About: Microsoft

EU proposes ‘revolutionary’ fast-track system for police data access

A new EU proposal will force tech companies to share their users’ personal data with law enforcement authorities from different member states upon request.

Leaked EU overhaul gives tech companies 10 days to share ‘e-evidence’ data with police

EXCLUSIVE / Messaging apps and other digital services will be forced to give their users’ data to law enforcement authorities within ten days of receiving requests, or six hours in emergencies, according to a leaked draft of an upcoming EU legal overhaul.

Not yet in effect, Europe’s new data protection rules already face overseas threats

This week, the United States government will be faced with the choice of whether or not it will violate European data protection laws. In order to ensure the protection of personal data at home, European policymakers must shape rules and practices abroad, writes Christine Galvagna.

Commission backs away from regulating online platforms over hate speech

The European Commission is backing away from a plan to propose binding EU legislation that would force online platforms to remove posts containing hate speech.

Gabriel leading Commission effort against fake news ‘disease’

Fake news is a disease that European society needs to be “vaccinated” against, the EU's Digital Commissioner Mariya Gabriel said as she opened a call for public comments on possible EU responses to the spread of false information on internet platforms.

Commission wants to extend law for police data access to the US

The European Commission hopes to set an international standard with its upcoming proposal to give police easier access to data from tech companies, and has already asked the United States to cooperate.

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.

Member states and tech firms wary of EU ‘data flows’ plan

Tech companies want the European Commission to propose new legislation in autumn that they hope will bring down data storage costs in some countries. But rumoured changes have worried firms that France could pressure the executive to weaken the rules.

Top 5 antitrust fines handed out by EU

The European Commission on Tuesday (27 June) hit Google with the biggest fine ever against a company for abuse of a dominant market position.

Social media giants step up fight against extremist content

Social media giants Facebook, Google's YouTube, Twitter and Microsoft said on Monday (26 June) they were forming a global working group to combine their efforts to remove terrorist content from their platforms.

EU privacy watchdogs reiterate warning about Windows 10

European Union data protection watchdogs said on Monday (20 February) they were still concerned about the privacy settings of Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system despite the US company announcing changes to the installation process.

EU Jewish leaders warned against embrace by alt-right nationalists

EU Jewish leaders have been warned against being co-opted by alt-right nationalist groups emboldened by Donald Trump’s presidency and trying to ‘whitewash’ themselves of previous anti-Semitism.

Lenin: Father of the Bolshevik Revolution

This year is the centenary of the Bolshevik Revolution. The man who orchestrated it died 93 years ago, on 21 January 1924. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin ushered into the world one of the most brutal dictatorship it has ever seen in the Soviet Union, writes Joachim Starbatty.

Using online technology to beat hate

Hate is brewing in society, and its expression through online speech is real and corrosive. Internet companies and NGOs are now working with the EU to fight back, writes Robin Sclafani.

Microsoft wins EU approval for LinkedIn buyout

Microsoft won EU antitrust approval on Tuesday (6 December) for its $26 billion (€24.2bn) bid for professional social network LinkedIn, its largest ever acquisition, after agreeing to a series of modest concessions.

The Microsoft ruling: Mending EU-US digital relations

Microsoft’s successful appeal against a US Department of Justice request to access emails stored on its foreign servers marks an important milestone for international consumer privacy and the tech community, writes Brian Stafford.

Google, Microsoft, Twitter and Facebook agree to remove hate speech online

Google, Microsoft, Twitter and Facebook said they will remove posts containing hate speech within 24 hours as part of a new agreement organised by the European Commission to counter extremism on the internet.

Commission: End of January ‘not a formal deadline’ for Safe Harbour

A top European Commission negotiator on the EU-US Safe Harbour agreement said the data sharing deal gives an “incredible privilege to American companies”.

EU heeds telecoms call for lighter regulation, network investment

Policy executives from Orange, Deutsche Telekom and BT urged a step back in regulations on Tuesday (23 June), arguing they discourage private investment.

The Google case shows why competition policy in the digital economy needs to change

The European Commission’s antitrust case against Google is the latest in a series of attempts to prevent tech giants from monopolising EU markets. But past cases against Intel and Microsoft illustrate the need to review the EU’s outdated competition policy, argues Diego Zuluaga.

Coding moves firmly into the mainstream

SPECIAL REPORT: Once seen as the exclusive province of a handful of computer experts, coding has moved firmly into the mainstream as policymakers, educators and business have realised its potential.

Commission to meet Microsoft over mass redundancies

The European Commission has asked to meet Microsoft to discuss the layoff of thousands of EU workers, as the tech giant trims its newly-acquired Nokia subsidiary