European Union investigating Musk’s X (Twitter) over possible breaches of social media law
The European Union (EU) is looking into whether Elon Musk’s online platform X breached tough new social media regulations in the first such investigation since the rules designed to make online content less toxic took effect. “Today we open formal infringement proceedings against @X” under the Digital Services Act (DSA), European Commissioner Thierry Breton said […]
Irish deputy premier welcomes court order against Google over ‘misleading’ ads
Ireland’s deputy premier has welcomed a court decision to ensure he receives information from Google in relation to “misleading” ads shared online earlier this year. Tanaiste and foreign affairs minister Micheal Martin took a case against the tech giant last week over ads that he said were “linked” to him. On Thursday, he was granted […]
Meta’s Threads app expands into Europe
Threads, the Meta app designed to take on Elon Musk’s X, is now rolling out in European Union countries for the first time. When the social media app first launched in July, it was only to a handful of countries including the US and the UK. Linked to a user’s Instagram profile, the app enables […]
Epic Games wins court case against Google over barriers to Android app store
A federal court jury in the US has decided that Google’s Android app store has been protected by anti-competitive barriers that have damaged smartphone consumers and software developers, dealing a blow to a major pillar of the technology empire. The unanimous verdict in San Francisco came after just three hours of deliberation following a four-week […]
Europe reaches deal on world’s first comprehensive AI rules
European Union negotiators have clinched a deal on the world’s first comprehensive artificial intelligence rules. The agreement paves the way for legal oversight of technology used in popular generative AI services such as ChatGPT that has promised to transform everyday life and spurred warnings of existential dangers to humanity. Negotiators from the European Parliament and […]
Meta and TikTok explain response to Dublin riots and misinformation
Social media companies have explained their reaction to the Dublin riots that resulted in millions of euro worth of damage to public infrastructure. Tanaiste Micheal Martin said in the aftermath of the riots that he was concerned at the “rapid mobilisation of so many people via social media platforms”. Dublin-headquartered companies Meta, TikTok and Google […]
Meta begins end-to-end encryption rollout
Meta has begun its rollout of automatic encryption of all Facebook and Messenger chats, the company has announced. Messages and calls protected by end-to-end-encryption (E2EE), which has been an option since 2016, can be read only by the sender and recipient. Under the changes, Meta will no longer have access to the contents of what […]
Spotify to axe 1,500 jobs to cut costs
Spotify is to cut almost a fifth of jobs at the music streaming business in a move affecting about 1,500 posts. Bosses at the technology firm said in a note to staff that it will axe 17% of the workforce in a bid to be more efficient in the face of a growth slowdown. The […]
Apple names its App Store apps of the year
Outdoor exploration app AllTrails has been named the iPhone app of the year in Apple’s annual App Store awards. Make-up sketchpad app Pret-a-Makeup was named the iPad app of the year, with image editor Photomator awarded the Mac app of the year, indie film streaming app Mubi picked up the Apple TV app award, and […]
Fake Facebook accounts shut down by Meta were ‘primed to polarise voters’
Someone in China created thousands of fake social media accounts designed to appear to be from Americans and used them to spread polarising political content in an apparent effort to divide the US before next year’s elections, Meta has said. The network of nearly 4,800 fake accounts was trying to build an audience when it […]