eu

Outsized seed rounds, neobanks and spicy M&A? Well hello, 2023

Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. This week, Natasha Mascarenhas, Mary Ann Azevedo and Rebec

The EU’s AI Act could have a chilling effect on open source efforts, experts warn

Proposed EU rules could limit the type of research that produces cutting-edge AI tools like GPT-3, experts warn in a new study. The nonpartisan think tank Brookings this week published a piece decryin

Sensitive data ruling by Europe’s top court could force broad privacy reboot

A ruling put out yesterday by the European Union’s top court could have major implications for online platforms that use background tracking and profiling to target users with behavioral ads or

Eurora raises $40M for its AI-based system to automate EU e-commerce shipping compliance

The e-commerce market has boomed in the last several years, and with that so has the appetite of tax collectors to do their bidding: make rules that make sure their countries are getting a cut. That&#

Will Elon Musk put Twitter on a collision course with global speech regulators?

Elon Musk joked earlier this month that he hoped buying Twitter won’t be too painful for him. But the self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” may indeed be inviting a world of pain

France’s strategy for EU startup policies: Talent and money

It’s the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union right now. And the French government is taking advantage of this opportunity to make some progress on the tech startup policy front. I

Google fails to overturn EU’s €2.42B Shopping antitrust decision

Google’s challenge to a 2017 EU antitrust finding against its shopping comparison service (Google Shopping) has been largely dismissed by the General Court of the European Union. It’s an i

As EU eyes ‘balance’ on precarious gig work, Glovo offers pledge of ‘fairer’ conditions for couriers

Spain’s on-demand delivery platform Glovo has announced what it’s calling “The Couriers Pledge” — an initiative which commits its business to setting a new — &#8220

Google ditches pay-to-play Android search choice auction for free version after EU pressure

Google is ditching a massively unpopular auction format that underpins a choice screen it offers in the European Union, it said today. Eligible search providers will be able to freely participate. The

Europe wants to go its own way on digital identity

In its latest ambitious digital policy announcement, the European Union has proposed creating a framework for a “trusted and secure European e-ID” (aka digital identity) — which it s

DuckDuckGo presses the case for true ‘one-click’ search competition on Android

When antitrust accusations close in on Google the tech giant loves to fire back a riposte that competition is just “one click away“. It’s a disingenuous retort from an online adverti

EU adopts rules on one-hour takedowns for terrorist content

The European Parliament approved a new law on terrorist content takedowns yesterday, paving the way for one-hour removals to become the legal standard across the EU. The regulation “addressing t

Ireland opens GDPR investigation into Facebook leak

Facebook’s lead data supervisor in the European Union has opened an investigation into whether the tech giant violated data protection rules vis-a-vis the leak of data reported earlier this mont

Google isn’t testing FLoCs in Europe yet

Early this month Google quietly began trials of “Privacy Sandbox”: Its planned replacement adtech for tracking cookies, as it works toward phasing out support for third-party cookies in th

Europe’s rush for a COVID-19 ‘digital pass’ stirs concerns

More details have emerged today about the European Commission’s legislative proposal for a pan-EU ‘digital green pass’ to show verified COVID-19 status. The plan is controversial fro

France’s privacy watchdog probes Clubhouse after complaint and petition

Clubhouse, the buzzy but still invite-only social audio app that’s popular with the Silicon Valley technorati, is being investigated by France’s privacy watchdog. The CNIL announced today

Court overturns Amsterdam’s three-district ban on Airbnb rentals

A ban by Amsterdam authorities on housing owners offering their properties for vacation rentals in three central districts of the popular tourist city has been overturned after a court ruled it has no

Europe’s Android ‘choice’ screen keeps burying better options

It’s been over a year since Google began auctioning slots for a search engine “choice” screen on Android in Europe, following a major antitrust intervention by the European Commissio

EU to propose a ‘digital pass’ for COVID-19 vaccination/test status to help safer travel

The European Commission has said it will present a legislative plan later this month for what it’s calling a “digital green pass” — aka a digital certificate — which it s

Europe kicks off bid to find a route to ‘better’ gig work

The European Union has kicked off the first stage of a consultation process involving gig platforms and workers. Regional lawmakers have said they want to improve working conditions for people who pro
Load More