Natasha Lomas
Writer
The Latest from Natasha Lomas
France fines Google $120M and Amazon $42M for dropping tracking cookies without consent
France’s data protection agency, the CNIL, has slapped Google and Amazon with fines for dropping tracking cookies without consent. Google has been hit with a total of €100 million ($120 millio
Automattic, Mozilla, Twitter and Vimeo urge EU to beef up user controls to help tackle ‘legal-but-harmful’ content
Automattic, Mozilla, Twitter and Vimeo have penned an open letter to EU lawmakers urging them to ensure that a major reboot of the bloc’s digital regulations doesn’t end up bludgeoning fre
On encryption and counter-terrorism, EU lawmakers say they’ll work for ‘lawful’ data access
EU lawmakers have just unveiled a wide-ranging counter-terrorism agenda as they set out plans to beef up regional security. The plan touches on some key tech topics — the most keenly watched of
Apple takes aim at adtech hysteria over iOS app tracking change
Apple has used a speech to European lawmakers and privacy regulators today to come out jabbing at what SVP Craig Federighi described as dramatic, “outlandish” and “false” claim
Reface grabs $5.5M seed led by A16z to stoke its viral face-swap video app
Buzzy face-swap video app Reface, which lends users celebrity ‘superpowers’ by turning their selfies into “eerily realistic” famous video clips at the tap of a button, has caug
Xayn is privacy-safe, personalized mobile web search powered by on-device AIs
As TC readers know, the tricky trade-off of the modern web is privacy for convenience. Online tracking is how this ‘great intimacy robbery’ is pulled off. Mass surveillance of what Interne
Mark Zuckerberg threatened to end Facebook’s UK investment in private 2018 meeting with digital chief, warning over ‘anti-tech’ tone
Round of applause for the Bureau of Investigative Journalism — which fought for two years to obtain details of a closed door meeting between Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and the UK secretary
German secure email provider Tutanota forced to monitor an account, after regional court ruling
German e2e encrypted email provider Tutanota has been ordered by a regional court to develop a function that allows it to monitor an individual account. The encrypted email service provider has been f
Europe to put forward rules for political ads transparency and beef up its disinformation code next year
New rules for online political advertising will be put forward by European Union lawmakers next year, with the aim of boosting transparency around sponsored political content. The Commission said toda
ultimate.ai scores $20M for a supportive approach to customer service automation
Ultimate.ai, a virtual customer service agent builder, has closed a $20 million Series A round of funding, led by Omers Ventures with participation from Felicis Ventures and existing investors HV Capi
Europe will push to work with the US on tech governance, post-Trump
The European Union said today that it wants to work with US counterparts on a common approach to tech governance — including pushing to standardize rules for applications of technologies like AI
The UK approves the BioNTech/Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use
The UK government has approved the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19 for emergency use, following the recommendation of the national medicines regulator. The UK is the first country to approve
Facebook’s self-styled ‘oversight’ board selects first cases, most dealing with hate speech
A Facebook-funded body that the tech giant set up to distance itself from tricky and potentially reputation-damaging content moderation decisions has announced the first bundle of cases it will consid
EU lawmakers to push audio-visual sector on geoblocking
European Union lawmakers are considering whether current rules aimed at limiting the practice of geoblocking across the bloc should be extended to cover access to streaming audio-visual content. Acces
Apple on the hook for €10M in Italy, accused of misleading users about iPhone water resistance
Apple’s marketing of iPhones as “water resistant” without clarifying the limits of the feature and also having a warranty that excludes cover for damage by liquids has got the compan
UK shrinks timetable for telcos to stop installing 5G kit from Huawei
The U.K. government has squeezed the timetable for domestic telcos to stop installing 5G kit from Chinese suppliers, per the BBC, which reports that the deadline for installation of kit from so-called
No Google-Fitbit merger without human rights remedies, says Amnesty to EU
Human rights NGO, Amnesty International, has written to the EU’s competition regulator calling for Google’s acquisition of wearable maker Fitbit to be blocked — unless meaningful saf
UK to set up ‘pro-competition’ regulator to put limits on big tech
The U.K. is moving ahead with a plan to regulate big tech, responding to competition concerns over a “winner-takes-all” dynamic in digital markets. It will set up a new Digital Market Unit
Facebook’s latest ad tool fail puts another dent in its reputation
Reset yer counters: Facebook has had to ‘fess up to yet another major ad reporting fail. This one looks like it could be costly for the tech giant to put right — not least because it’
GDPR enforcement must level up to catch big tech, report warns
A new report by European consumer protection umbrella group Beuc, reflecting on the barriers to effective cross-border enforcement of the EU’s flagship data protection framework, makes awkward r