All posts tagged: regulatory

'AI regulatory conversations must be globally inclusive, bring in voices of Global South countries'

'AI regulatory conversations must be globally inclusive, bring in voices of Global South countries'

World leaders and technology executives are convening in Paris on Monday to discuss how to safely embrace artificial intelligence at a time of mounting resistance to red tape that businesses say stifles innovation. Eagerness to rein in AI has waned since previous summits in Britain and South Korea that focused world powers’ attention on technology’s risks after ChatGPT’s viral launch in 2022. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective, FRANCE 24’s Carys Garland welcomes Damini Satija, Head of the Algorithmic Accountability Lab and Interim Director at Amnesty Tech. She warns that “while some civil societies will be present at the AI Summit in Paris, it’s an inadequate level to ensure that all the voices, concerns of the Global South are truly represented in that forum.” Source link

Affirm launches in the UK, as ‘buy now, pay later’ market faces regulatory overhaul

Affirm launches in the UK, as ‘buy now, pay later’ market faces regulatory overhaul

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) giant Affirm is launching in the U.K., its first market outside North America. Its long-anticipated arrival comes as U.K. lawmakers mull new rules to bring BNPL firms into line with other traditional consumer credit services, though such laws aren’t expected to come into effect until at least 2026 — long enough for Affirm to build traction, and curry favor with consumers and regulators alike. Founded in 2012, Affirm emerged from a startup incubator called HVF, setup by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin (pictured above) who eventually took the reins at Affirm in 2014 to drive its commercial push. The company expanded beyond the U.S. and into Canada in 2022, and it has struck lucrative partnerships with major ecommerce companies through the years — Affirm has been Shopify’s major financing partner for close to a decade, not to mention Walmart, and Amazon, which tapped Affirm as Amazon Pay’s first BNPL partner in the U.S. last year. More recently, Affirm also secured the mighty Apple as a customer. ‘Normalizing debt’ The BNPL model …

SpaceX sues California agency, alleging political bias against Musk and regulatory overreach

SpaceX sues California agency, alleging political bias against Musk and regulatory overreach

SpaceX has filed a lawsuit against a California agency this week after the body rejected a proposal to increase the company’s launches from the state’s coastline to 50 per year.  The California Coastal Commission (CCC) made its decision at an October 10 meeting, despite the U.S. Air Force endorsing the plan on the grounds that more launches of Starlink and Starshield, the defense-focused unit, are critical to national security.  In the lawsuit, SpaceX says that the commission engaged in “naked political discrimination” when some commissioners cited the political activity of CEO Elon Musk, while also attempting to unlawfully regulate federal agency activities. The CCC declined to comment for this story. SpaceX did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment. The first part of the complaint has gotten most of the headlines, and SpaceX will need to prove in court that the commission’s decision was substantially influenced by Musk’s politics. But the second part is arguably more substantial: what is the final legal authority over launch activities on a defense base, and do those activities count as …

Binance restarts services in India after seven-month regulatory halt

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has resumed operations for users in India after a seven-month hiatus imposed by a local authority for operating “illegally” in the country. The exchange said Thursday it has registered as a reporting entity with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), a government agency tasked with scrutinizing financial transactions. India blocked nearly a dozen foreign crypto exchange services, including Binance, Kraken, Kucoin and Mexc, late last year at the recommendation of the FIU. The FIU said offshore exchanges needed to register locally to comply with the country’s anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism framework. FIU’s move followed a group of local crypto exchanges complaining to the Indian Ministry of Finance that they were losing business to noncompliant foreign crypto exchanges. Binance’s website and mobile apps have become operational again in India. Binance said in a statement that compliance with the Indian authority marks the 19th regulatory milestone for the firm. “Our registration with the FIU-IND marks an important milestone in Binance’s journey,” said Richard Teng, CEO of Binance, in a …

Maltese central bank governor, deputy PM face charges in snowballing corruption case – POLITICO

Maltese central bank governor, deputy PM face charges in snowballing corruption case – POLITICO

Allegations of corruption around the so-called Vitals deal figured prominently in the work of the Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was assassinated in 2017. Caruana Galizia published extensive investigations into privatization deals brokered by the Muscat administration. Charges are also pending against Muscat, who was prime minister from 2013 to 2020, as first reported by the Times of Malta. Anticipating legal action against him, Muscat retorted on Facebook: “This is no longer just a political vendetta, but has transformed itself into a disgrace and abomination.” Scicluna was finance minister at the time of the Vitals deal, while Fearne — who was recently tipped by Prime Minister Robert Abela to form part of the next European Commission — was health minister from 2016. A Maltese court struck down the agreement between the government and Vitals Group Healthcare (VGH) last year in a scathing ruling that found VGH had failed in all its obligations, along with Dallas-based Steward Health Care, which bought the concession in 2018. Steward, which had continued to make payments to VGH’s …

Tesla clears key Chinese regulatory hurdles during Musk visit

Tesla clears key Chinese regulatory hurdles during Musk visit

Tesla received a key security clearance from China during Elon Musk’s whistlestop visit to the world’s biggest electric car market, which wrapped up on Monday. Issued on: 29/04/2024 – 09:35Modified: 29/04/2024 – 10:22 3 min The tech billionaire arrived on Sunday for his second trip to China in less than a year, meeting top officials including Premier Li Qiang as he worked to boost his electric car company’s fortunes in the face of intense competition from local challengers such as BYD. On the same day, Tesla’s locally produced models were listed among the EVs that meet China’s data security requirements for smart cars, clearing a key regulatory hurdle. Musk boarded his private jet at Beijing Capital Airport just before 1:00 pm (0500 GMT), and a Chinese flight tracking app said it was bound for Anchorage, Alaska. Despite the growing market share of domestic automakers, Teslas remain among the best-selling EVs in China. The firm has been working to boost sales through its “Full Self Driving” (FSD) features, which need to be compliant with strict data …

Strong intellectual property is critical to competitive edge – POLITICO

Strong intellectual property is critical to competitive edge – POLITICO

It is encouraging to see that the European Commission has charged former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi to prepare a report on Europe’s declining competitiveness, particularly in relation to the U.S. and China, and provide options on how to reverse the trend. As an industry, we echo the call by European heads of state for a new European Competitiveness Deal. As an industry, we echo the call by European heads of state for a new European Competitiveness Deal. Considering the sector contributes more to the positive EU trade balance than any other, a dedicated health and life sciences strategy should be an integral part of the EU’s industrial strategy. Such a move would send a hugely positive and much-needed signal to global investors that Europe wants to compete for research, development and manufacturing investment. It could turn around Europe’s fortunes that have seen not only a 25 percent drop in Europe’s global share of R&D investment in the past two decades, but also a steady decline in its clinical trial activity. China and the U.S. now …

Open Strategic Autonomy for plasma therapies in the EU – POLITICO

Open Strategic Autonomy for plasma therapies in the EU – POLITICO

There is broad political consensus that a prosperous and stable Europe depends on the EU’s attainment of open strategic autonomy and improved competitiveness. This consensus has only deepened with recent geopolitical instability and the EU’s determination to be better prepared for future health threats. Achieving these goals relies on the existence of resilient and diversified supply chains, along with a robust and well-performing industrial base. Accordingly, EU institutions, governments and businesses are working to better understand potential vulnerabilities and opportunities in key value chains, and to shape policies to ensure an industrial ecosystem that can deliver on this aspiration. Biotechnology is a core focus, given the crucial role this sector plays in ensuring citizens’ access to critical medicines and technologies. In this context, ensuring a resilient supply of plasma and plasma-derived medicinal products (PDMPs) is a major imperative, recognizing that better solutions are needed at the EU and national level to achieve this. The unique nature of PDMPs — with the starting material coming from donated human blood plasma — requires a thoughtful, tailored and …

Beeper Messaging App Is Acquired as a Bet on a Regulatory Shift

Beeper Messaging App Is Acquired as a Bet on a Regulatory Shift

Beeper, the app that brought iPhone messaging features to Android smartphones, has been acquired by Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, to support the development of a single service for sending and receiving chats from WhatsApp, Signal, LinkedIn and others. The deal, which is valued at about $125 million, was announced on Tuesday. It comes as regulators in Europe and the United States pressure the biggest tech companies to open their messaging services to third parties. Regulators believe doing so will make it easier for people to communicate with friends and family and to switch messaging providers. Automattic is betting that the changing regulatory environment will make people more interested in finding a unified messaging system like Beeper, said Toni Schneider, Automattic’s interim chief executive. Beeper is Automattic’s second messaging service acquisition. Last year, it bought Texts, an iPhone app that brings together messages from Instagram, iMessage and others. Mr. Schneider said Beeper and Texts employees would combine their systems into a single app that worked on iPhones and Android smartphones as well as computers. “Everyone …

New iPad Model Spotted in Regulatory Database Ahead of Launch

New iPad Model Spotted in Regulatory Database Ahead of Launch

One new iPad model has appeared in Indian regulatory filings ahead of its expected announcement next month. The listing, spotted by 91Mobiles, appeared in the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) database with the model number A2386. This does not correlate with any existing Apple device. 91Mobiles and several other sites have erroneously suggested that A2387 is also a new ‌iPad‌ model, but it actually relates to the battery for the current- and previous-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro. A2386, on the other hand, is a new listing likely for a battery in one of the new iPads. It is not clear whether this device is a new iPad Air or ‌iPad Pro‌, but both product lines are expected to be refreshed in May. New ‌iPad‌ models have been thought to be on the brink of launch for several weeks, and the latest regulatory filing seems to cement expectations that they will appear relatively soon. Popular Stories iPhone 16 Pro Expected Later This Year With These 12 New Features While the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro …