Natasha Lomas, Author at TechCrunch

Elon Musk’s X agrees to pause EU data processing for training Grok

Natasha Lomas — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 16:39:34 +0000

Earlier this week it emerged that the DPC had instigated court proceedings seeking an injunction against X over the data processing without consent.

Apple revises DMA compliance for App Store link-outs, applying fewer restrictions and a new fee structure

Natasha Lomas — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 16:00:00 +0000

Apple has further revised its compliance plan for the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) rulebook, which, since March, has forced it to give iOS developers more freedom over how they can distribute and promote their content on its mobile platform. The iPhone maker is already under investigation by the European Commission for suspected noncompliance […]

UK’s internet regulator warns social media platforms over risks of inciting violence

Natasha Lomas — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 18:25:02 +0000

The U.K.'s internet regulator Ofcom has published an open letter to social media platforms raising concerns about the use of their tools being used to incite violence.

Elon Musk’s X taken to court in Ireland for grabbing EU user data to train Grok without consent

Natasha Lomas — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 10:02:02 +0000

Elon Musk's X is being taken to court in Ireland for using Europeans' data to train AI models without asking for their consent.

Breaking up Google would offer a chance to remodel the web

Natasha Lomas — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 14:54:43 +0000

Just for a minute, as we digest the information that Google has been found to operate an illegal monopoly, can you imagine a web without Google? An internet without Google Search, Chrome, Gmail, Maps and so on would — very obviously — be a different place. But would such a change have implications for utility […]

TikTok Lite: EU closes addictive design case after TikTok commits to not bring back rewards mechanism

Natasha Lomas — Mon, 05 Aug 2024 11:22:50 +0000

The European Commission has closed a Digital Services Act (DSA) investigation of a rewards feature in TikTok Lite by accepting commitments from the social media giant to permanently withdraw the feature from the EU. The TikTok Lite “task and reward” mechanism, launched in France and Spain earlier this year, lets users earn points for doing […]

DSA vs. DMA: How Europe’s twin digital regulations are hitting Big Tech

Natasha Lomas — Sat, 03 Aug 2024 13:00:00 +0000

While both the DSA and DMA aim to achieve distinct things, they are best understood as a joint response to Big Tech's market power.

How the theft of 40M UK voter register records was entirely preventable

Zack Whittaker, Natasha Lomas — Sat, 03 Aug 2024 05:00:00 +0000

A scathing rebuke by the U.K. data protection watchdog reveals what led to the compromise of tens of millions of U.K. voters' information.

The EU’s AI Act is now in force

Natasha Lomas — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 11:33:13 +0000

The European Union's risk-based regulation for applications of artificial intelligence has come into force starting from today.

Axle Energy’s sprint to decarbonize the grid lights up with $9M seed led by Accel

Natasha Lomas — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 07:01:00 +0000

Axle Energy is a B2B, back-end infrastructure business focused on connecting flexible assets, such as electric vehicles and home batteries, to energy markets that aren't otherwise available for consumers to dip into.

Spain’s antitrust watchdog fines Booking.com nearly $450M for unfair terms and restricting rivals

Natasha Lomas — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 18:17:30 +0000

The CNMC opened an investigation of Booking.com back in October 2022, following complaints by the Spanish Association of Hotel Managers and the Regional Hotel Association of Madrid.

EU calls for help with shaping rules for general-purpose AIs

Natasha Lomas — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 13:18:40 +0000

The EU has kicked off a consultation on rules that will apply to providers of general purpose AI models under the bloc's AI Act.

Privacy watchdog says it’s ‘surprised’ by Elon Musk opting user data into Grok AI training

Natasha Lomas — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 17:34:46 +0000

The language is ambiguous, so it's not clear whether X is helping itself to all user data for training Grok or whether this processing refers only to user interactions with the chatbot.

Energy tech startup Greenely grabs €8M to reach more households and support Europe’s energy transition

Natasha Lomas — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000

The energy transition is a marathon, not a sprint. But opportunities for acceleration are growing. Swedish startup Greenely* has just spotted one. It’s closing an €8 million Series A funding round to expand its energy management platform into neighbouring Nordic countries (so around $8.7M at current exchange rates). The energy tech startup is serving around […]

Apple’s App Store hit with antitrust probe in Spain

Natasha Lomas — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 11:41:44 +0000

The outcome of the Spanish authority's probe could take up to two years to complete, and leave Apple on the hook for fines in the billions.

Meta given weeks to tell EU consumer protection authorities how it’ll fix ‘pay or consent’

Natasha Lomas — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 14:46:35 +0000

Meta has been given until September 1 to respond to consumer protection concerns in the European Union. The Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network, a network of authorities responsible for the enforcement of EU consumer protection laws, is concerned about a binary choice Meta has forced on regional users of Facebook and Instagram since last November. […]

Google’s latest Privacy Sandbox gambit could pit user choice against tracking

Natasha Lomas — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 14:11:47 +0000

Google is no longer proposing to deprecate third-party tracking cookies in Chrome, instead suggesting that users be given an option to deny tracking.

EU to investigate Delivery Hero and Glovo over food delivery cartel concerns

Natasha Lomas — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 11:08:35 +0000

The EC has announced an investigation into Berlin-based food delivery giant Delivery Hero and its Spanish subsidiary, Glovo, citing cartel concerns.

The EU just re-elected its president for another five years — here’s what that means for tech

Natasha Lomas — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 16:40:17 +0000

The European Union’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, was confirmed in the role for another five years Thursday after parliamentarians voted overwhelmingly to re-elect her. The scale of her support (401 votes for versus 284 against with 15 abstentions) — a far firmer endorsement than last time around — may say more about lawmakers’ concerns […]

Google accused of misleading consumers to grab more data for ads

Natasha Lomas — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 12:24:33 +0000

Italy's competition watchdog is investigating how Google gets user consent in order to link their activity across different services for ad profiling.