Europe

If you're a user of Facebook Messenger and you're in Europe, you may well notice a message popping up suggesting that you check your privacy settings. The reminder comes ahead of the new GDPR laws which come into force next month.

The message tells Messenger users to check their privacy settings by May 25. The date is significant, as this is when GDPR kicks in. While the laws apply to Europe, Facebook has already indicated that it will comply with them around the world.

The cryptocurrency market is going through a tough period right now. The cap is down significantly from the record high reached in January, Google is following Facebook in banning crypto ads and regulators are investigating ICOs, just to name a few of the problems that it's facing. However, there is some good news to report as well.

Coinbase, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, today announces that it's received an e-money license in the UK, which allows it to provide payment services to its local users and, by extension, other EU customers as well.

The head of the EU's financial services has said that the union is ready to regulate cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin if a global effort is not made to tackle their risks.

Valdis Dombrovskis said that worldwide measures were needed if European regulation was to be avoided. There has long been concern not just about the wildly fluctuating value of cryptocurrencies, but also the potential for them to be used in crime.

Just last week Facebook was hit with the news that its privacy settings -- as well as the way the company uses personal data -- are illegal in Germany. Now the social network has been threatened with fines for tracking people through third-party websites.

The tracking affects even people who do not have a Facebook account, and this is something that a Belgian court took exception to. Belgium's privacy watchdog also told Facebook to delete data that had been illegally collected about Belgian citizens.

Facebook is no stranger to privacy-related controversy, and now a German court has ruled that the social networks' use of personal data is illegal. The court in Berlin also said that Facebook's default privacy settings violate German consumer law.

The case was brought by the federation of German consumer organisations (VZBV) which said Facebook failed to provide its users with sufficient information, and also that people were automatically opted into features.

BitFlyer, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, is now available in Europe, after receiving a license to operate in the EU. The Japan-based company, which has a daily volume in excess of $260 million, claims that it's "the most compliant virtual currency exchange in the world," as a result.

BitFlyer first opened its doors to Japanese crypto enthusiasts and expanded in the US last year. In 2017, it reached a volume of over $250billion from cryptocurrency trades, mainly in Bitcoin.

A court has ruled that Chinese phone maker Xiaomi may not trademark the name Mi Pad in Europe. The name was thought to be too similar to Apple's iPad, despite there being a difference in pronunciation.

The General Court -- the second highest court in the European Union -- said that consumers were likely to be confused by the similarity of the two names.

Apple is just one of many technology companies whose tax arrangements in Europe have been criticized. Like other firms, Apple made use of Ireland to help reduce its tax bills, and this is something that the European Commission took exception to.

Last year the EC said that tax benefits received by the company in Ireland were in fact illegal under EU law, and ordered that an outstanding €13bn ($15.3bn) tax bill be settled. Despite Apple not wanting to pay the bill -- and the Irish Government not wanting to receive it -- the two sides have now come to an agreement that means the money owed will now be collected.

Following concerns that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are being used for not only tax evasion but also money laundering, governments in the UK and across Europe are planning to introduce new regulatory measures.

One of the key proposals will bring to an end the anonymity Bitcoin users have enjoyed thus far. In an attempt to bring the digital currency with real-world currencies, the UK Treasury wants to force all traders to reveal their identities.

The highly controversial Snooper's Charter -- also known as the Investigatory Powers Act -- is, the government has been forced to admit, illegal under European law in its current form.

The Brexit process may well be underway, but at the moment, the UK is still subject to EU law. As such, the government is making changes to the law. While the tweaks will not change the level of surveillance people are subjected to, they will restrict who has automatic access to that information.

Britain's decision to leave the European Union has sparked mixed emotions in the business world, but a new survey of over 800 IT decision-makers across Europe reveals that most see Brexit as an opportunity.

In the survey of over 800 European IT decision-makers by cloud and network provider Interoute, 70 percent overall believe that Britain leaving the EU is an opportunity for their company. Business confidence surrounding Britain leaving the EU was highest in France (83 percent) and Belgium (78 percent) but lowest in Sweden (49 percent).

It is now widely accepted that Russia -- at least to some degree -- tried to influence the outcome of the US presidential election through the use of ads placed on Facebook.

Attention now turns to Europe, where the UK's digital, culture, media and sport committee is asking Mark Zuckerberg to investigate potential interference in the UK general election, as well as the EU referendum that led to Brexit.

A shockingly large proportion of businesses have no idea how to behave when GDPR comes into play, a new report by the DMA has claimed.

More than half of marketers surveyed (56 percent) believe they’re on the right track, with four percent actually saying they’re ahead in their plans of being compliant by May 2018.

The data collecting activities of Windows 10 has landed Microsoft in trouble again. Investigating the telemetry built into the operating system, the Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) has said that Microsoft's spying is a violation of local privacy laws.

Of particular concern to the authority is the fact that users are not clearly told that data will be collected in both Windows itself and Microsoft Edge. With Microsoft's web browser gathering data about every URL that's visited by users who have not opted out of telemetry, and Windows 10 itself sucking up detailed information about app usage, the DPA is concerned that users are not adequately informed or protected.

The European Union has ordered Amazon to repay €250m ($294m) after it ruled that the retailer was granted illegal state aid by Luxembourg. The tax advantage dates back to 2003, but Amazon says that it is considering making an appeal.

At the same time, the European Commission has announced that it is going to sue the Irish government for failing to collect €13bn ($15.3bn) in tax from Apple. The Irish government will need to defend itself in the European Court of Justice for failing to gather money from the iPhone-maker following a 2016 ruling by the commission.