| | SEPTEMBER 20268The European Union is set to unveil its strategy for protecting minors online - yet suggestions to limit their access to social media and implement age verification measures have faced criticism from child advocacy organizations and privacy advocates.EU leader Ursula von der Leyen is expected to detail how the 27-member union intends to restrict children's social media usage in a much-awaited address to the European Parliament next week.Von der Leyen is considering social media limitations for children under 13, as suggested by an expert group, or under 15, as proposed by France.However, Brussels encounters backlash from multiple quarters regarding the proposals: advocates for children's rights worry that restrictions on social media will violate the liberties of young people, while digital rights advocates express worries about age verification measures.Christian Cirhigiri from the Centre for Democracy and Technology (CDT) Europe stated that regulation should concentrate on platforms to safeguard children's fundamental rights rather than restricting their access to online participation.The EU has already utilized its strongest legal tool, an online content regulation known as the Digital Services Act, to instruct Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok this year to alter their "addictive" designs. Mistral revealed that it has secured 3 billion in a Series D funding round, achieving a post-money valuation exceeding 21 billion, marking the largest equity fundraising ever conducted by a European tech firm, three years post-launch.Samsung Electronics spearheaded the funding round, accompanied by co-leads Scaleup Europe Fund, overseen by EQT, and returning investor PSG Equity.This round will greatly enhance Mistral's pioneering research, which serves as the basis for its infrastructure, products, and independence. By enabling Mistral to enhance its computing resources for developing advanced models, it will assist Mistral in broadening its infrastructure and speeding up its commercial expansion and global presence. The firm currently functions in 20 nations and aids over 125 international corporations in their essential AI transformation endeavors, such as Airbus, ASML, and HSBC.Mistral is the sole AI firm globally developing the complete stack needed to address that inquiry: open-weight models, the infrastructure and computational power they utilize, as well as the products that facilitate their deployment; guaranteeing that clients are never confined to a specific vendor's roadmap, pricing, or availability. Germany's Isar Aerospace has successfully launched its Spectrum rocket into orbit from Norway, marking a major milestone in Europe's efforts to develop an independent satellite-launch capability.The 28-metre-long rocket lifted off at 10:12 p.m. local time on Saturday from the Andøya Spaceport in Arctic Norway. The uncrewed mission carried five satellites, all of which were successfully deployed in orbit, according to Isar Aerospace.The Spectrum rocket reached an altitude of 100 kilometres above Earth in less than four minutes. The company described the mission as the first time a privately developed rocket has reached space from Europe.The achievement comes after an earlier setback. Isar Aerospace's first test flight in March 2022 ended about 30 seconds after launch when the rocket plunged into the sea and exploded. A second launch, initially scheduled for January, was subsequently postponed several times. PUBLIC POLICYISAR AEROSPACE ROCKET LAUNCH BOOSTS EUROPE'S SPACE INDEPENDENCEMISTRAL AI RAISES 3 BILLION IN EUROPE'S LARGEST TECH FUNDING ROUNDBizWireEU FACES GROWING BACKLASH OVER SOCIAL MEDIA BAN FOR CHILDRENTECHNOLOGY
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