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The European Parliament has voted in favor of making USB-C the standard charging port for devices across various categories, including smartphones, tablets, cameras, and more. While many OEMs have already transitioned to USB-C, Apple still offers its proprietary Lightning connector on iPhones, AirPods, and other accessories. With the new law in place, Apple will have to switch to USB-C by the end of 2024.
EU could force WhatsApp, Messenger, iMessage and others to offer interoperability
EU's proposed Digital Markets Act could force large messaging platforms like WhatsApp, iMessage, and Messenger to offer interoperability.
The EU has agreed upon new laws to limit the market power of big tech. Its new Digital Markets Act (DMA) aims to blacklist anti-competitive practices and force popular messaging services like WhatsApp, Messenger, iMessage, and others to open up and interoperate with smaller messaging platforms.
European Commission wants a DNS built and offered by the EU
The EU is looking to build its own DNS infrastructure in the form of DNS4EU. It looks to be a potential Cloudflare competitor for the EU.
On the surface, browsing the web appears to be quite a simple process. Behind the scenes, after you type a URL in your device's address bar, your device sends a query to a Domain Name Server (DNS) to translate the URL to a machine-readable IP address. Once your device receives the corresponding IP address, it opens the website. There are lots of reasons a user may wish to set a custom DNS on their smartphone; be it to avoid content filtering, for privacy, or for any other reason, and services like Google and Cloudflare offer their own DNS. Now, though, the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) has proposed a DNS infrastructure built and offered by the EU, dubbed DNS4EU.
Irish DPC proposes fining Facebook up to €36 million
The Irish Data Protection Commission has proposed fining Facebook up to €36 million, though there's potential for it to be higher.
The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has proposed fining Facebook €36 million euro in one of more than a dozen probes into the company. This is according to a draft decision published on Wednesday. Under European Union 2018 data protection rules, the preliminary ruling must now be shared with other EU supervisory authorities and consider their views too. If no disagreements are raised by those authorities, then a final verdict will be made and presented to Facebook.
EU expected to open investigation into NVIDIA's acquisition of Arm
NVIDIA is struggling to close out its acquisition of U.K.-based Arm, as the EU is reportedly readying an antitrust investigation.
In September last year, NVIDIA signed a definitive agreement to acquire Arm, the U.K.-based semiconductor and software design company. Given how important of a role Arm plays in the mobile and tech ecosystem as a whole, many raised concerns that the acquisition would give NVIDIA too much power and control, and they argued that it could hurt competition as a result. Qualcomm, Microsoft, and Google have all voiced concerns about the deal, and now it appears that NVIDIA has hit yet another hurdle. The EU is reportedly looking to open an antitrust investigation into the acquisition.
EU is reportedly investigating if Google Assistant is being forced on Android phones
The EU is reportedly investigating if Google is forcing OEMs to use the Google Assistant on Android phones, be it directly or indirectly.
The European Commission is reportedly investigating whether or not Google is forcing Android device makers to ship Google Assistant on smartphones.
Ireland fines WhatsApp €225 million over privacy concerns
The Irish Data Protection Commission has fined WhatsApp €225 million for breaching the EU's GDPR rules. The Facebook-owned company plans to appeal the decision.
The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has issued a €225 million fine on WhatsApp for breaching the EU's GDPR rules. The fine is related to an investigation that started in 2018 regarding WhatsApp's lack of transparency about how it processes user data.
EU accuses Apple of anticompetitive App Store policies
The European Commission said it is accusing Apple of engaging in anti-competitive behavior over concerns about its App Store policies.
The European Commission on Friday said it is formally accusing Apple of engaging in anti-competitive behavior. The Commission said Apple is guilty of abusing its dominate position and has an unfair advantage when competing against other apps in the App Store.
Epic Games raises antitrust complaint against Apple in the EU
Epic Games has filed an antitrust complaint against Apple in the EU, seeking fair access to app distribution and payment processes on iOS.
Epic Games is trying its damnedest to force Apple and Google to loosen their grip on the App Store and Play Store. We recently learned that the company's Coalition for App Fairness non-profit was lobbying for the North Dakota bill that could dismantle Apple and Google's app store and payment monopolies. But while the bill may have failed to pass, Epic Games is far from giving up.
Google's Fitbit acquisition is cleared by EU with some conditions applied
Google can take ownership of Fitbit, providing certain standards are maintained, confirms European Commission, after competition probe.
Google and Fitbit are one step closer to final completion of their merger after the European Commission gave final approval following a four-month probe. Google bought the wearables pioneer back in November 2019 for a not-unsubstantial $2.1bn but has been awaiting clearance from global regulators including in the European Union, with questions raised over whether the move would stifle competition, leading the Commission to launch a full investigation. However, following Google’s agreement to abide by a number of pledges, their concerns have been addressed and the merger approved.
European Parliament votes in favor of Right to Repair
The European Parliament has voted in favour of consumer's right to repair electronics, paving the way for sustainable technology. Read on!
The Right to Repair rules in the European Union just got stronger as the European Parliament has voted in favor of the law. The EU had announced the ruling earlier this year as a part of the Circular Economy Action Plan. The new law mandates that devices should be useful for a longer period before they need to be recycled or dumped into a trashcan.
Google adds search provider choices for Android users in the EU
Google has introduced search provider choices for Android users in the European Economic Area. Here are all the search engines by region.
Android users in Europe can now look forward to easily selecting between a host of search providers, as Google has just announced an upcoming change to how Android would function in the European Union. From 2020 onwards, Android smartphone and tablet users in Europe will be able to select a search provider that will power the search box on their home screen, as well as be used as the default search provider within Google Chrome, if the browser is installed. This change is part of the steps that Google has taken to comply with the European Commission's ruling on Android.
New European regulation could force Apple and Google to be fairer to app developers
A new EU regulation could force a fair and transparent relationship between developers and platforms like the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
Google and Apple are known for keeping a tight leash on what gets published on their respective app stores. However, at times, the companies have been found guilty of removing apps/games from their platforms without offering developers a clear reason behind the app's removal. A new EU regulation aims to address this issue and promote a more transparent relationship between developers and the Google Play Store/Apple App Store.
Broadcom aims to settle EU antitrust probe with offer to scrap exclusivity deals
In an attempt to settle an ongoing EU antitrust probe, US chipmaker Broadcom has offered to scrap its exclusivity deals with TV and modem makers.
U.S. chipmaker Broadcom, one of the biggest suppliers of Wi-Fi/Bluetooth modems and SoCs for TVs around the world, has offered to scrap its exclusivity deals with TV and modem makers in an attempt to settle an ongoing EU antitrust investigation against the company. The European Commission kicked off the antitrust probe back in June last year in response to Broadcom's deals with six companies to buy chips exclusively or almost exclusively from it. At the time, the EU competition enforcer had ordered the company to stop such deals until the end of the probe.
The EU is set to introduce "right to repair" laws that could also force OEMs to let you update your smartphone
The EU is set to introduce "right to repair" laws that may also force OEMs to let you update your smartphone by yourself.
The EU has been taking a hardline stance when it comes to climate change, including plans to vote on legislation that would see standardized charging across the board when it comes to smartphones. The EU has adopted a new Circular Economy Action Plan today, which includes a number of goals that the EU will, as a whole, strive towards. One such goal on that list is introducing the "right to repair" for EU citizens. In reading the Action Plan, I noticed something particularly interesting.
Leaked EU proposal reveals plan to make smartphone batteries easier to replace
A leaked proposal suggests that the EU is planning to force manufacturers to make smartphone batteries easily replaceable.
Replacing a dead battery on smartphones used to be quite easy not so long ago. It didn't require any professional help and users could easily pop the back cover open to access the replaceable battery. And having a replaceable battery on your smartphone was more of a norm than an exception. These days, however, replacing a dead battery on your smartphone is a herculean task that requires specialized equipment and poses the risk of voiding the warranty. But this might change soon as the EU is currently mulling over a plan to make smartphone batteries easily replaceable once again.
The EU has opened an antitrust investigation into Qualcomm for its radio-frequency chips
Qualcomm is under investigation by the European Commission for allegedly abusing their influence to promote its own radio-frequency chip business.
Qualcomm is a major company in the Android smartphone market. Not only does the company design the SoCs that make their way in flagship, mid-range, and budget smartphones, but it also designs and sells modem chips, which make it possible for smartphones to connect to wireless cellular data networks. It's been noted before that Qualcomm earns the majority of its revenue not from selling smartphone system-on-chips (SoCs), but from patent licensing. Qualcomm is heavily involved in the cellular world; to a large extent, it was responsible for developing the CDMA2000 standard (it has much lesser clout in 3G WCDMA), and it also has patents in 4G LTE. It wants to be just as heavily involved as the industry moves to 5G. The trouble here is that Qualcomm's practices are consistently anti-competitive, which is why the company has been battling with China, Taiwan, South Korea, the European Commission, and has lost a case to the US FTC, before winning an appeal. Separately, it fought a years-long case with Apple before reaching a settlement. Now, the EU has opened another investigation into Qualcomm, this time for its front-end radio-frequency (RFFE) chips.
The EU is considering banning facial recognition in public for 5 years
The European Commission is considering a blanket ban of up to five years on the use of facial recognition technology in public.
In a bid to curb the misuse of facial recognition technology, the European Commission has revealed that it's considering a ban on the use of facial recognition in public areas for up to 5 years. While the use of facial recognition is on the rise, the European regulators want time to draft rules to prevent the technology from being abused. As per a recent report from the BBC, the European Commission has set out its plan in an 18-page document which suggests that new roles will be introduced to strengthen existing regulations regarding privacy and data rights.