About: Privacy
LEAK: Commission to force scanning of communications to combat child pornography
The European Commission is to put forward a generalised scanning obligation for messaging services, according to a draft proposal obtained by EURACTIV.OpinionPromoted content
Why choice should be the default in the DMA
The clock may be ticking on Google, Apple, and other tech giants’ ability to impose their email apps on users as default settings. If EU regulators are serious about fair competition in digital markets, letting people choose their own email app should be the new default setting.
Digital Brief: Data Act official, the (real) cost of semiconductors
Welcome to EURACTIV’s Digital Brief, your weekly update on all things digital in the EU. You can subscribe to the newsletter here. “The Data Act clarifies who can access and share data and on what terms. It provides legal certainty,...
Facebook Oversight Board recommends privacy improvements to tackle ‘doxing’
Meta should amend its privacy policy to ban the sharing of private residential information even when it is considered “publicly available”, the company’s Oversight Board has said.
Digital Brief: Data Act leaked, AdTech in the storm, the importance of standards
Welcome to EURACTIV’s Digital Brief, your weekly update on all things digital in the EU. You can subscribe to the newsletter here. “The aim to ensure fairness in the allocation of data value among actors in the data economy and...
Europe’s most used consent system deemed incompatible with EU privacy rules
Belgium's data watchdog found that a popular mechanism for managing user preferences in Europe violates several General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) provisions, and it requested advertisers to delete the collected data.
Following backlash over cookie phase-out, Google launches new proposal
Following the somewhat unpopular plan to phase out cookies in its Chrome web browser, Google has laid down Topics API as a method of tracking users online through a topic-centred tracking system.
European Commission pushes back against calls for GDPR infringement procedure
For Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders, it is too early to assess whether the cooperation mechanism at the basis of the enforcement of the EU's privacy rules, the GDPR, is functioning correctly.
European Commission accused of maladministration over GDPR enforcement
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) filed a formal complaint against the European Commission before the European Ombudsman on Monday (29 November) for failing to monitor enforcement of the EU's data protection law, known as the GDPR, and not holding Ireland accountable.
Digital Brief: Facebook fallout, 2022 digital agenda, AI in law enforcement
Welcome to EURACTIV’s Digital Brief, your weekly update on all things digital in the EU. You can subscribe to the newsletter here. “The things I saw at Facebook over and over again was, there were conflicts of interest between what was...
The Brief, powered by GIE — Facebook’s darkest hour
Unprecedented internet outages, public outrage, pending lawsuits, upcoming legislation, growing competition, and privacy quarrels: Facebook is facing its darkest hour.
‘Fit for 55,’ Belarus migrant stand off and Whatsapp complaints
In our last episode of the season, the Yellow Room brings you all the reaction to Europe’s “Fit for 55” climate package unveiled this week. To break down the components of this story we spoke with EURACTIV energy and environment reporter Kira Taylor.
EU data watchdogs want ban on AI facial recognition
The EU's data protection agencies on Monday (21 June) called for an outright ban on using artificial intelligence to identify people in public places, pointing to the "extremely high" risks to privacy.
Facebook to Irish data body: 533 million user breach took place before GDPR
Facebook has told the Irish Data Protection Commission that a breach involving the personal information of 533 million users worldwide took place prior to the entry into force of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation in 2018, and the company...
German legal dispute over Facebook data use sent to European Court of Justice
The European Court of Justice has been asked to clarify whether Germany's competition authority was right to order Facebook to halt its data collection practices, due to concerns over alleged abuse of its dominant market position and violations of EU data protection law.
Portuguese Presidency rebuts Vestager’s concerns about ePrivacy proposal
The Portuguese Presidency of the EU has rebutted claims from the Commission's Executive Vice-President for Digital, Margarethe Vestager, that the country's prosed text for the ePrivacy regulation poses a risk to EU data protection standards as outlined in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Commission ‘not naive’ about UK’s data ambitions, Reynders assures MEPs
The European Commission is 'not naive' to the UK's future ambitions in the data space and will be 'prepared' to suspend transfers of personal data to the country should the UK in the future diverge from EU standards, Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders has said.
US ‘concerned’ about EU data localisation, as Irish regulator reveals TikTok worry
The US administration has hit out at calls in the EU for personal data to be localized on the bloc and thus avoid having to be transferred to third countries, following a ruling from the European Court of Justice last year in the famed Schrems II case.
Jourová defends EU data against US ‘mass surveillance’ in Privacy Shield talks
EU negotiators want an 'absolute guarantee' that personal data transferred to the US will not be subject to 'mass surveillance,' as part of ongoing talks on a new EU-US data transfer mechanism, according to the Commission's Vice-President for Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová.
Mixed emotions as Council finally adopts position on ePrivacy text
The EU Council finally managed to adopt a position on widespread new data protection rules on Wednesday (10 February), as part of the so-called ePrivacy regulation, although Germany and Austria abstained from voting and Berlin's data protection authority called for 'significant changes' to the text.
Europol on defensive as concerns raised over ‘illegal’ Big Data tactics
Europol, the EU's law enforcement agency, has defended its record in using large datasets for criminal investigations while putting forward an 'action plan', seen by EURACTIV, to appease concerns raised over the agency's 'illegal' data use by the EU's data protection watchdog.
EU Parliament under fire over ‘illegal US data transfers’ from COVID website
European Parliament services are coming under pressure from a group of lawmakers working with privacy activist Max Schrems over allegations that the institution's coronavirus test management website is illegally siphoning data to US-based firms.
Dating apps and videoconferencing could be monitored in new EU data rules
Dating apps and videoconferencing tools could come under the scope of new EU efforts to monitor online communications in a bid to stamp out child sexual abuse material, internal documents obtained by EURACTIV reveal.