Latest news with #AIForensics


Tahawul Tech
6 hours ago
- Business
- Tahawul Tech
X accused of breaching advertising rules
Social media company X has received a formal complaint from nine civil society organisations accusing the platform of breaching advertising rules under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The campaigners, including NGOs such as AI Forensics, European Digital Rights and the Centre for Democracy and Technology, submitted a complaint to the European Commission (EC) and French media regulator Arcom. They allege that X enables targeted advertising using sensitive personal data linked to political views, religion, sexual orientation and health conditions – a practice banned under the DSA. The findings emerged from evidence collected by AI Forensics through an investigation of X's Ad Repository, a public database set up by companies under DSA rules. The research claimed major corporations such as Shein, McDonald's and Total Energies ran ad campaigns on the platform that targeted or excluded users based on engagement with sensitive keyword categories. AI Forensics also identified that Brussels Signal, a media outlet tied to European right-wing parties, ran ads aimed at users engaging with keywords related to far-right political content, a move seen as an attempt to sway civic discourse. In a joint statement, the organisations expressed 'deep concern' regarding the findings, stating that the sensitive user information used in X's advertising practices 'can reveal deeply personal aspects of an individual's identity', leading to an 'increased risk of discrimination, harm and violations of users' fundamental rights'. The group urged EU regulators and Digital Services Coordinators to launch an investigation, emphasising that 'platforms operating at the scale and influence of X must be held to the highest standards of compliance.' Source: Mobile World Live Image Credit: X

TimesLIVE
a day ago
- Business
- TimesLIVE
X hit by complaints to EU over user data and targeted advertising
Elon Musk's X social media platform has been hit by complaints by nine civil society organisations to EU and French regulators over what they say is its use of users' data for targeted advertising that may breach EU tech rules. The organisations — AI Forensics, the Centre for Democracy and Technology Europe, Entropy, European Digital Rights, Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte e.V. (GFF), Global Witness, Panoptykon Foundation, Stichting Bits of Freedom and VoxPublic — said they took their complaint to the European Commission and the French media regulator Arcom on Monday. They urged both regulators to take action under the Digital Services Act (DSA) which prohibits advertising based on sensitive user data such as religion, race and sexuality. X, the commission and Arcom did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. "We express our deep concern regarding the use by X of users' sensitive personal data for targeted advertisements," the organisations said in a statement.


Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
Elon Musk's X hit by complaints to EU over user data and targeted advertising
Elon Musk's X social media platform has been hit by complaints by nine civil society organisations to EU and French regulators over what they say is its use of users' data for targeted advertising that may breach EU tech rules. The organisations - AI Forensics, the Centre for Democracy and Technology Europe, Entropy, European Digital Rights, Gesellschaft fur Freiheitsrechte e.V. (GFF), Global Witness, Panoptykon Foundation, Stichting Bits of Freedom and VoxPublic said they took their complaint to the European Commission and the French media regulator Arcom on Monday. They urged both regulators to take action under the Digital Services Act (DSA) which prohibits advertising based on sensitive user data such as religion, race and sexuality. X, the Commission and Arcom did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. "We express our deep concern regarding the use by X of users' sensitive personal data for targeted advertisements," the organisations said in a statement. They said their concerns were triggered after they looked into X's Ad Repository which is a publicly available database set up by companies as part of a DSA requirement. "We found that major brands as well as public and financial institutions engaged in targeted online advertising based on what appear to be special categories of personal data, protected by Article 9 of the GDPR, such as political opinions, sexual orientation, religious beliefs and health conditions," they said. The group called on the regulators to investigate X. GDPR refers to the EU data privacy law.


Indian Express
a day ago
- Business
- Indian Express
X hit by complaints to EU over user data and targeted advertising
Elon Musk's X social media platform has been hit by complaints by nine civil society organisations to EU and French regulators over what they say is its use of users' data for targeted advertising that may breach EU tech rules. The organisations – AI Forensics, the Centre for Democracy and Technology Europe, Entropy, European Digital Rights, Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte e.V. (GFF), Global Witness, Panoptykon Foundation, Stichting Bits of Freedom and VoxPublic said they took their complaint to the European Commission and the French media regulator Arcom on Monday. They urged both regulators to take action under the Digital Services Act (DSA) which prohibits advertising based on sensitive user data such as religion, race and sexuality. X, the Commission and Arcom did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. 'We express our deep concern regarding the use by X of users' sensitive personal data for targeted advertisements,' the organisations said in a statement. They said their concerns were triggered after they looked into X's Ad Repository which is a publicly available database set up by companies as part of a DSA requirement. 'We found that major brands as well as public and financial institutions engaged in targeted online advertising based on what appear to be special categories of personal data, protected by Article 9 of the GDPR, such as political opinions, sexual orientation, religious beliefs and health conditions,' they said. The group called on the regulators to investigate X. GDPR refers to the EU data privacy law.

The Hindu
a day ago
- Business
- The Hindu
X hit by complaints to EU over user data and targeted advertising
Elon Musk's X social media platform has been hit by complaints by nine civil society organisations to EU and French regulators over what they say is its use of users' data for targeted advertising that may breach EU tech rules. The organisations - AI Forensics, the Centre for Democracy and Technology Europe, Entropy, European Digital Rights, Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte e.V. (GFF), Global Witness, Panoptykon Foundation, Stichting Bits of Freedom and VoxPublic said they took their complaint to the European Commission and the French media regulator Arcom on Monday. They urged both regulators to take action under the Digital Services Act (DSA) which prohibits advertising based on sensitive user data such as religion, race and sexuality. X, the Commission and Arcom did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. "We express our deep concern regarding the use by X of users' sensitive personal data for targeted advertisements," the organisations said in a statement. They said their concerns were triggered after they looked into X's Ad Repository which is a publicly available database set up by companies as part of a DSA requirement. "We found that major brands as well as public and financial institutions engaged in targeted online advertising based on what appear to be special categories of personal data, protected by Article 9 of the GDPR, such as political opinions, sexual orientation, religious beliefs and health conditions," they said. The group called on the regulators to investigate X. GDPR refers to the EU data privacy law.