Connect with us

Published

on

Elon Musk speaks onstage during The New York Times Dealbook Summit 2023 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 29, 2023 in New York City. 

Slaven Vlasic | Getty Images

Elon Musk’s X has been hit with a complaint from privacy activist Max Schrems, which alleges the platform broke the European Union’s hard-hitting privacy rules.

Lodged on Thursday by Schrems’ campaign group Noyb with the Dutch data protection authority, the complaint purports that X unlawfully used people’s political views and religious beliefs to target them with ads.

The European Union is also accused of using X to target users based on their political views and religious beliefs.

In the complaint, Schrems alleges that X showed him an ad from the European Commission that promoted online content regulation to tackle child sexual abuse and the grooming of children online.

Schrems says the ad explicitly targets users from the Netherlands and excludes 44 “targeting segments,” such as political parties like Alternative for Germany, Vox, Sinn Fein, and the English Defense League, as well as far-right politicians Viktor Orban and Marine Le Pen.

The ad also does not target people based on their use on X of terms related to “euroscepticism and/or nationalist political views,” according to the complaint.

The filing states that the allegations are based on the ads repository of X.

X was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC. In reply to a CNBC email, the Commission said that it was aware of reports of the campaign and was conducting a “thorough review.”

“Internally, we provide regularly updated guidance to ensure our social media managers are familiar with the rules and that external contractors also apply them in full,” the Commission said.

“Also, in view of an alarming increase in disinformation and hate speech on social media platforms in recent weeks, we advised Commission services already back in October to refrain from advertising at this stage on X.”

The Commission added that, under its Digital Services Act, a major content regulation law in the EU, platforms including X “must not display targeted advertisements based on the sensitive data of a user.”

Per the complaint, X is able to take users’ clicking behavior and replies to tailor content to them — a practice known as “microtargeting.” Microtargeting was used by Cambridge Analytica during the 2016 presidential election to help Donald Trump win the vote by a narrow margin, the complaint notes.

Who is Max Schrems?

Continue Reading

Technology

We’re putting an AI giant in the Bullpen — not letting a mistake cloud our judgment

Published

on

By

We're putting an AI giant in the Bullpen — not letting a mistake cloud our judgment

Continue Reading

Technology

Space stocks rocket higher as sector optimism gains steam into 2026

Published

on

By

Space stocks rocket higher as sector optimism gains steam into 2026

Firefly’s CEO Jason Kim reacts during the company’s IPO at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York City, U.S., August 7, 2025.

Jeenah Moon | Reuters

Read more CNBC tech news

Last week’s liftoff also coincided with President Donald Trump‘s “space superiority” executive order, signed on Friday, that aims to create a permanent U.S. base on the moon.

Investors have also gained more clarity on the future of NASA following a whirlwind drama since Trump won the election.

Last week, the Senate confirmed Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator more than a year after he was first nominated to the position.

Trump withdrew the nomination from the Elon Musk ally earlier this year amid a public fallout, but renominated Isaacman in November.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was tapped to temporarily run the space agency in the interim.

Neuberger Berman's Dan Hanson talks a possible SpaceX IPO

Continue Reading

Technology

Alphabet to acquire data center and energy infrastructure company Intersect

Published

on

By

Alphabet to acquire data center and energy infrastructure company Intersect

Alphabet to acquire data center and energy infrastructure company Intersect

Google parent Alphabet on Monday announced it will acquire Intersect, a data center and energy infrastructure company, for $4.75 billion in cash in addition to the assumption of debt.

Alphabet said Intersect’s operations will remain independent, but that the acquisition will help bring more data center and generation capacity online faster.

In recent years, Google has been embroiled in a fierce competition with artificial intelligence rivals, namely OpenAI, which kick-started the generative AI boom with the launch of its ChatGPT chatbot in 2022. OpenAI has made more than $1.4 trillion of infrastructure commitments to build out the data centers it needs to meet growing demand for its technology.

With its acquisition of Intersect, Google is looking to keep up.

“Intersect will help us expand capacity, operate more nimbly in building new power generation in lockstep with new data center load, and reimagine energy solutions to drive US innovation and leadership,” Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, said in a statement.

Read more CNBC tech news

Google already had a minority stake in Intersect from a funding round that was announced last December. In a release at the time, Intersect said its strategic partnership with Google and TPG Rise Climate aimed to develop gigawatts of data center capacity across the U.S., including a $20 billion investment in renewable power infrastructure by the end of the decade.

Alphabet said Monday that Intersect will work closely with Google’s technical infrastructure team, including on the companies’ co-located power site and data center in Haskell County, Texas. Google previously announced a $40 billion investment in Texas through 2027, which includes new data center campuses in the state’s Haskell and Armstrong counties.

Intersect’s operating and in-development assets in California and its existing operating assets in Texas are not part of the acquisition, Alphabet said. Intersect’s existing investors including TPG Rise Climate, Climate Adaptive Infrastructure and Greenbelt Capital Partners will support those assets, and they will continue to operate as an independent company.

Alphabet’s acquisition of Intersect is expected to close in the first half of 2026, but it is still subject to customary closing conditions.

WATCH: Here’s what’s happening to electricity bills in states with the most data centers

Here's what's happening to electricity bills in states with the most data centers

Continue Reading

Trending