Samuel Stolton
Digital Brief: The state of EU media, AI plans, digital green passports
Welcome to EURACTIV’s Digital Brief, your weekly update on all things digital in the EU. You can subscribe to the newsletter here. A short personal message from me, before we start. This is my last edition of the Digital Brief for EURACTIV,...
Jourová on the future for European media: Big Tech, Democracy, and Independence
On the occasion of EURACTIV's launch of its new 'Digital & Media' hub, Editor Samuel Stolton caught up with the Commission's Vice President for Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová, to discuss the wide range of issues currently impacting the European media landscape.
EU Commission ‘concerned’ about PKN Orlen media takeover, Jourová says
Polish state-owned oil refiner PKN Orlen’s takeover of publisher Polska Press has raised concerns in the European Commission, its Vice-President Vera Jourová has told EURACTIV, adding to the concerns already raised by the opposition in Poland.
Commission to ban ‘indiscriminate surveillance’ in leaked AI plans
The European Commission will seek to outlaw Artificial Intelligence systems used for "indiscriminate surveillance" operations as part of new prohibitions to be put forward next week.
MEPs seek extension on response to Commission’s UK data adequacy agreement
EU lawmakers from the Renew group have submitted a request to the European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee to hold off on adopting a position on the UK's adequacy for EU personal data transfers until the EU's data protection watchdog has weighed in on the plans.
Digital Brief, powered by Facebook: The 533 million, TikTok data concerns, vaccine passports
Welcome to EURACTIV’s Digital Brief, your weekly update on all things digital in the EU. You can subscribe to the newsletter here. “Because the scraping took place prior to GDPR, Facebook chose not to notify this as a personal data breach...
EU regulators urged to ‘intervene immediately’ into suicide games on TikTok
EU regulators have been urged to 'intervene immediately' into the operation of video-sharing app TikTok, following the trend of 'Blackout Challenges' across social media, which have led to a series of deaths among young people.
Facebook to Irish data body: 533 million user breach took place before GDPR
Facebook has told the Irish Data Protection Commission that a breach involving the personal information of 533 million users worldwide took place prior to the entry into force of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation in 2018, and the company...
EU data watchdog has ‘critical concerns’ with Parliament’s biometric register
The European Union's institutional data protection watchdog has voiced 'critical concerns' about the European Parliament's plans to install a biometric register that will allow EU lawmakers to collect their daily allowance and sign in for hearings on the Brussels premises.
EU nations scold Commission on plans to exclude UK from research groups
A contingent of EU nations has locked horns with the European Commission over plans to exclude third-countries from involvement in quantum and space research projects, in a move that could see the UK's involvement significantly downgraded due to concerns over intellectual property.
Von der Leyen assures MEPs: We’ll ‘go further’ on AI that harms fundamental rights
The European Commission may "have to go further" on introducing more robust rules for Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies that pose a risk to fundamental rights, a letter written by President von der Leyen to MEPs, obtained by EURACTIV, states.
Facebook urges Ireland to hold off on political ads rules until EU legislation
Facebook has told Irish lawmakers that proposed new rules in the country to regulate online political advertising should be held off until the European Commission presents its own legislation in the field.
EU SMEs in bid for greater interoperability in Digital Markets Act
Forty pan-European tech companies have penned a letter to MEPs calling for support for bolstered interoperability requirements in the Digital Markets Act (DMA) while stressing the importance of keeping the rules aligned to developments in the area across EU nations.
Digital Brief, powered by Facebook: Europol’s decryption platform, Bundeskartellamt Vs Facebook, Section 230
Welcome to EURACTIV’s Digital Brief, your weekly update on all things digital in the EU. You can subscribe to the newsletter here. “The Irish data protection authority generally closes most cases with a settlement instead of a sanction.” – European Parliament...
MEPs rue lack of GDPR sanctions issued by Irish data authority
MEPs have said that "a lack of political will and resources" had resulted in a laggard approach to enforcement of the EU's general data protection regulation (GDPR), singling out in particular the lack of sanctions dished out by the Irish data protection authority.
German legal dispute over Facebook data use sent to European Court of Justice
The European Court of Justice has been asked to clarify whether Germany's competition authority was right to order Facebook to halt its data collection practices, due to concerns over alleged abuse of its dominant market position and violations of EU data protection law.
Commission seeks to calm fears over Europol’s decryption platform
The European Commission has issued assurances to MEPs that Europol's new decryption platform will not be used to abuse data protection standards and will maintain closely guarded access rights over the data retrieved.
Commission on track for digital levy proposal by June
The European Commission is on track with plans to present a digital tax by June despite recent progress at the level of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Commission's Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager has said.
Portuguese Presidency rebuts Vestager’s concerns about ePrivacy proposal
The Portuguese Presidency of the EU has rebutted claims from the Commission's Executive Vice-President for Digital, Margarethe Vestager, that the country's prosed text for the ePrivacy regulation poses a risk to EU data protection standards as outlined in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Digital Brief: Digital Green Pass, Irish DPC spat, EUCO data spaces
Welcome to EURACTIV’s Digital Brief, your weekly update on all things digital in the EU. You can subscribe to the newsletter here. “It is not ensured that the digital variant of the certificate is stored decentrally on devices of the person...
EU states to commit to ‘digital declarations’ to foster green, startup-friendly future
EU nations will on Friday (19 March) sign off on a series of declarations designed to ensure the bloc can build a sustainable, sovereign, and competitive future in its digital transition, documents obtained by EURACTIV reveal.
Commission ‘not naive’ about UK’s data ambitions, Reynders assures MEPs
The European Commission is 'not naive' to the UK's future ambitions in the data space and will be 'prepared' to suspend transfers of personal data to the country should the UK in the future diverge from EU standards, Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders has said.
EU leaders to call for progress in common data spaces, summit drafts reveal
EU leaders will press the Commission to make swift progress in the establishment of sectoral data spaces as outlined in the executive's landmark Data Strategy, draft European Council summit conclusions obtained by EURACTIV reveal.