Luca Bertuzzi
European providers want DMA to address ‘unfair practices’ in cloud market
Service providers are arguing that for the European cloud market to develop, the new EU antitrust law should prevent anti-competitive practices by large software providers.
Facial recognition technologies already used in 11 EU countries and counting, report says
Law enforcement authorities in 11 European countries are already using biometric recognition systems in their investigations and eight more are to follow, a new study points out, warning of the technology's impact on fundamental rights.
EU leaders push for ‘innovation friendliness’ in digital policy
EU leaders stressed the need to make digital regulation more innovation-friendly, but the digital agenda remained at the margins of the European Council summit.
Digital Brief powered by Google: vital encryption, Germany’s coalition talks, e-Evidence approaching
Welcome to EURACTIV’s Digital Brief, your weekly update on all things digital in the EU. You can subscribe to the newsletter here. “It would have been impossible for me to whistleblow without encryption. My first messages to journalists were made with...
China’s digital policy and the impact on European businesses
China has been pushing an aggressive agenda on a number of digital issues. We discussed the Chinese strategy to regulate the tech sector, and its implication for European businesses, with Vera Demary.
Whistleblowers are impossible without encryption, Edward Snowden says
On Global Encryption Day (21 October), Edward Snowden, the whistleblower behind the NSA surveillance revelations, defined encryption as a matter of life and death. A day earlier, a coalition of EU lawmakers voiced concerns that an upcoming legislative proposal could open the door to mass surveillance.
Council document hints at progress on cross-border electronic evidence
EU co-legislators appear to be approaching common ground on several key points of the e-Evidence proposal including notification obligations, order suspensions, and grounds for refusal, according to an internal document.
EU countries to ‘explore the potential’ of a joint cyber unit
EU member states have opened to the Commission’s proposal for a Joint Cyber Unit while remaining cautious to avoid overlapping existing initiatives.
EU accused of disregarding human rights when supporting law enforcement abroad
The EU has been accused of contributing to the development of ‘surveillance’ capacities in third countries without considering fundamental rights and data protection; according to a complaint filed with the European Ombudsman by a coalition of privacy NGOs.
EDPS on the future of privacy
We have asked the European Data Protection Supervisor Wojciech Wiewiorowski about its recent proposal to organise a conference to review the enforcement of GDPR, the EU privacy law.
Digital Brief: DMA & DSA compromise texts, roaming adoption, Europol nears recast mandate
Welcome to EURACTIV’s Digital Brief, your weekly update on all things digital in the EU. You can subscribe to the newsletter here. “The European Council reviewed progress on the digital agenda and key legislative files. It encourages the co-legislators to […]...
EU Parliament backs roaming extension until 2032, price cuts
The European Parliament has backed the extension of free roaming services in the EU until 2032 and its position envisages lower cap prizes than initially proposed, provisions on intra-EU calls, stronger quality of service, and transparency obligations for telecom providers.
Irish privacy watchdog endorses Facebook’s approach to data protection
A draft decision from Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) endorsing Facebook's legal basis for processing personal data has been met with criticism by a data protection activist who says the platform is trying to bypass EU privacy laws.
EU-US policy talks to show that democracy can deliver, Vestager says
The EU's digital chief said both the EU and US share the same concerns and called for transatlantic convergence to address how emerging technologies could impact democratic institutions.
Europol nears stronger mandate for data-driven policing capacities
Europol, the EU's law enforcement cooperation agency, is approaching the finishing line to get a broader mandate, legitimising data processing practices that spurred controversy last year.
EU countries reject strict deadline for DSA, DMA
A majority of EU countries have succeeded in rejecting the commitment to a tight timeline for an agreement on two key pieces of digital legislation that would have served well the French government ahead of the presidential elections there in April next year.
Slovenian Presidency pitches provisions to ‘avoid enforcement deadlocks’ in DSA
The Slovenian Presidency has advanced an enforcement structure that would give stronger intervention powers to the European Commission in the context of the proposed Digital Services Act (DSA) package. The European Commission presented the package in December 2020. It contains...
Digital Brief: Facebook fallout, 2022 digital agenda, AI in law enforcement
Welcome to EURACTIV’s Digital Brief, your weekly update on all things digital in the EU. You can subscribe to the newsletter here. “The things I saw at Facebook over and over again was, there were conflicts of interest between what was...
Search engines push for opening default positions
DuckDuckGo, Qwant, Ecosia, and Lilo sent an open letter to EU lawmakers on Thursday (7 October), urging them to take action against their dominant rival Google in the upcoming legislative proposal on the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
LEAK: Digital policies in the Commission’s 2022 work programme
A Cyber Resilience Act, a Chips Act, a European Media Freedom Act and initiatives to boost digital skills – the European Commission’s 2022 work programme, seen by EURACTIV, gives an insight into upcoming digital initiatives coming from Brussels.
‘Too big to crash’ and ‘too big to care’, Facebook faces fallout from EU policymakers
Facebook’s service outage on Monday (4 October), combined with a series of revelations about the social network's management, have prompted policymakers to ask for regulation of online platforms with a shared sense of urgency.
The Brief, powered by GIE — Facebook’s darkest hour
Unprecedented internet outages, public outrage, pending lawsuits, upcoming legislation, growing competition, and privacy quarrels: Facebook is facing its darkest hour.
Commission pushes for ‘timely’ update of disinformation code of practice
The review process for the Code of Practice on Disinformation has gained eight new potential signatories including businesses and civil society groups, but the Commission worries over the slow pace of the process.