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☆ Factbox: How the EU's Digital Markets Act challenges Big Tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Martin Coulter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

On Wednesday, the EU Commission designated 22 services of the major tech companies as "gatekeepers" of online services. That means they will be required to make their messaging apps inter-operate with rivals and let users decide which apps to pre-install on their devices. APP STORES:Apple and Google will be forced to provide space for third-party app stores on their respective iOS and Android devices. For example, they may offer users a “choice screen” with a range of options upon setting up their device. MESSAGING:Under the DMA’s new interoperability rules, gatekeepers’ messaging apps will no longer be siloed off from others.

Persons: ByteDance, Ben Wood, Apple’s, Martin Coulter, William Maclean Organizations: New, Union, Big Tech, Markets, EU Commission, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Meta, Insight, Reuters, EU, Facebook, Thomson

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

REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSummaryCompanies CNIL's checks took place on WednesdayWorldcoin is new project of ChatGPT founderPARIS, Aug 31 (Reuters) - France's data watchdog carried out "checks" at Worldcoin's Paris office this week, amid global regulatory pressure on the digital currency firm co-founded by ChatGPT-founder Sam Altman. France's CNIL watchdog said in July it was investigating Worldcoin as the legality of its biometric data "seemed questionable". "Checks took place at the Worldcoin offices," a CNIL spokesperson said on Thursday, confirming an earlier Politico report that the visit took place on Wednesday. Worldcoin requires users to provide their iris scans in exchange for a digital ID and, in some countries, in exchange for free cryptocurrency. The Worldcoin Foundation, a Cayman Islands-based entity, told Reuters via email: "The team at Worldcoin welcomes any opportunity to address questions regarding the project’s purpose and technology."

Persons: Ricardo Macieira, Annegret, PARIS, Sam Altman, France's, Worldcoin, Sudip Kar, Martin Coulter, Alexander Smith, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, ChatGPT, Politico, Worldcoin, Worldcoin Foundation, Microsoft, Thomson Locations: Europe, cryptocurrency, Berlin, Germany, Worldcoin's, Cayman Islands, London

☆ Big Tech braces for EU Digital Services Act regulations
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Martin Coulter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

LONDON, Aug 24 (Reuters) - More than a dozen of the world's biggest tech companies face unprecedented legal scrutiny, as the European Union's sweeping Digital Services Act (DSA) imposes new rules on content moderation, user privacy and transparency this month. The EU is seen as the global leader in tech regulation, with more wide-ranging pieces of legislation – such as the Digital Markets Act and the AI Act – on the way. For now, the rules only apply to 19 of the largest online platforms, those with more than 45 million users in the EU. Researchers removed the ads before they were published, so no Facebook users saw them. It will soon become obvious if any of the designated companies had "skirted their legal responsibilities," said Hayes.

Persons: –, Kingsley Hayes, Keller Postman, Eko, Meta, TikTok, Zalando, Hayes, Martin Coulter, Josie Kao Organizations: Digital Services, Facebook, Google, Digital Markets, DSA, Reuters, European Commission, Twitter, YouTube, Global, Amazon, Thomson Locations: EU, Europe, Ireland, Luxembourg

Microsoft logo is seen on a smartphone placed on displayed Activision Blizzard's games characters in this illustration taken January 18, 2022. The carve-out is designed to not upset a deal with Brussels for Microsoft to license content to rival cloud services. The CMA's block in April drew fury from the merging parties, with Microsoft saying that Britain was closed for business. It said on Tuesday that it had not felt any political pressure over its handling of the deal. The CMA will also avoid having to defend its original block in court, and Microsoft finally looks set to secure its deal.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Ronan Scanlan, Arthur Cox, Gustaf Duhs, Scanlan, Antony O'Loughlin, Setfords, Tom Smith, there's, Smith, Kate Holton, Paul Sandle, Martin Coulter, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Microsoft, Activision, REUTERS, Markets Authority, U.S, Ubisoft Entertainment, European Union, U.S ., CMA, Reuters, Stevens & Bolton, Ubisoft, European, Geradin Partners, Big Tech, Thomson Locations: Britain, U.S, Brussels, Dublin, United States, European Union, China, London

The "AI for business" diploma offers training in data and AI for client leaders, practitioners, and WPP executives, according to WPP's website. The team work under AI expert Daniel Hulme who was appointed chief AI officer at WPP two years ago. While lawmakers and philosophers alike still debate whether content produced by generative AI models amounts to anything like human creativity, advertisers have already begun using the technology in their promotional campaigns. Unilever, which owns more than 400 brands including Dove soap and Ben & Jerry's ice cream, has its own generative AI technology that can write product descriptions for retailers' websites and digital commerce sites, it said. The company's TRESemmé haircare brand has used its AI content generator for written content and its automation tool for visual content on Amazon.co.uk (AMZN.O).

Persons: Mark Read, Read, we've, Mondelez, Shah Rukh Khan, Daniel Hulme, Nestle, Gandon, Ray, Johannes Vermeer's, Aaron Rajan, Nestle's Gandon, Martin Sorrell, You've, Ben King, Richa Naidu, Martin Coulter, Matt Scuffham, Daniel Flynn Organizations: Nestle, Unilever, Marketing, Investment, Reuters, WPP, Oreo, Cadbury, Bollywood, YouTube, Facebook, University of Oxford, Global, Google, Go, Market Technology, Consumer, Walmart, Carrefour, Kroger, Thomson Locations: Africa, India, London, Swiss, Okta

People walk outside the Bank of England in the City of London financial district in London, Britain, March 23, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File PhotoLONDON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - A handful of small UK commercial lenders are offering interest-free loans to high-risk borrowers, as part of a government-backed scheme to support people through the cost of living crisis. Reuters has confirmed that Social Credit, a collaboration between commercial startup lender Plend and two nonprofit organisations, has been delivering interest-free loans as part of the scheme. A hole in the credit market, caused by the collapse or exit of many payday lenders such as Provident and Quickquid, has left millions unable to access loans. HARD TIMESFair4All told Reuters a portion of the 45 million pounds would be used to fund no-interest loans, and the rest allocated to other financial support measures.

Persons: Henry Nicholls, Fair4All, TotallyMoney, Tom Lake, John Cronin, Cronin, Rishi Sunak's, Martin Coulter, Muvija, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Bank of England, REUTERS, Fair4All Finance, Reuters, South Manchester Credit Union, Provident, Quickquid, Customers, Conservative, Thomson Locations: City, London, Britain, British

[1/2] A response by ChatGPT, an AI chatbot developed by OpenAI, is seen on its website in this illustration picture taken February 9, 2023. Anecdotal examples of people using ChatGPT to help with their day-to-day work include drafting emails, summarising documents and doing preliminary research. Reuters was not able independently confirm how employees at Tinder were using ChatGPT. In May, Samsung Electronics banned staff globally from using ChatGPT and similar AI tools after discovering an employee had uploaded sensitive code to the platform. Reuters was not able independently to confirm whether employees at P&G were unable to use ChatGPT.

Persons: Florence Lo, ChatGPT, Ben King, King, OpenAI, Tinder, Samsung, Google's Bard, Bard, We've, TATE.L, Dawn Allen, trialing ChatGPT, It's, Paul Lewis, Lewis, Richa Naidu, Martin Coulter, Jason Lange, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Microsoft, Google, AIs, Samsung Electronics, Cola, Tate, Procter, Gamble, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, U.S, United States, Europe, Atlanta , Georgia

☆ Exclusive: Snapchat under scrutiny from UK watchdog over underage users
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Martin Coulter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Under UK data protection law, social media companies need parental consent before processing data of children under 13. Social media firms generally require users to be 13 or over, but have had mixed success in keeping children off their platforms. Snapchat declined to give details of any measures it might have taken to reduce the number of underage users. It also found Snapchat was the most popular app for underage social media users. However, other apps take more proactive measures to prevent underage children accessing their platforms.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Snapchat, Martin Coulter, Matt Scuffham, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Inc, Social, ICO, Ofcom, National Society for, Thomson Locations: U.S, Britain

☆ TikTok unveils new measures ahead of EU Digital Services Act
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Martin Coulter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

EU flag and TikTok logo are seen in this illustration taken, June 2, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoLONDON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok has announced a raft of new features for European users aimed at improving compliance with incoming European Union regulations. Under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), TikTok's owner ByteDance, Alphabet unit Google (GOOGL.O), other large online platforms will be required to police illegal content on their platforms, prohibit certain advertising practices, and share data with authorities. But after TikTok agreed to a voluntary "stress test" last month, EU industry chief Thierry Breton said "more work" was needed for the firm to be fully compliant. "We will continue to not only meet our regulatory obligations, but also strive to set new standards through innovative solutions," the company said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, ByteDance, TikTok, Thierry Breton, Breton, Martin Coulter, Jason Neely Organizations: REUTERS, EU's Digital Services, CNN, DSA, Thomson

Let's do this," tweeted Yaccarino, who also posted a picture of the logo projected onto the company's offices in San Francisco. loadingloadingBoth Yaccarino's and Musk's Twitter handles feature the X logo, although the Twitter blue bird is still visible across the platform. He also referred to the "interim X logo," and tweeted that "soon we shall bid adieu to the Twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds". In response to a tweet asking what will tweets be called under X, Musk replied "x's". loadingThe original Twitter logo was designed in 2012 by a team of three.

Persons: Carlos Barria STOCKHOLM, Elon Musk, Linda Yaccarino, Yaccarino, Musk, adieu, Martin Grasser, Matt Rhodes, Drew Benvie, Battenhall, Supantha Mukherjee, Martin Coulter, Aiden Nulty, Bharat Govind Gautam, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Twitter, PayPal, NBCUniversal, SpaceX, Thomson Locations: San Francisco , California, U.S, San Francisco, Elon Musk's, Stockholm, London, Bengaluru

☆ Nokia issues profit warning, rival Ericsson delivers 'lukewarm' results
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Martin Coulter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Nokia's shares dropped 7.8% in early trade to their lowest since April 2021, while Ericsson shares were down 7.7%. Nokia reported preliminary second-quarter sales of 5.7 billion euros ($6.4 billion), while analysts polled by Refinitiv had estimated sales of 6 billion euros on average. Nokia said it now expects 2023 sales of 23.2-24.6 billion euros ($26.1-$27.6 billion) against 24.6-26.2 billion euros estimated previously. Meanwhile, Ericsson reported a 62% fall in second-quarter adjusted operating profit, slightly above market expectations. The Swedish telecom equipment maker's operating profits, excluding restructuring charges, fell to 2.8 billion Swedish crowns ($271 million), compared with 7.4 billion crowns the previous year.

Persons: Refinitiv, Börje Ekholm, Ericsson's, Richard Webb, Webb, we’ll, Martin Coulter, Anna Ringstrom, Krishna Chandra Eluri, Tom Hogue Organizations: Nokia, Ericsson, Markets, Reuters, 5G, CSS Insight, Thomson Locations: North America, India, Swedish

☆ UK's CMA open to new Microsoft-Activision probe after u-turn
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Paul Sandle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"It is really an unprecedented and dramatic turn of events," said Alex Haffner, competition partner at UK law firm Fladgate. Becket McGrath, a partner at Euclid Law, said it seemed like the CMA wanted a way out of an "uncomfortable position". Still, with the larger $69 billion deal back on track, the two sides are now focused on modifying the deal to obtain regulatory approval. Jonathan Compton, partner at law firm DMH Stallard and a specialist in competition law, said it was difficult to see what structural alterations the company could make. Britain's competition regulator has not given any further clarification on its U-turn or the new investigation, including whether it would fit into its Phase 1 and 2 process, the latter of which can take up to a year.

Persons: Alex Haffner, Becket McGrath, Jonathan Compton, DMH, Euclid's McGrath, Sarah Cardell, Paul Sandle, Muvija, Martin Coulter, Amy, Jo Crowley, Kate Holton Organizations: Microsoft, Activision, Markets Authority, CMA, European Union, Euclid Law, Thomson Locations: United States, Devika

☆ Meta Threads: What we know about Instagram-linked Twitter alternative
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Martin Coulter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Mark Zuckerberg's thread is seen on Meta Threads app in this illustration taken, July 6, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationLONDON, July 6 (Reuters) - Meta (META.O), the company behind social media giants Facebook and Instagram, has launched its new microblogging platform Threads. Threads accounts are synched to Instagram at the outset, allowing users to keep their usernames and retain followers. One thing Threads has not copied from Twitter is the ability to message other users directly, but Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg promises there are updates to come. The launch of Threads coincides with a series of decisions by Twitter owner Elon Musk that have sparked controversy, including limiting the number of posts users could see.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Instagram, Elon Musk, Jennifer Lopez, Kim Kardashian, Meta, Martin Coulter, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Facebook, Twitter, European Union, Thomson Locations: Instagram, United States

☆ Meta to launch Twitter challenger app Threads
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Martin Coulter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 3 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms (META.O) plans to launch a Twitter-rivalling microblogging app called Threads, days after Twitter boss Elon Musk attracted criticism by announcing a temporary cap on how many posts users can read on the social media site. Threads is expected to be released on Thursday and will allow users to retain followers from photo-sharing platform Instagram, and keep the same username, a listing on Apple's (AAPL.O) App Store showed. While alternative microblogging sites - such as Mastodon and Blue Sky - have seen an uptick in user numbers since Musk's acquisition, neither has been able to challenge Twitter. The launch of Threads represents a credible threat to Twitter under Musk, whose attempts to boost revenues and reshape the platform his own image have faced severe criticism. Meta did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on a similar launch on the Google Play Store.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, Instagram, Donald Trump, Martin Coulter, Akanksha Khushi, Krishna Chandra Eluri, David Holmes Organizations: Twitter, Reuters, Meta, Google, Thomson Locations: London, Bengaluru

A director at the nonprofit Foxglove, which has helped organise a content moderators' campaign over their work conditions, described the move as "outrageous bullying". Following his appearance, trade union Verdi said Haksöz had been placed on a paid leave of absence pending an internal investigation. Meta and other social media companies have faced criticism over the working conditions of content moderators who aim to keep their platforms free from harmful material. In 2020, the firm paid a $52 million settlement to American content moderators suffering long-term mental health issues. "Cengiz was invited to testify to the German parliament about the dangerous working conditions on social media’s factory floor.

Persons: Verdi, Cengiz, Haksöz, Cengiz Haksöz, Christoph Schmitz, Schmitz, Martha Dark, Martin Coulter, Hakan Ersen, Hugh Lawson Organizations: TELUS International, Digital, TELUS, Facebook, Reuters, Haksöz, Meta, Thomson Locations: Germany

June 14 (Reuters) - Hundreds of social media moderators in Germany – who remove harmful content from platforms such as Facebook and TikTok – are calling on lawmakers to improve their working conditions, citing tough targets and mental health issues. Meta has faced mounting pressure over the working conditions of content moderators keeping its platform safe. In 2020, the firm paid a $52 million settlement to American content moderators suffering long-term mental health. "Without us, social media companies would collapse overnight," reads the petition, seen by Reuters. "Social media can never be safe until our own workplaces are safe and fair."

Persons: Germany –, Cengiz Haksöz, Haksöz, Meta, Martin Coulter, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Facebook, TELUS International, Digital, TELUS, Social, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Germany

"Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war," more than 350 signatories wrote in a letter published by the nonprofit Center for AI Safety (CAIS). As well as Altman, they included the CEOs of AI firms DeepMind and Anthropic, and executives from Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Google (GOOGL.O). Elon Musk and a group of AI experts and industry executives were the first ones to cite potential risks to society in April. AI pioneer Hinton earlier told Reuters that AI could pose a "more urgent" threat to humanity than climate change. Last week OpenAI CEO Sam Altman referred to EU AI - the first efforts to create a regulation for AI - as over-regulation and threatened to leave Europe.

SummarySummary Companies OpenAI CEO reverses earlier threat to leave EuropeSays had productive week of conversations about regulating AIEU lawmakers were critical about OpenAI's threat regionMay 26 (Reuters) - OpenAI has no plans to leave Europe, CEO Sam Altman said on Friday, reversing a threat made earlier this week to leave the region if it becomes too hard to comply with upcoming laws on artificial intelligence. "We are excited to continue to operate here and of course have no plans to leave," Altman said in a tweet on Friday. His threat of quitting Europe had drawn criticism from EU industry chief Thierry Breton and a host of other lawmakers. He called his tour a "very productive week of conversations in Europe about how to best regulate AI!" OpenAI first clashed with regulators in March, when Italian data regulator Garante shut the app down domestically, accusing OpenAI of flouting European privacy rules.

The European Union is at the forefront of drafting new AI rules that could set the global benchmark to address privacy and safety concerns that have arisen with the rapid advances in the generative AI technology behind OpenAI's ChatGPT. "If it's about protecting personal data, they apply data protection laws, if it's a threat to safety of people, there are regulations that have not been specifically defined for AI, but they are still applicable." Data protection authorities in France and Spain also launched in April probes into OpenAI's compliance with privacy laws. 'THINKING CREATIVELY'French data regulator CNIL has started "thinking creatively" about how existing laws might apply to AI, according to Bertrand Pailhes, its technology lead. "We are looking at the full range of effects, although our focus remains on data protection and privacy," he told Reuters.

☆ AI pioneer says its threat to world may be 'more urgent' than climate change
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Martin Coulter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, May 5 (Reuters) - Artificial intelligence could pose a "more urgent" threat to humanity than climate change, AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton told Reuters in an interview on Friday. "I wouldn't like to devalue climate change. I wouldn't like to say, 'You shouldn't worry about climate change.' He added: "With climate change, it's very easy to recommend what you should do: you just stop burning carbon. Signatories included Stability AI CEO Emad Mostaque, researchers at Alphabet-owned DeepMind, and fellow AI pioneers Yoshua Bengio and Stuart Russell.

REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File PhotoLONDON/STOCKHOLM, April 28 (Reuters) - As recently as February, generative AI did not feature prominently in EU lawmakers' plans for regulating generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies such as ChatGPT. LAST-MINUTE CHANGESSince launching in November, ChatGPT has become the fastest growing app in history, and sparked a flurry of activity from Big Tech competitors and investment in generative AI startups like Anthropic and Midjourney. THE TERMINATORUntil recently, MEPs were still unconvinced that generative AI deserved any special consideration. In February, Tudorache told Reuters that generative AI was "not going to be covered" in-depth. But Tudorache and his colleagues now agree on the need for laws specifically targeting the use of generative AI.

Members of the European Parliament agreed to push the draft through to the next stage, the trilogue, during which EU lawmakers and member states will thrash out the final details of the bill. Under the proposals, AI tools will be classified according to their perceived risk level: from minimal through to limited, high, and unacceptable. Companies deploying generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT or image generator Midjourney, will also have to disclose any copyrighted material used to develop their systems. Some committee members initially proposed banning copyrighted material being used to train generative AI models altogether, the source said, but this was abandoned in favour of a transparency requirement. The ensuing race among tech companies to bring generative AI products to market concerned some onlookers, with Twitter-owner Elon Musk backing a proposal to halt development of such systems for six months.

☆ STMicroelectronics posts better-than-expected Q1 results
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Martin Coulter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, April 27 (Reuters) - European chipmaker STMicroelectronics (STM.DE) reported better-than-expected first-quarter results on Thursday. The company's revenue jumped 20% year-over-year to $4.25 billion in the quarter, outperforming analysts' average estimate of $4.19 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv Eikon. Citing a favorable business environment, CEO Jean-Marc Chery said the company was aiming for full-year revenue of $17 billion to $17.8 billion, keeping it on course for its target of $20 billion by 2027. STMicroelectronics's first-quarter earnings of $1.10 per share, also beat analysts' average forecast of $0.99 per share, IBES data showed. Net income rose about 40% year-over-year to $1.04 billion in the quarter.

April 17 (Reuters) - EU lawmakers urged world leaders on Monday to hold a summit to find ways to control the development of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems such as ChatGPT, saying they were developing faster than expected. The 12 MEPs, all working on EU legislation on the technology, called on U.S. President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to convene the meeting, and said AI firms should be more responsible. "We are nevertheless in agreement with the letter's core message: with the rapid evolution of powerful AI, we see the need for significant political action," they added. The letter urged democratic and "non-democratic" countries to reflect on potential systems of governance, and to exercise restraint in their pursuit of very powerful AI. The Biden administration has also been seeking public comments on potential accountability measures for AI systems as questions loom about their impact on national security and education.

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