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Musk’s X Is Misleading EU Consumers

Elon Musk’s social network X is violating European Union digital law by misleading users and not being transparent enough, the European Commission announced today.

KEY FACTS

  • The European Commission’s move follows a seven-month investigation under the Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires many major online platforms and search engines to do more to tackle illegal content and risks to public safety.
  • The commission said the user authentication system, known as a blue tick, is open to abuse by motivated malicious actors because anyone can pay to have a blue tick next to their name.
  • Previously, the blue tick “indicated reliable sources of information,” European Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said in a statement. X now has the right to a defence, but if our opinion is confirmed, we will impose fines and demand significant changes, he added.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

The EU’s move under the Digital Services Act could eventually pave the way for fines of up to 6% of X’s revenue if the company fails to allay the bloc’s concerns. There is no specific time frame for the next steps in the investigation.

A lack of transparency about ads also potentially violates the law, the European Commission said, as does the platform’s failure to open up its data to researchers.

Only 1% Of Cyprus Farms Use Precision Farming Technologies

Cyprus remains one of the European Union’s least digitised agricultural economies, with just 1% of farms using precision farming technologies in 2023, according to Eurostat.

The findings come as the EU continues to encourage the adoption of digital tools aimed at improving agricultural productivity, efficiency and sustainability.

Internet Access Expands, But Digital Uptake Lags

Internet access has improved across the bloc, although adoption remains uneven. Eurostat found that 43% of EU farms had internet access in 2023, with northern and central European countries leading the way.

Denmark, Germany, Slovakia, Latvia, the Czech Republic and Austria all reported internet access rates above 90%.

Greater connectivity, however, has not translated into widespread digital adoption. Farm management information systems, which help farmers manage day-to-day operations, were used by only about 11% of EU farms. France was a notable exception, with around 60% of farms using the technology.

Precision Farming Concentrated In Larger Operations

Robotics adoption also remained relatively limited, with only about 7% of EU farms using robotic technologies. Overall, around 18% of farms with utilised agricultural area employed at least one precision farming technology or practice in 2023.

These included robotics for plant protection, band spraying, variable-rate application, precision crop monitoring and soil analysis. Despite representing fewer than one in five farms, these holdings accounted for around 44% of the EU’s utilised agricultural area.

The figures suggest that precision farming remains concentrated among larger agricultural businesses, where investment in digital technologies is typically easier to support.

Cyprus Lags Behind EU Leaders

Luxembourg, Finland and Estonia recorded the highest shares of utilised agricultural area managed by farms using precision farming technologies, each exceeding 75%.

At the other end of the ranking, Cyprus recorded just 1%, while Greece and Romania reported between 10% and 15%. The results indicate that Cyprus remains at an early stage of digital adoption in agriculture, even as precision farming becomes more widespread across parts of the European Union.

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