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☆ Amazon launches first Big Tech challenge to EU online content rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Amazon's challenge at the Luxembourg-based General Court, Europe's second highest, is the first by a Big Tech company and came two weeks after German online retailer Zalando (ZALG.DE) sued the European Commission over the same issue. Under the Digital Services Act (DSA), which came into force last year, 19 online platforms and search engines were labelled as very large online platforms (VLOP) as they have more than 45 million users. The VLOP designation requires companies to do more to tackle illegal online content. "If the VLOP designation were to be applied to Amazon and not to other large retailers across the EU, Amazon would be unfairly singled out and forced to meet onerous administrative obligations that don’t benefit EU consumers," an Amazon spokesperson said. "Amazon doesn’t fit this description of a 'Very Large Online Platform’ under the DSA and therefore should not be designated as such," the spokesperson said.

Persons: Foo Yun Chee, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Union, Big Tech, European Commission, Digital Services, EU, Amazon, DSA, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Luxembourg, U.S

☆ Zalando sues EU Commission over landmark online content rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, June 27 (Reuters) - Zalando (ZALG.DE), Europe's biggest online fashion retailer, on Tuesday sued the European Commission for putting it in the same category as Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google and Meta Platforms (META.O) regarding new and tough EU online content rules. Under rules known as the Digital Services Act (DSA) which came into force last year, Zalando was labelled a very large online platform (VLOP) because it has more than 45 million users. EU industry chief Thierry Breton in April labelled 19 online platforms and search engines including five Alphabet subsidiaries, two Meta units, two Microsoft (MSFT.O) businesses, Twitter, Alibaba's (9988.HK) AliExpress and Zalando as VLOPs. "The European Commission misinterpreted our user numbers and failed to acknowledge our mainly retail business model. The number of European visitors who connect with our Partners is far below the DSA's threshold to be considered as a VLOP," Zalando CEO Robert Gentz said in a statement.

Persons: Zalando, Thierry Breton, Germany's Zalando, Robert Gentz, Breton, Gentz, Foo Yun, Christina Fincher Organizations: Tuesday, European Commission, Google, Digital Services, Microsoft, Twitter, HK, Justice, European Union, Commission, Partners, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Luxembourg

☆ EU, Meta agree to July stress test on EU online content rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 23 (Reuters) - Meta (META.O) and the European Union (EU) have agreed on a stress test in July on the EU's online content rules, following EU industry chief Thierry Breton's demand that the social media platform act immediately over Meta's content targeting children. "Productive discussion with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in Menlo Park on EU digital rules: DSA, DMA & AI Act," Breton said in a tweet, adding that 1,000 Meta employees are working on the Digital Services Act (DSA). loadingBreton had earlier in June said that Meta would have to demonstrate the measures it plans to take to comply with European Union online content rules known as the Digital Services Act (DSA) after Aug. 25 or face heavy sanctions. Meta did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reporting by Nilutpal Timsina in Bengaluru; Editing by Jacqueline WongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Thierry Breton's, Mark Zuckerberg, Breton, Nilutpal, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: European Union, Digital Services, Meta, Thomson Locations: Menlo Park, Bengaluru

☆ EU official visits Twitter headquarters to ‘stress test’ its ability to handle content moderation
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

On Thursday, EU Commissioner Thierry Breton and a team of staff descended on Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco to perform a “stress test” of the company’s ability to moderate online content. Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty ImagesBreton did not say whether he believes Twitter passed its stress test, but described the session as a “constructive dialogue” that Twitter voluntarily agreed to undertake. “Europe is very important to Twitter and we’re focused on our continued partnership.”In a speech Thursday, Breton said Twitter is not the only company that will be receiving a stress test. “Compliance with European rules is not a punishment. Concerns about Twitter’s ability to handle hate speech, misinformation and other challenges have grown since Musk’s purchase of the company last year.

Persons: Thierry Breton, “, ” Breton, Elon Musk, Josh Edelson, Breton, Twitter, ”, Linda Yaccarino, we’re, Sundar Pichai, Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, Jensen Huang Organizations: CNN, European Union, Twitter, Facebook, Digital Services, DSA, Internal, Getty, ”, “, Nvidia Locations: San Francisco, San Francisco , California, AFP, “ Europe, Europe

☆ EU's Breton demands Meta act against online content targeting children
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, June 8 (Reuters) - EU industry chief Thierry Breton will meet Meta Platforms (META.O) Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg on June 23 and demand that he act immediately to tackle content targeting children, as Meta's voluntary child protection code seemed not to be working. Social media platforms such as Meta's Instagram, ByteDance's TikTok, Snap's (SNAP.N) Snapchat and Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) YouTube have stirred concerns among regulators and users over content targeted at young children. "#Meta’s voluntary code on child protection seems not to work," Breton said in a Twitter post. Breton said Meta would also have to demonstrate the measures it plans to take to comply with European Union online content rules known as the Digital Services Act (DSA) after Aug. 25 or face heavy sanctions. The DSA bans certain types of targeted advertisements on online platforms such as those meant for children or when they use special categories of personal data, such as ethnicity, political views and sexual orientation.

Persons: Thierry Breton, Mark Zuckerberg, ByteDance's, Breton, Meta, Foo Yun Chee, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Meta, YouTube, EU, Reuters, Meta's, European Union, Digital Services, DSA, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Menlo Park, California

☆ EU official to confront Zuckerberg after damning report on company’s handling of child sexual abuse material
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A top European Union official plans to confront Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in an in-person meeting over reports this week that the company has failed to prevent the spread of child sexual abuse material on its platform. Thierry Breton, a European commissioner who has led the charge on regulating digital platforms, will visit Meta’s California headquarters on June 23 and plans to raise the matter with Zuckerberg personally, he tweeted Thursday. “#Meta’s voluntary code on child protection seems not to work,” Breton said. “Child exploitation is a horrific crime,” the spokesperson said. A spokesperson for the European Commission didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Thierry Breton, Zuckerberg, ” Breton, “ Mark Zuckerberg, Breton, Meta didn’t, Instagram, “, ” Organizations: CNN, European Union, Digital Services, Meta, Wall Street Journal, Stanford University, University of Massachusetts Amherst, San, European Commission Locations: Meta’s California, San Francisco, California

☆ Instagram, Google, and TikTok should warn users about AI-generated content and build safeguards, EU official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Tech companies should "clearly label" apps which could spread AI-generated disinformation, Bloomberg reported. That's according to a top EU official, and a voluntary code that Google, Meta, and TikTok have signed up to. TikTok, Meta, and Microsoft have been urged to warn users about AI-generated content, Bloomberg reported. According to Vera Jourova, a European Commission vice president, those companies should now "clearly label" any services which could spread AI-generated disinformation, Bloomberg reported. But last month, Elon Musk officially signed off on Twitter's withdrawal from the voluntary code – which seems to have provoked European officials.

Persons: TikTok, Vera Jourova, Jourova, Microsoft's Bing, Bard –, Elon Musk Organizations: Bloomberg, EU, Meta, Microsoft, European Commission, Digital Services, Google, Twitter

☆ Twitter loses its top content moderation official at a key moment
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Irwin has not addressed the reasons for her departure, but the move coincided with the company’s content moderation dispute with the Daily Wire, a conservative outlet. But the sudden and unexpected vacancy at Twitter could leave the company without a key content moderation official at a sensitive moment. That law, known as the Digital Services Act, will require so-called “very large online platforms” including Twitter to abide by tough content moderation standards by as early as August. For months, as Musk has increasingly welcomed more incendiary speech onto the platform Twitter had previously restricted, EU officials have been reminding Twitter of its content moderation obligations under the DSA. The warnings have also come amid mass layoffs at the company that have eliminated entire teams, including much of its content moderation staff.

Persons: Elon Musk, Twitter’s, Ella Irwin, Irwin, Jeremy Boreing, Musk, it’s, It’s, “, Thierry Breton, ” Breton, Linda Yaccarino Organizations: CNN, Twitter, European Union, Reuters, Daily, Twitter’s San, Digital Services, DSA, Services, Trust, Safety, European Commission, Companies Locations: Twitter’s, Twitter’s San Francisco

☆ Elon Musk pulled Twitter from the EU's anti-disinformation agreement and continues to troll with alt-right memes and dogwhistles. It could be a sign he'll close the site to Europe completely.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

European Commissioner Thierry Breton said Twitter pulled out of the EU's disinformation agreement. The law, which establishes requirements for monitoring and flagging disinformation, would make the now voluntary agreement mandatory for large social media sites. "Twitter leaves EU voluntary Code of Practice against disinformation. Politico reported Breton had previously warned Musk that Twitter could be banned from the EU if it fails to abide by the rules. While Musk has withdrawn Twitter from the EU disinformation agreement, he continues to troll by posting content that skirts the lines of potentially being flagged under the DSA and another EU content policy regarding hate speech.

☆ Twitter cannot hide from EU rules after exit from code, EU's Breton says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, May 26 (Reuters) - Twitter cannot run away from its obligations even after quitting a voluntary EU code of practice to tackle disinformation, EU industry chief Thierry Breton warned the company late on Friday. Companies which signed up to the code are required to provide regular progress reports with data on how much advertising revenue they had averted from disinformation actors. "Twitter leaves EU voluntary code of practice against disinformation. You can run but you can't hide," Breton said in a tweet. Twitter, which no longer has a public relations department, responded to an emailed request for comment with a poop emoji.

☆ EU's Breton: TikTok still a long way from EU rules compliance
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, May 19 (Reuters) - EU industry chief Thierry Breton said on Friday he had recently spoken with TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew and told him there was still a lot to do for the Chinese-owned social network in order to comply with EU rules. Various Western countries including Britain, the United States and several European Union member states have already restricted the use TikTok over security concerns. The EU last month singled out 19 large online platforms, including TikTok, which will be subject to the Digital Services Act (DSA), a set of new online content rules from August. The rules require the companies to do risk management, conduct external and independent auditing, share data with authorities and researchers and adopt a code of conduct. A few months ago, Breton had already urged TikTok to bring its business in line with the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA).

☆ Morning Bid: Wowed by tech, worried by banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

That makes investors wary of such provisions at the likes of HSBC (HSBA.L), Lloyds (LLOY.L) and NatWest Group (NWG.L), all of which are due to report earnings in the coming weeks. Across the Atlantic, First Republic Bank's (FRC.N) plunging deposits and tumbling shares are rippling through the U.S. regional banking sector. U.S. recession fears have also resurfaced after consumer confidence hit a nine-month low, alongside some weak earnings. In a week packed with tech sector earnings, the focus moves from artificial intelligence to advertising revenues as Facebook-parent Meta Platforms (META.O) and streaming device maker Roku Inc (ROKU.O) report. Key developments that could influence markets on Wednesday:U.S. durable goods orders, Germany and France consumer confidenceEarnings: Meta Platforms, Boeing, GSK, Deutsche Boerse, Roku IncEditing by Jacqueline WongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EU singles out 19 tech giants for online content rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The 19 companies include Alphabet's Google Maps, Google Play, Google Search, Google Shopping and YouTube, Meta's Facebook and Instagram, Amazon's (AMZN.O) Marketplace and Apple's App Store. The others are Microsoft's two units Linkedin and Bing, booking.com (BKNG.O), Pinterest (PINS.N), Snap Inc's (SNAP.N) Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter, Wikipedia, Zalando (ZALG.DE) and Alibaba's (9988.HK) AliExpress. "We consider these 19 online platforms and search engines have become systematically relevant and have special responsibilities to make the internet safer," Breton told reporters. Breton singled out Facebook's content moderation system for criticism because of its role in building opinions on key issues. So I look forward to an invitation to Bytedance's headquarters to understand better the origin of Tiktok," Breton said.

☆ Amazon, Apple and more: EU names the Big Tech platforms set to face tougher regulatory scrutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, in late 2020 presented new legislation on how regulators should keep a closer eye on tech giants. Under this Digital Services Act (DSA), which was implemented four months ago, regulators are able to police content to reduce harmful comments and set rules for the use of artificial intelligence. European regulators have previously warned Elon Musk, CEO of Twitter, that his firm faces significant amounts of work to comply with the new rulebook. He added in a statement Tuesday: "The countdown is starting for 19 very large online platforms and search engines to fully comply with the special obligations that the Digital Services Act imposes on them." "The Digital Services Act is comprehensive and will be a challenge for online intermediaries to get their head around, with the largest players facing the biggest impact.

London CNN —Regulators in Italy issued a temporary ban on ChatGPT Friday, effective immediately, due to privacy concerns and said they had opened an investigation into how OpenAI, the US company behind the popular chatbot, uses data. Italy’s data protection agency said users lacked information about the collection of their data and that a breach at ChatGPT had been reported on March 20. The Italian regulator also expressed concerns over the lack of age verification for ChatGPT users. In the meantime, EU companies must comply with the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, as well as the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act, which apply to tech platforms. Earlier this month, OpenAI released GPT-4, a new version of the technology underpinning ChatGPT that is even more powerful.

☆ FTC says it’s conducting an investigation into Twitter’s privacy practices
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

If proven, violations of Twitter’s consent decree could pave the way for billions in fines, new limitations on Twitter’s operations or potentially even binding obligations on Musk or other executives. “Protecting consumers’ privacy is exactly what the FTC is supposed to do,” said agency spokesman Douglas Farrar. Those allegations prompted a Senate hearing and, as the FTC acknowledged this week, a formal investigation into whether Twitter has breached its commitments. Testifying before the Senate last year, FTC Chair Lina Khan told lawmakers that Twitter’s executives could “absolutely” be held personally accountable if an investigation finds those executives facilitated violations of an FTC consent decree. “No CEO or company is above the law, and companies must follow our consent decrees,” the FTC said at the time.

☆ Google, Twitter, Meta face tougher EU online content rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google, Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) and Twitter face stricter EU online content rules according to monthly user numbers published by the companies on Thursday which exceeded the EU threshold. The European Commission had given online platforms and search engines until Feb. 17 to publish their monthly active users. Very large online platforms have four months to comply with the rules or risk fines. Twitter said it has 100.9 million average monthly users in the EU, based on an estimation of the last 45 days. It said the average monthly number of signed-in users totalled 278.6 million at Google Maps, 274.6 million at Google Play, 332 million at Google Search, 74.9 million at Shopping and 401.7 million at YouTube.

☆ TikTok planning two more data centers in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Chinese social media company TikTok plans to open two more data centers in Europe, a senior executive said Friday, in a move that could mitigate concerns over the security of users’ data and ease regulatory pressure on the company. The short video sharing app, owned by China’s ByteDance, aims to expand its European data storage, TikTok’s general manager for operations in Europe Rich Waterworth said in a blog post. The European Commission had given online platforms and search engines until February 17 to publish the number of their monthly active users. Very large online platforms have four months to comply with the rules, or risk fines. Twitter said Thursday that it has 100.9 million average monthly users in the European Union, based on an estimation of the last 45 days.

☆ French Senate to open commission of inquiry into TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Marine Strauss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The French Senate will open a commission of inquiry into Chinese social media company TikTok to look into its use and strategy of influence, according to a statement from senator Claude Malhuret's office. The commission of inquiry will aim to shed light on whether TikTok promotes certain content in some parts of the world, excluding China, in order to undermine its foreign users or not, according to Claude Malhuret, the lead senator on the topic. It will also look into the platform's obligations in terms of protecting personal data. The commission, approved last night by a conference of the presidents of political groups in the Senate, will start working from March 1 with 19 members of the Senate. Reporting by Marine Strauss, Blandine Henault; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Benoit Van OverstraetenOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Twitter's efforts against disinformation lagging behind, EU says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The companies on Thursday presented progress reports on compliance with a beefed up European Union (EU) code of practice on disinformation in the last six months. The reports included data on how much advertising revenue the companies had averted from disinformation actors, the number or value of political advertisements accepted or rejected and instances of manipulative behaviours detected. "I am disappointed to see that Twitter's report lags behind others and I expect a more serious commitment to their obligations stemming from the Code," she said in a statement. The EU executive said Twitter's report lacked data and did not contain information on commitments to empower fact checkers. The signatories to the code on Thursday launched a transparency centre allowing EU citizens, researchers and NGOs to access online information about their efforts combating disinformation.

☆ EU 'disappointed' in Twitter report on how the company fights disinformation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Twitter issued the report, along with other major social media platforms, as part of the 2022 Code of Practice on Disinformation, a set of regulatory standards that 34 companies agreed to follow. "Russia is engaged also in a full-blown disinformation war and the platforms need to live up to their responsibilities," Jourová added. After speaking with Musk, Breton tweeted in November he welcomed the CEO's intent to get Twitter ready for the new regulations. "Huge work ahead still — as Twitter will have to implement transparent user policies, significantly reinforce content moderation and tackle disinformation," Breton said at the time. But in a statement Thursday following Twitter's report, Breton struck a somewhat different tone, though he did not name Twitter directly.

☆ Elon Musk pledged transparency at Twitter. But he’s walling off researchers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

But Twitter’s changes erecting a paywall for API access may jeopardize all that, Tromble and other researchers said. Undermining the fight against botsMusk has framed Twitter’s API restrictions as part of his wider effort to stamp out spammy, automated accounts. Ironically, however, Musk’s looming changes to the Twitter API might make it harder to study bot behavior on Twitter. API access has provided a critical resource for that work. “The researchers who were signed up to the program have heard nothing from the company in months, since Musk’s acquisition.”Adding to Twitter’s scrutiny by regulatorsBeyond the immediate impact to researchers, Twitter’s transparency issues could land the company in hot water with policymakers.

☆ TikTok expects to be subject to stricter EU online content rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Chinese social media company TikTok is likely to be subject to stricter EU online content rules because its number of active users exceed a threshold set out under the Digital Services Act (DSA), a senior executive at the company said on Wednesday. The landmark rules take a tougher line on very large online platforms, characterising these as companies with more than 45 million users. Online platforms and search engines are due to report their user numbers on Feb. 17, allowing the European Commission to designate which are the very large online platforms and very large online search engines. In 2020, TikTok said its number of users in Europe topped 100 million. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Big Tech not doing enough to remove fake news, activist NGO Avaaz says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Twitter, Google's (GOOGL.O) YouTube, Meta Platform's (META.O) Facebook, Microsoft's (MSFT.O) LinkedIn and TikTok are not doing enough to remove fake news from their platforms, raising doubts about their ability to comply with new EU online content rules, activist NGO Avaaz said on Tuesday. "Overall, just 22% of disinformation content we analysed was either labelled or removed by the six major platforms," Avaaz said. It said the companies did not do enough to tackle disinformation in languages other than English. "Despite explicit platform commitments in the code to improve their services in all EU languages, our research found that in certain EU languages - Italian, German, Hungarian, Danish, Spanish and Estonian - no platform took any action against violating posts," Avaaz said. Meta, Alphabet, Twitter and Microsoft last year vowed to take a tougher line against disinformation after committing to the updated EU code.

☆ Elon Musk Warned About Incoming EU Social-Media Law
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Kim Mackrael | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Elon Musk has said that he intends to comply with the EU’s new rules governing social media. BRUSSELS—A top European Union official told Elon Musk on Tuesday that Twitter Inc. will have to do more over the coming months to prepare for the bloc’s new social-media regulations. Thierry Breton , the EU’s commissioner for the internal market, told Mr. Musk during a video call that there were only a few months left before major online platforms like Twitter will have to be fully compliant with the Digital Services Act. Mr. Musk has previously said that he intends to comply with the EU’s new rules.

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