Internet governance
Soros accuses Facebook of conspiring to re-elect Trump
Speaking in Davos, billionaire and philanthropist George Soros accused Facebook of working for the re-election of US President Donald Trump, in a speech where he also targeted “would-be dictator” Matteo Salvini as one of the biggest threats to European democracies.
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.
Cybersecurity: What does it mean to EU citizens?
Cybersecurity represents one of the greatest challenges that companies, individuals, national governments and supranational organisations currently face. The technological devices that citizens use daily could be at risk of potential cyber-threats due to insufficient built-in security safeguards.
MEP: Commission ‘irresponsible’ on 5G health risks
The European Commission is “irresponsible” in not addressing the health risks associated with the future rollout of next-generation mobile network, Bulgarian MEP Ivo Hristov has said.
Should the EU embrace artificial intelligence, or fear it?
Advances in machine learning are progressing rapidly, and governments are struggling to keep up. The EU has emerged as the world’s regulator in this space, but some fear it's stifling European innovation.
Copyright directive ‘not in danger’ EU says, following Google backlash
The European Commission has assured those involved that the EU's controversial copyright directive is "not in danger," following Google's announcement that it will avoid renumerating content creators by implementing technical changes to the way it displays news online.
Google wins landmark ‘right to be forgotten’ case in blow for privacy advocates
Google has fended off a landmark legal challenge from the French data protection authority after the EU's top court ruled that the search engine giant does not have to apply 'right to be forgotten' rules globally.
Google agrees on $1 billion tax settlement with France
US internet giant Google has agreed a settlement totalling $1 billion to end a tax dispute in France under an agreement announced in court on Thursday (12 September).
UK government accused of ‘harvesting citizen data’ ahead of Brexit
UK opposition parties have hit out at the government for an alleged harvesting of user data, surreptitiously obtained from individuals accessing the official Gov.uk website, ahead of the UK's scheduled withdrawal from the EU at the end of October.
Tech giants under pressure in the US
About twenty US states are worried about the monopolistic tendencies of tech giants, and are close to launching a joint antitrust investigation next month, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday (19 August). EURACTIV's partner La Tribune reports.
Big Tech faces broad U.S. Justice Department antitrust probe
The U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday (23 July) it was opening a broad investigation of major digital technology firms into whether they engage in anticompetitive practices, the strongest sign the Trump administration is stepping up its scrutiny of Big Tech.
Germany wants to fine Facebook over hate speech reporting
Social media platforms in Germany are obliged to report hate speech and other illegal content. Germany's Federal Office of Justice is expected to slap a €2 million fine on Facebook for reporting only a fraction of such activity on its platform. EURACTIV Germany reports.
New developments in store for online multilingualism, EU’s Navracsics says
The diversity of European languages in use online could be improved in the near future, the EU's Commissioner for Education and Culture, Tibor Navracsics, told EURACTIV amid criticism that progress with online multilingualism in Europe has been "frustratingly slow".
Facebook to give data on hate speech suspects to French courts
Facebook has agreed to hand over the identification data of French users suspected of hate speech on its platform to judges, France’s minister for digital affairs Cedric O said on Tuesday (25 June).
Vestager’s grand plan for regulating the digital economy
The EU should be "ready to act" should social values such as "privacy, freedom and fairness" be under threat from expanding digital monopolies, the bloc's Competition Chief Margrethe Vestager said on Monday (3 April).
Kramp-Karrenbauer faces backlash over ‘censorship’ calls
A broad debate should be held on the possible regulation of political views expressed online, the leader of Germany's ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (AKK), said on Monday. But she faced an immediate backlash, with some accusing her of advocating censorship.
Up to 400 online platforms hosting terrorist content, Commission says
Between 200 and 400 online platforms are currently hosting content that could lead to terrorist radicalisation, the European Commission has said.
‘Small platforms’ are the target of online terrorist content regulation, MEP says
The EU is taking regulatory measures to clamp down on the dissemination of terrorist content online. In the European Parliament, the file is being dealt with by the Civil Liberties Committee, with MEP Daniel Dalton leading the report. EURACTIV sat down with Dalton to discuss the finer details of the plans.
Regulating against radicalisation
The EU is seeking to regulate against the dissemination of terrorist content online. This special report looks into some of the finer details of the measures, such as the length of the time-limited order, the scope of the regulation, and whether the restrictions could ever lead to a censorship of the web.
‘Digital gangsters’: UK parliament slams Facebook on data protection, disinformation
A UK Parliamentary report has singled out Facebook for failing to effectively protect user data and stem the spread of disinformation across its platform, saying that the tech giant "is unwilling to be accountable to regulators around the world."
Deal struck on copyright reform after ‘intense’ negotiations
The future of online copyright is set to be radically transformed as Parliament and Council negotiators struck an agreement on the controversial Copyright Directive on Wednesday (13 February) evening, over two years after the measures were first introduced by the Commission. VideoPromoted content
Fighting harmful content: Keeping the internet and users safer online
Hot take, or hate speech? Religious speech or incitement to violence? Tackling harmful content online has never been more vital, or more complex.
EU countries agree on copyright reforms, deal in sight next week
The European Union’s effort to rewrite two-decade old copyright rules to take into account online platforms such as Alphabet Inc’s Google moved a step forward on Friday (8 February) when a majority of member countries agreed on a common position for talks with lawmakers next week.
