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TikTok Unveils New Measures Ahead of EU Digital Services Act

A visitor passes the TikTok exhibition stand at the Gamescom computer gaming fair in Cologne, Germany, Aug. 25, 2022. (AP)
A visitor passes the TikTok exhibition stand at the Gamescom computer gaming fair in Cologne, Germany, Aug. 25, 2022. (AP)
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TikTok Unveils New Measures Ahead of EU Digital Services Act

A visitor passes the TikTok exhibition stand at the Gamescom computer gaming fair in Cologne, Germany, Aug. 25, 2022. (AP)
A visitor passes the TikTok exhibition stand at the Gamescom computer gaming fair in Cologne, Germany, Aug. 25, 2022. (AP)

Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok has announced a raft of new features for European users aimed at improving compliance with incoming European Union regulations.

Under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), TikTok's owner ByteDance, Alphabet unit Google, other large online platforms will be required to police illegal content on their platforms, prohibit certain advertising practices, and share data with authorities.

But after TikTok agreed to a voluntary "stress test" last month, EU industry chief Thierry Breton said "more work" was needed for the firm to be fully compliant.

"TikTok is dedicating significant resources to compliance," Breton told CNN. "Now it's time to accelerate to be fully compliant."

On Friday, the firm revealed new measures it had taken to comply with the DSA: making it easier for European users to report illegal content, allowing them to turn off personalized recommendations for videos and removing targeted advertising for users aged 13-17.

"We will continue to not only meet our regulatory obligations, but also strive to set new standards through innovative solutions," the company said.

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Google, Volkswagen Partner on Smartphone AI Assistant

People walk next to a Google logo during a trade fair in Hannover Messe, in Hanover, Germany, April 22, 2024. (Reuters)
People walk next to a Google logo during a trade fair in Hannover Messe, in Hanover, Germany, April 22, 2024. (Reuters)
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Google, Volkswagen Partner on Smartphone AI Assistant

People walk next to a Google logo during a trade fair in Hannover Messe, in Hanover, Germany, April 22, 2024. (Reuters)
People walk next to a Google logo during a trade fair in Hannover Messe, in Hanover, Germany, April 22, 2024. (Reuters)

Alphabet’s Google is providing key capabilities for an artificial intelligence assistant for Volkswagen drivers in a smartphone app, part of Google's strategy to win business by offering tools to build enterprise AI applications.

Consumers can ask Volkswagen's in-app assistant questions like "How do I change a flat tire?" or point their phone cameras at vehicle dashboards to receive relevant information.

The AI assistant draws on Google's Gemini large language models, programs that can understand and generate predictive responses to human language, and cloud computing capacity. The VW tool was designed by adding data such as Volkswagen owner’s manuals and YouTube videos on vehicle maintenance to Gemini.

Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian told Reuters that the product required overcoming technical hurdles to multimodality, the ability to process different data types such as text, images and videos.

"The problem looks superficially simple, but it’s technically very complex," Kurian said. "Most people think what we built is a speech-to-text translation system that then looks up a manual. Absolutely not."

The AI assistant is free and available to about 120,000 owners of Volkswagen’s Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport models. It will roll out by early next year to other cars from model year 2020 and later.

Corporate adoption of generative AI could alter the lucrative cloud computing market, where Google places third in terms of market share behind Amazon and Microsoft . Most companies are still searching for applications that users will find practical.

Cloud computing is a growing business segment for Google, accounting for $33 billion of the firm's $307 billion in overall revenue in 2023.

AI solutions have driven billions in revenue this year, the company has said, though it declined to disclose more precise figures.

Volkswagen declined to give details about usage for its AI assistant so far.