X hit by complaints to EU over user data and targeted advertising
The organisations - AI Forensics, the Centre for Democracy and Technology Europe, Entropy, European Digital Rights, Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte e.V. (GFF), Global Witness, Panoptykon Foundation, Stichting Bits of Freedom and VoxPublic said they took their complaint to the European Commission and the French media regulator Arcom on Monday.
They urged both regulators to take action under the Digital Services Act (DSA) which prohibits advertising based on sensitive user data such as religion, race and sexuality.
X, the Commission and Arcom did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.
"We express our deep concern regarding the use by X of users' sensitive personal data for targeted advertisements," the organisations said in a statement.
They said their concerns were triggered after they looked into X's Ad Repository which is a publicly available database set up by companies as part of a DSA requirement.
"We found that major brands as well as public and financial institutions engaged in targeted online advertising based on what appear to be special categories of personal data, protected by Article 9 of the GDPR, such as political opinions, sexual orientation, religious beliefs and health conditions," they said.
The group called on the regulators to investigate X. GDPR refers to the EU data privacy law.
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Daily Mirror
9 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
MIKEY SMITH: 7 wild Donald Trump moments as protests rage against Scotland visit
The weather is breezy with occasional drizzle, which may dampen his hopes of a few rounds of golf - while angry protesters tell him to go home Hello from Turnberry, Scotland where Donald Trump is enjoying the first day of a nice, relaxing holiday. The weather is breezy with occasional drizzle, which may dampen his hopes of a few rounds of golf. But hey, at least he gets to spend tomorrow with EU chief Ursula Von Der Leyen and Monday with Keir Starmer. He arrived late last night on Air Force One at Prestwick Airport, before being whisked down the coat 35 miles or so to the resort in a huge motorcade, headed up by the infamous Beast limousine. He's already been spotted driving a motorcade of golf carts around the course this morning. So far the locals I've spoken to are mostly ...'meh' about Trump's arrival. A handful have said they like the guy because he presumably brings money to the area. Other long-term residents told me the course has never made much money anyway. Which was true until last year - when it went from a profit of £186,000 in 2023 to £3.8 million. Here's what's happened since Trump World arrived in Scotland that you need to know about. 1. Trump claims he was never given a briefing about his name being in the Epstein files On the tarmac at Prestwick airport last night, Trump claimed he had never been given a briefing that indicated his name was included in the Epstein files. That directly contradicts reporting from the Wall Street Journal earlier in the week, which said he'd been given such a briefing in May - and was told his name appeared multiple times. And he said himself last weekend that he'd been given a short briefing by Attorney General Pam Bondi - but indicated at the time that his name was not in there. 2. He got a few strokes in before the rain Trump was spotted on the golf course at Turnberry getting a bit of peace before it started raining. A major security operation has surrounded US President Donald Trump as starts his private visit to Scotland. The president headed to his Trump Turnberry resort - which he bought in 2014 - after arriving in the country on Friday night. On Saturday morning he was seen on the golf course there, wearing a white cap and driving a golf buggy. Ahead of that, a large number of police and military personnel have been spotted searching the grounds at the venue in South Ayrshire. Various road closures have been put in place, with limited access for both locals and members of the media. Having seen how the President is protected in the US, I'm confident saying the exclusion zone around the resort is larger and the police presence greater than anything he gets in the States. Normally around 300 secret service agents travel with the President, backed up by teams from local law enforcement and specialised teams. But the estimated number of police assigned to Turnberry this weekend is reportedly around 5,000 - which is more officers than protect the White House. 3. Protests planned, but maybe not on Trump's doorstep Co-ordinated anti-Trump protests are being held in Edinburgh and Aberdeen today to mark the US President's arrival. A rally outside the US consulate in Edinburgh kicked off at noon. In Aberdeen, the group that gathered in the city centre were seen waving banners with anti-Trump slogans - with one demonstrator even dressed as the president with a large papier mache head. Some members of the crowd also showed their support for Palestine, waving Palestine flags. 4. He really doesn't want to talk about giving Ghislaine Maxwell a pardon After he was a little vague before leaving Washington about the prospect of a pardon for convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell , who was paedophile Jeffrey Epstein's madam for many years, Trump swerved the question yet further on arrival in Scotland. He claimed he had "not really been following" his Justice Department's two-day re-interview with Maxwell in prison - which was being conducted by his former personal lawyer, now Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. "A lot of people have been asking me about pardons," he said. "Obviously, this is no time to be talking about pardons. "You're making a very big thing over something that's not a big thing." It also emerged last night that Maxwell had been given "limited immunity" in the meetings with Blanche - meaning she can't be prosecuted over anything she reveals in them, so long as she tells the truth. Her attorney David Oscar Markus - who is a friend of Mr Blanche, and appeared on his podcast last year - said Maxwell "answered those questions honestly, truthfully, to the best of her ability." He added: "She never invoked a privilege. She never refused to answer a question, so we're very proud of her." Maxwell, whom he is proud of, is serving 20 years for five counts of sex trafficking. 5. Cancel the windmills! Among other topics Trump decided to be more angry about than Jeffrey Epstein upon his arrival in Scotland was the preponderance of renewable energy sources in Europe. Trump's war on windmills started in Scotland, remember - back when he had a lengthy legal battle with the Scottish government over the windmills visible from his Aberdeenshire course. And he's basically been radicalised on the subject, and will believe any nonsense conspiracy theory about them killing whales and giving people earache or whatever. Last night he said to European leaders: "Stop the windmills. You're ruining your countries. I really mean it. It's so sad. You fly over and you see these windmills all over the place, ruining your beautiful fields and valleys and killing your birds and if they're stuck in the ocean, ruining your oceans." Because windmills are so much more ugly than, for example, large coal mines or oil fields. Get Donald Trump updates straight to your WhatsApp! As the world attempts to keep up with Trump's antics, the Mirror has launched its very own US Politics WhatsApp community where you'll get all the latest news from across the pond. We'll send you the latest breaking updates and exclusives all directly to your phone. Users must download or already have WhatsApp on their phones to join in. All you have to do to join is click on this link, select 'Join Chat' and you're in! We may also send you stories from other titles across the Reach group. We will also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose Exit group. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. 6. The trade deal is 'done' Trump was asked at the airport what the remaining sticking points were in the trade deal with the UK. He said there aren't any, suggesting there won't be any future changes. This will be a disappointment to the government, who were still kind of hoping there'd be some wriggle room on the 10% blanket tariffs. Despite Trump's words last night, a Downing Street source said the two leaders would discuss trade as part of their meetings on Monday. Asked what they'd be discussing, if not the trade deal, Trump said: "We're going to do a little celebrating because we get along very well." 7. Eric's coming, look busy I spoke to a shopkeeper near Trump's golf course last night, who gave a fascinating insight into the President's visits to Turnberry. "You can tell Eric's coming," he said, referring to Trump's son, who is joining the President on the trip. "Because of how the staff are acting." What did he mean by that? "They know Eric's really in charge of the resort, not Donald, and he's very particular so they're all more scared of him."
The Guardian
9 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Trump tells Europe to ‘get your act together' on immigration before US-EU trade talks
Intensive negotiations are continuing on Saturday between the EU and the US before a crunch meeting in Scotland between Donald Trump and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, to avert a costly trade war. Trump spent the night at his family-owned Turnberry golf resort on a private visit, but took time to criticise European leaders over wind turbines and immigration claiming there won't be a Europe unless they 'get their act together'. 'I say two things to Europe. Stop the windmills. You're ruining your countries. I really mean it, it's so sad. You fly over and you see these windmills all over the place, ruining your beautiful fields and valleys and killing your birds,' he said. 'On immigration, you better get your act together,' he said. 'You're not going to have Europe anymore.' On Saturday morning, he abandoned a scheduled meeting with the press, who travelled with him on Air Force One, for a round of golf at his seaside course with music blaring from the buggy he drove. Sky News, stationed next to the course, reported the songs included Billy Joel's Uptown Girl, Elaine Paige's Memory and Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge over Troubled Water. Billed as a four-day family visit to Scotland, Trump is meeting European leaders and the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, raising hopes of new and refined trade deals with the EU and the UK. On the prospects of an EU trade deal, the US president has said there were '20 sticking points'. When asked what they were, he said: 'Well, I don't want to tell you what the sticking points are.' He described von der Leyen as a 'highly respected woman' and said the meeting on Sunday with the EU chief would be 'good', rating the chances of a deal as 'a good 50-50'. It is understood von der Leyen and her aides will fly in on Saturday, with the European trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, arriving on Sunday morning. It is expected the deal will centre on an outline agreement in principle over 15% tariff rates for exports including cars, but with a 50% tariff continuing on steel. There may also be a breakthrough deal on pharmaceuticals, setting a rate of 15% for exports. Although this would breach a longstanding World Trade Organization agreement that medicines are rated at a zero tariff, it would be a far cry from the 200% tariff Trump threatened to impose on pharmaceuticals earlier this month. This would have triggered a highly damaging trade war not just with Ireland, where many US multinationals are based, but Germany, Denmark, Belgium, France and Spain. Von der Leyen's spokesperson, Paula Pinho, said: 'Intensive negotiations at technical and political [level] have been ongoing between the EU and US. Leaders will now take stock and consider the scope for a balanced outcome that provides stability and predictability for businesses and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.' It is believed the meeting will be held in Aberdeenshire and will be followed by a series of meetings with Starmer on Monday, with hopes he will widen the bare bones trade deal he struck in May. Trump's arrival in Scotland has required the biggest security operation since Elizabeth II died in 2022. More than 5,000 police and security personnel are involved in the four-day visit with no risks taken after the assassination attempt on the president a year ago. High perimeter fences have been erected around the coastal golf course with naval vessels patrolling the shore while security drones overhead and dozens of security detail staked out the resort early on Saturday. The heavy security presence may be a foretaste of events to come later in August when the US vice-president, JD Vance, and his family arrive for a holiday in the Cotswolds, reportedly in the village of Charlbury. Locals who resisted the expansion of Trump's golf course in the past asked who would be footing the bill for the security arrangements.
The Guardian
9 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Israel-Gaza war live: Europe debates recognition of Palestine as starvation spreads in Gaza
Update: Date: 2025-07-26T11:19:56.000Z Title: 1988 Content: Keir Starmer is under pressure from UK MPs while Italy's Giorgia Meloni said she was in favour but not prior to the state being established Caolán Magee (now) and Charlie Moloney (earlier) Sat 26 Jul 2025 13.19 CEST First published on Sat 26 Jul 2025 09.53 CEST From 10.08am CEST 10:08 This graphic shows which countries internationally have recognised a Palestinian state. 81 countries recognised Palestinian statehood in , the year it declared independence, with South Africa recognising it in 1995, Brazil in 2010, Chile in 2011 and Thailand in 2012. But more have recently followed suit in response to the plight of the people in Gaza. Spain and Ireland recognised a Palestinian state last year and Mexico made the recognition this year, while France has recently announced it is due to do so. Updated at 10.10am CEST 1.19pm CEST 13:19 The death toll from Israeli military operations in Gaza has reached 59,733, according to the latest update from the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza. In the past 24 hours alone, 57 have been killed and 512 have been injured. Emergency crews say a number of victims remain trapped under collapsed buildings. It also says that since 18 March 2025, when it began separately reporting figures after the temporary ceasefire came to an end, 8,581 people have been killed and 32,436 injured. The ministry added that 29 people were killed and more than 165 injured in the past 24 hours while attempting to access aid. This brings the total number of those killed while collecting aid to 1,121, with more than 7,485 injured, it said. 12.50pm CEST 12:50 Some analysts say French president Emmanuel Macron's announcement that France would become the first Western member of the United Nations Security Council to recognise a Palestinian state is an attempt to use the carrot of recognition to extract concessions from Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority which is a moderate rival to Hamas, and other regional players. 'Macron here is acting as a catalyst to get the Palestinians to deliver on the needed reforms, to get the Arabs to deliver on a stabilization force and the disarming of Hamas,' said Rym Momtaz, editor-in-chief of the Strategic Europe blog run by the Carnegie Europe think tank. Others say while recognition has symbolic value, there will still be no functioning Palestinian state whenever the war in Gaza comes to an end. 'Recognition by a European heavyweight like France is indicative of the rising frustration with Israel's intransigent policies,' said Amjad Iraqi, senior analyst at International Crisis Group. 12.33pm CEST 12:33 Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli operations killed 11 people on Saturday in the Palestinian territory devastated by over 21 months of war. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP the toll included four Palestinians killed in an air strike on the Al-Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City in the territory's north. One other person was killed 'after Israeli forces opened fire on people waiting for humanitarian aid' northwest of Gaza City, the agency said. Eyewitnesses told AFP that several thousand people had gathered in the area to wait for aid. One of them, Abu Samir Hamoudeh, 42, said the Israeli military opened fire 'while the people were waiting to approach the distribution point', located near an Israeli military post in the Zikim area, northwest of Sudaniyah. 12.06pm CEST 12:06 At least 25 people were killed by Israeli airstrikes and gunshots overnight, according to health officials and the ambulance service on Saturday, as ceasefire talks appear to have stalled and Palestinians in Gaza face famine. The majority of victims were killed by gunfire as they waited for aid trucks close to the Zikim crossing with Israel, said staff at Shifa hospital, where the bodies were brought. Israel's army didn't respond to request for comments about the latest shootings. Those killed in strikes include four people in an apartment building in Gaza City among others, hospital staff and the ambulance service said. The strikes come as ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have hit a standstill after the US and Israel recalled their negotiating teams on Thursday, throwing the future of the talks into further uncertainty. 11.44am CEST 11:44 In a statement posted on its Telegram account, the Sunni Jaish al-Adl group took responsibility for the attack in Iran's southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province and urged 'all civilians to immediately evacuate the area of clashes for their safety'. Sistan-Baluchestan province, near the borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan, is home to Irans Sunni Muslim Baluch minority, who have long complained of economic marginalisation and political exclusion. The Baluch human rights group HAALVSH, quoting eyewitnesses, said several judiciary staff members and security personnel were killed or wounded when the assailants stormed the judges chambers. 11.18am CEST 11:18 Gunmen killed five civilians during a 'terrorist attack' on a judiciary building in southeast Iran on Saturday before being killed themselves, state media reported. 'Unknown gunmen attacked the judiciary centre in Zahedan,' the capital of southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan province, the judiciary's Mizan Online said. 'Five people have been killed and 13 injured in this terrorist attack,' the report said while adding that the counts are 'preliminary' and the toll may rise. Separately, the official IRNA news agency reported that three of the attackers were killed during the assault, citing the regional headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). 11.03am CEST 11:03 Three diplomats told Reuters president Emmanuel Macron had to go it alone to recognise a Palestinian state as London did not want to face the wrath of the United States, and Ottawa took a similar stance. 'It became increasingly apparent that we could not wait to get partners on board,' said a French diplomat, adding France will work to get more states on board ahead of conference on a two-state solution in September. A senior French official said: 'If there is a moment in history to recognise a Palestinian state, even if it's just symbolic, then I would say that moment has probably come.' 10.46am CEST 10:46 Eleni Courea Keir Starmer is under intense pressure from his most senior cabinet ministers and more than a third of MPs to move faster on recognising a Palestinian state in response to Israel withholding aid to starving civilians in Gaza. Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, and Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, are understood to be among ministers who believe the government should take the lead on Palestinian statehood alongside France. The prime minister is facing a growing clamour to take action amid the international outcry over Israel's actions, with charities saying that cases of severe malnutrition among children under five in Gaza City have tripled in the last two weeks. Read our exclusive story on how Rayner and Cooper are understood to back action as 221 MPs sign a letter calling for UK recognition of statehood: 10.34am CEST 10:34 Julian Borger France's decision to recognise Palestine at the next UN general assembly is an attempt to build momentum for change and make a break from the major western powers' impassivity in the face of Israel's mass killing of Palestinians in Gaza. Emmanuel Macron's declaration, announced in typically dramatic fashion on social media late on Thursday night, draws a line between the paths followed by the US and France over the Gaza war, and significantly raises the pressure on the UK, Germany and other G7 powers to pick a side. Macron, Keir Starmer and the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, held what the UK prime minister described as an 'emergency call' on Friday, to coordinate positions. It led to a joint call for Israel to lift its food blockade immediately, an immediate ceasefire and the release of hostages held by Hamas. But there was no apparent shift in Merz's or Starmer's position on recognition. The British prime minister risks either provoking mutiny in his cabinet and party over Gaza or alienating White House. Read our analysis here: 10.24am CEST 10:24 Rates of severe malnutrition among children aged under five at Médecins Sans Frontières' Gaza City clinic have tripled in the last two weeks, the charity has said, as starvation in the Israeli-besieged strip worsens. The global aid community has sounded the alarm as Gaza descends deeper into mass starvation, with resulting deaths being reported daily as Israel allows only a trickle of aid into the territory. MSF said a quarter of all young children and pregnant or breastfeeding women it screened at its clinics last week were malnourished, with the number of people needing care for malnutrition at its Gaza City location quadrupling since May. MSF is one of the largest medical providers in Gaza, with more than 1,000 staff in the strip providing medical services ranging from maternity care to emergency surgery. The charity blamed what it called an Israeli 'policy of starvation' for the hunger crisis, as global condemnation grows over what more than 100 aid groups say is Israel's blockade of most aid into Gaza. Read our full report here: 10.08am CEST 10:08 This graphic shows which countries internationally have recognised a Palestinian state. 81 countries recognised Palestinian statehood in , the year it declared independence, with South Africa recognising it in 1995, Brazil in 2010, Chile in 2011 and Thailand in 2012. But more have recently followed suit in response to the plight of the people in Gaza. Spain and Ireland recognised a Palestinian state last year and Mexico made the recognition this year, while France has recently announced it is due to do so. Updated at 10.10am CEST 9.58am CEST 09:58 Annie Kelly Twenty-eight doctors from Gaza are being held inside Israeli prisons, eight of whom are senior consultants in surgery, orthopaedics, intensive care, cardiology and paediatrics, according to data from Healthcare Workers Watch (HWW), a Palestinian medical organisation. Twenty-one of those detained have been held for more than 400 days. HWW said none had been charged with any crimes by the Israeli authorities. Three healthcare workers have been detained since the start of July. On Monday, the Gaza Health Ministry said an Israeli undercover force detained Dr Marwan al-Hams, head of Abu Youssef al-Najjar hospital in Rafah, outside the field hospital of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the southern Gaza Strip. His whereabouts are unknown, and the Israeli authorities have yet to publish a statement on his detention. On Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that two of its workers were taken into detention from a facility sheltering staff and their families in Dier al-Balah; one remains in Israeli custody. A rising number of doctors are among hundreds of medical staff detained in Gaza, rights groups say. Read our full story here: Updated at 9.59am CEST 9.53am CEST 09:53 European nations are becoming split on the question of whether to recognise a Palestinian state, as the desperate situation in Gaza continues. Britain's prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has rejected calls to immediately recognise a Palestinian state, after some 221 MPs signed a letter urging the British Government to recognise the state of Palestine at a meeting of the UN next week. While the PM said he was 'unequivocal' about wanting to see a Palestinian state, he insisted this needed to be part of a 'wider plan which ultimately results in a two-state solution and lasting security for Palestinians and Israelis'. Italy's prime minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday that recognising the State of Palestine before it is established could be counterproductive. 'I am very much in favour of the State of Palestine but I am not in favour of recognising it prior to establishing it,' Meloni told Italian daily La Repubblica. 'If something that doesn't exist is recognised on paper, the problem could appear to be solved when it isn't,' Meloni added. A German government spokesperson said on Friday that Berlin was not planning to recognise a Palestinian state in the short term and said its priority now is to make 'long-overdue progress' towards a two-state solution. It comes after French President Emmanuel Macron drew angry rebukes from Israel and the United States when he announced France intends to recognise a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly. Macron, who unveiled the decision on X, published a letter sent to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas confirming France's intention to press ahead with Palestinian recognition and work to convincing other partners to follow suit. According to an AFP database, at least 142 of the 193 UN member states - including France - now recognise the Palestinian state proclaimed by the Palestinian leadership in exile in . Meanwhile today: The Israeli military said a 'projectile' was fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel on Saturday. 'A projectile was identified crossing the Gaza Strip from the south and most likely falling in an open area,' the military said in a statement, adding that there were no injuries reported. Four Palestinian-Americans have been killed in the occupied West Bank since the war in Gaza began and their families are losing hope for justice. They told AP Israel and its law enforcement have made them feel like culprits - by imposing travel bans and, in some cases, detaining and interrogating them. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday his government was considering 'alternative options' to ceasefire talks with Hamas after Israel and the US recalled their negotiating teams, throwing the future of the negotiations into further uncertainty. Netanyahu's statement came as a Hamas official said negotiations were expected to resume next week and portrayed the recall of the Israeli and American delegations as a pressure tactic.
