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Topic: France

The fine imposed in December, equivalent to $10.9 million, came after the CNIL authority received complaints and carried out investigations in October 2020 and June 2021 News 

Yahoo fined 10 million euros by France for cookie abuses.

Febin Mathew,

France’s data protection authority said Thursday it has fined Yahoo 10 million euros for failing to respect users’ refusal to use Internet tracking “cookies” or suggesting they would lose access to email accounts if they did. The $10.9 million fine imposed in December came after the CNIL authority received complaints and conducted investigations in October 2020 and June 2021. It found that visitors to the main Yahoo.com site who clicked a button to reject cookies still ended up with about 20 digital trackers stored for advertising purposes. In addition, Yahoo…

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The Apple Inc. logo is seen hanging at the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, New York, U.S. (REUTERS) News 

French Regulator Objects to Apple’s App Tracking Practices

Adriana Marais,

On Tuesday, France’s antitrust regulator announced that it had raised concerns about Apple potentially violating regulations related to the utilization of iPhone user data for advertising intentions. The watchdog issued a statement of objection against the American tech giant. The watchdog is concerned that Apple may “abuse its dominant position by implementing discriminatory, non-objective and non-transparent conditions for the use of user data for advertising purposes,” Apple said in a statement. The statement will trigger antitrust proceedings, during which the company can express its views, the watchdog said. Apple denied…

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Woman was hit by a falling meteorite while having a cup of coffee in France. (AFP) News 

Incredible! Woman STRUCK by a meteorite in an extremely rare occurrence

Adriana Marais

The incident began with a memorable scene that anyone who has visited France would recall. In a small village called Alsace, located in eastern France, a woman was enjoying a coffee outing with a friend. However, an extraordinary event occurred, instantly making her a unique and remarkable individual. In a truly rare occurrence, a meteorite unexpectedly struck her during this moment. The incident, which took place on July 6, was reported by a local newspaper named Derniere Nouvelles d’Alsace. As she sat on her terrace, savoring her coffee, a loud…

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Civil liberties groups are concerned about potential abuses. News 

French Assembly Approves Legislation Allowing Law Enforcement to Remotely Activate Mobile Device Cameras and Microphones for Surveillance

Jim Hendler, , ,

French law enforcement could soon have extensive powers to monitor suspected criminals, as a bill allowing police to remotely activate cameras, microphones, and GPS location systems on phones and other devices has been passed by lawmakers in the National Assembly. The use of these powers will require approval from a judge, and the amended bill specifically prohibits their use against journalists, lawyers, and other “sensitive professions,” as reported by Le Monde. The intention behind this measure is to restrict its use to serious cases and for a maximum period of…

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Emmanuel Macron, France's president, speaks at the Viva Tech fair in Paris, France, on Wednesday, June 14, 2023. (Bloomberg) AI 

French President Macron Calls for Creation of National AI Leaders

Febin Mathew,

During his speech at VivaTech in Paris, one of Europe’s largest technology trade shows, President Emmanuel Macron advocated for France to take the lead in artificial intelligence (AI). He announced 500 million euros ($543 million) in new funding to “create champions” of artificial intelligence and praised projects aimed at French-speakers as concerns grow about Silicon Valley companies feeding off English-language dominance in artificial intelligence systems. Twitter and Tesla boss Elon Musk is scheduled to appear at VivaTech on Friday, where he is likely to talk about his company Neuralink, which…

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Macron Aims to Convince Musk That France Is Top Electric Car Hub (REUTERS) AI 

French President Macron Discusses AI with Meta and Google Executives

Jim Hendler, ,

During a meeting with AI specialists from Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google, among other companies, French President Emmanuel Macron discussed France’s involvement in AI research and regulation. In a meeting at the Elysée Palace with Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and Digital Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, Macron heard from experts, including Yann LeCun, chief artificial intelligence researcher at Meta, and Joëlle Barral, director of design at Google Research, according to people familiar with the matter. who asked not to be named because the meeting was private. The guests discussed…

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