DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

The logo of Meta Platforms' business group is seen in Brussels, Belgium December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSTOCKHOLM/BRUSSELS, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Meta (META.O) on Wednesday appealed against "gatekeeper" designations for its Messenger and Marketplace platforms, the first Big Tech company to challenge new European Union rules setting out dos and don'ts for the online services. Meta's Facebook, Instagram, Marketplace, and WhatsApp qualified as gatekeepers under the DMA, which was designed to level the playing field between Big Tech companies and smaller competitors. "This appeal seeks clarification on specific points of law regarding the designations of Messenger and Marketplace under the DMA," a spokesman said. Microsoft and Google have said they will not challenge DMA designations, while sources expect TikTok to file a challenge.

Persons: Yves Herman, WhatsApp, Microsoft's Bing, Supantha Mukherjee, Yun Chee, Emelia Sithole Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Big Tech, Union, Digital Markets, Facebook, European Commission, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Meta, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, Rights STOCKHOLM, BRUSSELS, Stockholm

The EU's proposed "Euro 7" law would tighten limits on health-harming pollutants from combustion engine cars. The European Commission, which drafts new EU laws, has said the health benefits would far outweigh the costs. However, EU countries and lawmakers - which are in charge of negotiating the final law in the coming months - have each agreed to weaken the rules. Green lawmakers criticised the vote as a missed chance to reduce the roughly 70,000 premature deaths per year in Europe attributed to vehicle pollution. "The EU is missing the opportunity to be the future leader in green technology," Green EU lawmaker Bas Eickhout added.

Persons: Yves Herman, Alexandr Vondra, Bas Eickhout, Adolfo Urso, Kate Abnett, Alvise Armellini, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, New, European Commission, Commission, Italy's Industry, EU, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, Rights BRUSSELS, Union, Europe, Italy, Czech Republic

☆ EU watchdog cautions against one-size-fits-all rules for non-banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Regulators should keep on open mind when writing rules for the world's $239 trillion "non-bank" financial sector to avoid one-size fits all approaches, the EU's top securities watchdog said. Non-banks, a sector which includes hedge funds, real estate funds, insurers and private investments and now account for about half of the world's financial sector, are firmly in the regulatory limelight. This follows redemption-related stresses among money market funds (MMFs) during a "dash for cash" when economies went into pandemic lockdowns in March 2020, and last year with liability-driven investment (LDI) funds in Britain. European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) chair Verena Ross said regulators are closely examining non-banks' leverage, liquidity and their connectivity with banks. Meanwhile, the BoE has called for tougher liquidity rules for MMFs, but sterling-denominated funds are listed in European Union countries such as Ireland and Luxembourg, where the rules are written by the 27-member bloc.

Persons: Verena Ross, Ross, MMFs, BoE, ESMA, Huw Jones, Alexander Smith Organizations: European Securities and Markets Authority, Reuters, U.S . Federal, The Bank of England, U.S, Financial, Union, European Commission, Thomson Locations: Britain, Ireland, Luxembourg

☆ Exclusive: EU to ask YouTube, TikTok for details on measures protecting minors
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Google’s (GOOGL.O) YouTube and TikTok will be asked by EU industry chief Thierry Breton to provide information on how they comply with new EU online content rules regarding the protection of children, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. Breton will send his request to the companies on Friday, the source added. The new EU rules known as the Digital Services Act (DSA) requires Big Tech to do more to fight harmful and illegal online content, especially content that targets minors. The DSA also forces the companies to be more transparent on their algorithmic processes, bots and targeted advertisements that amplify content and do more to tackle illegal, unsafe or counterfeit products sold on their platforms. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Thierry Breton, Breton, Foo Yun Chee, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: YouTube, Reuters, EU, Digital Services, Big Tech, DSA, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS

The new political advertising rules, which were agreed by EU countries and European Parliament lawmakers late on Monday, will force social media groups such as Alphabet's Google (GOOGL.O), Meta Platforms to be more transparent and accountable. All online political ads will be available in an online ad repository. "We also secured a favourable environment for transnational campaigning in time for the next European Parliament elections," Gozi said. The European Parliament will hold elections in June next year, with many concerned about disinformation and foreign interference in the run-up to the polls. Until then, measures regulating the non-discriminatory provision of cross-border political advertising - including for European political parties and political groups - will already be in place for the European Parliament elections in 2024.

Persons: Arnd, Sandro Gozi, Gozi, Foo Yun Chee, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Big Tech, Union, EU, Google, European Commission, Thomson Locations: Zurich, Switzerland, Rights BRUSSELS, EU

☆ The laws British PM Sunak wants to pass before the next election
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The King's Speech - given by the monarch but written by government ministers - opens the new session of parliament. This is likely to be the last one before the election, which must be held by January 2025, and many policies were aimed at appealing to voters. CIGARETTES AND VAPESThe Tobacco and Vapes Bill will deliver on Sunak's promise made last month to phase out all tobacco sales in England. SOCCER REGULATORThe government plans to set up an independent football regulator, who will be responsible for scrutinising club owners and their financial resources. The new legislation will require owners to ensure fans are consulted on changes to club's badges, names and shirt colours.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer, Hannah McKay, King Charles, Bill, Andrew MacAskill, Alistair Smout, Elizabeth Piper, Alex Richardson, Barbara Lewis Organizations: British, Labour Party, REUTERS, Conservatives, Petroleum, Markets, Competition, Consumers, SOCCER, Super League, Trans, Pacific, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, England, North, Freehold, Wales, Pacific, Australia, Japan

REUTERS/Sergio Perez Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 7 (Reuters) - European Union (EU) energy ministers last month struck a deal to reform the bloc's power market. German power market forwards for 2024 and 2025LIGHT-TOUCH REFORMEuropean power prices have fallen a long way from their 2022 peaks, when the region was still reeling from the reduction in Russian gas supplies. EU member states were deeply split on proposals for more fundamental reform of Europe's power market to allow for a complete break of the gas-power price linkage. The hard-won compromise keeps the existing market mechanism, which its supporters claim is more efficient than other models in a liberalised electricity market. The bloc's power prices have historically been twice those of the U.S., but are now three or four times higher.

Persons: Sergio Perez, Teresa Ribera, Bernard Respaut, Mats Gustavsson, Boliden, Gustavsson, Respaut, Jan Harvey Organizations: REUTERS, Union, Spain's Energy, Producers, European Copper Institute, EU, Alcoa, PPA, European Commission, Metals, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Alcobendas, Madrid, Spain, Ukraine, San, EU, U.S, Ireland, Europe

Chew will meet Breton on Nov. 6 and Jourova and Reynders on Nov. 7, a TikTok spokesperson said. He will update the commissioners on TikTok's data security regime called Project Clover which started to store European user data locally this year, a TikTok spokesperson said. The company has a data centre in Dublin, Ireland, and is building two more in Ireland and Norway. Breton last month gave TikTok an Oct. 25 deadline to provide information on its crisis response measures. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Shou Zi Chew, Online Harms, Thierry Breton, Vera Jourova, Didier Reynders, TikTok, Chew, Breton, Foo Yun Chee, Sudip Kar, Gupta, Jason Neely Organizations: Energy, Commerce, Safeguard, Online, Capitol, Breton, Digital Services, Big Tech, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, BRUSSELS, EU, Brussels, Israel, Gaza, Reynders, Dublin, Ireland, Norway

December Brent crude futures , set to expire on Tuesday, rose 36 cents, or 0.41%, to stand at $87.81 a barrel by 0305 GMT. "If this evolves into a full-scale invasion and there is involvement from Iran, tighter supply worries could resurface." In a note, ING analysts said, "Disruptions to Iranian oil flows remain the most obvious risk to the market." Such lost supply could range between 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) and 1 million bpd if the United States strictly enforces sanctions once again, they added, although Middle East developments had yet to affect oil supply. Weaker-than-expected manufacturing and non-manufacturing activity data from China stoked fears of slowing fuel demand from the world's No.

Persons: Eric Gaillard, Brent, Leon Li, China stoked, CME's, Laura Sanicola, Trixie Yap, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: REUTERS, . West Texas, Federal Reserve, Markets, ING, U.S, Thomson Locations: Nice, France, China, Wednesday's U.S, Gaza, Iran, Shanghai, Israel, United States, Venezuela, riven

Overall EU support for Ukraine has totalled almost 83 billion euros since Russia invaded in February 2022, the Brussels-based executive European Commission said this week. Slovakia's Robert Fico, attending his first EU summit since being appointed for his fourth term as prime minister on Wednesday, adopted a similar line. Orban has also said he would not endorse in its current form the proposed EU budget revision, which includes the 50 billion in new aid for Kyiv. Fico said there was endemic corruption in Ukraine and demanded that any new EU aid include guarantees that the funds not be misappropriated, according to a statement from his office. "The questions are, what type of aid and how it is used, how we are sure, the European Union is sure, that this aid is used efficiently," he said.

Persons: Fico, Orban, Olaf Scholz, Slovakia's Robert Fico, Vladimir Putin, Nikolai Denkov, Jan Strupczewski, Phil Blenkinsop, Bart Meijer, Tassilo Hummel, Marine Strauss, Krisztina, Jason Hovet, Miranda Murray, Gabriela Baczynska, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Ukraine New, Union, EU, Ukraine, European Commission, Russia, Kyiv, European Union, European, Bulgarian, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Ukraine New Slovak, Ukraine BRUSSELS, Russian, Hungary, Slovakia, Brussels, Russia, SLOVAKIA, HUNGARY Hungary, Budapest, Bratislava, European Union

☆ EU’s best way to close its US growth gap: growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Oct 26 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The European Union would have a better chance of catching the U.S. if it aimed for growth, instead of rearranging the regulatory deck chairs. Lowering political barriers in the 27-country single market could boost investment without breaking the bank on subsidies, Jean-François van Boxmeer told Breakingviews, citing a new European Round Table for Industry report. In the telecommunications sector, the European Commission has kept four providers in most of the EU’s markets, and screens out Chinese equipment-makers over security concerns. The European Commission reckons completing the single market by 2030 would hike EU GDP by 12%, or 713 billion euros. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: François van Boxmeer, Breakingviews, van Boxmeer, Jacob Wallenberg, Rebecca Christie, George Hay, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, European, Vodafone, Reuters Graphics Business, EU, European Commission, Investor, X, News Corp, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS

☆ Inside Google’s Plan to Stop Apple From Getting Serious About Search
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Nico Grant | More About Nico Grant | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For years, Google watched with increasing concern as Apple improved its search technology, not knowing whether its longtime partner and sometimes competitor would eventually build its own search engine. Those fears ratcheted up in 2021, when Google paid Apple around $18 billion to keep Google’s search engine the default selection on iPhones, according to two people with knowledge of the partnership, who were not authorized to discuss it publicly. The same year, Apple’s iPhone search tool, Spotlight, began showing users richer web results like those they could have found on Google. Google quietly planned to put a lid on Apple’s search ambitions. Google’s anti-Apple plan illustrated the importance that its executives placed on maintaining dominance in the search business.

Organizations: Google, Apple, The New York Times, Big Tech

☆ New Europe travel requirement delayed again, to 2025
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Thirty European nations have delayed implementing the ETIAS travel authorization scheme for U.S. and other foreign visitors until 2025. A new requirement for American travelers bound for Europe slated to take effect next year was delayed — again — to 2025. The requirement — an online travel authorization via the European Travel Information and Authorisation System, or ETIAS — applies to visitors to 30 European nations, including popular destinations such as France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The system "will be ready to enter into operation in Spring 2025," according to an announcement following an Oct. 19-20 meeting of the Council of the European Union. The European Union website for ETIAS has similarly updated language, citing "mid-2025" as the new official start date.

Persons: —, ETIAS Organizations: European Travel, Finance, European Union, of, The European Union Locations: Krakow, Poland, Europe, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain

☆ Instagram is desperate to make you pay to use its platform — and it's testing a new service that boosts your profile if you do
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The new feed will only show posts from users who have paid for Meta's Verified subscription. Social media giants like Meta and X are looking to get more users to pay for their platforms. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . The ability to post in the new verified channel will be available for all users who pay for Meta's verified badge. The paid subscription, which was announced by Mark Zuckerberg in February , costs $12 on the web and $15 on the Instagram app.

Persons: Adam Mosseri, —, Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Elon Musk Organizations: Meta's, Social, Service, Meta, Facebook, Twitter Locations: Australia, New Zealand, Europe

☆ Low-cost EV maker e.GO eyes European, US expansion
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Nick Carey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Aachen-based e.GO's microfactories cost around $60 million to build, are highly automated and can make around 30,000 EVs annually, Vezvaei said. The company is going public via a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Athena Consumer Acquisition , which will value the EV maker at around $900 million, plus raise $235 million in cash and $50 million in debt financing. The EV maker currently makes the e.Wave X, a small four-seater EV for 24,990 euros ($26,457) at its plant in Aachen. The company's listing comes a few years after a major wave of SPAC mergers where EV startups raised billions of dollars. "This is not yet just another EV company, but a company that actually makes cars," she said.

Persons: Wolfgang Rattay, Ali Vezvaei, Vezvaei, e.GO, Tesla's, Isabelle Freidheim, Nick Carey, Jason Neely Organizations: e.GO Mobile, REUTERS, Mobile, U.S, Nasdaq, Thomson Locations: Aachen, Germany, Europe, North Macedonia, U.S

☆ Musk adds yet more complexity to X with new paid tiers
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

X owner Elon Musk says the site will introduce two new premium tiers. He said that the new X Premium would include a more expensive ad-free version. AdvertisementAdvertisementElon Musk has announced that X is launching two new tiers of its premium subscription service. "Two new tiers of X Premium subscriptions launching soon," said Musk in a post on X . The subscription service has since been overhauled and expanded, with subscribers getting an edit button and fewer ads.

Persons: Elon Musk, —, Musk, Eli Lilly Organizations: Service, Bloomberg, Twitter, Facebook, EU Locations: Philippines, New Zealand, Europe

☆ 'No question' that the decarbonization of shipping will contribute to inflation, says industry CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Lucy Handley | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The cost of decarbonizing the shipping industry will have a knock-on effect on consumers, according to a CEO in the maritime industry. "There will be an inflationary impact coming from [the] decarbonization of shipping … there is no question of it," Bertrand Chen, CEO of the Global Shipping Business Network, told CNBC's East Tech West conference in the Nansha district of Guangzhou, China. New European rules that effectively tax shipping lines for their emissions would push up costs, Chen added. The European Union's Emissions Trading System (ETS) is set to be extended to the shipping industry starting in January 2024, meaning that large ships entering EU ports will be charged for their carbon dioxide emissions. Chen described the EU initiative as "a natural action that will lead to some interesting effects."

Persons: Bertrand Chen, Chen Organizations: Global Shipping Business Network, CNBC's East Tech West, EU, ETS Locations: Nansha, Guangzhou, China, New

He lost his case in October 2020 and, the following March, was issued an order to leave Belgium. With at least three EU countries involved, the case points up the challenges the EU faces tracking people across the bloc's Schengen open-travel zone that is mostly free of border checks. Proponents of the EU's new migration pact - which has been tentatively agreed by most EU countries and is now being further negotiated with the European Parliament - say it would support returns by shortening time for migration and asylum procedures. "Those who are not allowed to stay in the EU must leave Europe. "This is a wake-up call for those who are not ready to accept ... the migration pact."

Persons: Alexander de Croo, Vincent Van Quickenborne, Manfred Weber, Marine Strauss, Bart Meijer, Angelo Amante, Gabriela Baczynska, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Belgium Case, EU, Immigration, Belgian, Frontex, Eurostat, Reuters, European People's Party, Thomson Locations: Italy, Sweden, Belgium, BRUSSELS, ROME, Tunisia, Europe, Israel, Germany, Brussels, Tunis, ITALY, SWEDEN, BELGIUM, Lampedusa, Poland, Hungary, East, Africa, Rome

“Getting information from social media is likely to lead to you being severely disinformed,” said Ahmed. Everyone from US foreign adversaries to domestic extremists to internet trolls and “engagement farmers” has been exploiting the war on social media for their own personal or political gain, he added. “Bad actors surrounding us have been manipulating, confusing and trying to create deception on social media platforms,” Dan Brahmy, CEO of the Israeli social media threat intelligence firm Cyabra, said Thursday in a video posted to LinkedIn. The dynamic simultaneously highlights the business models of social media and the role the companies play in carefully calibrating their users’ experiences. ‘Be very cautious about sharing’Despite giving the impression of reality and truthfulness, Brookie said, individual stories and combat footage conveyed through social media often lack the broader perspective and context that journalists, research organizations and even social media moderation teams apply to a situation to help achieve a fuller understanding of it.

Persons: ”, Gazans, Pepe, Imran Ahmed, Ahmed, “, Dan Brahmy, ‘, ’ Graham Brookie, Islamophobic, Elon Musk, it’s, ” Imran Ahmed, ” Brian Fishman, ” Linda Yaccarino, “ We’ve, Andy Stone, Snapchat, TikTok, ” Ahmed, ” Brookie, Brookie Organizations: New, New York CNN, CNN, —, Twitter, European Union, Facebook, YouTube, Center, LinkedIn, Digital Forensic Research, Atlantic Council, European Commission, European, Digital Services Locations: New York, Israel, Russia, Ukraine, London, Egypt, Islamophobic, Washington ,, United Kingdom, United States

Research shows women in richer economies are more likely to have children if they work. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni - Italy's first female premier - has said women are "an untapped resource" that lessens the need for immigrant labour. Yet her conservative government's 2024 budget, to be presented on Monday, is not expected to include measures to drive change. According to a government report relating to 2021, nearly one in five Italian women aged under 50 left their job after having their first child. SPANISH SUCCESSMeloni's government could learn from Spain, whose female activity rate lagged Italy's in the early 1990s but is now above the EU average.

Persons: Guzzo, Vittoria, Claudia Greco, Elena, Claudia Goldin, Giorgia Meloni, Claudia Olivetti, Enza Guzzo, Gian Carlo Blangiardo, Blangiardo, Giancarlo Giorgetti, Olivetti, Paola Profeta, Katharine Neiss, Valentina Za, Elisa Anzolin, Giuseppe Fonte, Catherine Evans Organizations: REUTERS, European Union, Reuters, Research, Dartmouth College, ISTAT, Bank of, EU, France's, Milan's Bocconi University, AXA Research, Treasury, Thomson Locations: Arese, Italy, MILAN, Bank of Italy, Rome, Barcelona, Spain, Milan

☆ X removes hundreds of Hamas-affiliated accounts since attack, CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of social media platform X, formerly Twitter, is seen alongside the former logo in this illustration taken, July 24, 2023. Breton said he had indications that X was being used to disseminate illegal content and disinformation in the European Union. The recently implemented Digital Services Act (DSA) requires large online platforms, including X and Meta's (META.O) Facebook, to remove illegal content and to take measures to tackle the risks to public security and civic discourse. X has redistributed resources and refocused internal teams to address the rapidly evolving situation, Yaccarino said, without specifying the changes. She added that the Musk-owned company assembled a leadership group to assess the situation shortly after the attack.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Linda, Yaccarino, Thierry Breton's, Elon Musk, Breton, Urvi Dugar, Alex Richardson, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS, Twitter, European Union, Services, Facebook, Thomson Locations: Israel, Bengaluru

via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS, Oct 10 (Reuters) - The EU's industry chief told Elon Musk that disinformation was spreading on his X messaging platform since Palestinian Islamist group Hamas' surprise attack on Israel, urging him to take counter-measures in line with new EU online content rules. Thierry Breton said on Tuesday he had indications that X, formerly known as Twitter, was being used to disseminate illegal content and disinformation in the European Union. "I therefore invite you to urgently ensure that your systems are effective and report on the crisis measures taken to my team," Breton told Musk in a letter dated Oct. 10 and seen by Reuters. Responding to Breton's X posting, Musk said his company's policy was that everything is open source and transparent. "Please list the violations you allude to on X, so that the public can see them," he said on X.

Persons: Elon, Thierry Breton, Breton, Musk, Foo Yun Chee, Sudip Kar, Gupta, Mrinmay Dey, Chris Reese, Mark Heinrich, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Twitter, European Union, Reuters, Digital Services, DSA, Thomson Locations: Rights BRUSSELS, Israel, Bengaluru

Italy is even going outside the EU to establish links with the United Kingdom to crack down on unwanted arrivals. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was blunt about how far Europe's leaders still are from reaching a consensus before they met in Granada, Spain. Orbán, who has pushed back against EU policy repeatedly and taken a hard-line approach against migration, said that he won't sign off on any deal at any point in the foreseeable future. He went as far as to compare the situation to being “legally raped” by Hungary's fellow EU members. “The agreement on migration, politically, it’s impossible — not today (or) generally speaking for the next years," Orbán said.

Persons: Viktor Orbán, Orbán, “, Mateusz Morawiecki, Ursula von der Leyen, ”, Roberta Metsola, ” Metsolas, Giorgia, Rishi Sunak, ___ Wilson, Raf Casert, Ciarán Giles, Colleen Barry, Vanessa Gera, Danica Kirka Organizations: European Union, EU, International Organization for Migration, Giorgia Meloni, della, The Times Locations: GRANADA, Spain, Brussels, Hungary, Poland, Italy, United Kingdom, Granada, Syria, Turkey, Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, Malta, Greece, Cyprus, Ukraine, Lampedusa, London, Africa, El Hierro, Senegal, Barcelona, Madrid, Milan, Warsaw

☆ Google changes user data practices to end German antitrust probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Friederike Heine | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBERLIN, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Alphabet (GOOGL.O) unit Google has agreed to change its user data practices to end a German antitrust investigation aimed at curbing its data-driven market power, the German cartel office said on Thursday. The German regulator said Google's commitments would give users more choice on how their data is used across the company's platforms. "This not only protects the users' right to determine the use of their data, but also curbs Google's data-driven market power," he said. Google's commitment covers more than 25 other services including Gmail, Google News, Assistant, Contacts and Google TV. It does not apply to Google Shopping, Google Play, Google Maps, Google Search, YouTube, Google Android, Google Chrome and Google's online advertising services, all of which are subject to a new EU legislation called the Digital Markets Act which has similar obligations.

Persons: Arnd, Andreas Mundt, Matthias Williams, Foo Yun Chee, Friederike Heine, Mark Potter Organizations: European Engineering, REUTERS, Rights, Google, Tech, Gmail, Google News, Big Tech, Apple, Thomson Locations: Zurich, Switzerland

In particular, lawmakers want assurances that the European Commission is not planning to shelve green measures that it promised but has not yet delivered - including restrictions on harmful chemicals, microplastics pollution and animal welfare. The shake-up in Europe's green leadership comes as climate policies face mounting pushback from politicians warning of the large investments required. Some EU officials are wary of pushing through new green measures before EU Parliament elections in June. Recent EU proposals - including a landmark law to restore nature - have faced resistance from some lawmakers and governments arguing Brussels is tangling industries in red tape. But Sefcovic and Hoekstra also need backing from green and left-leaning lawmakers demanding urgent action to tackle the CO2 emissions fuelling extreme weather across Europe, and reverse the decline of nature.

Persons: Wopke Hoekstra, de, Maros Sefcovic, Pascal Canfin, Sefcovic, Canfin, Hoekstra, Robert Fico, Kate Abnett, Bart Meijer, Christina Fincher, Josie Kao Organizations: Ministers, REUTERS, Rights, European Commission, EU, Thomson Locations: The Hague, Netherlands, Rights BRUSSELS, Dutch, Brussels, Europe, Slovak, Ukraine, Russian Slovak

Search resuls for: "New EU"

25 mentions found