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TikTok is facing a fresh European Union privacy investigation into user data sent to China, regulators said Thursday. The Data Protection Commission opened the inquiry as a follow-up to a previous investigation that ended earlier this year with a 530 million euro ($620 million) fine after it found the video-sharing app put users at risk of spying by allowing remote access to their data from China. The Irish national watchdog serves as TikToks lead data privacy regulator in the 27-nation EU because the companys European headquarters is based in Dublin. During an earlier investigation, TikTok initially told the regulator it didnt store European user data in China, and that data was only accessed remotely by staff in China. However, it later backtracked and said that some data had in fact been stored on Chinese servers. The watchdog responded at the time by saying it would consider further regulatory action. As a result of that consideration, the DPC has now decided to open this new inquiry into TikTok, the watchdog said. The purpose of the inquiry is to determine whether TikTok has complied with its relevant obligations under the GDPR in the context of the transfers now at issue, including the lawfulness of the transfers, the regulator said, referring to the European Unions strict privacy rules, known as the General Data Protection Regulation. TikTok, which is owned by Chinas ByteDance, has been under scrutiny in Europe over how it handles personal user information amid concerns from Western officials that it poses a security risk. TikTok noted that it was the one that notified the Data Protection Commission, after it embarked on a data localization project called Project Clover that involved building three data centers in Europe to ease security concerns. Our teams proactively discovered this issue through the comprehensive monitoring TikTok implemented under Project Clover,” the company said in a statement. “We promptly deleted this minimal amount of data from the servers and informed the DPC. Our proactive report to the DPC underscores our commitment to transparency and data security. Under GDPR, European user data can only be transferred outside of the bloc if there are safeguards in place to ensure the same level of protection. Only 15 countries or territories are deemed to have the same data privacy standard as the EU, but China is not one of them. By Kelvin Chan, AP business writer
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Tesla has scheduled an annual shareholders meeting for November, one day after the electric vehicle company came under pressure from major shareholders to do so. Billionaire Elon Musk‘s company said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that the meeting will be held on Nov. 6. A group of more than 20 Tesla shareholders said in a letter to the company a day earlier that it needed to provide public notice of the annual meeting. Texas law states businesses must hold annual meetings within 13 months of their last one, if shareholders request it. But the law also allows for written consent instead of the annual meeting to be executed within the 13-month timeframe. Tesla is incorporated in Texas. The annual meeting, given Tesla’s fortunes this year, has the potential to be a raucous event and it is unclear how investors will react to the delay, which is rare for any major U.S. corporation. Tesla shares have plunged 27% this year, largely due to blowback over Musk’s affiliation with President Donald Trump, as well as rising competition. Many shareholders have been miffed by Musk’s participation in the Trump administration this year, saying he needs to focus on his EV company which is facing extraordinary pressures. An annual meeting provides shareholders with the opportunity to hear directly from the board about these concerns, and to vote for or against directors, the boards approach to executive compensation, and other matters of material importance, the group said in the letter. Teslas last shareholders meeting was on June 13 of last year, where investors voted to restore Musks record $44.9 billion pay package that was thrown out by a Delaware judge earlier that year. Tesla also said in its regulatory filing on Thursday that July 31 is the new deadline for the submission of proposals to be included in the proxy statement. In a January filing, Tesla said it would file its proxy statement for this year’s annual meeting by the end of April. However, the company filed an amended report on April 30, saying that it didn’t have a date for the meeting yet. Tesla also said in that filing that it was creating a special committee to look at Musk’s compensation as CEO. Also on Thursday, Musk said that the Grok chatbot will be heading to Tesla vehicles. Grok is coming to Tesla vehicles very soon. Next week at the latest, Musk said on social media platform X, in response to a post stating that Grok implementation on Teslas wasn’t announced on a Grok livestream Wednesday. Grok was developed by Musks artificial intelligence company xAI and pitched as an alternative to woke AI interactions from rival chatbots like Googles Gemini, or OpenAIs ChatGPT. Yet Grok has had a bumpy ride during its rollout. On Wednesday xAI announced that it was taking down inappropriate posts made by its Grok chatbot, which appeared to include antisemitic comments that praised Adolf Hitler. Shares of Tesla rose more than 3% in Thursday morning trading after tumbling this week as the feud between Trump and Musk heated up again. Michelle Chapman, AP business writer
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The United States is experiencing its worst measles outbreak in three decades. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there have been 1,288 confirmed measles cases across 38 states since the start of 2025. Some 162 people have been hospitalized, and three have died. These are the latest CDC figures as of July 8. The latest case counts surpass those of 2019, when 1,274 cases of the disease were reported. The last time the U.S. saw more cases was in 1992, when there were 2,126 confirmed cases of the disease. Medical researchers have observed a trend of declining childhood vaccination rates, leading to increased cases in recent years. Measles is a highly infectious viral disease that is spread through the air by coughing and sneezing. There is no cure for measles. However, vaccines can provide protection. Tracking the growing spread The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has a U.S. Measles Tracker on its website. This interactive tool shows where outbreaks are happening and indicates whether cases are local or imported. This resource can help Americans stay informed about the spread of the disease and the latest confirmed cases. The tracker shows that Texas has seen the largest number of confirmed cases, followed by New Mexico. There have been over 400 cases in Gaines County, Texas. [Map: Johns Hopkins University] Data collected by Johns Hopkins University (JHU) indicate that 6% of confirmed cases involve individuals who have been vaccinated. Meanwhile, 94% of cases involve people who are unvaccinated or with unknown vaccination status. Understanding the symptoms and how to protect yourself Doctors recommend two doses of the MMR vaccine to protect against measles, mumps, and rubella. Adults and children aged 12 months to 12 years can get the vaccine, which is 97% effective against measles after two doses. Alternatively, children aged 12 months to 12 years can receive the MMRV vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella. Two MMRV doses is recommended. Symptoms usually appear seven to 14 days after exposure to the disease, according to Mayo Clinic. Typical symptoms include: High fever (can reach more than 104°F) Cough Runny nose Red, watery eyes Small white spots typically appear inside the mouth two to three days after symptoms begin. Three to five days after symptoms start, its typical for a rash with small raised bumps to appear on the face and upper body, later spreading to the lower body. Measles can be especially dangerous to babies and young children. If your child has been exposed to measles, you should contact a healthcare provider immediately.
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