Germany's BMW, India's Tata Tech to Jointly Develop Auto Software

A BMW iX xDrive40 is on display during the Munich Auto Show, IAA Mobility 2021, in Munich, Germany, September 7, 2021. REUTERS/Michaela Rehl
A BMW iX xDrive40 is on display during the Munich Auto Show, IAA Mobility 2021, in Munich, Germany, September 7, 2021. REUTERS/Michaela Rehl
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Germany's BMW, India's Tata Tech to Jointly Develop Auto Software

A BMW iX xDrive40 is on display during the Munich Auto Show, IAA Mobility 2021, in Munich, Germany, September 7, 2021. REUTERS/Michaela Rehl
A BMW iX xDrive40 is on display during the Munich Auto Show, IAA Mobility 2021, in Munich, Germany, September 7, 2021. REUTERS/Michaela Rehl

BMW Group and Tata Technologies will form a joint venture to develop automotive software for the German luxury carmaker, the Indian engineering services company said on Tuesday.
India is a software development hub for global automakers and auto parts makers including Volvo and Magna International, while also witnessing rising investments from companies including Toyota Motor and Mercedes Benz to boost production, Reuters reported.
The BMW-Tata Technologies venture, the first partnership between the two, will develop automotive software for automated driving and the dashboard system among other features, the Tata company said but didn't disclose any financial details of the agreement.
The BMW Group and Tata Technologies will each hold a 50% stake in the newly-formed company, it added.
BMW has a manufacturing plant in the southern Indian city Chennai, and gets its engines in the country from Force Motors , while TVS Motor helps make the German company's motorcycles.
The joint venture will operate in Chennai, Bengaluru, and Pune and will commence operations with 100 employees, Tata Technologies said.
Tata Technologies, a unit of India's top carmaker by revenue Tata Motors, provides engineering and technology services to auto, aero and heavy machinery firms including Honda , Ford and Airbus.
Its shares were up more than 7% after the announcement, before trimming some gains.
The company went public in November last year to become the first Tata Group company to launch an initial public offering in nearly two decades. Its shares have more-than-doubled from its listing price.



Facebook-Parent Meta Settles with Australia’s Privacy Watchdog over Cambridge Analytica Lawsuit

The logo of Meta Platforms' business group is seen in Brussels, Belgium December 6, 2022. (Reuters)
The logo of Meta Platforms' business group is seen in Brussels, Belgium December 6, 2022. (Reuters)
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Facebook-Parent Meta Settles with Australia’s Privacy Watchdog over Cambridge Analytica Lawsuit

The logo of Meta Platforms' business group is seen in Brussels, Belgium December 6, 2022. (Reuters)
The logo of Meta Platforms' business group is seen in Brussels, Belgium December 6, 2022. (Reuters)

Meta Platforms has agreed to a A$50 million settlement ($31.85 million), Australia's privacy watchdog said on Tuesday, closing long-drawn, expensive legal proceedings for the Facebook parent over the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner had alleged that personal information of some users was being disclosed to Facebook's personality quiz app, This is Your Digital Life, as part of the broader scandal.

The breaches were first reported by the Guardian in early 2018, and Facebook received fines from regulators in the United States and the UK in 2019.

Australia's privacy regulator has been caught up in the legal battle with Meta since 2020. The personal data of 311,127 Australian Facebook users was "exposed to the risk of being disclosed" to consulting firm Cambridge Analytica and used for profiling purposes, according to the 2020 statement.

It convinced the high court in March 2023 to not hear an appeal, which is considered to be a win that allowed the watchdog to continue its prosecution.

In June 2023, the country's federal court ordered Meta and the privacy commissioner to enter mediation.

"Today's settlement represents the largest ever payment dedicated to addressing concerns about the privacy of individuals in Australia," the Australian Information Commissioner Elizabeth Tydd said.

Cambridge Analytica, a British consulting firm, was known to have kept personal data of millions of Facebook users without their permission, before using the data predominantly for political advertising, including assisting Donald Trump and the Brexit campaign in the UK.

A Meta spokesperson told Reuters that the company had settled the lawsuit in Australia on a no admission basis, closing a chapter on allegations regarding past practices of the firm.