Another week has gone by and another Sunday Rundown #112 waiting for you, with the latest news from the digital world 🙂
EU warns Microsoft it could be fined billions over missing GenAI risk info
The European Union has warned Microsoft that it could be fined up to 1% of its global annual turnover under the bloc’s online governance regime, the Digital Services Act (DSA), after the company failed to respond to a request for information (RFI) that focused on its generative AI tools.
Back in March, the EU asked Microsoft and a number of other tech giants for information about systemic risks posed by generative AI tools. On Friday, the Commission said Microsoft failed to provide some of the documents it asked for. However, an updated version of the Commission’s press release tweaked the phrasing used, removing an earlier claim that the EU did not receive an answer from Microsoft. The revised version states that the EU is stepping up enforcement action “following an initial request for information”.
TFines under the DSA can scale up to 6% of global annual revenue, but incorrect, incomplete or misleading information provided in response to a formal RFI can result in a standalone fine of 1%. That could sum to a penalty of up to a couple of billion dollars in Microsoft’s case — the company reported revenue of $211.92 billion in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023.
The Commission said it is missing information related to risks stemming from search engine Bing’s generative AI features — notably, the regulator highlighted AI assistant “Copilot in Bing” and image generation tool “Image Creator by Designer.” The EU said it is particularly concerned about any risks the tools may pose to civic discourse and electoral processes.
Most X users rely on the app for news content, research shows
Pew Research has published a new overview of how people are using social media to access news content, which highlights some concerning trends as we head into the prime U.S. election season. The main point of note is that more X users now cite the app as a key news resource, while users on all platforms are regularly seeing false reports in all social apps, underlining ongoing concerns with the role that social platforms play in our information ecosystem. But of all the notes, the data on X usage may be the most problematic.
As per Pew:
“Majorities of Facebook, Instagram and TikTok users say keeping up with news is not a reason they use the sites. X (formerly Twitter) is the exception to this pattern: Most X users say that keeping up with news is either a major or minor reason they use the platform, and about half say they regularly get news there.”
X, which is in the “News” app category on the App Store, has been trying to promote itself as a more trusted source for news content. Owner Elon Musk regularly criticises “mainstream” news outlets for what he sees as biased and untrue coverage.
It’s time to BeAcquired for €500 million
BeReal, the app known for its fleeting photo-sharing window, has been acquired. The French app developer Voodoo announced that it purchased the company for €500 million (about $537.23 million).
Launched by French developers Alexis Barreyat and Kévin Perreau in 2020, BeReal started gaining traction in 2022 when more users started partaking in the random, once-per-day opportunity to share photos with friends. But the hype surrounding BeReal quickly died down. Last year, a report from Platformer revealed the app suffered a steep drop in monthly active users, going from 15 million in October 2022 to 6 million in March 2023 as people became less enamoured with the concept.
Bonus links
- The 9 Defining Traits of the Modern B2B Marketer [Infographic]
- Meta forms new Wearables group and lays off some employees
- Google TV to launch AI-generated movie descriptions
- Ikea remodels remote work with paid positions for Roblox store
Thank you for taking the time to read our Sunday Rundown #112. If you have a story that you want to see in this series, reply to us below or contact us.