EU unveils €43 billion microchip manufacturing splurge
The European Union has announced a huge investment strategy to scale up its semiconductor sector, in a belated bid to achieve chip autonomy. Th European Chips Act is a strategy to mobilise €43 billion...
View ArticleETNO welcomes the EU Data Act
The European Commission has announced new laws to improve data privacy and protection, and trade body ETNO approves. The Data Act is positioned as a levelling of the playing field in the European...
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Europe moves to clamp down on internet gatekeepers
The EU bureaucracy has unveiled its latest initiative designed to curb the power of US internet giants, called the Digital Markets Act. As ever with the EU, it has taken it ages to get to this point...
View ArticleEU messaging interoperability demands raise concerns
The part of the EU’s Digital Marketing Act concerning messaging interoperability is getting some heat from the tech world – but the bigger question is how would such a thing curb big tech dominance?...
View ArticleEU inches forward on plans for ‘common charger’
MEPs are solidifying their pitch to make USB-C the default, and indeed the mandatory, charging interface for all consumer electronics. The Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee yesterday...
View ArticleEurope increases state censorship powers with the Digital Services Act
The European Union’s Digital Services Act claims to ensure ‘a safe and accountable online environment’. In that respect it seems to be the same sort of thing as the UK Online Safety Bill, in so much as...
View ArticleApple abused its dominant position in mobile payments, says EU
The European Commission told consumer tech giant Apple that it has formed a ‘preliminary view’ that it abused its dominant position in markets for mobile wallets on iOS devices. The claim is that Apple...
View ArticleEU suggests big tech may have to start paying for telco infrastructure
“They have not been contributing to enabling the investments in the rollout of connectivity,” Europe’s digital chief Margrethe Vestager said of tech giants such as Amazon, Netflix and Google....
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The second phase of Europe’s tech crackdown is finalised
It looks like the EU has agreed on the final text for the Digital Markets Act, which is designed as an exercise in regulatory catch-up with US big tech firms. The preliminary version of the DMA was...
View ArticleEU and US step up collaboration on tech and supply chain issues
The second EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) meeting in Paris fleshed out various areas of transatlantic cooperation, including semiconductor supplies and AI policy. The TTC was recently set up...
View ArticleEU confirms USB-C charging ports will be mandatory from 2024
The EU Council, Commission and Parliament have all agreed that from April 2024, when it comes to charging ports for mobile devices and laptops, there can be only one. The proposed law has been wafting...
View ArticleEU approves regulation for ‘too big to care’ tech platforms
The European Parliament has waved through the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act, designed to curb the influence of US tech giants which it defines as ‘gatekeepers’. The latest...
View ArticleFrance, Italy and Spain reportedly repeat calls for big tech to pay for EU...
Three EU countries have made fresh calls that big tech firms such as Google, Meta and Netflix should help pay for European network infrastructure, according to Reuters. France, Italy and Spain have...
View ArticleEU set to challenge telcos over demands for big tech cash
European operators have been trying to get the EU to force US internet giants to pay extra for using their networks but it seems the bloc remains unconvinced. We know this thanks to Bloomberg, which...
View ArticleEurope to consult on making big tech pay for network use
Thierry Breton has reportedly said he will launch a consultation on making tech giants contribute to the cost of the continent’s networks. Breton is the European Commissioner for its internal market....
View ArticleGoogle pushes back on the ‘sender pays principle’
Following the renewed plea by European operators for video streamers to contribute to the cost of telecoms infrastructure, Google delivered a riposte. Matt Brittin, Google’s President for EMEA, took...
View ArticleEU votes in favour of enforcing ‘common charger’ for mobile devices
By the end of 2024 all mobile phones, tablets and cameras sold in the EU will have to have USB C charging, and from spring 2026 so will laptops. The new law was passed in the EU parliament with 602...
View ArticleEU launches next phase of 6G research, splurges €250m on new projects
Sustainability, inclusion and trustworthiness are among the top priorities for the next stage of the European Commission’s 6G research programme. Unveiled late last week, Hexa-X-II will combine the...
View ArticleInterDigital involved in five EU 6G projects
As the European 6G bureaucracy creaks into gear, US tech R&D company InterDigital has been awarded funding to support several of its projects. It can be tricky to stay on top of the various...
View ArticleEU joins UK by probing Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard
The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation into the proposed acquisition of computer games giant Activision Blizzard by Microsoft. This follows the UK’s decision a couple of months...
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