Data & Privacy

30-05-2024

Tech giants do not have to follow Italian authorities’ provisions, rules EU Court

Est. 2min

The Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) backed Google, Amazon, and Airbnb in a lawsuit against the Italian Communications Authority's request that they disclose company information. 

23-05-2024

New Caledonia weighs heavy as French Senate approves bill on foreign influence

Est. 4min

The ongoing tensions in France's overseas territory of New Caledonia weighed heavily in a debate at the French Senate, where Senators strengthened and approved a bill on foreign interference.

11-04-2024

EU Parliament votes to strengthen GDPR enforcement

Est. 5min

Members of the European Parliament voted on Wednesday (10 April) on amendments to strengthen the enforcement of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), however, stakeholders urged for further improvements, particularly regarding complainants' rights and cross-border matters.

05-04-2024

France, EU to take landmark decisions on cloud sovereignty requirements

Est. 4min

French MPs and EU cybersecurity agency ENISA are expected to take landmark decisions on cloud cybersecurity on 10 and 15 April, respectively, amid concerns of  espionage and fragmentation of the EU cloud market.

29-03-2024

France’s latest foreign interference bill questions democratic control over surveillance services

Est. 3min

On Wednesday (27 March), French MPs backed a bill to expand intelligence services competencies to monitor networks, re-opening a debate on democratic control of these agencies.

21-03-2024

ECJ rules against EU law on fingerprints in national IDs

Est. 5min

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on Thursday (21 March) that a 2019 EU regulation obliging EU citizens to give their fingerprints for national identification cards was founded on the wrong legal basis, declaring the EU law entirely invalid.

11-03-2024

EU Commission breached data protection rules using Microsoft 365, EU watchdog found

Est. 6min

The European Commission violated data protection rules in its use of Microsoft 365, leading to the imposition of corrective measures by the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), the watchdog announced on Monday (11 March).

29-02-2024

Consumer groups file data privacy complaints against Facebook, Instagram ‘pay-or-consent’ model

Est. 5min

Eight organisations from the network of the European Consumer Organisation filed complaints to their national data protection authorities against Facebook and Instagram 'pay-or-consent' model.

23-02-2024

Concerns raised over UK Data Protection Bill’s impact on EU’s GDPR

Est. 5min

A letter sent by member of European Parliament Paul Tang, seen by Euractiv, raises questions regarding the potential effects of the UK's Data Protection Bill on the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

30-01-2024

EU top court finds indiscriminate storing of convicts’ data illegal

Est. 4min

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that law enforcement agencies cannot indiscriminately store biometric and genetic data on those who committed criminal offences until their death, it said in a judgement published on Tuesday (30 January).

14-12-2023

EU Commission seeks third way between ‘pay or consent’ in voluntary pledges

Est. 6min

The EU's consumer protection department presented draft pledging principles for the digital advertising industry as part of its initiative to phase out cookie banners that include the provision of a third, less intrusive alternative to the pay-or-consent model. In March,

07-12-2023

EU top court’s ruling spells trouble for scoring algorithms

Est. 5min

The Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) ruled on Thursday (7 December) that decision-making by scoring systems that use personal data is unlawful, a judgement that could have significant spillover effects for social security and credit agencies.

07-12-2023

EU data protection authorities ban Meta from personal data usage in behavioural advertising

Est. 3min

The European Data Protection Board announced on Thursday (7 December) its binding decision about banning Meta’s platforms from processing personal data for behavioural advertising.

Competition 30-11-2023

Consumer groups file complaint against Meta’s ‘pay-or-consent’ model

Est. 4min

The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) and 18 of its members filed a complaint to the European Commission on Thursday (30 November) against Meta's "unfair pay-or-consent" model under EU consumer law.

23-11-2023

EU countries call for ‘overarching and comprehensive evaluation’ of data protection law

Est. 6min

The EU Council of Ministers considers the data protection framework a ‘success’ and does not call for a reopening of the legislation but a comprehensive evaluation next year, according to its position seen by Euractiv.

16-11-2023

Germany’s diffidence towards the data economy

Est. 4min

Two months ago, the German government set the course with a new strategy to utilise data more effectively. However, recent surveys have shown that both the public and businesses lack trust in the use of digital data.

15-11-2023

French police accused of using facial recognition software illegally

Est. 4min

French national police have been illegally using the Israeli facial recognition software Briefcam since 2015, the French investigative media Disclose reported.

Platforms 09-11-2023

EU’s top court rules against Austria’s content moderation law

Est. 3min

The European Court of Justice sided on Thursday (9 November) with tech giants TikTok, Meta, and Alphabet’s Google against Austrian online content law regulating how platforms should deal with harmful and illegal content.

Industrial Strategy 08-11-2023

Europe lacks courage in pursuing digital sovereignty, cloud service CEO says

Est. 5min

EU policymakers should have the "courage and fair-mindedness" to pursue a sovereign cloud and regulate American cloud providers under the EU antitrust law on digital markets, Michel Paulin, CEO of the leading French provider OVHcloud, told Euractiv in an interview.

06-11-2023

Frontex illegally processing migrants’ data, EU watchdog says

Est. 5min

The EU border agency Frontex is processing personal data of migrants in breach of EU law and its own mandate, according to a letter by the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), seen by Euractiv.

02-11-2023

EU squeezes Meta on personal data use for targeting ads

Est. 4min

The European Data Protection Board said Wednesday (1 November) it had adopted a binding decision that will ban Facebook and Instagram owner Meta from using the personal data of users for targeted ads without their explicit consent.

31-10-2023

Nude deepfakes flood the internet amid legislative vacuum

Est. 6min

Nude deepfakes, including those of minors, are becoming increasingly common online as the tools to create them become more accessible, experts warn - yet the law is still behind in regulating such material.

31-10-2023

EU Commission’s “multi-cloud strategy” raises consistency questions

Est. 4min

US cloud service Oracle advertised that the European Commission decided to include Oracle Cloud Infrastructure services into its offerings, raising consistency questions with its proposed cloud security schemes.

31-10-2023

France and Germany increasingly drift apart on digital sovereignty of cloud sector

Est. 6min

The recent announcement of "a new, independent cloud for Europe" by Amazon Web Services has underlined the growing divergence between the positions of Paris and Berlin regarding digital sovereignty in the cloud sector.