Natasha Lomas
Senior Reporter
The Latest from Natasha Lomas
Europe’s CSAM-scanning plan is a tipping point for democratic rights, experts warn
A controversial child sexual abuse material (CSAM)-scanning proposal that’s under discussion by lawmakers in Europe is both the wrong response to tackling a sensitive and multifaceted societal p
After X, Meta and TikTok get EU request for info on response to Israel-Hamas war
Meta and TikTok have each been sent formal requests for information by the European Union under the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA), the Commission said today. In recent days, EU regulators ha
Selfie-scraper, Clearview AI, wins appeal against UK privacy sanction
Controversial US facial recognition company, Clearview AI, has won an appeal against a privacy sanction issued by the U.K. last year. In May 2022, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) iss
Give biotech a chance for the planet’s sake, EU lawmakers urged
European Union lawmakers are being urged to avoid too much risk aversion from holding back the potential of the homegrown biotech sector. Developments in biotech could be transformative in a range of
Meta says it’s prioritizing livestreaming checks during Israel-Hamas war
Following a content moderation warning from European Union regulators earlier this week, Meta has published an overview of how its responding to risks on its social media platforms stemming from the I
EU turns up the heat on X over illegal content in wake of Israel-Hamas war
The European Union is cranking up the heat on Elon Musk-owned X. Late Thursday, the Commission sent the company a formal request for more information — after issuing a public warning Wednesday
Bon Vivant toasts taking $15.9M to brew up versatile animal-free dairy proteins
Lyon, France-based precision fermentation startup Bon Vivant, which is using biotech techniques to reprogram yeast microorganisms to produce animal-free milk proteins with a substantially lower enviro
EU also warns Meta over illegal content, disinfo targeting Israel-Hamas war
The European Union has expanded its warning about illegal content and disinformation targeting the Israel-Hamas war circulating on social media platforms to Meta, the parent company of Facebook and In
EU fires urgent warning at Elon Musk’s X over illegal content and disinformation following Hamas attacks
In a very swift test of the European Union’s newly updated content moderation rulebook, the bloc has fired a public warning at Elon Musk–owned X (formerly Twitter) for failing to tackle illegal co
Heura adds ‘York ham style slices’ to its 100% plant-based vegan mix
Barcelona-based Heura, a disrupter in the plant-based protein space since 2017, has a product hitting shelves shortly in Spain and France that it reckons will have the most committed meat eaters sitti
Snap’s AI chatbot draws scrutiny in UK over kids’ privacy concerns
Snap’s AI chatbot has landed the company on the radar of the U.K.’s data protection watchdog which has raised concerns the tool may be a risk to children’s privacy. The Information C
Uber still dragging its feet on algorithmic transparency, Dutch court finds
Uber has been found to have failed to comply with European Union algorithmic transparency requirements in a legal challenge brought by two drivers whose accounts were terminated by the ride-hailing gi
Google agrees to reform its data terms after German antitrust intervention
Following preliminary objections over Google’s data terms, set out back in January by Germany’s antitrust watchdog, the tech giant has agreed to make changes that will give users a better
EU lawmakers take aim at ‘arbitrary’ decisions by Big Tech in Media Freedom Act vote
Mainstream social media platforms could face limits on their ability to take down independent journalism that violates their terms and conditions under a proposal agreed by European Union lawmakers ye
Meta planning ad-free subscription or tracking ads ‘choice’ in EU, per WSJ — in latest bid to keep snooping
New battle lines appear to be being drawn up in the European Union between Facebook and Instagram owner Meta and regional users’ privacy rights. As it stands, the tech giant is running ads unlaw
Elon Musk’s X headed for ‘rule of law’ clash with EU, warns Twitter’s former head of trust & safety
The former head of trust and safety at Twitter has warned the platform now known as X is charting a collision course with the European Union’s rebooted digital rulebook, the Digital Services Act
Amazon wins interim stay on delivering a public ads archive in early challenge to EU’s Digital Services Act
Amazon has chalked up an early (partial) win in a court challenge related to the European Union’s designation of its e-commerce marketplace as subject to the strictest level of regulation under
Norway seeks to extend ban on Meta’s consentless tracking ads across the EU
Norway’s data protection authority has asked a European Union regulator to take a binding decision on whether its emergency sanction on Facebook and Instagram tracking and profiling users for ad
Major Big Tech privacy watchdog in EU set to get two more commissioners soon
Fancy overseeing whether Big Tech is playing by European Union privacy rules? The Irish government has posted job ads for two additional commissioners to lead the Data Protection Commission (DPC), whi
Elon Musk’s X removes general option to report misleading info about politics
X (formerly Twitter) appears to have removed an option that allowed users in a handful of markets to directly report misleading information about politics. An Australian digital research group called