Overstraeten, Ingrid Melander, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Apple, Reuters, World Health, Thomson Locations: U.S, France, Europe, Belgium

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS/STOCKHOLM, Sept 21 (Reuters) - European Union lawmaker Brando Benifei, who is leading negotiations on artificial intelligence rules, on Thursday urged EU countries to compromise in key areas in order to reach agreement with the bloc's executive by the end of the year. The thorniest issues are biometric surveillance and copyrighted material used by ChatGPT and other generative AI. Lawmakers want a ban on AI use in biometric surveillance but EU countries led by France want exceptions for national security, defence and military purposes. Lawmakers also want AI legislation to cover copyrighted material used by companies like OpenAI, backed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), while EU countries say the bloc's current copyright rules offer sufficient protection. Copyright should be dealt with in the copyright law," she told Reuters, chiming with EU countries on the second matter.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Brando Benifei, Benifei, Alexandra van Huffelen, Svenja Hahn, Guillaume Couneson, Linklaters, Foo Yun Chee, Martin Coulter, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: REUTERS, Union, European Commission, Microsoft Corp, Reuters, UN, Assembly, Global Tech Sector, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, STOCKHOLM, France, Europe, New York, Spain, London

☆ Ericsson partners with Deutsche Telekom for network APIs
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] A logo of Ericsson is seen outside the company's office in Kanata, Ontario, Canada April 17, 2023. REUTERS/Lars Hagberg/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsSTOCKHOLM, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Sweden's Ericsson (ERICb.ST) said on Wednesday it has partnered with Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE) to offer software tools for developers and business customers that will allow telecom operators to get more revenue. Known as network application programming interface (API), the software will use the Vonage platform -- a company Ericsson bought for $6.2 billion in 2022 -- to help developers create new use cases based on a mobile network. Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm, editing by Terje SolsvikOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Lars Hagberg, Sweden's, Supantha Mukherjee, Terje Solsvik Organizations: Ericsson, REUTERS, Rights, Sweden's Ericsson, Deutsche Telekom, Thomson Locations: Kanata , Ontario, Canada, Rights STOCKHOLM, Stockholm

The maker of Tomb Raider video games, whose shares are traded in Stockholm, is working with Goldman Sachs and Aream & Co to explore a sale, the people said. Embracer is weighing selling the unit, which is known for first-person shooter game Borderlands, after receiving interest from third parties, two of the people said. Officials from Embracer and Goldman Sachs declined to comment. ⁠Embracer shares turned positive and spiked as much as 5% higher following the news. Embracer, majority owned by founder Wingefors, purchased Gearbox in February 2021 in a deal that valued the business at up to $1.4 billion at the time.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Aream, ⁠ Embracer, Embracer, Lars Wingefors, Wingefors, Amy, Jo Crowley, Anousha Sakoui, Jason Neely Organizations: U.S, Entertainment, Reuters, Raider, Aream, Embracer, Thomson Locations: Stockholm

☆ SAP buys software management company LeanIX
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

A logo on the SAP exhibition space at the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France June 15, 2022. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSTOCKHOLM, Sept 7 (Reuters) - German business software maker SAP (SAPG.DE) on Thursday said it has bought software management company LeanIX from investors to boost its business transformation portfolio. LeanIX investors include Insight Partners, Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners, Capnamic Ventures, Iris Capital, Goldman Sachs and Dawn CapitalThe transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm, editing by Terje SolsvikOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Benoit Tessier, Iris Capital, Goldman Sachs, Supantha Mukherjee, Terje Solsvik Organizations: Viva Technology, Porte de, REUTERS, Rights, SAP, Insight Partners, Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners, Capnamic Ventures, Iris, Dawn, Thomson Locations: Porte, Paris, France, Rights STOCKHOLM, Stockholm

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration//File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSTOCKHOLM, Sept 7 (Reuters) - UNESCO on Thursday published its first guidance on use of Generative AI (GenAI) for education, urging governmental agencies to regulate the use of the technology, including protection of data privacy and putting an age limit for users. Students have also taken a liking for GenAI, which can generate anything from essays to mathematical calculations with just a few line of prompts. Among a series of guidelines in a 64-page report, UNESCO stressed on the need for government-sanctioned AI curricula for school education, in technical and vocational education and training. While China has formulated rules on GenAI, the European Union's AI Act is likely to be approved later this year. The Paris-based agency also sought to protect the rights of teachers and researchers and the value of their practices when using GenAI.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, OpenAI, GenAI, ChatGPT, Bard, Stefania Giannini, Supantha Mukherjee, Aurora Ellis Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, UNESCO, Microsoft, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Rights STOCKHOLM, China, Paris, Stockholm

[1/2] AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration taken June 23, 2023. Some have expressed concern that students might similarly rely on AI to produce work and effectively cheat - especially as AI content gets better with time. Passing off GenAI as original work could also raise copyright issues, prompting questions over whether AI should be banned in academia. It has provided that tool free to more than 10,000 education institutions globally, although it plans to charge a fee from January. So far, the AI detection tool has found that only 3% of students used AI for more than 80% of their submissions and that 78% did not use AI at all, Turnitin data shows.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, OpenAI, ChatGPT, Bard, Leif Kari, Rachel Forsyth, Sophie Constant, Stefania Giannini, Kirsten Rulf, Deepa Babington Organizations: REUTERS, Lund, University of Western, University of Hong, Microsoft, Royal Institute of Technology, United Nations Educational, Cultural Organization, UNESCO, Strategic, Lund University, England's University of Oxford, Reuters, European Union, EU, Boston Consulting Group, Thomson Locations: STOCKHOLM, University of Western Australia, Perth, University of Hong Kong, Stockholm, Sweden, Britain, Singapore

STOCKHOLM, Sept 6 (Reuters) - The EU Commission on Wednesday designated 22 services of six major tech companies as "gatekeepers" of online services providing messaging to video sharing in its latest crackdown on Big Tech. Alphabet's Google had the highest number of services, including Android operating system, Maps and Search, which would face tougher rules. "It's D-Day for #DMA!," EU industry chief Thierry Breton said on X, formerly known as Twitter. "The most impactful online companies will now have to play by our EU rules." A Microsoft spokesperson said it accepts its gatekeeper designation, while Meta, Google and Amazon spokespersons said they were reviewing the designations.

Persons: WhatsApp, Thierry Breton, TikTok, Stavroula Vryna, Clifford Chance, Supantha Mukherjee, Foo Yun Chee, Martin Coulter, Jason Neely, David Evans Organizations: EU, Big Tech, Apple, Microsoft, ByteDance, Google, Android, Facebook, Justice, Digital Services, Meta, Gmail, Edge, Thomson Locations: STOCKHOLM, Luxembourg, iMessage, Stockholm, Brussels, London

☆ Apple says it remains worried about risks of EU Digital Markets Act
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The Apple Inc. logo is seen in the lobby of New York City's flagship Apple store January 18, 2011. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSTOCKHOLM, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Apple (AAPL.O) on Wednesday said it remained concerned about privacy and security risks it sees in the new EU Digital Markets Act (DMA), after the European Commission had designated it and five other major tech companies as "gatekeepers" of online services. "Our focus will be on how we mitigate these impacts and continue to deliver the very best products and services to our European customers," Apple said in a statement. Businesses labeled gatekeepers under the DMA will be required to make their messaging apps interoperate with rivals and let users decide which apps to pre-install on their devices. Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee, writing by Bart Meijer; Editing by Benoit Van OverstraetenOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Mike Segar, Apple, Supantha Mukherjee, Bart Meijer, Benoit Van Overstraeten Organizations: Apple Inc, Apple, REUTERS, Rights, EU Digital Markets, European Commission, Microsoft, Bing, Edge, Facebook, Meta, Thomson Locations: New York, Rights STOCKHOLM

☆ TikTok hires Britain's NCC for auditing data security
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies NCC Group PLC FollowSTOCKHOLM, Sept 5 (Reuters) - TikTok has hired British cybersecurity firm NCC (NCCG.L) to audit its data controls and protections, and provide independent verification, as part of the social media company's data security regime, nicknamed "Project Clover". As part of the regime, TikTok is opening three data centres - two in Ireland and one in Norway to store user data in Europe. The first Irish datacenter is already online and TikTok has started to migrate data. In the coming months, TikTok and NCC said they will engage with policymakers across Europe to explain how the system will work in practice. TikTok announced Project Clover in March amid growing pressure from lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic over data security.

Persons: Mike Blake, TikTok, Elaine Fox, Clover, Supantha Mukherjee, Ed Osmond Organizations: REUTERS, NCC, Thomson Locations: U.S, Culver City , California, STOCKHOLM, British, Ireland, Norway, Europe, Stockholm

The January-June operating loss at the privately held (BNPL) fintech, which last made a full-year profit in 2018, was 2.01 billion crowns ($185 million) against a year-earlier loss of 6.17 billion. "We feel very confident that we'll be posting a profitable quarter very soon and then eventually also a full profitable year." Klarna Bank is a unit of Klarna Holdings, which has attracted investment from the likes of Sequoia, Permira and Silver Lake. Siemiatkowski said Klarna, whose biggest market by revenue is the U.S., now has more than 30 million users. In the second quarter, gross merchandise volume (GMV) - the value of goods purchased through Klarna - was up 14%, and revenue growth was 17%.

Persons: Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Siemiatkowski, Klarna, Supantha Mukherjee, Anna Ringstrom, Terje Solsvik, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Klarna Bank, Reuters, Klarna, Klarna Holdings, Sequoia, Thomson Locations: STOCKHOLM, Ukraine, Silver, U.S, Klarna

REUTERS/Michele Tantussi/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSTOCKHOLM, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Advocacy group Noyb on Thursday filed complaints against Google-owned Fitbit in Austria, the Netherlands and Italy accusing the fitness tracking company of violating the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) privacy regime. Vienna-based Noyb (None Of Your Business), the digital rights group founded by privacy activist Max Schrems, has already filed hundreds of complaints against big tech companies ranging from Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google to Meta over privacy violations, some leading to big fines. Fitbit forces its users to consent to data transfers outside the EU and does not provide the possibility to withdraw their consent, violating GDPR's requirements, Noyb said. Fines for violating GDPR rules can reach up to 4% of a firm's global annual revenue. While GDPR allows every person to withdraw their consent, Fitbit's privacy policy states that the only way to withdraw consent is to delete an account, which means losing their previously tracked workouts and health data, Noyb said.

Persons: Michele Tantussi, Max Schrems, Noyb, Fitbit, doesn't, Bernardo Armentano, Supantha Mukherjee, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: IFA, REUTERS, Rights, Google, European, Data Protection, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, Rights STOCKHOLM, Austria, Netherlands, Italy, Vienna, Stockholm

Leading the round alongside BlackRock, the world's biggest asset manager, were Canada Pension Plan, Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System and, as previously reported, pension investor Investment Management Corporation of Ontario. The fresh funds will help the firm expand its factory footprint, Hartman said. Separately, Northvolt has assembled its first energy storage system products in Poland and expects to start customer deliveries from later this year. "We have a business plan... we always want to make sure we have access to the markets," Hartman said. Reuters has previously reported, citing sources, that Northvolt was preparing for an initial public offering that could value the company at more than $20 billion.

Persons: Helena Soderpalm, IMCO, Northvolt, Alexander Hartman, Goldman Sachs, Baillie Gifford, Swedbank, Singapore's, Chow, Hartman, Supantha Mukherjee, Simon Jessop, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, BlackRock, Reuters, Management Corporation of Ontario, Volkswagen, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, BMW, Volvo, Thomson Locations: Vasteras, Sweden, BlackRock, Canada, STOCKHOLM, LONDON, Swedish, Europe, North America, Ontario, Hong Kong, Germany, United States, Scania, Poland, Stockholm, London

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