CYPRUS Trends and Developments Contributed by: Stelios Christophides and Vasilis Charalambous, George Z. Georgiou & Associates LLC
to individuals are restricted. Those classified as high risk fall into two categories: those utilised in goods, and those that fall under eight specific categories and must be registered in an EU database. High-risk AI systems include those that have an adverse effect on safety or basic rights. Lower-risk systems should adhere to the minimum transparency standards nec - essary for users to make informed judgements. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality The growth of VR and other immersive technologies presents new opportunities for advertisers, but also raises fresh difficulties around privacy and consumer protection. The European Commission had initially announced the “VR/AR Industrial Coalition” in 2020 as part of its Media and Audiovisual Action Plan. Its primary aim is to inform policymaking, facilitate dia - logue among communities and identify challenges and opportunities for the EU VR/AR sector. The varied VR/AR landscape in Europe consists of numerous small and medium-sized enterprises, alongside a handful of dominant players, often from outside Europe. A key advantage of the EU lies in its longstanding tradition of providing public support for content creation, research, development and innova - tion in this field of VR/AR. Nonetheless, to maintain relevance within this evolv - ing landscape, there will need to be advancements. Measures include the establishment of a modern digi - tal skills pipeline, sustainable business models for VR/ AR enterprises, and the promotion of Europe’s cul - ture and heritage being digitised while simultaneously enhancing digital audience experience. Since the initial Coalition announcement, there have been a series of workshops held as on current devel - opments. The Coalition will take a bold approach involving industries, technology providers and crea - tives. In addition, national and regional VR/AR organi - sations and representatives can benefit from the wider use of technology for content distribution and crea - tion. Greenwashing, the Environment and Sustainability During the last few years, we have witnessed an increase in the use of the term “greenwashing” within
in the context of marketing. It is also a fact that peo - ple are becoming more aware of the issues of these misleading techniques. The term greenwashing applies when a company makes an environmental claim about something it is actively doing to make a positive environmental impact without foundation. For example, making broad sus - tainability claims without any evidence, overempha - sising its positive environmental efforts in marketing materials or advertising products as eco-friendly while sourcing raw materials from unsustainable suppliers. Until now, the European Commission has proposed and acted upon a common objective to guard against greenwashing and making misleading environmental claims. The result has been that customers receive more clarity and reassurance that a product does actually benefit and sustain the environment, with businesses also benefitting – since those that make a conscious effort to improve sustainability are reward - ed by customers by recognition of such with a boost to their sales and exposure. The Commission’s proposals have aimed to establish a level playing field when it comes to the environmen - tal performance of products and services. This is pos - sible by targeting explicit claims such as “CO2 com - pensated delivery” or “packaging made of recycled plastic”, and simultaneously tackles the escalation of labels (including both public and private environ - mental labels). However, it excludes claims that are covered by existing EU rules and claims. Prior to conveying any “green claim”, companies are obliged to ensure that such claims undergo inde - pendent verification and are substantiated by scien - tific proof. During the scientific evaluation process, companies will distinguish the environmental impacts directly applicable to their product and acknowledge any possible trade-offs. Various rules must ensure clear communication of the claims concerned. For instance, the overall effects of a product’s environmental impact will only be allowed if it is compliant with EU rules. Comparisons between products and organisations are to be based on com - parable data and information. New public labelling
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