Data protection

Ansip uncovered: Commission Vice-President on disinformation, Huawei, copyright

EURACTIV's Digital Editor, Samuel Stolton, sat down with Vice-President of the European Commission, Andrus Ansip, to speak about his recent decision to stand as an MEP, disinformation, 'those' Huawei comments and the difficulties with the copyright directive.

Seize the challenge of Big Data and AI, says Tata boss

Europe is ahead in the digital game, says Tata's Consultancy Services COO. But businesses and governments will need to utilise Big Data and Artificial Intelligence to improve services and the quality of life of customers.

Gabriel: Facebook users ‘need to know what happened with their data’

Facebook users “need to know what happened with their data” following reports over a week ago that millions of profiles on the social media platform were secretly used to help political campaigns, EU Digital Commissioner Mariya Gabriel said.

Falque-Pierrotin leaves top EU post before dawn of ‘new era’ for privacy

EU regulators have forced tech giants to comply with the bloc's strict data protection rules. But when Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin took over as top EU privacy watchdog in 2014, she said the mostly American companies were ignorant about Europe’s strict standards and thought "the world is uniform".

Jourova: ‘Never say never’ to EU hate speech law

Tech giants should share the technology they develop to detect hate speech with smaller companies, EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova said in an interview.

Top EU privacy watchdog wants centralised regulator with muscle to police firms

EU lawmakers should create a new, centralised data protection authority to oversee investigations of privacy breaches that affect more than member state in the bloc, Giovanni Buttarelli, the EU’s top privacy watchdog, said in an interview.

Lead MEP: member states’ slow pace on ePrivacy is unacceptable

Different political groups need to accept the European Parliament’s agreement on the draft ePrivacy regulation, even though conservative and centre-right MEPs opposed the bill, Birgit Sippel said in an interview with EURACTIV.com.

MEP: EU needs common standards for digital transport, data management

Europe will have to work hard against competitors in China and the US to be a global leader in digital solutions for transport, an MEP involved in the issue told EURACTIV.com in an interview. Legislation must ensure common standards across the EU for transport to flow freely, she stressed.

Big member states are dividing the EU on digital agenda

Four countries - Germany, France, Italy and Spain - drafted a paper outlining their priorities ahead of last Friday’s (29 September) digital summit, where heads of state gathered in Estonia. Poland’s Digital Minister Krzysztof Szubert told EURACTIV.com their paper risks dividing EU member states on digital issues.

EU digital official: Cyber threats know no borders

Linda Cogruedo Steneberg, Director at the the European Commission's DG Connect , revealed how the EU executive is trying to extend broadband coverage and democratise the internet, as well as protecting our privacy as hacker attacks become more commonplace. EURACTIV Spain reports.

EU privacy watchdog: Privacy shield should be temporary

European privacy watchdogs have received “a few” complaints about the privacy shield data transfer agreement with the United States since it was brokered one year ago, the EU's top privacy advocate said in an interview.

Darknet guru: New technology can help build European identity

Modern technology could shore up the European project, boost transparency and help governments collect taxes. Author Jamie Bartlett told EURACTIV.com that the EU should become the great technological innovator but warned that politicians simply aren’t prepared for massive changes ahead.

Czech MEP: Europe needs harmonised standards for smart cities

According to Dita Charanzová, smart cities are about bettering the lives of Europe's citizens. They'll not only improve urban life but the environment too, she told Euractiv.com

Netzpolitik editor: Trump will press on with ‘insidious’ TiSA deal

TTIP and CETA aren't the only controversial trade deals around. Net politics activist Markus Beckedahl told EURACTIV Germany that the proposed Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) is a huge threat to data protection.

Slovakian deputy PM: EU data rules must be based on facts, not emotion

The European Union can no longer look at data protection with the presumption of guilt but must be flexible and fast in responding  to deficiencies, while managing responses based on hard data and analysis, not on emotions stimulated by politicians, Slovakia's deputy prime minister said in an interview with EURACTIV Slovakia.

Irish EU minister: Post-Brexit North-South hard border ‘not acceptable’

Ireland's EU minister has told EURACTIV.com that any post-Brexit border between Northern Ireland and the Republic should allow status quo in terms of movement of goods or people, and a 'hard border' would be "unacceptable."

Guillaume Liegey: ‘Big data is cheaper for electoral analysis than polls’

Political campaigns can be refined by the analysis of "big data" to analyse and target voters. The challenge is knowing how best to use the data, said Guillaume Liegey.

MasterCard international chief: ‘Brexit wouldn’t be a significant change for us’

Blockchain is expected to have a larger impact on our business than a potential Brexit, suggests MasterCard’s deputy boss, Ann Cairns. In her view, the technology behind virtual currencies like bitcoin is “a good thing for the future”, she told EURACTIV.com.

IATA CEO: ‘We need global standards on data collection’

EXCLUSIVE / CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Tony Tyler, spoke with EURACTIV.de about what the industry expects from Brussels' transport policy and the effect PNR will have on terrorism.

Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin: We are not asking for a Safe Harbour number 2

The United States must answer the real concerns of EU judges about European citizens' data within the US, when it is accessed by the American intelligence services, says Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin.

Vera Jourová: We will be strict with the US on Safe Harbour

Brussels is moving forward on the Safe Harbour agreement with the US, and aims to finalise discussions by May, said EU Commissioner V?ra Jourová.

MEP Albrecht: Oettinger risks being crushed by his portfolio

By putting Günther Oettinger in charge of the digital economy in the new European Commission, President-elect Jean-Claude Juncker has committed a fatal mistake, said MEP Jan Philipp Albrecht, warning that Oettinger risks being "crushed" by his new portfolio.

Dutch academic: TTIP needed to save ‘crumbling’ transatlantic relationship

The EU and the US are motivated by similar goals in the ongoing bilateral trade talks, even on data protection, according to Peter van Ham, who says political momentum and time constraints will be the biggest challenges to concluding a transatlantic trade pact.

German academic: US, Europe unlikely to agree on data protection in near future

Surveillance activities are part of the overall US security strategy and spying on Europeans is done to safeguard and protect its allies from possible threats, argues Annegret Bendiek, but views in Paris, Berlin or Brussels are not quite the same.