Digital

Storytelling and Multilingualism at Netflix

Netflix's Diego Avalos discusses the importance of original storytelling as part of Netflix's creative output, how the company identifies the stories at the heart of its production, and multilingualism in the age of mass online media

Indiscriminate data retention ‘incompatible’ with EU charter, ECJ says

Cases of 'general and indiscriminate' data retention by EU national security authorities seriously interfere with the privacy protections enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, according to a non-binding opinion from the European Court of Justice delivered on Wednesday.

US officials to visit Britain, pushing for Huawei 5G ban

A delegation of US officials will arrive in Britain on Monday (13 January) to try to persuade Britain not to use Huawei equipment in the upgrade of its telecoms network, two people with knowledge of the matter said on Sunday.

Germany’s plans for automatic facial recognition meet fierce criticism

Germany's Interior Minister Horst Seehofer plans to use automatic facial recognition at 134 railway stations and 14 airports, according to a news report published on 3 January. Although official confirmation of the plan is still missing, an alliance between civil society and politicians has called for the banning of this surveillance technology. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Digital Brief: von der Leyen has Chinese cyber ‘worries’

Welcome to EURACTIV’s Digital Brief, your weekly update on all things digital in the EU. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.    “China is very far-reaching by now…We have to be clear in the cyber domain, where we have a lot...

‘Shot across the bow’: US steps up pressure on UK ahead of Huawei decision

The United States is making a final pitch to Britain ahead of a UK decision on whether to upgrade its telecoms network with Huawei equipment, amid threats to cut intelligence-sharing ties, people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Britain...

Europeans should control their B-to-B data, says EU commissioner

The United States and China are the world's leaders in harvesting and exploiting personal data and the European Union must make sure the same thing does not happen when it comes to business-to-business data, the new EU commissioner for the internal market said.

Poland’s Play plans 5G roll-out in Gdynia in race to offer first services

Polish mobile operator Play Communications is planning to roll out a 5G network in the northern city of Gdynia, its chief executive said, as the country’s telcoms providers rush to be the first to offer commercial next generation services.

France and US seek compromise on digital tax in 15 days

France and the US will try to settle their dispute over the French digital tax in 15 days to avoid further tariffs, French Finance minister Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday (7 January).

Avoid heavy AI regulation, White House tells EU

The US administration has urged European lawmakers to avoid heavy regulation frameworks in the future rollout of Artificial Intelligence technologies on the continent. The call comes ahead of the European Commission's planned presentation of its AI strategy, set to be announced early this year.

First potential Suleimani revenge attack hits US cyberspace

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is monitoring the hacking of a government website, which may have been conducted in response to the US drone strike that killed Iranian military commander Qassim Suleimani at Baghdad airport on Friday (3 January).

Digital in 2020: A geopolitical programme

Departing from a tumultuous 2019, in which several tech behemoths faced the ire of European regulators, the forthcoming twelve months in the digital arena will prove to be lively in terms of EU policy.

Turkey’s top court rules Wikipedia ban breaches freedom of expression

With six out of 10 votes, Turkey's Constitutional Court on Thursday ruled that the government's ban on access to online encyclopedia Wikipedia violated freedom of expression, the official Anadolu news agency reported.

How Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence pave the way to climate neutrality

Calls for action on the climate emergency have reached a crescendo with the COP25 in Madrid. It is good to see the new Commission re-claiming EU’s leadership in climate technology with the Green Deal. But for a faster energy transition, it is not enough just to have more renewables, writes Hanno Schoklitsch.

Digital Brief: EU privacy fire

Welcome to EURACTIV’s Digital Brief, your weekly update on all things digital in the EU. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.    “It’s like screaming for the European fire brigade because you don’t know how to blow out a candle yourself.”...

Airbnb wins fight to remain exempt from European property rules

US homesharing site Airbnb on Thursday won its battle to remain exempt from onerous European property regulations, as the EU’s top court ruled it was an online platform and not a property agent.

ECJ opinion backs EU data transfer contracts

The European Commission's standard contractual clauses (SCC), used for data transfers between EU and non-EU countries, are "valid", according to a non-binding opinion from an advocate general at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).

With or without Huawei? German coalition delays decision on 5G rollout

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and their Social Democrat partners have delayed until next year a decision on security rules for Germany’s 5G network that could bar China’s Huawei, a highly divisive issue in an unhappy alliance.

Facebook, privacy activist Schrems battle nears end

Austrian privacy activist Max Schrems’ seven-year battle against Facebook reaches a crucial point tomorrow (19 December) when an adviser to Europe’s top court will issue his view on whether tools used by companies to transfer data abroad are legal or not.

Tensions over data privacy cast shadow over potential Greens-Five Star alliance

A leading Green MEP has hit out at Italy's 5 Star Movement (M5S) following the recent news that Facebook is investigating the party over potential data misuse, bringing further doubt to the possibility of the party joining forces with the Greens in the European Parliament.

EU mission to find alien worlds blasts off

Europe's CHEOPS planet-hunting satellite is set to leave Earth Wednesday morning (18 December) a day after its lift-off was delayed by a technical rocket glitch during the final countdown.