Digital
The Brief – Trump and the gatekeepers
In the world we used to know, Donald Trump was a Twitter fan and a big champion of this social media channel. In the last two days, the world is no longer as we knew it.
Georgia targeted by fake stories of US secret labs spreading COVID-19
EU foreign ministers are discussing China on Friday (29 May), as the country started to back Russian narratives of Washington-led biological weapon development in Georgia and other post-Soviet countries. One widely circulating allegation in the internet during the pandemic claimed...
We need to reinvent, not rebuild Europe’s industrial base after COVID-19
The economic situation is bleak. The IMF predicts a 3% fall in global GDP in 2020 because of COVID-19. Europe’s largest economy, Germany, officially entered into recession earlier this week and according to McKinsey, 60 million jobs are at risk...
Digital in a post-crisis world
As Europe slowly begins to emerge out of an unprecedented public health crisis, questions are being posed as to how digital technologies could be leveraged on the bloc to ensure a resilient and stable recovery. Building on from a recent...
Commission sets sights on digital-savvy citizens
The European Commission has reiterated the importance of up-skilling adults and young people across the bloc, in order to make European workers more agile in the post-coronavirus digital economy. Speaking as part of an event hosted by Digital Europe on...
Coronavirus delays Europe’s space rocket plans
The European Space Agency (ESA) will not launch its new generation of space rocket, the Ariane 6, in 2020 due to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Travel restrictions and lockdown measures have put paid to the agency’s original schedule.
NSA warns of ongoing Russian hacking campaign against US systems
The US National Security Agency on Thursday (28 May) warned government partners and private companies about a Russian hacking operation that uses a special intrusion technique to target operating systems often used by industrial firms to manage computer infrastructure.
Germany calls in Russian envoy, seeks sanctions over hacking
Germany's foreign ministry on Thursday (28 May) called in the Russian ambassador to discuss possible sanctions over a 2015 hacking attack on the German parliament, in an escalating diplomatic row.
French contact-tracing app approved by lawmakers, to launch this weekend
The French government’s contact-tracing app project was approved by the lower house of parliament on Wednesday (27 May), paving the way for a weekend launch of a tool developed independently of the more widely used Apple/Google platform.
Cédric O defends French COVID-19 app ahead of crunch vote
France's Secretary of State for Digital, Cédric O, defended the rollout and use of the country's planned coronavirus contact tracing app, StopCovid, ahead of a National Assembly vote on the technology today (27 May).OpinionPromoted content
Better Treatments & Diagnostics
As COVID-19 continues to spread around the world, we have become witness to the devastating, all-encompassing impact of infectious disease. First and foremost, the pandemic remains an ongoing public health emergency with over three million confirmed cases and hundreds of thousands of human lives lost. But COVID-19 has also emerged as an economic, social, and human rights crisis.
GDPR enforcement held back by lack of resources, report says
Enforcement of EU data privacy rules is being stifled by a lack of resources across national authorities, according to a new study published today (25 May), on the second anniversary of the EU's landmark general data protection regulation (GDPR).
Huawei faces potential UK backlash in new probe
Bolstered US sanctions against Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei have prompted UK authorities to launch a fresh probe into the company, a government spokesperson said on Sunday (24 May).
Irish regulator reaches preliminary decision in Twitter privacy probe
Twitter may be the first big technology firm to face a fine by the EU’s lead regulator under the region’s tougher data protection rules after it submitted a preliminary decision in a probe into the social media firm to other member states.
EU should launch a specialist team to investigate Chinese disinformation
The Chinese government has flooded the European information space with disinformation, in an effort to control the narrative around the pandemic and divert the blame. This poisonous environment created by Chinese info-war operations calls for resolute answers, write Jakub Janda and Nathalie Vogel.
UN freedom of speech rapporteur must wear several hats, says Bulgarian candidate
Iveta Cherneva, a Bulgarian author who writes about security, politics, human rights, and sustainability, and a EURACTIV contributor, has been shortlisted for the position of the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of speech.
Estonia starts testing digital immunity passport for workplaces
Estonia has started to test one of the world's first digital immunity passports, created by a team including founders of global tech startups Transferwise and Bolt, seeking a safer return to workplaces following the coronavirus lockdown.
Zuckerberg appeals for European leadership on platform regulation
Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg has called upon the European Union to take the lead in establishing a legal framework for the regulation of online platforms, in order to resist other models of online governance, like China's, which do not appeal to Western values.
The tech sector needs to take the lead on gender equality
Europe still has a gender problem in business. Data from the European Institute for Gender Equality suggests that amongst Europe’s largest listed companies, only 8% are led by female CEOs. Less than a fifth of executives are women, and only...
EU data watchdog ‘very worried’ by Hungary’s GDPR suspension
The European Data Protection Board, the EU's umbrella organisation overseeing the application of EU data protection rules on the bloc, has voiced its concern over the suspension of EU data protection rights in Hungary.
France to impose digital tax this year regardless of any new international levy
France will tax big digital businesses this year whether there is progress or not towards an international deal on a levy, its finance minister said on Thursday (13 May), adding such a tax had never been more legitimate or more necessary.
Digital Brief: Your union needs you (to use apps)
Welcome to EURACTIV’s Digital Brief, your weekly update on all things digital in the EU. You can subscribe to the newsletter here. “The largest possible participation of EU citizens is necessary to exploit the full potential of tracing apps.” – ...
A Man’s world: Challenging gender stereotypes in the tech sector
With men dominating higher managerial positions in Europe's technology sector, there has been no shortage of calls for greater female empowerment in the industry.