Amid the approaching deadline for opting out of the current $22-million settlement with Block.one (B1), the EOS Network Foundation (ENF) has called on plaintiffs to drop the lawsuit.
The ENF took to X (formerly Twitter) on Aug. 8 to encourage plaintiffs to reject the $22-million settlement from Block.one, the firm that was the original seller of EOS (EOS) in a $4-billion initial coin offering (ICO) in 2018.
The ENF argued that the existing settlement “does not adequately compensate” community members for losses caused by Block.one’s “misrepresentations and bad acts.” The ENF emphasized that the settlement amount is a tiny fraction of the amount raised by Block.one as well as $1 billion that it falsely promised to invest in the EOS network and community.
“$22 million is too small a price for Block.one to pay to avoid having to be held to account for their bad acts in the future,” the announcement reads.
Additionally, the settlement bars class action participants’ rights to file new complaints against Block.one and its founders in the future, the ENF stressed, adding:
“The ENF urges community members to opt out of the settlement which will send a strong message to Block.one and to the court that the settlement is entirely inadequate and does not adequately compensate community members.”
According to the foundation, the deadline to opt out of the class action is Aug. 29. “If you fail to opt out by this date you may automatically be included in the class and your future rights to bring a claim against Block.one will be impaired,” the ENF noted.
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The latest statements by the ENF came soon after it officially announced that it was preparing to start legal action against B1 in late July.
ENF founder and CEO Yves La Rose told Cointelegraph that the new action by the ENF could potentially help plaintiffs get higher compensation. “There are no guarantees, which is why this is a personal choice they need to make,” La Rose stated, reiterating that the ENF recommends any person consult their own legal counsel to determine which decision would be best for them.
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Tech giant Meta has been given the green light from the European Union’s data regulator to train its artificial intelligence models using publicly shared content across its social media platforms. Posts and comments from adult users across Meta’s stable of platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, along with questions and queries to the company’s AI assistant, will now be used to improve its AI models, Meta said in an April 14 blog post. The company said it’s “important for our generative AI models to be trained on a variety of data so they can understand the incredible and diverse nuances and complexities that make up European communities.” Meta has a green light from data regulators in the EU to train its AI models using publicly shared content on social media. Source: Meta “That means everything from dialects and colloquialisms, to hyper-local knowledge and the distinct ways different countries use humor and sarcasm on our products,” it added. However, people’s private messages with friends, family and public data from EU account holders under the age of 18 are still off limits, according to Meta. People can also opt out of having their data used for AI training through a form that Meta says will be sent in-app, via email and “easy to find, read, and use.” Last July, Meta delayed training its AI using public content across its platforms after privacy advocacy group None of Your Business filed complaints in 11 European countries, which saw the Irish Data Protection Commission (IDPC) request a rollout pause until a review was conducted. The complaints claimed Meta’s privacy policy changes would have allowed the company to use years of personal posts, private images, and online tracking data to train its AI products. Meta says it has now received permission from the EU’s data protection regulator, the European Data Protection Commission, that its AI training approach meets legal obligations, and the company continues to engage “constructively with the IDPC.” “This is how we have been training our generative AI models for other regions since launch,” Meta said. “We’re following the example set by others, including Google and OpenAI, both of which have already used data from European users to train their AI models.” Related: EU could fine Elon Musk’s X $1B over illicit content, disinformation An Irish data regulator opened a cross-border investigation into Google Ireland Limited last September to determine whether the tech giant followed EU data protection laws while developing its AI models. X faced similar scrutiny and agreed to stop using personal data from users in the EU and European Economic Area last September. Previously, X used this data to train its artificial intelligence chatbot Grok. The EU launched its AI Act in August 2024, establishing a legal framework for the technology that included data quality, security and privacy provisions. Magazine: XRP win leaves Ripple a ‘bad actor’ with no crypto legal precedent set
South Korea is expanding a ban on digital asset firms’ applications servicing its citizens. On April 11, the country’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) announced that 14 crypto exchanges were blocked on the Apple store. Among the affected exchanges are KuCoin and MEXC. The report, which was made public on April 14, says the banned exchanges were allegedly operating as unregistered overseas virtual asset operators. The report also states that the Financial Information Analysis Institution (FIU) will continue to promote the blocking of the apps and internet sites of such operators to prevent money laundering and user damage. The request to block applications on the Apple Store comes after Google Play blocked access to several unregistered exchanges on March 26. KuCoin and MEXC were also targeted during the blocking of the Google Play apps. The FSC published a list of 22 unregistered platforms operating in the country, with 17 of them already blocked on Google’s marketplace. The 17 crypto exchanges blocked on Google Play. Source: FSC According to the FSC report, users will not be able to download the apps on the Apple Store, while existing users will not be able to update the apps. The FSC notes that “unreported business activities are criminal punishment matters” with penalties of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to 50 million won ($35,200). On March 21, South Korean publication Hankyung reported that the FIU and the FSC were considering sanctions against crypto exchanges operating in the country without registration with local regulators. The sanctions included blocking access to the companies’ apps. In South Korea, operators of crypto sales, brokerage, management, and storage must report to the FIU. Failure to comply with registration and reports is subject to penalties and sanctions. Related: South Korea reports first crypto ‘pump and dump’ case under new law The latest sanctions come as crypto is reaching a “saturation point” in South Korea. As of March 31, crypto exchange users in the country passed 16 million — equivalent to over 30% of the population. Industry officials predict that the number could surpass 20 million by the end of 2025. Over 20% of South Korean public officials hold cryptocurrencies, with the total amount reaching $9.8 million on March 27. The assets varied and included Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), XRP (XRP), and Dogecoin (DOGE). Magazine: Asia Express: Low users, sex predators kill Korean metaverses, 3AC sues Terra Spot Solana exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are set to launch in Canada on April 16, according to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas. In an X post on April 14, the analyst shared a private client note from TD Bank, a Canadian financial institution, claiming the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) greenlighted asset managers Purpose, Evolve, CI and 3iQ to issue ETFs holding Solana (SOL). The OSC did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment. Canada does not have a federal securities agency, with its territories and provinces applying their own securities laws. Toronto’s securities exchange is regulated by Ontario’s OSC. The ETFs are permitted to stake a portion of the SOL holdings for added yield, Balchunas said, adding that the upcoming listings are “our first look at the alt coin race.” Source: Eric Balchunas Related: SEC approves options on spot Ether ETFs The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has acknowledged dozens of applications to list ETFs holding alternative cryptocurrencies, or “altcoins,” but so far has only approved funds holding spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) for trading. Staking is still off limits for US crypto ETFs. Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart said Ether ETFs could be greenlighted to start staking as soon as May, but the process may take months longer. However, investors’ demand for altcoin ETFs may be weaker than for funds holding core cryptocurrencies, Katalin Tischhauser, crypto bank Sygnum’s research head, told Cointelegraph in August. “[T]here is all this frothy excitement in the market about these ETFs coming, and no one can point to where substantial demand is going to come from,” Tischhauser told Cointelegraph. Volatility Shares’ SOL futures ETF has roughly $5 million in net assets. Source: Volatility Shares In March, asset manager Volatility Shares launched the first ETFs to track Solana’s performance using financial derivatives. Volatility Shares Solana ETF (SOLZ) has seen a lukewarm reception, attracting only around $5 million in net assets as of April 14, according to its website. “FWIW, the 2 solana ETFs in US (which track futures so not a perfect guinea pig) haven’t done much. Very little in aum. The 2x XRP already has more aum than both the solana ETFs and it came out after,” Balchunas said. Balchunas added that he “[w]ouldn’t read a ton into it” as a predictor for spot SOL ETFs. Magazine: Bitcoin eyes $100K by June, Shaq to settle NFT lawsuit, and more: Hodler’s Digest, April 6–12 ‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series Story injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game Game 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history MLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup Japan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea Game-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike Bank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway
EU regulators paused tech firms’ AI training plans
FIU considers sanctions against unregistered VASPs
Waiting on US approval
