About: consumer protection
EU gives Google 2 months to improve hotel, flight search results
Alphabet unit Google has two months to improve the way it presents internet search results for flights and hotels and explain how it ranks these or face possible sanctions, the European Commission and EU consumer authorities said.
New report reiterates there is no East-West divide in food quality
A new study on food quality has found detectable differences between European products but said they were not correlated with geography, lending weight to the idea that there is no East-West divide in food quality discrimination in Europe.
‘Greenwashing’ is rampant in online stores, consumer authorities find
Many of the "green" claims on companies' websites are exaggerated, false and potentially illegal, according to a study of online shops and traders by the European Union and national consumer protection authorities.
Class action lawsuits to become EU law
European consumers will soon be able to band together as groups in court after the European Parliament on Tuesday (24 November) adopted legislation giving them the right to US-style class-action lawsuits.
Back to the egg: a shining example of absurd EU regulation
During this exceptionally hot summer, food chain operators and retailers intuitively used their fridges to prevent eggs from spoilage, although this is not permitted in the EU, writes Kostadin Fikiin.
First Dieselgate ruling by Germany’s top court set to flag legal clarity
Germany's Federal High Court (BGH) will announce later on Monday (25 May) its first ruling in the Dieselgate emissions scandal, which is set to guide other courts and have a major impact on the entire auto industry. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Commission hits out at online COVID-19 scams
The European Commission has rebuked online platforms including Facebook, Google, Amazon, Alibaba and eBay for the alleged "proliferation of deceptive marketing techniques" that exploit consumers' fear of Coronavirus for economic gain.
Contaminated meat scandal exposes Germany’s food safety flaws
Three people died because bacteria-contaminated food from a meat producer was sold on the European market. Although the authorities knew about the bacterial discovery, the company was only closed after two weeks. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Airbnb bows to EU demands on room fees
Airbnb has bowed to EU pressure and will avoid potentially multi-million euro fines after making changes to the way it advertises the fees for its popular room-booking service.
No colour-coded Nutri-Score for Nestlé in Germany
Nestlé's plans to introduce a Nutri-Score for its products across Europe have been blocked in Germany, which lacks a legal framework for colour-coded food labels. EURACTIV Germany reports.
RAPEX, the safety guarantee for European products
The rapid alert system removed more than 2,000 dangerous products from the European market in 2018. However, much remains to be done about security, notably with regards to China. EURACTIV France reports.
‘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.
Nothing wrong with genome editing in agriculture
While some may see the recent decision of the Court of Justice of the EU that states that organisms obtained by mutagenesis are GMOs and are therefore subject to obligations laid down by the GMO directive as a win for consumers, the reality is just the opposite, writes Neal Gutterson.
Commission says Airbnb breaches EU consumer rules, must fall into line
The European Union told Airbnb yesterday (16 July) to bring its terms and conditions into line with the bloc's consumer rules or face action by national consumer agencies, after a review of the short-term rental platform found some violations.
Tech industry and consumer watchdogs at odds over robot liability
Tech industry groups and consumer watchdogs are at odds over whether the European Commission should overhaul the bloc’s legislation on product liability to cover robots and artificial intelligence.
EU clears path for collective law suits
Consumers will be able to sue companies in collective action lawsuits spanning multiple EU countries, under a new European Commission proposal.
EU plans to pull ‘free’ digital services under consumer protection rules
EXCLUSIVE / Digital services that collect users’ data, like Facebook and Gmail, will be pulled under EU consumer protection rules as part of a European Commission overhaul due next month. Possible sanctions will be raised to up to 4% of a company's turnover.
Fidget spinners named on EU danger list
Despite becoming a common sight on playgrounds around the world and even in the workplace, fidget spinners have been included on an EU list of dangerous products, as toys ended up posing the most risk in 2017.
Consumer watchdogs want fines against Twitter and Facebook for breaking EU rules
Consumer watchdogs have called for the European Commission to introduce a minimum fine against companies that break EU rules, after Facebook and Twitter failed to reform their user terms.
EU kebab-ban? All smoke and no roast
An objection aimed at banning phosphate from kebab meat, to be voted in the European Parliament on Tuesday (12 December), has started a Europe-wide controversy, fuelled by a German conservative MEP and fake news. EURACTIV France reports.
EU-US Privacy Shield pact to pass first annual review
A year-old pact underpinning billions of dollars of transatlantic data transfers will get the green light from the European Union today (18 October) after the first review to ensure Washington protects Europeans’ data stored on US servers.
No, the EU does not want to ban your chips
Recently, headlines in Germany and Austria might have made you shiver with fear: “The. EU. Wants. To. Ban. Crispy. Chips”. No less! The same EU which dictates the shape of our bananas and cucumbers is now meddling with our chips. Or is it, asks Monique Goyens.
‘No second class consumers’: Juncker slams double food quality in the EU
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker criticised double standards of food quality in his address to Parliament on Wednesday morning (13 September), saying that there should be no “second class consumers” in the single market.