Valve responds to European complaints about Steam geo-locking
Having been slapped with antitrust accusations by the European Commission, Valve has responded to complaints about geo-blocking on its Steam gaming platform.
After the Commission complained that Valve and five game publishers had come to arrangements between themselves to region-lock certain titles, the company says that only a very small portion of games available on the platform are subject to geo-locking.
Europe hits out at Valve for geo-blocking Steam games
The European Commission has informed Valve that geo-blocking in Steam contravenes EU competition rules. Similar warnings have been issued to five games publishers.
Valve, Bandai Namco, Capcom, Focus Home, Koch Media and ZeniMax have been told that "European consumers should have the right to buy and play video games of their choice regardless of where they live in the EU". The Commission says that the use of geo-blocking to prevent cross-border sales is a breach of antitrust rules.
Article 13: EU approves controversial copyright law despite massive opposition
The European parliament has voted in favor of major changes to copyright law, including two highly controversial clauses -- article 11 and article 13.
Known respectively as the "link tax" and the "upload filter", these two clauses have generated a great deal of interest from internet users and the technology industry alike. In particular, article 13 has proved especially controversial, holding websites responsible for material uploaded without a licence -- something critics say could only be adhered to with content filters.
Europe hits Google with €1.49 billion fine for breaking antitrust law with AdSense restrictions
The European Commission has hit Google with another large fine, this time €1.49 billion ($1.69 billion) for engaging in anti-competitive practices with its advertising tool AdSense.
Google was found guilty of breaking antitrust laws by blocking third party rivals from using AdSense to display advertisements. This is the third fine the Commission has levelled against Google in the last couple of years, but this most recent one is less than a third of the previous record fine for other antitrust violations.
Copying Microsoft, Google is bringing browser choice to Android to stave off antitrust regulators
Google is no stranger to investigations into and questions about its practices, and in Europe the company has faced great interest from the European Commission for violating antitrust laws. Now, in a move that echoes that of Microsoft's Browser Choice nearly a decade ago, Google is going to give Android users the option of choosing their default web browser and search engine.
This is not something that will be happening on a global scale, however -- at least not to start with. As Google is merely keen to avoid accusations of being anticompetitive in Europe, it is only European Android users that will be affected.
Microsoft reveals Russian hacking attacks as it expands AccountGuard protection across Europe
Microsoft has revealed that it detected various attacks by Russian hackers targeting democratic groups in Europe. The company says that numerous attacks carried out between September and December 2018 can be linked to a group known as Strontium.
Also known as Fancy Bear, the group is a cyber espionage outfit with ties to Russian intelligence agencies. At the same time as revealing some details of the attacks, Microsoft also announced the expansion of its AccountGuard security program to more European countries ahead of European Parliament elections.
Final text of new EU Copyright Directive retains controversial content blocking of Article 13
In an attempt to bring aging copyright laws up to date for the digital age, the European Parliament and European Commission have agreed the final text of the EU Copyright Directive.
After several rounds of intense negotiations, it was decided to retain the controversial Article 13 which can be used to block the uploading of content, and Article 11 which has been described as the "link tax". The directive will place the onus on the likes of Google and Facebook to ensure that users do not upload copyrighted content, leading to fears that this could mean the introduction of restrictive upload filters and make life difficult for smaller companies.
Brexit: criticism mounts against Android-only app to apply for settled status
A number of British and European politicians have written to the UK home secretary, Sajid Javid, to complain about the government's EU Exit mobile app.
The app was created to enable EU citizens to apply for "settled status" in the UK in the wake of the referendum vote that saw the start of the Brexit process. The government stands accused of "digital discrimination" because the app is only available for Android devices -- and only relatively modern ones at that. iPhone users have been left out in the cold, as have those with older Android phones, adding to the stress and concern that already surrounds Brexit.
Mozilla COO contacts European Commission voicing concerns about Facebook's lack of ad transparency
Facebook has been no stranger to controversy and scandal over the years, but things have been particularly bad over the last twelve months. The latest troubles find Mozilla complaining to the European Commission about the social network's lack of transparency, particularly when it comes to political advertising.
Mozilla's Chief Operating Officer, Denelle Dixon, has penned a missive to Mariya Gabriel, the European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society. She bemoans the fact that Facebook makes it impossible to conduct analysis of ads, and this in turn prevents Mozilla from offering full transparency to European citizens -- something it sees as important in light of the impending EU elections.
Europe to fund bug bounties for 15 open source programs, including VLC, Drupal and Notepad++
Starting in January, the European Commission is going to fund bug bounty programs for a number of open source projects that are used by members of the EU. The initiative is part of the third edition of the Free and Open Source Software Audit (FOSSA) project, which aims to ensure the integrity and reliability of the internet and other infrastructure.
In all, the Commission will fund 15 bug bounty programs, with rewards ranging from €17,000 ($19,400) to €90,000 ($103,000).
Google to charge smartphone makers to use Google Play in Europe in response to antitrust ruling
Following a European Commission ruling earlier in the year that Google had exploited Android for "very serious illegal behavior" and used its mobile operating system "as a vehicle to cement its dominance as a search engine", the company was hit with a record €4.34 billion ($5 billion) fine.
Today Google has outlined how it will respond to the European ruling, in addition to appealing against it. One of the things the company will do is to start charging smartphone makers a licensing fee to use Google Play.
Google Safety Centre arrives in Europe -- or Safety Center... Google hasn't decided
Google has announced that its Safety Centre hub is rolling out across Europe. The announcement means that people in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK have access to Google's selection of tools and tips for staying safe online.
The launch has been timed to coincide with European Cyber Security Month, but Google doesn't quite seem to have decided how to spell the name of its own offering.
EU green-lights Apple's purchase of Shazam
It's now ten months since Apple announced its plans to buy music-recognition firm Shazam, and a little under half a year since the European Commission started an investigation into the purchase because of concerns about competition.
EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager today announced that the commission will not stand in the way of the deal.
Who cares what Trump thinks about Europe's record fine for Google?
It's just days since the Europe hit Google with a record fine for what it described as "very serious illegal behavior" in an antitrust case about the company's abuse of Android to dominate the competition.
Unsurprisingly, a lot of people have an opinion not only about the way Google has acted, but also of the European commission's ruling itself. Among those with an opinion to share is none other than Donald Trump who used the fine as a way to paint the US as a victim at the hands of Europe.
EU hits Google with record €4.34bn fine for 'very serious illegal behaviour' in Android antitrust case
The European Commission has fined Google a record €4.34 billion ($5 billion) in an antitrust case that saw the company accused of using Android as a "vehicle to cement its dominance as a search engine".
The Commission said that Google forced phone makers to pre-install its software on their handsets, taking advantage of Android's popularity, and breaching European antitrust rules. The EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager summed things up by saying Google has been "denying rivals a chance to innovate and compete on the merits".
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