Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) delivered a €251M (US$261M) fine for a 2018 data breach that affected ~29 million Facebook accounts worldwide, including ~3 million users in the EU/EEA. The regulator’s determination was that the company hadn’t provided adequate information in its breach notification, that it didn’t fully document steps taken to remedy problems, and that it hadn’t ensured protection in system design.
Finally: a U.S. district judge has approved an agreement between music publishers and Amazon-backed Anthropic, that Anthropic will try to prevent its Claude AI technology from copying or closely reproducing copyrighted song lyrics. The stipulation was welcomed by the publishers but the lawsuit is ongoing. Universal Music Group, Concord Music Group and ABKCO allege copyright infringement, saying Claude AI has been trained on lyrics from at least 500 copyrighted songs.
Without admitting culpability, Apple has agreed to settle a Siri class action for $95 million for an alleged breach of privacy. Those who purchased or owned Apple devices between September 2014 and December 2024 may be eligible for part of the settlement. The suit claimed Siri activated and recorded conversations even when users didn’t initiate it via the “Hey, Siri” prompt, and that 3rd-party Apple contractors were able to access private conversations.
Changes in marketing channels and data access have made advertising measurement more important, and challenging, than ever. Taking advantage of growing interest in the topic, Bain Capital is selling Kantar Group’s audience measurement division, Kantar Media, to global investment firm H.I.G. Capital for “approximately $1 billion”. Kantar Media accounts for 4,500 of Kantar Group’s 25,000 employees.