Internet governance
EU code of practice on fake news: Tech giants sign the dotted line
Tech giants including Facebook, Google, Twitter and Mozilla have submitted plans to the European Commission outlining how they will abide by a code of practice against fake news, amid opposition on the proposals from a multistakeholder forum.
EU privacy chief expects first round of fines under new law by year-end
Regulators are set to exercise their new powers by handing out fines and even temporary bans on companies that breach a new EU privacy law, with the first round of sanctions expected by the end of the year, the bloc’s privacy chief said.
MEPs vote for more European TV on our screens
MEPs at the European Parliament backed plans on Tuesday (2 October) to ensure that at least 30 per cent of content provided by online media platforms such as Amazon and Netflix is European.
Will Weber take a hammer to Facebook’s social media monopoly?
EPP MEP and lead candidate for Jean-Claude Junker's job as the next European Commission president, Manfred Weber, threw down the gauntlet on Friday (28 September), suggesting that he may support a breakup of Facebook and Whatsapp.
Pressure mounts on Facebook after massive data breach
The EU's Justice Commissioner Věra Jourová has put pressure on Facebook to disclose further details of the massive security breach that impacted around fifty million users last week.
EU regulators want to know if merchants hurt by Amazon copies
EU antitrust regulators are asking retailers and manufacturers whether Amazon’s sales of own brand products similar to theirs have harmed their business, a move which could lead to a formal case and possibly fines against the U.S. tech giant.
‘Europe is under attack’: Tajani and Gabriel on fake news
The EU faces an enormous challenge to counter the threat of disinformation ahead of the 2019 European elections, digital commissioner Mariya Gabriel and parliament president Antonio Tajani said on Thursday (27 September).
British intelligence services make dramatic admission in spying case
The UK intelligence agencies GCHQ, MI5 and MI6 unlawfully captured private data from the UK-based rights charity Privacy International, legal documents published on Tuesday (25 September) reveal, in a move likely to spark fury amongst civil rights campaigners.
‘Channel of dirt’: Jourová describes her Facebook experience
Facebook came in for heavy criticism on Thursday (20 September), as EU justice chief Věra Jourová shone a light on her own Facebook experience as well as the issue of the tech giant's non-compliance with EU consumer rules.
Top German court delays YouTube illegal uploads case to seek EU opinion
Germany’s highest court has postponed a decision on whether YouTube is liable for violations of intellectual property rights on its video platform in order to seek the opinion of European Union judges, a process expected to take one to two years.
Drama strikes hemicycle as European Parliament backs copyright bill
The European Parliament backed the controversial copyright bill on Wednesday (12 September), drawing cheers of jubilation and howls of disapproval from MEPs in the Strasbourg hemicycle.
The copyright bill: Explained in under 2 minutes
The European Parliament will vote on its controversial Copyright bill on Wednesday, September 12. The directive aims to ensure that producers of creative content are remunerated fairly online.
Chancellor Merkel’s digital gurus
In Germany, a ten-member committee takes up its work to speed up the country's digitization efforts and ask uncomfortable questions. EURACTIV Germany's media partner "Der Tagesspiegel" reports.
Commission lobbies for police access to website owners list
The European Commission has suggested that law enforcement authorities could soon have restricted access to the WHOIS database that identifies website owners because the system is on a collision course with the EU’s strict new data protection law.
Facebook widens probe into alleged Russian meddling in Brexit
Facebook Inc said on Wednesday (17 January) it would conduct a new, comprehensive search of its records for possible propaganda that Russian operatives may have spread during the run-up to Britain's 2016 referendum on EU membership.
Reding: ‘Endangered languages could be saved by the internet’
Internet platforms have helped the internet to become more multilingual, and especially less widely spoken languages like Luxembourgish, Viviane Reding told EURACTIV.com in an interview.
Domain names on a multilingual internet
More than half of the content on the internet is in English. Some online platforms like Facebook and Google Translate have increased their offers in other languages, and are now available in more than 100 languages.
EU urged to help expand internet domain names in different languages
Researchers and officials working on internet governance have urged EU institutions to help expand the use of internationalised domain names, which contain letters from alphabets including Cyrillic or Greek, or accented letters like in the word “café”.
EU plans aid to prosecute hackers and support member states
EU diplomats agreed to provide support to find and prosecute hackers outside the bloc and help member states that are hit with cybersecurity breaches, as part of a strategy to step up defence against large-scale attacks.
What is next for eGovernment ?
This year the Estonian EU Presidency is putting eGovernment at the forefront of discussions leading up to a Tallinn Declaration. Estonia is ranked number 1 in the EU and has emerged as a global leader in eGovernment operations.
In Europe, a new wave of terrorism driven by social media
The proliferation of extremist content online has led to growing pressure on tech firms. The EU has an opportunity to provide leadership by developing clear standards to decrease the prevalence of extremist propaganda, writes Radek Sikorski.
The EU shouldn’t fall for false “digital freedom”
Data monopolies, black-box algorithms, intellectual property, data protection and cybersecurity threats - it is high time for the EU to consider the costs of allowing our digital "freedom" to go unregulated, writes Helga Trüpel.
Notaries turn blockchain into ally for digital transactions
Once feared as a technology that would make legal practitioners redundant, blockchain has now actually strengthened the role of notaries as interpreters of complex transactions, best illustrated by the convoluted issue of land registries.