German Rights Group Fails in Bid Stop Meta's Data Use for AI

Meta logo is seen in this illustration taken, August 22, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Meta logo is seen in this illustration taken, August 22, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
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German Rights Group Fails in Bid Stop Meta's Data Use for AI

Meta logo is seen in this illustration taken, August 22, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Meta logo is seen in this illustration taken, August 22, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

A German consumer rights group on Friday failed to win a court injunction to stop Meta Platforms from training its artificial intelligence models with Facebook and Instagram user posts.

The court in the western city of Cologne said it did not grant an injunction sought by state-funded consumer rights group Verbraucherzentrale NRW, Reuters reported. 

Meta said last month it would train its AI models in the European Union with public posts of adults across its platforms, as well as with interactions that users have with its artificial intelligence.

Meta said at the time that its platforms' users in the EU would be notified of the project and that they would be given the opportunity to opt out. 



EIB to Allot 70 Bln Euros for Tech Sector in 2025-2027

FILE PHOTO: The logo of the European Investment Bank is pictured in the city of Luxembourg, Luxembourg, March 25, 2017. Reuters/Eric Vidal/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The logo of the European Investment Bank is pictured in the city of Luxembourg, Luxembourg, March 25, 2017. Reuters/Eric Vidal/File Photo
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EIB to Allot 70 Bln Euros for Tech Sector in 2025-2027

FILE PHOTO: The logo of the European Investment Bank is pictured in the city of Luxembourg, Luxembourg, March 25, 2017. Reuters/Eric Vidal/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The logo of the European Investment Bank is pictured in the city of Luxembourg, Luxembourg, March 25, 2017. Reuters/Eric Vidal/File Photo

The European Investment Bank is likely to announce on Friday plans to pump 70 billion euros into the development of European technology firms over the next three years, EU officials said.

The program, called Tech EU, is meant to help Europe compete with China and the United States in the race for innovative clean and digital technologies.

The EIB, the biggest multilateral lender in the world with a balance sheet total of 556 billion euros, expects its own 70 bln euros to mobilize a further 250 billion euros of private cash as investors crowd into projects supported by the EIB, Reuters quoted EU officials as saying.

The 70 billion is to be split into 20 billion euros for equity and quasi-equity, 40 billion euros for loans and 10 billion for guarantees in 2025-2027, the officials said.

The plan is to complement European Commission efforts to support higher risk ventures and innovative companies throughout their investment journey, from proof of concept to an initial public offering.

The EIB wants to focus on supercomputing, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, critical raw materials, green industries such as offshore wind, health, security and defense technologies, robotics and advanced materials, the officials said.