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TikTok breached EU advertising transparency laws, commission says

2 days ago
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The European Commission has said TikTok is in breach of EU digital laws that require transparency over who pays for advertising.The commission reached a preliminary verdict on the Chinese-owned short video platform’s advertising policy, having launched an investigation in February 2024.The company could face a fine of 6% of global annual turnover, if the commission upholds this view.The commission said a separate EU inquiry into TikTok’s suspected failure to guarantee election integrity in Romania, which was launched last December, was ongoing and was a priority.The commission’s verdict that TikTok lacks transparency over advertising comes four days before “super Sunday”, when voters go to the polls in Poland, Portugal and Romania.

Under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), large internet companies are obliged to publish an advertisement library, detailing ad content, users being targeted and who paid for the publicity.The commission said TikTok did not provide this information, nor allow the public to search for it.The advertisement repository is seen by EU officials as a vital tool enabling researchers to detect scam ads and coordinated campaigns that aim to disrupt elections.Romania was plunged into political chaos last year when the first round of the presidential election was annulled, after the country’s intelligence services alleged that Russia had mounted an online campaign to promote a far-right outsider, who topped the poll.On Sunday, Romanian voters will choose between two candidates in the second round of the rescheduled presidential elections.

The European Commission launched an investigation last December into whether TikTok had failed to tackle risks to the integrity of Romania’s presidential elections.Ursula von der Leyen, the commission’s president, said there were “serious indications that foreign actors interfered in the Romanian presidential elections by using TikTok”.TikTok’s alleged failure to provide an advertising library was said to make it harder for EU officials and other researchers to determine whether fake ads were used during election campaigns, including in Romania.But the commission cautioned against assumptions that TikTok would be found to have violated the election integrity obligations of the DSA.Thomas Regnier, a commission spokesperson, said there was no direct link between the December investigation and its preliminary view published on Thursday of a breach of EU law relating to advertising transparency.

“Of course it’s not helping that your ad repository is not working.That’s one fact because it doesn’t help us to assess if there were fake or scam ads being used in the context of elections,” Regnier said.But he added: “The fact that the ad repository is not working in the context of this February investigation of last year is absolutely not prejudging the outcome of the December investigation.”As part of that December investigation, EU officials are studying actions TikTok said it took to prevent election interference in Romania.A TikTok spokesperson said the company was reviewing the commission’s preliminary findings on its ad repository.

“While we support the goals of the regulation [DSA] and continue to improve our ad transparency tools, we disagree with some of the commission’s interpretations and note that guidance is being delivered via preliminary findings rather than clear, public guidelines,” the company said.The company now has the right to examine the commission’s investigation file and mount a defence.If the commission confirms its current view, TikTok could be fined up to 6% of its annual global turnover and be obliged to take measures to remedy the issue.The commission said it continued to investigate other suspected offences under EU law, including whether TikTok’s algorithms led users down damaging content “rabbit holes” and had addictive effects.It is also investigating TikTok’s age verification and child safety policies.

These inquiries were launched at the same time as the investigation into the ad repository last February, but remain incomplete.TikTok has previously said that it cooperates with relevant authorities around elections “providing them with dedicated channels through which they can report content they believe may violate either our community guidelines or applicable regulations”.
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Families of victims appalled as Boeing seems likely to avoid prosecution over 737 Max crashes

Boeing is set to avoid prosecution in a fraud case sparked by two fatal crashes of its bestselling 737 Max jet that killed 346 people, according to sources familiar with the matter.The US Department of Justice is considering a non-prosecution agreement, relatives of the victims were told on Friday, through which the US aerospace giant would not be required to plead guilty.Representatives of the crash victims’ families expressed outrage, describing the proposal as “morally repugnant” after a tense call with senior justice department officials.Boeing declined to comment. The justice department did not immediately respond to a request for comment

about 19 hours ago
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US consumer sentiment falls as tariffs drive up inflation fears; Number of UK billionaires drops – as it happened

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.The number of British billionaires has fallen, as the super-rich are hit by stock market turbulence and the end of tax breaks for non-doms.The Sunday Times’s annual totting-up of Britain’s richest people, just published shows that the number of billionaires slid to 156 this year from 165 in 2024. That’s the sharpest decline in the Rich List’s 37-year-history.The Sunday Times reports that “falling fortunes” have led many to drop off the list, while others are no longer eligible, having “fled Britain after Labour’s non-dom crackdown”

about 19 hours ago
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Elon Musk’s AI firm blames unauthorised change for chatbot’s rant about ‘white genocide’

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company has blamed an “unauthorised modification” for a glitch in its Grok chatbot that resulted in the tool ranting about “white genocide” in South Africa.In a post on Musk’s X platform, xAI said new measures would be brought in to ensure its employees cannot modify the bot’s behaviour without extra oversight.The Grok bot repeatedly referred to a white genocide in South Africa – a discredited claim promoted by Donald Trump among other US populist figures – this week in responses to unrelated queries.One user of Musk’s X platform, which also hosts Grok, asked the bot to identify the location of a photo of a walking path, triggering a non sequitur swerve into “South Africa’s farm attack debate”.xAI, the Musk-owned company that developed the chatbot, said in a post on X that the bot’s erratic behaviour was due to an unauthorised change made to the Grok bot’s system prompt, which guides a chatbot’s responses and actions

1 day ago
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Lords examine new amendment to data bill to require AI firms declare use of copyrighted content

A new amendment to the data bill that would require artificial intelligence companies to disclose their use of copyright-protected content has been tabled, after MPs voted to remove an earlier version on Wednesday.The amendment by the cross-bench peer and former film director Beeban Kidron will be a fresh challenge to plans to let artificial intelligence firms use copyright-protected work without permission.It circumvents the financial privilege grounds – meaning there is no budget available for the regulation – on which its predecessor was rejected..The new wording states the government “may” make enforcement provisions rather than “must”, and gives no detail about how the government could enforce them

1 day ago
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Will Steve Borthwick give untested England youth a chance in Argentina? | Gerard Meagher

When Warren Gatland named his British & Irish Lions squad to tour New Zealand in 2017 he included 16 England players. Stalwarts such as Dylan Hartley, Chris Robshaw, Joe Launchbury and George Ford were still notable absentees but England had won the previous two Six Nations titles, 17 of Eddie Jones’s first 18 matches and, accordingly, their contingent was substantial.The very next day Jones named his England squad for a tour of Argentina. He refused to engage in the merits of the selected Lions touring party but at the time you sensed Jones did not particularly like Gatland hogging the spotlight. England might have lost their most recent match, against Ireland in Dublin, denying them another grand slam, but the Australian was still basking in an extended honeymoon period and all eyes were on his old adversary

about 4 hours ago
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Rampant Knicks blow out Celtics to advance to first East finals since 2000

It didn’t take long for the New York Knicks to turn their biggest game in a quarter-century into a complete laugher on Friday night.Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby scored 23 points apiece as the Knicks eliminated the defending champion Boston Celtics with a 119-81 beatdown in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference semi-final series, propelling New York into the last four of the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2000.The Knicks advance to meet the Indiana Pacers, the same team they faced in each of their previous three trips to the East finals in 1994, 1999 and 2000. Game 1 is Wednesday night in Manhattan.New York overcame a sloppy opening quarter to lead by as many as 41 points during a non-competitive second half in front of a rollicking, celebrity-flecked crowd that included Timothée Chalamet, Ben Stiller, Bad Bunny and Lenny Kravitz

about 8 hours ago
politicsSee all
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Tory MP claims £1,100 for purchase of freely available Who’s Who books

1 day ago
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Starmer digs himself into a hole in Tirana while Tories froth about a flag | John Crace

2 days ago
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UK asking other countries to host ‘return hubs’ for refused asylum seekers, Starmer confirms – as it happened

2 days ago
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Author denied UK visa unable to attend premiere of play based on his memoir

2 days ago
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MP to launch bill to target superyachts, private jets and fossil fuel producers

2 days ago
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Taxi driver in France charged with stealing from David Lammy and his wife

3 days ago