New deal on EU-US data flows sparks privacy fears and business uncertainty

Jul14
by on July 14, 2023 at 4:51 pm
Posted In: Uncategorized


A new deal on data transfers between the EU and US has alarmed businesses and privacy campaigners. The pact, known as the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, was announced on Monday by the European Commission. The EU’s executive body concluded that the US offered an “adequate level of protection” for data transfers under the new arrangements. The framework replaces the Privacy Shield, which the EU’s top court had struck down in July 2020 over concerns that the US didn’t provide sufficient protection against government surveillance.  As a result, companies were forced to move data by using a mechanism called Standard Contractual…

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UK extends deadline for Microsoft-Activision $69B merger

Jul14
by on July 14, 2023 at 11:49 am
Posted In: Uncategorized


The UK’s Competition and Market Authority (CMA) is extending the deadline for its review of the Microsoft-Activion $69bn merger, in the latest twist of a complex regulatory saga. The cut off date has been moved from July 18 to August 29. “The Inquiry Group has decided to extend [the period] by six weeks… as it considers that there are special reasons to do so,” the watchdog announced on Friday. In April, the CMA had initially blocked the takeover, concluding that the purchase would give Microsoft an unfair edge in the country’s nascent cloud gaming market. In May, the US tech…

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A world-first spacecraft reentry to Earth is approaching

Jul14
by on July 14, 2023 at 10:24 am
Posted In: Insider


A car-sized spacecraft is falling down to Earth — but there’s a plan to catch it. Aeolus, the first satellite to directly observe wind profiles from space, is almost out of fuel. Earth’s atmosphere and gravity are now dragging the 1360-kg craft down to our planet at increasing speed. In the original plan, Aelous was expected to fall naturally back to Earth. But the European Space Agency (ESA) has proposed another idea: an assisted re-entry — the first of its kind. Data from Aeolus was used by meteorology centres to improve weather forecasts. Credit: ESA To reduce the threat of…

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Google Bard is now available in the EU

Jul13
by on July 13, 2023 at 10:31 am
Posted In: Uncategorized


Google’s Bard AI chatbot is now available across the EU, following the tech giant’s compliance with the bloc’s GDPR regulation. In June, Google was forced to delay Bard’s rollout in the region, after the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) demanded stricter privacy measures to ensure the protection of European citizens. Today, ahead of the release, the chatbot’s Product Lead Jack Krawczyk said that the company has satisfied the DPC demands, providing users with information and control over how their data is being used and stored. “Google has made a number of changes,” specifically when it comes “to control for users,”…

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Amazon sues EU for calling it a ‘Very Large Online Platform’

Jul12
by on July 12, 2023 at 9:28 am
Posted In: Uncategorized


Amazon, Jeff Bezos’ online retail behemoth that registered over 300 million active users and raked over $500bn last year, says it doesn’t fit the EU’s definition of a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP).  The Silicon Valley firm is so adamant it isn’t a VLOP, it is suing the EU over the matter, making it the first (and probably not the last) US company to challenge the bloc’s new digital content rules.   Amazon was among the first of 18 companies to be designated a VLOP in late April under the EU’s new Digital Services Act (DSA), designed to curb hate speech…

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