Tag Archives: EU

The European Union has been looking to set a universal charging port standard for a while now. Most Android smartphones nowadays use USB-C, as do many laptops and other devices. Now, new EU rules will ensure that USB-C becomes the common charging port for all smartphones and tablets sold in …

Last year, Intel announced plans to build new facilities in Europe to boost chip production. Now, that plan has been finalised, with Intel today announcing plans to invest as much as 80 billion euros in the EU over the next decade, as well as plans to create six new facilities …

Apple is regularly in the news due to repeated antitrust violations. This time around, the company has been accused anti-competitive behaviour in Italy, with authorities also claiming collusion between Apple and Amazon to supress competition. As a result, both parties have been ordered to pay a $225 million fine. Italy's …

In recent months, a number of regulators have begun taking an interest in Nvidia's proposed $40 billion acquisition of Arm. The deal was announced in 2020 but has yet to be completed as the deal continues to go through regulatory checks. Recently, the UK's competition authority suggested the acquisition could …

Over the last year, Intel has begun planning new fab facilities in Europe, with financial support from the European Union. Since the EU is involved in the funding, the UK's exit from the European Union means that Intel did indeed strike the country off of its list for potential facility …

The European Commission is planning to introduce new rules that would mandate all electronics manufacturers use USB-C as the common charging port on their devices. This is something that would also apply to smartphone makers, which could finally push Apple to switch from Lightning to USB-C on future iPhones, just …

Earlier this week, it was reported that the European Commission would bring antitrust charges against Apple soon for breaking competition laws. Now, everything is official, with the commission finding that Apple is “in breach of EU competition law” with its 30 percent revenue cut and other iOS policies.  The EU …

We're all painfully aware of the current GPU stock situation, with shortages impacting both Nvidia's RTX 30 series and AMD's Radeon RX 6900 and RX 6800 series cards. We've got another AMD launch coming up soon – the Radeon RX 6700 XT and early reports indicate that supply will still …

Back in April 2019, we learned that the European Commission was launching an anti-trust investigation into content geo-blocking. The investigation looked into several huge game publishers including Valve, ZeniMax, Capcom, Bandai Namco, Focus Home Interactive and Koch Media. The investigation has since concluded, with the EU handing down a €7.8 …

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was rolled out across the EU back in 2018 and since then, we haven't seen many major fines in the tech or social media space. That changed today, with Ireland's Data Protection Commission officially fining Twitter €450,000 over a data breach. The data breach …

Over the last few years, one of the biggest cases against Apple has been an EU ruling to pay 13 billion euros in back taxes in Ireland. Since the beginning, Apple has had a firm stance on fighting this ruling and the Irish government was also on Apple's side. Now, …

Apple is under scrutiny once again in Europe due to its various business practises. This week, the European Commission opened up two separate antitrust investigations against Apple, one into the App Store and another into Apple Pay.  The first investigation focuses on the App Store's 30% revenue cut on sales …

Google has been battling with the EU for a few years now over various anti-trust concerns. At the moment, Google faces a hefty $2.6 billion (2.4 billion Euro) fine, which the company is still fighting.  The fine was initially imposed back in 2017 and this week during a three-day hearing, Alphabet …

Just a few weeks ago, we began hearing that the European Union was considering a several year ban on public use of facial recognition technology in order to buy some time to figure out the legal side of things. Since then, some changes have been made, with new reports indicating …

As the UK prepares to officially leave the European Union this Friday (31st January), the European Processor Initiative (EPI) is priming the first prototype of its HPC processor designed for advanced computing applications. The EPI was set up by the European Commission as part of the Framework Partnership Agreement, with …

Throughout 2018, European consumer rights authorities began taking a closer look at Nintendo and its digital eShop refund policies. The Norwegian Consumer Council (NCC) got the ball rolling by saying that Nintendo’s strict no-refund policy was against EU consumer protection laws. Since Nintendo of Europe is based in Germany, the case was handed …

As technology continues to improve, we are moving closer towards an era where facial recognition technology is going to be more widespread in public spaces. Plans to roll this out may be halted for a while in Europe though, as the EU is mulling over a five-year ban so that …

Over the course of last year, European consumer rights authorities began taking a closer look at Nintendo and its digital eShop refund policies. The Norwegian Consumer Council (NCC) got the ball rolling by saying that Nintendo's strict no-refund policy was against EU consumer protection laws. Since Nintendo of Europe is …

Yesterday, we learned that a French judge had ruled that Valve is not allowed to prohibit users from re-selling their digital games, ordering that the clause be removed from the Steam policy and terms of service. Valve hadn't responded at the time, but the company has since confirmed its intent …

A French Court has ruled that Valve must not prohibit Steam customers from re-selling digital games, but is a pre-owned market for digital games feasible in today's industry? What would this mean for other digital platforms and digital entertainment mediums?

Back in 2016, the European Commission ruled against Apple in a huge tax evasion case, ordering the company to pay around 13 billion Euros in back taxes. Apple did begin paying off the bill, with the money being held in an escrow account. Now this week, Apple will begin its …

Back in April, we learned that the European Commission was investigating major game publishers and platform holders over content geo-blocking. Valve/Steam, Capcom, ZeniMax, Koch Media, Bandai Namco and Focus Home Interactive were all named as part of the antitrust investigation. Most of the publishers plan to settle in an effort …

Earlier this year, Spotify filed an antitrust complaint against Apple with the European Union, spurring an investigation into the platform cut Apple takes on purchases and subscriptions made through the iOS App Store. Apple has already explained its case in a public letter but now an official response has been …

Back in March, we learned that Spotify had filed a new complaint with the European Union's antitrust regulators, claiming that Apple's App Store rules were anti-competitive. Spotify publicised this by putting out the open letter ‘Time to Play Fair', which Apple swiftly responded to and tackled point by point. Now, …

The European Commission tends to launch several large antitrust investigations each year. While most of the ones we report on tend to fall in the tech realm, this week, the EU is turning its attention to gaming. More specifically, the commission is investigating publishers and platform holders over content geo-blocking, …

Earlier this week, Spotify filed a new complaint with the European Union's antitrust regulators. The complaint was levied at Apple, calling out the company's App Store tax, limitations placed on iOS developers, app update approval process and more. Apple has since responded, stating that Spotify “wants all the benefits of …

Huawei’s push into the 5G sector has been rejected by a number of government officials, with some going as far as to retroactively remove 3G and 4G infrastructures. After pledging $2 billion to alleviate security fears in the UK, Huawei has now stated that it would accept full supervision from …

While UK networks have previously stated that there are “no plans” to bring back data roaming charges, the government has formally announced that limitations would be immediately lifted in the event of a no-deal Brexit. This would allow companies to once again impose surcharges to UK customers using their mobile …

EU Member States have refused a compromise position on Article 13, further delaying negotiations of its final text.

The European Parliament is currently in talks with the European Council and Commission to implement Article 13, a law that would make YouTube directly responsible for the potential copyright infringement of its users. While the platform has already been vocal about its opposition to the proposal, Music chief Lyor Cohen …