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Saudi Arabia’s Ceer, KAUST Partner for Breakthroughs in Smart Mobility

Ceer, Saudi Arabia’s first electric vehicle (EV) brand
Ceer, Saudi Arabia’s first electric vehicle (EV) brand
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Saudi Arabia’s Ceer, KAUST Partner for Breakthroughs in Smart Mobility

Ceer, Saudi Arabia’s first electric vehicle (EV) brand
Ceer, Saudi Arabia’s first electric vehicle (EV) brand

Ceer, Saudi Arabia’s first electric vehicle (EV) brand, and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), a leading graduate research institution, are partnering to research, develop and innovate for breakthroughs in smart mobility.

The agreement covers a host of areas, including connectivity and autonomous driving, and is in line with KAUST’s new strategy to transform research into economically productive innovations in sectors such as sustainable energy.

By working together, Ceer’s technical experts and KAUST’s researchers will advance technologies and find groundbreaking solutions that can be implemented as global firsts in Saudi Arabia, with applications for Ceer’s electric vehicles.

Ceer and KAUST Innovation will work together to develop an automotive vertical in support of Saudi-based, technology-focused SMEs and the Kingdom’s growing automotive manufacturing industry; promote economic diversification; and create jobs.

As part of efforts to enhance cooperation and foster knowledge exchange, Ceer and KAUST will share facilities for the purpose of conducting seminars, conferences, research and development and other collaborative activities.

“Our strategy is built on our ambition to contribute to both Saudi Vision 2030 and the country’s research, development and innovation priorities,” said KAUST President Dr. Tony Chan. “We want to transform groundbreaking research in smart mobility into concepts that can be used by the electric vehicle industry and in Ceer’s own EVs. By joining with Ceer, we can co-develop new ideas and applications that will help reduce emissions, make our vehicles safer and smarter, and ultimately help diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy.”

“I am excited about the opportunity to partner with KAUST to co-create next-gen technologies for our made-in-Saudi electric vehicles,” said Ceer CEO James DeLuca. “Together, we will accelerate research in the automotive industry to create innovations here in the Kingdom while creating more high-value jobs for young nationals to further diversify the Saudi economy.”

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Technology

EU Says WhatsApp to Face Stricter Content Rules

Teenagers pose for a photo while holding smartphones in front of a Whatsapp logo in this illustration taken September 11, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Teenagers pose for a photo while holding smartphones in front of a Whatsapp logo in this illustration taken September 11, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
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EU Says WhatsApp to Face Stricter Content Rules

Teenagers pose for a photo while holding smartphones in front of a Whatsapp logo in this illustration taken September 11, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Teenagers pose for a photo while holding smartphones in front of a Whatsapp logo in this illustration taken September 11, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

WhatsApp is set to face greater EU scrutiny after the European Commission on Monday added the platform to its list of digital firms big enough to face stricter content rules, AFP reported.

The Meta-owned company joins Facebook, TikTok, X and others in a list of 26 "very large online platforms" with more than 45 million monthly active users in the European Union, a commission statement said.

As such it will face tougher obligations under the bloc's Digital Services Act (DSA), but they will apply only to WhatsApp channels, a broadcasting feature, rather than the platform's core messaging feature.

Technology

Social Media Giants Face Landmark Trial Over Addiction Claims

The TikTok logo is displayed at a TikTok office on January 23, 2026 in Culver City, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
The TikTok logo is displayed at a TikTok office on January 23, 2026 in Culver City, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Social Media Giants Face Landmark Trial Over Addiction Claims

The TikTok logo is displayed at a TikTok office on January 23, 2026 in Culver City, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
The TikTok logo is displayed at a TikTok office on January 23, 2026 in Culver City, California. (Getty Images/AFP)

A landmark trial beginning this week in Los Angeles could establish a legal precedent on whether social media companies deliberately designed their platforms to addict children.

Jury selection is set to start in California state court on Tuesday in what is being called a "bellwether" proceeding because its outcome could set the tone for a tidal wave of similar litigation across the United States.

Defendants in the suit are Alphabet, ByteDance and Meta, the tech titans behind YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.

Meta co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg is slated to be called as a witness during the trial.

Social media firms are accused in the hundreds of lawsuits of addicting young users to content that has led to depression, eating disorders, psychiatric hospitalization and even suicide.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs are explicitly borrowing strategies used against the tobacco industry in the 1990s and 2000s that faced a similar onslaught of lawsuits arguing that companies sold a defective product.

The trial before Judge Carolyn Kuhl in state court is expected to start the first week of February, after a jury is selected.

It focuses on allegations that a 19-year-old woman identified by the initials K.G.M. suffered severe mental harm because she was addicted to social media.

"This is the first time that a social media company has ever had to face a jury for harming kids," said Social Media Victims Law Center founder Matthew Bergman, whose team is involved in more than 1,000 such cases.

The center is a legal organization dedicated to holding social media companies accountable for harms caused to young people online.

"The fact that now K.G.M. and her family get to stand in a courtroom equal to the largest, most powerful and wealthy companies in the world is, in and of itself, a very significant victory," Bergman said.

"We understand that these cases are hard fought and that it is our burden to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that K.G.M. was harmed by the design decisions of these companies - that's a burden that we happily undertake."

- Design not content -

A decisive outcome of the trial could provide a "data point" for settling similar cases en masse, according to Bergman.

Snapchat last week confirmed that it made a deal to avoid the civil trial accusing it, along with Meta, TikTok and YouTube, of addicting young people to social media.

The terms of that deal were not disclosed.

Internet titans have argued that they are shielded by Section 230 of the US Communications Decency Act, which frees them of responsibility for what social media users post.

However, this case argues those firms are culpable for business models designed to hold people's attention and promote content that winds up harming their mental health.

"We are not faulting the social media companies for failure to remove malign content from their platforms," Bergman told AFP.

"We are faulting them for designing their platforms to addict kids and for developing algorithms that show kids not what they want to see but what they cannot look away from."

Lawsuits accusing social media platforms of practices endangering young users are also making their way through federal court in Northern California and state courts across the country.

Technology

Macron Pushes for Fast-Track Ban on Social Media for Children Under 15

France's President Emmanuel Macron waits before the arrival of Indonesia's president at the Elysee palace in Paris, on January 23, 2026. (AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron waits before the arrival of Indonesia's president at the Elysee palace in Paris, on January 23, 2026. (AFP)
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Macron Pushes for Fast-Track Ban on Social Media for Children Under 15

France's President Emmanuel Macron waits before the arrival of Indonesia's president at the Elysee palace in Paris, on January 23, 2026. (AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron waits before the arrival of Indonesia's president at the Elysee palace in Paris, on January 23, 2026. (AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron says he wants his government to fast-track the legal process to ensure that a ban on social media for children under the age of 15 can enter into force in September at the start of the next school year.

In a video released late Saturday by French broadcaster BFM-TV, Macron said he had asked his government to initiate an accelerated procedure so that the proposed legislation can move as quickly as possible and be passed by the Senate in time.

“The brains of our children and our teenagers are not for sale,” Macron said. “The emotions of our children and our teenagers are not for sale or to be manipulated. Neither by American platforms, nor by Chinese algorithms.”

Macron's announcement came just days after the British government said it will consider banning young teenagers from social media as it tightens laws designed to protect children from harmful content and excessive screen time.

According to France's health watchdog, one in two teenagers spends between two and five hours a day on a smartphone. In a report published in December, it said that some 90% of children aged between 12 and 17 use smartphones daily to access the internet, with 58% of them using their devices for social networks.

The report highlighted a range of harmful effects stemming from the use of social networks, including reduced self-esteem and increased exposure to content associated with risky behaviors such as self-harm, drug use and suicide. Several families in France have sued TikTok over teen suicides they say are linked to harmful content.

Macron's office told The Associated Press that the video was addressed to lawmaker Laure Miller, who is sponsoring the bill that will be examined in a public session on Monday.

“We are banning social media for under-15s, and we are going to ban mobile phones in our high schools,” Macron said. “I believe this is a clear rule. Clear for our teenagers, clear for families, clear for teachers, and we are moving forward.”

In Australia, social media companies have revoked access to about 4.7 million accounts identified as belonging to children since the country banned use of the platforms by those under 16, officials said. The law provoked fraught debates in Australia about technology use, privacy, child safety and mental health and has prompted other countries to consider similar measures.