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Cypriot Youth’s Priorities: Social Protection, Cost of Living, And The Role Of Social Media

A fresh Eurobarometer survey reveals what’s top of mind for young people across the EU, with a particular spotlight on Cyprus. While rising prices and climate change are EU-wide concerns, Cypriot youth demand urgent action on social protection, job creation, and tackling the cost of living.

Social Protection Takes The Lead In Cyprus

The youth in Cyprus, aged 16-30, have spoken loud and clear. They want the EU to prioritize social protection and healthcare, with 37% placing these issues at the top of the agenda. This stands in stark contrast to the broader EU focus, where 40% of young people are most concerned with the rising cost of living.

However, Cyprus isn’t immune to these economic struggles, with 31% of young people here also highlighting rising prices and job creation as urgent matters. Environmental concerns come third, but only 24% of Cypriot youth believe it should take precedence over social issues.

Social Media Dominates News Consumption

When it comes to staying informed, traditional media takes a backseat. The study found that social media is the go-to platform for political and social news among 44% of young Cypriots, a figure higher than the EU average of 42%. In contrast, TV, which remains the second-most popular source, only reaches 27% in Cyprus.

Platforms like Instagram and YouTube are the main sources of news, with Facebook leading at 52%. TikTok also made an impact, but Twitter (now X) lags far behind, used by just 20% of Cypriot youth. This trend highlights a broader European shift, with Instagram at the forefront, followed by TikTok, especially for younger audiences.

Disinformation: A Growing Concern

While young people rely on social media, they’re also keenly aware of the disinformation risks. In Cyprus, 83% of respondents say they’ve encountered fake news recently, far higher than the 76% EU-wide. Yet, they’re confident in their ability to spot it, with 85% of Cypriots believing they can detect disinformation—a sharp contrast to the 70% in the EU.

The Numbers Behind The Survey

Conducted between 25 September and 3 October 2024, the survey reached 25,863 youth across the EU, with 514 participants from Cyprus. Results were weighted to reflect the demographic breakdown of each country.

As Europe faces mounting challenges, it’s clear that Cypriot youth are looking for solutions that go beyond environmental policies—they’re seeking real, immediate change in social services, economic stability, and information transparency. The spotlight is on EU leaders to heed their voices and take action.

Copyright Law Struggles To Keep Up With AI Training

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.

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.

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