Google’s data trade, E2E encryption victory, rumors of ads in WhatsApp, and X’s risky verification

TL;DR

Google’s ‘ad auctions’ face a privacy challenge in the Netherlands. Google has been accused of intrusive online surveillance by more than 82,000 people who have signed up to a class action lawsuit against the tech giant in the Netherlands.

Adobe starts paying out stock contributors for helping train AI. To train Firefly, its generative AI model, the company only uses content that it has rights to through its stock image platform Adobe Stock or that is in the public domain. Adobe has now started to make good on its promise to compensate Adobe Stock creators who may lose out from the widespread adoption of AI.

UK backs down on encryption-breaking plan. The plan was to compel service providers, including messengers, to scan encrypted chats for child porn. Although the British government promised not to force companies to use unproven technology to snoop on users, it may try to enforce the so-called “spy clause” in the future if better and more secure (in the government’s eyes) technology emerges.

WhatsApp denies it will have ads. The Financial Times has reported that WhatsApp is considering inserting ads into lists of conversations with contacts in a bid to increase its revenue. A rebuttal from WhatsApp head Will Cathcart followed. “This @FT story is false. We aren’t doing this.” Still, the FT stood by their story, claiming that before it was published they had reached out to WhatsApp, and they had not denied such conversations could have taken place. Citing sources within WhatsApp, the FT then reported that another option that was being discussed is to introduce a paid ad-free version of WhatsApp.

X unveils verification system based on govt. ID. X, formerly Twitter, has begun offering its paid subscribers a new way of verification. Now, they can upload their government-issued IDs along with their selfie, and get an “ID verified” label on their profile along with “prioritized support.”