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Cyprus Survey Finds Low Awareness Of Digital Euro

by News Editor

August 18, 2026

Most people in Cyprus remain unfamiliar with the digital euro, while concerns about privacy and the future of cash could limit its adoption. A new survey by the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) found that 61% of respondents had little or no knowledge of the project, while only 1% considered themselves fully informed.

The digital euro is being developed by the European Central Bank as a digital form of money that could be used across the euro area both online and offline. Its launch is currently targeted for 2029.

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Cash Still Dominates

Despite the growth of digital payments, cash remains the most widely used payment method in Cyprus. At the same time, 63% of respondents said they use debit or credit cards in physical shops every week, while 23% make online payments or transfers through banking apps.

The survey also found a clear divide in payment habits. Daily cash users were more likely to be older, unemployed or retired and have lower incomes or levels of education. Digital payment users were more often women under 45, university graduates and people with higher incomes living in urban areas.

Only 35% Ready To Use It

When asked whether they would adopt the digital euro, 35% said they were willing to use it in their daily lives, while 28% considered adoption unlikely.

Among potential users, 41% would use the currency for purchases in shops and 40% for online shopping. Another 33% would use it to send money to other people.

However, 56% said they did not expect the digital euro to offer anything genuinely different from existing payment methods, compared with 19% who believed it would.

Privacy Is The Biggest Concern

Privacy emerged as the main obstacle to adoption. Some 53% of respondents worried that their transactions could be monitored and that the digital euro could eventually replace cash. Security was another concern for 38%, while 25% were worried about managing their spending.

Reservations were strongest among older people, women, lower-income respondents and those without higher education. Businesses appear somewhat more receptive. Among business owners, managers and self-employed respondents, 54% said they would accept digital-euro payments without reservations, while 27% said they would not.

The CBC said it will continue raising awareness of the digital euro through media, conferences and seminars as preparations for the project continue.

The Future Forbes Realty Global Properties

by News Editor

August 24, 2026

Courts Are Still Applying Old Copyright Rules To AI

AI companies train models on enormous amounts of published material, including books, articles and academic research. Whether using that content without authors’ permission violates copyright law remains unresolved.

Much of the debate centres on fair use, which allows copyrighted material to be used without permission in certain circumstances. Courts consider factors such as the purpose of the use, how much material was involved and its impact on the original market.

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Anthropic Case Sets An Important Precedent

A major case involving Anthropic and a group of authors provided one of the clearest rulings so far. Judge William Alsup found that using copyrighted books to train AI models was lawful, comparing the process to people reading and studying literature before creating something new.

Anthropic was nevertheless ordered to pay $1.5 billion in a settlement. The penalty concerned books the company had obtained from illegal online libraries rather than the AI training itself.

For AI companies, that distinction could prove significant because it separates studying copyrighted material from directly copying it.

Competition Could Be The Key Issue

A case involving Thomson Reuters and Ross Intelligence offers a different perspective. A court ruled that Ross could not claim fair use after using Reuters’ copyrighted material to develop a competing AI-powered legal research platform.

The decision suggests courts may be less willing to consider AI training fair use when copyrighted content is used to build a product that directly competes with the original.

For authors, an unresolved question is whether AI-generated content should be considered competition for the works used to train these models.

The Law Has Yet To Catch Up

US copyright law predates generative AI by decades, leaving courts to apply old principles to new technology. Questions also remain over copyright protection for AI-generated works. In Thaler v. Perlmutter, a court ruled that material created entirely by AI cannot receive copyright protection.

Major AI companies remain involved in copyright litigation, and different courts could reach different conclusions. For now, there is no universal rule: the legality of AI training will depend on the circumstances of each case and how courts ultimately interpret copyright and fair use.