Europe wants to protect 'human rights defender' Edward Snowden from the US
Edward Snowden could have a new friend, and place of exile, in Europe. Currently in Russia, Snowden today found himself the subject of an EU vote seeking to drop any criminal charges against the former NSA contractor.
The vote passed 285 to 281 and is likely to upset the US. This is because member states are also looking to extend protection to Snowden and prevent extradition by third parties, calling him an "international human rights defender".
US businesses fear Safe Harbor dismissal will affect European operations
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in the US are saying that the suspension of the Safe Harbor law might mean end of overseas operations for them, Reuters reported on Thursday.
The Safe Harbor law allowed companies in the United States to transport data regarding its European users to the States. It was struck down recently, by the European Court of Justice.
Europe wants to change data sharing deal with US
A comment by the European Court of Justice’s Advocate General about data transfer between European Union and the United States has sent ripples through the tech world, as it might completely change the way EU and the US companies do digital business.
"The Commission decision is invalid", Reuters quotes Advocate General Yves Bot saying, referring to the Safe Harbour framework enabling data transfers to the United States.
Google hits back at latest round of antitrust accusations
Antitrust claims against Google are nothing new, and the company stands accused of abusing its position and favouring its own products in search results in Europe. Today, Google's General Counsel Kent Walker responded to the European Commission's claims, saying they are "unfounded".
Google has filed an official response to the Commission, but a public blog post gives an accessible insight into the company's mindset. The EU is unhappy with the way Google displayed shopping links in search results, saying its own services are given undue prominence. Google says that far from being anti-competitive, the way it displays search results is beneficial to its users.
The tide is turning for Chinese brands in Europe
Whilst recent attention in the payments industry has been on China as the next e-commerce frontier -- with Alibaba’s Jack Ma recently courting US businesses to cross the border -- we are starting to witness the rise of Chinese companies breaking into European markets.
Driven by the hunger of fast growth and the increasing acceptance of customers to purchase online internationally, Chinese brands are keen to get a slice of the European market and bring their offerings to a new audience. And it’s not just the big companies that are crossing borders. With analysts at Bernstein predicting that Lenovo and Huawei will emerge as world class brands in the next few years, we are also starting to see smaller players getting in on the action, including smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi that is already making headlines overseas since launching in the UK in June.
EU wants to remove geo restrictions for TV content
Six major US film studios, and Sky UK have been charged by the EU on the basis of unfair restriction of content across the European Union.
Competition chief Margrethe Vestager said that the European consumers want to watch the pay-TV channels of their choice regardless of their location in the EU. But according to their investigation, the film studios cannot restrict the content because of the licensing agreements. They believe that these studios might be in breach of the EU competition rules.
EU opens antitrust investigation into Qualcomm
We all love Qualcomm processors, and so do the manufacturers. And while Qualcomm is enjoying a good hold over almost the entire mobile industry, the regulators are in doubt as to whether the US company has achieved its dominance through fair practices. Or is there something else to the story?
The European Commission (EC) has now opened the case. They announced today that they have opened two antitrust probes into the company.
HTC One M9+ flagship coming to Europe
Originally announced in April, One M9+ is HTC's most-impressive Android smartphone of the year so far, besting the One M9 global flagship. However, for some reason, HTC decided that it would only sell the device in a couple of Asian markets, forcing interested buyers in other parts of the globe to, basically, import the device.
Fortunately for those looking to get One M9+, HTC just announced that it is also making the Android device available in European markets. It looks like those in US will have to wait a bit longer for its official debut -- if it ever happens.
EU pushes forward with net neutrality plan, removal of roaming fees
European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, Günther Hermann Oettinger, is set to meet with national ministers next Friday to try and end the deadlock between national ministers and MEPs on the subject of net neutrality.
Negotiations on the so-called Telco Package had ground to a halt on Tuesday night when national representatives from the Council and those from the European Parliament failed to compromise on net neutrality or roaming charges, The Register writes in a report.
Leaked document shows Europe would fight UK plans to block porn
Before the UK elections earlier in the month, David Cameron spoke about his desire to clean up the internet. Pulling -- as he is wont to do -- on parental heartstrings, he suggested that access to porn on computers and mobiles should be blocked by default unless users specifically requested access to it. This opt-in system was mentioned again in the run-up to the election as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Sajid Javid assured peopled that the party "will age restrict online porn".
But it's not quite that simple. There is the small problem of Europe. A leaked EU Council document shows that plans are afoot to stop Cameron's plans in its tracks -- and with the UK on the verge of trying to debate a better deal for itself within Europe, the Prime Minister is not in a particularly strong position for negotiating on the issue.
Apple Pay to launch in Europe this summer
Apple Pay is still a US-only service, despite it being available for seven months, but the European launch is reportedly coming as soon as this summer.
That’s according to Belgium’s KBC Bank, confirming on Twitter that Apple Pay support will be available this summer. Even though KBC Bank removed the tweet after a few hours, it suggests that the Apple Pay European launch is coming sooner than expected.
Europe moves to end geo-blocking online content
While the internet is supposed to be an open-access resource, there is a great deal of content which can only be accessed in certain parts of the world. To comply with licensing rules, broadcasters in particular will often restrict access to their services to specific countries, but in Europe there are plans to bring such geo-blocking to an end.
Described as "a discriminatory practice used for commercial reasons" geo-blocking is derided by the European Commission as little more than a money-making venture. The aim is to create what has been dubbed a Digital Single Market, breaking down barriers and simplifying regulation.
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