Data protection
Breaking: Meta halts AI rollout in Europe after ‘request’ from Irish data protection authorities
Est. 2minFacebook and Instagram's parent company Meta is pausing its plans to roll our artificial intelligence tools in Europe, following a request from Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC), the firm said in a Friday (14 June) blogpost.
Political pressure mounts on Parliament data leak, Apple-ChatGPT deal could draw competition scrutiny
Est. 11minFour political groups sent letters to the European Parliament to pressure for answers and mitigation measures in a data leak, Apple's ChatGPT integration could draw DMA scrutiny.
Confusion after French government shoots down amendments supporting its own sovereign cloud strategy
Est. 5minIn their rush to vote down burdensome amendments on a bill regulating consulting companies, Renaissance MPs also voted down amendments that support its own cloud security strategy - casting doubt as to its consistency in pushing the scheme forward.
Digital rights group files additional complaint against Meta’s ‘pay or okay’ model
Est. 3minThe non-profit digital rights organisation Noyb filed an additional complaint on Thursday morning (11 January) with the Austrian data protection authority about Facebook's “pay or okay” system, this time focusing on the withdrawal conditions.
EU court lowers requirements for imposing fines for data protection breaches
Est. 3minThe European Court of Justice issued a landmark ruling on Tuesday (5 December) that is set to facilitate the imposition of fines for infringements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
UK Information Commissioner concerned about Snapchat chatbot’s privacy risks
Est. 3minThe British Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued a preliminary enforcement notice against Snapchat last Friday (6 October) due to the social platform possibly failing to assess the privacy risks of “My AI”, its artificial intelligence (AI) bot. My AI is Snapchat’s …
LEAKS: EU Parliament mulls using MEPs’ fingerprints to register attendance
Est. 3minThe European Parliament is moving forward with controversial plans to replace the system of manual signature by MEPs with a system of biometric fingerprints as proof of presence at parliamentary meetings, according to a Parliament document seen by Euractiv.
EU-China Digital Dialogue seeks common ground on tech and data
Est. 5minPlatforms and data regulation, AI research and innovation, cross-border flows of industrial data and the safety of online products were at the heart of the European Commission's High-level Digital Dialogue with China, held in Beijing on Monday (18 September).
New EU-US data transfer deal also faces criticism in Germany
Est. 5minFrench lawmaker Philippe Latombe's latest lawsuit at the EU's top court, which could derail the new EU-US data transfer deal, has found support in Germany, where the two-month-old agreement is already facing widespread criticism.
New study: 25 major car brands violate consumer privacy principles
Est. 6minTwenty-five of the major car brands fail to uphold consumer privacy through collecting personal data by means of microphones, cameras, and devices connected to cars by users, according to a study by Mozilla, which was quickly challenged by car makers.
Child sexual abuse: leading MEP sceptical of technical limitations
Est. 5minAs the European Parliament's published its draft report on the proposal to fight child sexual abuse material (CSAM), the rapporteur shared with EURACTIV his vision about the key aspects of the file. Javier Zarzalejos is an influential voice inside European People's …
US senators question Zuckerberg on Chinese, Russian access to user data
Est. 2minSenators Mark Warner and Marco Rubio wrote to Facebook parent Meta Platforms on 6 February about documents that show developers in China and Russia had access to user data that could be used for espionage.
EU settles rules for accessing electronic evidence across borders
Est. 5minThe EU Council, Parliament and Commission reached a political agreement on new legislation enabling law enforcement agencies to obtain electronic evidence stored in another member state on Tuesday evening (29 November).
EU ministers to scrap cross-border telemedicine from health data space
Est. 5minThe Czech EU Council presidency is expected to reach a common position just on the first two chapters of the European Health Data Space (EHDS) file, in which ministers will propose scrapping the European Commission's provisions on cross-border telemedicine.
Meta sanctioned with €265m over data scraping practices
Est. 3minThe Irish Data Protection Commissioner levied a €265 million fine on Monday (28 November) on Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram over their data scraping practices and ordered a set of remedial actions.
Stakeholders doubtful EU health data space will launch on schedule
Est. 4minStakeholders expressed concern that the European Health Data Space (EDHS), aimed at reforming the sharing of health data across hospitals around the EU, will launch as planned in 2025 due to a large number of issues still to be addressed.
ePrivacy: EU legislators chase compromise on processing electronic communications data
Est. 5minAfter months of stagnating debates on the ePrivacy Regulation, EU lawmakers and diplomats have moved on to discussing the sensitive issue of processing electronic communications data, metadata, and content.
How MEPs want to reshape the Data Act
Est. 5minFollowing Wednesday's (9 November) deadline to submit amendments to the Data Act, EURACTIV provides an overview of the main ideas tabled by EU lawmakers.
EU-US Privacy Framework needs a long hard look
Est. 6minThe Commission has endorsed enthusiastically a recent US order to implement a new framework to protect the privacy of personal data shared between the US and Europe. Dick Roche begs to differ.
Privacy activists warn against removing compensation for data protection breaches
Est. 3minThe Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued a non-binding opinion, which privacy advocates fear could further limit users’ possibilities to enforce their privacy rights under the GDPR.
EU’s data protection authorities call for streamlining of procedural aspects
Est. 5minThe European Data Protection Board’s chair Andrea Jelinek sent a 'wish list' of procedural aspects to be harmonised at the EU level to the European Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders, in a letter published on Wednesday (12 October).
President Biden signs executive order for a new EU-US data transfer framework
Est. 5minPresident of the United States, Joe Biden, has signed an executive order for a new EU-US data transfer framework which will introduce safeguards for US intelligence services' access to European personal data, overcoming the stumbling block that saw the mechanism fail in 2020.
EU’s data protection authority brings Europol mandate to court
Est. 5minThe European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) filed a legal action last week, made public on Thursday (22 September), against the EU co-legislators that have recently adopted a bolstered mandate for the law enforcement agency Europol.
Scant resources might threaten enforcement on Big Tech, EU data protection bodies warn
Est. 5minThe European privacy watchdogs have sent a letter, seen exclusively by EURACTIV, requesting the European Parliament and Council to allocate more financial resources in next year’s budget or face a loss in credibility in the EU’s data protection rules. The letter …