About: online platforms
Advertising is essential to the free web. But tracking isn’t.
It’s heartening to see that European lawmakers are preparing to vote on beefed-up restrictions on tracking ads. In fact I wish they were willing to go even further and consider an outright ban - because as recent events and headlines have unambiguously shown, tracking is doing enormous damage to individual rights and to the integrity of democratic institutions.
How the EU law on online services wants to restore trust in the digital sphere
The general approach to the Digital Services Act (DSA) has been one of the major achievements of the Slovenian Presidency and on 25 November, EU ministers unanimously adopted the mandate to initiate the interinstitutional negotiations on it. The agreement was reached just 11 months after the presentation of the proposal under the leadership of the Slovenian Presidency.
French law on content moderation risks ‘fragmenting’ EU digital market, says Commission
A French bill with several obligations for online platforms similar to a draft EU law poses a "risk to the single market in digital services and to Europe's prosperity", the European Commission has warned. EURACTIV France reports.
Digital Brief, powered by FACEBOOK: Slovenia’s digital agenda, recovery plans falling short, Google sanctioned
Welcome to EURACTIV’s Digital Brief, your weekly update on all things digital in the EU. You can subscribe to the newsletter here. “We want to promote the EU digital agenda, to contribute to its success especially on the regulatory side. We...
Germany’s online hate speech law slammed by opposition, Commission
Civil rights activists and opposition politicians have slammed a recently approved amendment to Germany's law regulating online communications, saying it encroaches on freedom of expression and fragments the European legal space. EURACTIV Germany reports.
MEPs urged to reject Commission’s ‘anti-free speech’ proposal to monitor terror online
The European Commission is seeking to offer some comfort and reassurance after 61 organisations urged EU lawmakers in an open letter to reject the proposed EU regulation on preventing the dissemination of terrorist content online, which is due to be voted on in Parliament on 28 April.
Spain declares delivery riders to be staff, in EU first
Spain's government announced Thursday (11 March) a deal that will recognise riders working for delivery firms such as Deliveroo and UberEats as salaried staff following complaints about their working conditions -- a first in the EU.
Revealed: Commission ushers in new era of digital regulation
The European Commission will today (15 December) unveil a broad set of regulatory measures clamping down on global digital giants, as part of two landmark texts that will overhaul the operation of the platform economy in the EU.
No ‘ministry of truth’, EU vows at democracy action plan launch
The European Commission unveiled on Thursday (3 December) its Democracy Action Plan, the first piece of a digital agenda package that aims to fight disinformation, enforce rules on fair competition in online public debates, and protect the integrity of elections.
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.
User data on the Internet: Manipulation as a business model
European election campaigns are well underway and online votes are also being sought. In such situations, the temptation to misuse data is great, as the Cambridge Analytica scandal in the US elections demonstrated. In the EU, parties have also long relied on advanced data analysis, but is this still legal? EURACTIV Germany talked to a communication expert.
European Parliament wants to stop rigged online reviews
MEPs have updated consumer protection rules, bringing greater transparency in how online offers are ranked and, particularly, in reviews left by customers about products. EURACTIV France reports.
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.
From transport to street lighting: The emergence of smart city platforms
Uber and Airbnb have shown how city services can be transformed by platform offerings. Developing the right platforms will be key for cities to ensure that their economies, environment, and services are fit for the future, writes Eric Woods.
Europeans want to give authors better protection against GAFA companies
Various lobby groups are bringing out the big guns ahead of this week's second vote on copyright reform in the European Parliament. According to a Harris Interactive poll, the overwhelming majority of European citizens want to give authors better protection.
Zuckerberg’s Parliament meeting ‘the right thing’, says EU justice chief
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s meeting on Tuesday afternoon (22 May) with European Parliament leaders is “the right thing for himself” after the company’s recent data collection scandal, EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova said in an interview.
Zuckerberg to meet European Parliament leaders in private session
After weeks of back-and-forth between the European Parliament and Facebook executives, CEO Mark Zuckerberg agreed on Wednesday (16 May) to meet with political leaders in Brussels over the company’s recent data breach scandal.
A European vision for human-centred digital platform ecosystems
Europe must continue to establish itself as the global regulator of digital technology serving Europeans and respond to growing pressure from online platforms, write Mariya Gabriel and Mounir Mahjoubi.
Online platforms under fire as EU pushes for transparency on search results
Online platforms ranging from ecommerce retailers like Amazon to search engines including Google will be forced to reveal the criteria they use to display search results, under a new European Commission proposal.
Gabriel: Facebook users ‘need to know what happened with their data’
Facebook users “need to know what happened with their data” following reports over a week ago that millions of profiles on the social media platform were secretly used to help political campaigns, EU Digital Commissioner Mariya Gabriel said.
Commission expert group pressures tech platforms to stop ‘fake news’ advertising
An expert group advising the European Commission on so-called fake news wants tech giants to be more transparent about their advertising revenue. Their new report pressures social media firms like Facebook and Twitter to deal with the spread of false information on their platforms.
Commission faces backlash for plan to fast-track tech platforms’ removal of illegal posts
Internet platforms are coming under more and more pressure in Europe, and now face a potential legal threat if they do not remove posts with terrorist content within one hour.
France eyes EU law to crack down on terrorists’ use of social media
France’s top diplomat in charge of technology policy said there could be a need for EU legislation to make sure social media firms remove content promoting terrorism.