Tag Archives: EU

Way back in June 2015, the European Union officially voted to remove data roaming charges for travelling citizens. This finally meant that networks could no longer gouge customers for using their data plans abroad in Europe. Unfortunately for those of us in the UK, Brexit may have thrown a spanner …

In July, the European Parliament voted against the intrusive Copyright Directive, sending Article 11 and 13 back to the drawing board. Amended versions of both have since been approved, continuing to carry the controversial “link tax” and “upload filter” respectively. Easily the most heavily discussed portion of the Copyright Directive …

Back in early 2017, the European Commission began investigating several hardware companies for price fixing, including ASUS, Philips, Pioneer and Denon & Marantz. Now that investigation has come to a close, with €111 million in fines being handed down. The European Commission announced today that it has issued fines in …

The Norwegian Consumer Council (NCC) has been at the forefront of many battles against the world’s many platform holders. The NCC has taken on the likes of Valve, Sony, and EA for not doing their due diligence when it comes to pre-order policies. Now with the Switch gaining in popularity, …

Back in 2016, the European Commission ruled that Apple owed €13 billion in back-taxes, which the governing body branded as ‘illegal state aid’. While Ireland and Apple are still disputing the ruling, the iPhone manufacturer has now paid out €1.5 billion ($1.76bn) towards the overall sum. The money is currently …

Late last year, Apple announced plans to acquire Shazam, reportedly for as much as $400 million. However, it didn’t take long for anti-trust complaints to begin rolling in here in Europe, with multiple countries requesting that the European Commission investigate the deal. The EU launched an inquiry back in February, …

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is coming into place fairly soon here in the EU, which means companies around the world are preparing changes to fall in line with the new laws. Facebook might be trying to skirt around it, but Oculus will be going in a different direction …

The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into effect on May 25th, clamping down on how privacy and data is handled throughout the online world. Of course, this hits Facebook hard in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, however, Zuckerberg and his company are still trying to find …

In February last year, the European Union began preparing new laws to do away with region blocking on services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video when traveling. It has taken a while, but the new law is finally in effect, allowing those who subscribe to streaming services to access their …

It is no secret that large tech companies often use various methods to lower the amount of tax they owe in different continents. This has riled up the European Union in the past and now, they intend to do something about it. A couple of weeks ago, reports began surfacing …

It looks like Facebook could find itself in trouble with the European Union again, as the EU Parliament announced today that it will be investigating the social network on suspicion of data misuse. The EU reckons that more than 50 million Facebook users have had their data misused, violating the …

This week it was revealed that the French government has plans to sue both Google and Apple over their developer contracts. According to French finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, both companies use “abusive” contractual terms for developers on the iOS App Store and Google Play store. Speaking on RTL Radio, …

June 2017 officially saw the end of roaming charges for mobile networks across the EU, thanks to the ‘Roam like Home’ legislation. This could soon change in the UK as Prime Minister Theresa May has confirmed the collection of countries will no longer be a part of the Digital Single …

Since its inception, Uber has revolutionised how the public utilises transport using new technology. Despite Uber maintaining that it is a digital information service that simply acts as an intermediary between drivers and customers, the EU has now stated in a ruling that it should be treated as a “service …

Last year, the European Commission ruled that Apple should have to pay £11 billion in back taxes after the company funneled money through Ireland to avoid paying larger taxes on profits made throughout Europe. At the time, the Irish government sided with Apple and at one point, the US government …

It looks like the UK and EU governments are going to start taking a closer look at Bitcoin regulation. According to reports this week, both governments are growing concerned that the digital currency is being used for tax evasion and money laundering. As a result, the Treasury is making plans …

Just two weeks on from relatively extreme plans proposed for the EU's new anti-piracy measures, an old study ordered by the European Commission has been revealed stating that there are no explicit links between piracy and sales. Findings from this study were revealed last year, however, albeit paraphrased to suit …

Back in June, the European Commission ruled against Google in an antitrust case surrounding the search engine's ‘Shopping' site. According to the commission, Google promoted its own services on the shopping page, harming competition and resulting in a massive €2.42 billion fine. However, this wasn't the only antitrust case out …

Over the last year, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding Apple's tax payments here in Europe. The company based its EU HQ in Ireland and benefitted from lower corporation tax, which the European Commission objected to, handing down a €13 billion fine. The Irish government is siding with …

The debate surrounding encryption and backdoors has been heating up again recently. While the UK's conservative party wants to enforce a ban on encrypted services, the EU's parliament has proposed new legislation that would make end-to-end encryption required across all digital communications. The European Union's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice …

As of today, mobile networks across the EU will no longer be charging for data roaming across member states. The new ‘Roam like Home' legislation means that mobile customers across the EU (including the UK) can travel and use their allowance of minutes, texts and data without extra charges. However, …

Over the last several years, Google has been battling it out with the European Commission in court over various antitrust allegations. One of the first antitrust cases to be levied at Google surrounded the company's ‘Shopping' search engine, with the EU claiming Google skews results and causes harm to competitors. …

While some networks are staying one step ahead by agreeing to drop roaming charges across the EU early, others are dragging their feet a bit. Over the last two years, the European Union has been working to abolish mobile network roaming charges across 47 European countries. This law comes into …

It looks like rival music streaming services are getting sick of Apple and Google's app store dominance, causing the likes of Deezer and Spotify to send in their complaints to the European Commission. The letter accuses Apple and Google of abusing their position as the largest app store holders, asking …

We have known for some time that the European Union is planning to abolish mobile roaming charges across Europe. This new law doesn't come in to effect until June but it seems Vodafone is already prepared and will be making data roaming free in 40 countries. Vodafone isn't the first …

The European Union is about to make video streaming across borders a lot easier as this week plans were drawn up to enforce new laws that do away with geo-blocking content once and for all. These new laws will affect services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video and could come …

ASUS has been named as one of three hardware companies currently under investigation by the European Commission for potential anti-competitive practices. It is looking into whether ASUS, Denon and Marantz and Philips and Pioneer, restricted the pricing options of online retailers, forcing the cost of consumer electronics and other items, to …

Back in 2012, the European Union passed a law requiring websites to give visitors a warning regarding browser cookies. These pop-ups or banner warnings are now common place across the web and were initially intended to protect user privacy but for the most part, they are just seen as an …

The indiscriminate retention of emails and electronic communications has been ruled illegal by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), its highest court. This could potentially put the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA), often called the Snooper's Charter, in jeopardy. This is the second time the British government has lost in EU …

Back in 2012, the European Union passed a law requiring websites to give visitors a warning regarding browser cookies. These pop-ups or banner warnings are now common place across the web and were initially intended to protect user privacy but for the most part, they are just seen as an …