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ITU Selects Saudi Arabia to Host Global Symposium for Regulators in 2025

The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
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ITU Selects Saudi Arabia to Host Global Symposium for Regulators in 2025

The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) announced that Saudi Arabia, represented by the Communications, Space & Technology Commission (CST), has been selected to host the upcoming Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR) 2025 in Riyadh, as part of the symposium’s work in its edition of this year.

Since its inception more than 20 years ago, the symposium is a global event targeting decision and policy makers and regulators around the world.

The event is held annually and organized by the ITU in which it gathers a number of ministers and heads of national bodies regulating the communications and technology sector as well as sector leaders. It focuses on workers in the digital field from 193 countries, and discusses the most prominent challenges and solutions to issues of digital policies and regulations at the international level.

The selection of the Kingdom represented by the CST to host the event reflects the international community’s confidence in Saudi contributions in achieving the goals of the ITU and its pioneering role in the sector.

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Meta to Offer Less Personalized Ads in Europe to Appease Regulators

Meta to Offer Less Personalized Ads in Europe to Appease Regulators
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Meta to Offer Less Personalized Ads in Europe to Appease Regulators

Meta to Offer Less Personalized Ads in Europe to Appease Regulators

Meta Platforms plans to offer Instagram and Facebook users in Europe the option to receive "less personalized ads," the tech giant announced on Tuesday, in an effort to allay regulators' mounting concerns.

The Menlo Park, California-based company said it is implementing these changes in response to demands from EU regulators.

Over the coming weeks, people in the EU who use the company's social media platforms for free with ads, will be able to choose to see ads based on what Meta calls "context"- content that a user sees during a particular session on the platforms.

According to Reuters, these ads will also target users based on age, gender, and location, with some being unskippable for a few seconds.

Meta also plans to reduce the price of ad-free subscriptions by about 40% for European users.

This move comes as European regulators intensify efforts to curb Big Tech's power and level the playing field for smaller firms, including through the landmark Digital Markets Act (DMA) which came into force earlier this year.

The European Union law aims to make it easier for people to move between competing online services like social media platforms, internet browsers and app stores.

Last month, Europe's top court ruled that Meta must restrict the use of personal data harvested from Facebook for targeted advertising, supporting privacy activist Max Schrems.

The European Union did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The developments were first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Earlier in November, Reuters reported that Apple is set to be fined by the European Union's antitrust regulators under the bloc's landmark rules aimed at managing Big Tech's influence, making it the first company to be sanctioned.