EU calls for increased security, but doesn’t ban Huawei 5G products

The European Union’s current approach to potential cybersecurity threats posed by Huawei 5G products is caution, but not an outright ban. The topic was the subject of new recommendations issued by the E.U. this week in response to U.S. calls to boycott the electronics giant over fears around its connection to the Chinese government. The […]

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Europe passes new copyright law that might change the internet forever

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The European Parliament has backed a copyright reform law that aims to protect content creators from unauthorized usage of their work, but also brings forth some rules that are radically different from the way internet functions now. 

The Copyright Directive, at one point known as the law that will kill memes, was passed with 348 votes for and 278 against. The Directive has undergone many revisions before arriving at its current state, but it still has several clauses which are highly controversial. 

We welcome the adoption of #Copyright reform by MEPs #EPplenary! A strong signal for all creative sectors, press, researchers, educators & cultural heritage institutions. One solid & essential brick more to the @DSMeu! Thank you @AxelVossMdEP #ShadowRapporteurs @ro2019eu pic.twitter.com/VVRq5ejwvh

— Mariya Gabriel (@GabrielMariya) March 26, 2019 Read more…

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European parliament votes for controversial copyright reform (yes, again)

The European Parliament has voted to pass a controversial reform of online copyright rules that critics contend will result in big tech platforms pre-filtering user generated content uploads. The results of the final vote in the EU parliament were 348 in favor vs 274 against. An amendment that would have thrown out the most controversial […]

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Tech regulation in Europe will only get tougher

European governments have been bringing the hammer down on tech in recent months, slapping record fines and stiff regulations on the largest imports out of Silicon Valley. Despite pleas from the world’s leading companies and Europe’s eroding trust in government, European citizens’ staunch support for regulation of new technologies points to an operating environment that […]

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Here’s what some electric vehicles will sound like to warn pedestrians

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The American rock band Linkin Park is helping Mercedes-AMG come up with just the right sound for its electric performance car.

That’s not a joke. At the Geneva Motor Show earlier this month, Mercedes executives said the music group would develop the sound the normally quiet battery-powered vehicles would make when driving to alert pedestrians.

That’s because electric vehicles are pretty much silent, and dangerously so, regulators say. Think about your cellphone or other electronic device — you don’t hear much noise coming from it when it’s on and running. Now think about your gas-powered car and all the vrooms, hissing, and revs it makes when the engine is on. An EV is more cellphone-like than you’d think. Read more…

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Spotify files complaint against Apple over ‘unfair’ App Store rules

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Music streaming service Spotify has filed a complaint against Apple with the European Commission over App Store rules that give Apple an “unfair advantage at every turn,” the company CEO Daniel Ek announced in a blog post Wednesday.

In the post, Ek claims that Apple’s App Store rules make it hard for Spotify to compete with Apple’s own Apple Music on a level playing field.

“Apple requires that Spotify and other digital services pay a 30% tax on purchases made through Apple’s payment system, including upgrading from our Free to our Premium service. If we pay this tax, it would force us to artificially inflate the price of our Premium membership well above the price of Apple Music,” writes Ek.  Read more…

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Google ups its anti-fake news game ahead of EU elections

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As a company with a popular online service for just about everything, from e-mail to productivity to maps, Google is in a unique position when it comes to fighting fake news. 

On Tuesday, the company shared an update about its efforts to combat disinformation, fake news and abuse ahead of upcoming European Parliament elections, due this May. 

In the post, Google shares some examples of just how far online abuse can go when it comes to snatching votes — or stopping the other party from getting them. Besides plain old fake news, these include state-sponsored phishing attacks and “attempts to alter Maps so people can’t find their polling station.”  Read more…

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Google slapped with $5 billion fine by EU for Android antitrust breach

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European antitrust regulators have fined Google with a 4.34 billion euro ($5.04 billion) fine for abusing its position in the smartphone market to increase the dominance of its search engine, the European Commission announced in a statement Wednesday. 

Google was ordered to stop the practice within 90 days or face further penalty payments of up to 5% of the average daily global turnover of its parent company, Alphabet. 

European regulators say Google has required manufacturers to pre-install the Google Search app and Chrome app as a condition for licensing Google’s Play Store. The company also made payments to “large manufacturers and mobile network operators” in order for them to exclusively pre-install the Google Search app on their devices. Finally, Google has prevented manufacturers wishing to pre-install Google apps from selling “even a single smart mobile device” running on alternative, non-Google-approved versions of Android, the regulators have found.  Read more…

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Google gets slapped $5BN by EU for Android antitrust abuse

Google has been fined a record breaking €4.34 billion (~$5BN) by European antitrust regulators for abusing the dominance of its Android mobile operating system. Competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager has tweeted to confirm the penalty ahead of a press conference about to take place. Stay tuned for more details as we get them. Fine of €4,34 […]

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Marketplace giants sign EU pledge to remove dangerous goods faster

Ecommerce giants Alibaba, Amazon, eBay and Rakuten have agreed to speed up the removal of dangerous goods being sold on their online marketplaces within the European Union. The EU’s executive body, the Commission, said the four companies have committed to responding to notifications on dangerous products from Member State authorities within 2 working days, and to take […]

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GDPR meltdown: A bunch of U.S. news sites are down in Europe

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If you’ve been working in the UK (or indeed any EU country) for the last month or so you’ve probably noticed a slew of emails reminding your company to get ready for then new General Data Protection Regulation, a.k.a. GDPR. Sadly, it seems some U.S. sites didn’t get the memo.

On May 25th GDPR came into effect, implementing new laws about data protection within the European Union.

This is it
Today, our EU #DataProtection rules enter into application, putting the Europeans back in control of their data.
Europe asserts its digital sovereignty and gets ready for the digital age.
Read our statement → https://t.co/P19IRPWfqv #GDPR pic.twitter.com/hwCKSj2TjE

— European Commission 🇪🇺 (@EU_Commission) May 24, 2018 Read more…

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