Politico: Brussels sets out to fix the GDPR. “The European Commission will propose a new law before the summer that’s aimed at improving how EU countries’ privacy regulators enforce the GDPR, a newly published page on its website showed.”
Financial Times: Twitter disbands Brussels office, prompting fears about online safety. “The executives had led the company’s effort to comply with the EU’s disinformation code and the bloc’s landmark Digital Services Act, which came into force last week and sets new rules on how Big Tech should keep users safe online. Other Twitter executives in the small but vital Brussels office, seen as a crucial conduit to European policymakers, had left at the start of the month during company-wide cuts that removed around half of its 7,500-strong workforce.”
Brussels Times: Justice: Federal judgements and rulings to be published in online Central Register . “The text passed through parliament in unanimity, minus abstentions from Les Engagés and DéFI. The bill was sponsored by the Federal Minister of Justice Vincent Van Quickenborne, providing for the establishment of a register which will be implemented in two stages. Initially, it will only contain final judgments in their entirety, which all lawyers, defendants, civil parties and experts will be able to consult digitally.”
The Guardian: Museums on prescription: Brussels tests cultural visits to treat anxiety. “A tour of ancient sewers? An encounter with a masterpiece of 16th-century lace-making? These are two of the therapies on offer to people in Brussels suffering from depression, stress or anxiety. From this month, psychiatrists in one of the city’s largest hospitals have been able to offer patients ‘museum prescriptions’, a free visit with a few friends or family members to discover one or more of Brussels’ cultural institutions.”
Associated Press: Thousands in Brussels protest renewed COVID-19 restrictions. “Thousands of peaceful protesters have demonstrated in Brussels for a third time against reinforced COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the Belgian government to counter a spike in infections as the omicron variant sweeps across Europe.”
The Brussels Times: Coronavirus: 10,000 cultural events cancelled in Belgium. “More than 10,000 events have already been cancelled or postponed in Belgium due to the new coronavirus (Covid-19), Le Soir reported on Friday.”
The Telegraph: Google launches fightback against record £2.2bn Brussels fine. “Google will launch a fightback against Brussels this week when the company lodges an appeal against its record monopoly abuse fine. The internet giant is expected to file the response to the European Commission’s €2.4bn (£2.2bn) penalty on Monday, the deadline for submitting an appeal.”
Financial Times: Google set to hit back at Brussels over competition probe. “Google is set to hit back at Brussels over charges that it has abused its market clout in mobile, search and advertising products, marking the latest salvo in the company’s long-running antitrust battle in Europe. The Google cases are flagship investigations in Brussels’ wide-ranging crackdown on alleged misconduct by various Silicon Valley groups — a drive that has caused deep disquiet in Washington, most notably over a €13bn tax bill served to Apple in August.”
Please note: Facebook has activated its Safety Check after the explosions in Brussels. Access it at https://www.facebook.com/safetycheck/brusselsexplosions-march2016/ .
But it’s not all European legal sunshine for Google, as anyone who reads ResearchBuzz knows. Rumor has it that Google’s Sundar Pichai is headed to Brussels for antitrust talks. “Google chief executive Sundar Pichai will meet next week in Brussels with the European Union’s competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, a source familiar with the matter said Saturday.”
The EU is considering imposing a “snippet tax” on Google for it to display quotes from news stories. Dear EU: This did not work for Spain and it did not work for Germany. It will not work for you.
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