Consumer protection Archives | Page 136 of 209

Microsoft lets European users silence Edge prompts

Microsoft is extending its Digital Markets Act compliance measures by further loosening Windows’ grip on its in-house apps across the European Economic Area.

Users can now uninstall the Microsoft Store and will no longer face Edge pop-ups unless they launch the browser themselves.

Edge version 137.0.3296.52, released on 29 May, activates the changes immediately in the region. Choosing an alternative browser such as Chrome or Firefox now pins it to the taskbar by default and automatically handles a wider range of link and file types, including ftp and svg.

Wider deployment across Windows 10 and 11 is scheduled for July. Microsoft says Store-delivered apps will keep receiving updates even if the storefront is removed, and it can be restored at any time.

Bing, Widgets and the Lock Screen will also respect the new default browser once early June updates arrive.

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Customer data stolen in cyber attacks on Cartier and North Face

Fashion brand The North Face and luxury jeweller Cartier have confirmed recent cyber attacks that exposed customer data, including names and email addresses.

Neither company reported breaches of financial or password information.

North Face identified the attack as a credential stuffing attempt, where previously stolen passwords are used to break into other accounts.

Affected customers are being advised to change their login details, while the company’s owner, VF Corporation, continues recovering from an earlier incident.

Cartier said the breach allowed brief access to limited client data but insisted that it quickly secured its systems.

Retailers such as Adidas, Victoria’s Secret, Harrods, and M&S have all been hit in recent months, prompting warnings that the industry remains an attractive target for cyber criminals.

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AI to take over all Meta ads under new plan

Meta is preparing to transform digital advertising on its platforms, with reports indicating that by 2026, all adverts on Facebook and Instagram could be fully created and targeted using AI.

The company’s vision would see AI tools take over the entire process—from ad generation to audience selection—requiring advertisers to provide only a product image and budget.

Since introducing generative AI features for advertisers in May 2023, Meta has continued to expand its automation capabilities. Currently, AI plays a major role in targeting ads across Meta’s platforms.

Under the new system, Meta’s AI will go several steps further by generating text, visuals, and video, as well as optimising ad delivery for the most suitable audience.

The initiative is aligned with CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s broader vision of AI-led automation, especially within advertising—Meta’s financial backbone, which accounted for over 97% of the company’s revenue last year.

Speaking at Meta’s annual shareholder meeting, Zuckerberg outlined a future where businesses simply define their marketing goal and budget, link a payment method, and allow Meta’s AI to handle the rest.

The company is also developing real-time personalisation tools. These will allow the same ad to appear differently depending on a user’s location or context—for example, showing a car in snowy terrain to one user, while another might see it in an urban setting.

Meta is also exploring integration with third-party AI models such as DALL·E and Midjourney to further enhance creative capabilities.

This move follows similar developments by rivals like Google, which recently launched its Veo video generation model. With AI continuing to reshape the advertising landscape, Meta is betting on full automation as the next frontier in digital marketing.

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Crypto adoption rises in Latin America as financial pressure grows

Latin Americans are turning to crypto not for speculation, but to escape inflation, transfer funds abroad, and bypass strict financial systems. Decades of economic instability have eroded trust in traditional banks, pushing people towards digital alternatives.

Major firms such as Binance and Mercado Pago are expanding services to meet this demand.

Binance Pay now integrates with Brazil’s Pix payment system, allowing seamless crypto-to-fiat transactions. Mercado Pago has applied for a digital banking licence in Argentina to offer more financial services, including crypto, within a regulated framework.

In countries like Argentina and Mexico, stablecoins support everyday transactions and remittances. Bitcoin use is growing across the region, especially where banking access is limited.

Banks are under pressure to evolve. Some, like Brazil’s BTG Pactual, are launching their own blockchain tools. As demand surges, crypto continues reshaping Latin America’s financial future.

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France cracks down on organised kidnapping ring targeting crypto leaders

Twenty-five people, including six minors, have been charged in Paris for kidnappings and attempted abductions of France’s crypto leaders. Eighteen are in pre-trial detention, others await court or are under supervision. Ages range from 16 to 23.

The investigation began with a 13 May daylight kidnapping attempt in eastern Paris, aimed at the daughter and grandson of Paymium’s CEO, Pierre Noizat. Prior failed attempts and a separate foiled abduction near Nantes earlier in the week are also linked to the case.

Video footage showed masked attackers assaulting Noizat’s family, who were hospitalised with minor injuries. Noizat praised those who defended his family during the attack.

Most suspects are French-born, with some from Senegal, Angola, and Russia. Authorities say the accused include both those who carried out the abductions and those responsible for logistics.

Defence lawyers highlighted the youth of some defendants and their vulnerability to criminal influence. The wave of kidnappings has raised national security concerns, prompting government efforts to protect wealthy crypto entrepreneurs.

Last January, Ledger co-founder David Balland was kidnapped, tortured, and ransomed before being freed.

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Australia tightens rules for crypto ATMs

Australia has imposed stricter rules on crypto ATM operators to curb scams and ensure compliance with anti-money laundering laws. A $5,000 AUD limit now applies to cash deposits and withdrawals, with scam warnings required on all machines.

Operators must also step up customer verification and improve transaction monitoring. These measures follow an AUSTRAC-led investigation that revealed older Australians, particularly those aged 60 to 70, account for a large share of crypto ATM activity.

Authorities noted that some victims were tricked into handing over life savings via these machines.

AUSTRAC has already denied registration renewal to one provider, Harro’s Empires, due to ongoing misuse risks.

The agency warned that other non-compliant operators could face similar penalties. It also urged broader adoption of cash limits across exchanges to reduce financial crime exposure.

To strengthen awareness, AUSTRAC and the federal police have released educational materials to be displayed near ATMs. The move comes amid rising scam reports, with 150 confirmed cases and over $3.1 million AUD in losses reported within a year.

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Singapore orders crypto firms to stop overseas activity by June

Singapore’s central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), has mandated all local crypto service providers to halt digital token operations targeting overseas markets by 30 June 2025. Firms failing to comply risk fines of up to S$250,000 (£145,000) and imprisonment for up to three years.

The directive applies to any Singapore-based company, individual, or partnership offering digital token services abroad, regardless of their main business. MAS confirmed no transitional arrangements will be made.

Only firms licensed under current financial laws may continue without breaching the rules.

Licences for overseas digital token services will be rare due to strict AML and CFT concerns. Industry experts advise companies to restructure operations quickly to remove Singapore connections and reduce compliance risks.

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EU fines Delivery Hero and Glovo €329 million over cartel practices

The European Commission has imposed a €329 million fine on Berlin-based Delivery Hero and its Spanish subsidiary, Glovo, for participating in what it described as a cartel in the online food delivery market. According to the Commission, the two companies engaged in illegal practices across Europe between 2018 and 2022, including market sharing, exchanging commercially sensitive information, and entering into a ‘no-poach’ agreement to avoid hiring each other’s employees.

This is the first time the Commission has penalised companies for a no-poach deal, which the EU competition chief, Teresa Ribera, said harmed workers’ job mobility in the digital economy. The anti-competitive behaviour reportedly began in mid-2018 when Delivery Hero took a minority stake in Glovo and persisted in various forms until 2022, when it gained full ownership of the Spanish firm.

Delivery Hero was hit with a €223 million fine, while Glovo received a €106 million penalty. Both companies admitted to their roles in the misconduct and agreed to a settlement. The case emerged not from company complaints but through whistleblowers and the Commission’s own monitoring.

Delivery Hero stated it had fully cooperated with the investigation and noted the final fine was 20% lower than initially expected, due to Brussels’s acknowledgement of a lower intensity of misconduct during some periods. The firm expressed hope that the settlement would allow all involved to move forward.

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WhatsApp fixes deleted message privacy gap

WhatsApp is rolling out a privacy improvement that ensures deleted messages no longer linger in quoted replies, addressing a long-standing issue that exposed partial content users had intended to remove.

The update applies automatically, with no toggle required, and has begun reaching iOS users through version 25.12.73, with wider availability expected soon.

Until now, deleting a message for everyone in a chat has not removed it from quoted replies. That allowed fragments of deleted content to remain visible, undermining the purpose of deletion.

WhatsApp removes the associated quoted message entirely instead of keeping it in conversation threads, even in group or community chats.

WABetaInfo, which first spotted the update, noted that users delete messages for privacy or personal reasons, and leave behind quoted traces conflicted with those intentions.

The change ensures conversations reflect user expectations by entirely erasing deleted content, not only from the original message but also from any references.

Meta continues to develop new features for WhatsApp. Recent additions include voice chat in groups and a native interface for iPad. The company is also testing tools like AI-generated wallpapers, message summaries, and more refined privacy settings to enhance user control and experience further.

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NSO asks court to overturn WhatsApp verdict

Israeli spyware company NSO Group has requested a new trial after a US jury ordered it to pay $168 million in damages to WhatsApp.

The company, which has faced mounting legal and financial troubles, filed a motion in a California federal court last week seeking to reduce the verdict or secure a retrial.

The May verdict awarded WhatsApp $444,719 in compensatory damages and $167.25 million in punitive damages. Jurors found that NSO exploited vulnerabilities in the encrypted platform and sold the exploit to clients who allegedly used it to target journalists, activists and political rivals.

WhatsApp, owned by Meta, filed the lawsuit in 2019.

NSO claims the punitive award is unconstitutional, arguing it is over 376 times greater than the compensatory damages and far exceeds the US Supreme Court’s general guidance of a 4:1 ratio.

The firm also said it cannot afford the penalty, citing losses of $9 million in 2023 and $12 million in 2024. Its CEO testified that the company is ‘struggling to keep our heads above water’.

WhatsApp, responding to TechCrunch in a statement, said NSO was once again trying to evade accountability. The company vowed to continue its legal campaign, including efforts to secure a permanent injunction that would prevent NSO from ever targeting WhatsApp or its users again.

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