Latest news with #DigitalServicesAct
Euractiv
19 hours ago
- Business
- Euractiv
Trump suggests EU's digital rules are on the table in trade talks
Donald Trump suggested on Friday that the EU's enforcement of its Big Tech laws is on the table in ongoing trade talks that could see the EU make concessions in order to avoid certain tariffs. The US president announced the immediate suspension of trade talks with Canada via a post on his Truth Social platform over their tax on US technology companies. In enforcing their digital services tax, Canada was "obviously copying the European Union, which has done the same thing, and is currently under discussion with us," he said. The EU does not tax US tech firms specifically, but Trump has previously criticised the bloc's laws to rein in anticompetitive behaviour by those firms and moderate the content they publish – the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act, respectively. These rules include fines for non-compliance following investigations. Trump's Friday post is a suggestion that EU negotiators may be discussing how those laws are enforced against US firms in their talks on a deal to lower tariffs on European exports across the Atlantic. The European Commission denied Trump's suggestion. "We have been very clear on the sovereignty of our decision-making process, including our digital laws, they are untouchable," a spokesperson said. "We are still fully and deeply engaged in negotiations," they added. Trump's comments come just a day after EU leaders were divided on whether to accept a baseline 10% tariff on exports to the US – while possibly imposing their own retaliatory 10% tariff – at their summit in Brussels on Thursday. The Wall Street Journal , citing a leaked draft agreement, reported last week that the EU and US could enter into a formal dialogue on the Digital Markets Act following the trade deal – with US firms exempted from enforcement during those talks. That prompted a strong denial from the Commission's top US trade official, Matthias Jorgensen, who told MEPs this week that putting "the EU's regulatory autonomy on the table" was "not an option for us'. At this week's G7 summit in Canada, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Trump agreed to find a solution to the trade spat before 9 July. Von der Leyen told EU leaders on Thursday that she had received the latest counterproposal from the US.
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
DeepSeek under scrutiny in Germany, AI tokens falter
DeepSeek under scrutiny in Germany, AI tokens falter originally appeared on TheStreet. The AI crypto industry was shaken on June 28, with the market cap decreasing by 1.97% in the last 24 hours to $26.92 billion. Overall traded volume was up more than 30% and indicated increased volatility. Bitcoin maintained a level of stability, trading at $107,036.51 and down only 0.31% on the day. The decline deepened following the news that Germany's top privacy regulator had officially declared the Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek "illegal". The regulator invoked the EU's Digital Services Act and warned Apple and Google to remove DeepSeek from their app stores or face consequences, according to Bloomberg. After the Chinese app refused to cooperate, the Berlin agency used the EU's Digital Services Act, which requires internet platforms like Apple and Google to remove illegal content. DeepSeek was also developed in Hangzhou in January of 2025. It shocked the tech industry with the R1 model, a lean but powerful large language model. However, Meike Kamp, Berlin's privacy watchdog, explained that "Chinese authorities have extensive rights to access personal data" and indicated that the app did not comply with the standards set out in EU data protection regulatory action sparked immediate anxiety in the AI and crypto space. Short-term charts show erratic swings from various AI-linked tokens. Virtua Protocol (VIRTUAL) was down over 15% over the past week and only showed a minor daily rebound to close the week, while other tokens like ai16z and PAAL AI were down over 9% over the week. Larger-cap players like Render (RENDER) and NEAR Protocol also had downward action. Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) offered a pointed criticism, saying, "Too many AI agent developers focus too much on their token and not enough on the agent's usefulness,' on April also suggested, at the Token2049 summit, that crypto would eventually be the financial backbone of AI agents — "crypto is going to be the currency for AI" — but added it needed product-market fit, not hype-driven token launches. With Grok 4 also anticipated from Elon Musk's xAI post-July 4, the AI token market may continue to be erratic as narratives collide with regulations. DeepSeek under scrutiny in Germany, AI tokens falter first appeared on TheStreet on Jun 27, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jun 27, 2025, where it first appeared. Sign in to access your portfolio
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
Facing EU deadline, Apple announces App Store changes
Brussels: Apple announced changes to its App Store payment rules in Europe as it hit a Thursday deadline to address accusations of breaking EU digital competition rules -- or face steep new daily fines. The European Commission in April slapped Apple with a fine of 500 million euros ($586 million) after concluding it prevented developers from steering customers outside its App Store to access cheaper deals in violation of the bloc's rules. The EU warned Apple it had 60 days -- until Thursday -- to make changes to comply with the rules or face additional "periodic penalty payments", which it believed could be more than 50 million euros daily. Apple has changed the rules on the App Store effective Thursday, allowing developers to offer different payment options directly to consumers within their apps, arguing that the changes address the EU's concerns. Apple has paid the 500-million-euro fine but still plans to appeal the penalty on July 7 -- and it hit out on Thursday at the extent of the changes sought by Brussels. "The European Commission is requiring Apple to make a series of additional changes to the App Store. We disagree with this outcome and plan to appeal," Apple said. EU spokesman Thomas Regnier said the commission took note of Apple's announcement "and will now assess these new business terms" to see if they are compliant with the bloc's Digital Markets Act (DMA). "As part of this assessment the commission considers it particularly important to obtain the views of market operators and interested third parties before deciding on next steps," Regnier added. Apple has frequently hit out at the DMA antitrust rules, complaining it has no choice but to make the changes under threat of large fines. The EU reinforced its legal weaponry in recent years with major twin laws, the Digital Services Act and the DMA, which have provoked the ire of President Donald Trump. The US leader has slammed the EU's digital laws and taxes as "non-tariff barriers" to trade and many tech CEOs have aligned with his administration. The EU and the United States are currently locked in negotiations to avoid Trump's sweeping tariffs on European goods but Brussels has insisted that the digital rules are a red line for the 27-country bloc.
Euronews
a day ago
- Health
- Euronews
Protecting children online: The time to act is now
In today's digital era, children are growing up in a world where social media are as integral to their daily lives as school or family. While technology offers tremendous opportunities for learning, creativity, and connection, it also exposes young people to significant risks that can no longer be overlooked. The consequences are deeply concerning. According to a 2023 report by the European Commission, one in three young people in the EU spends more than three hours per day on social media. This level of overexposure has been closely associated with a growing mental health issues among minors—including anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. A 2024 study by the World Health Organisation showed that a problematic social media use among adolescents increased from 7% in 2018 to 11% in 2022. It highlights negative impacts on mental health, sleep, well-being and academic performance. Social media platforms – often built around addictive algorithms – are designed to keep young users engaged for extended periods. Constant exposure to idealised, curated content can distort self-perception, fuelling feelings of inadequacy and dissatisfaction. These are not just statistics—they reflect the genuine emotional and psychological struggles faced by an entire generation that is increasingly ill–equipped to navigate the digital world in a healthy and balanced manner. What is it that we are asking for? Europe has made notable progress through initiatives like the Better Internet for Kids (BIK+) strategy and the Digital Services Act (DSA). Yet, the current framework remains insufficient. The online protection of children must be elevated to a political and societal priority, underpinned by concrete and enforceable action. We must therefore move swiftly to implement a set of focused measures, starting with default privacy settings for children's accounts to reduce the risk of unsolicited contact from strangers. We also asking for ecalibrated recommender systems that prioritise explicit user feedback—such as deliberate selection of topics—to minimise the risk of children being drawn into harmful content rabbit holes. We want enhanced safety controls, including the ability for children to block or mute any user and protection from being added to group chats without their explicit consent, thereby reducing exposure to cyberbullying. Above all, mandatory age verification mechanisms must be implemented across all social networks. Such measures are essential to prevent minors from bypassing age restrictions and to substantially reduce their exposure to harmful online environments. The European Commission's recent draft guidelines on the protection of minors under the DSA mark a significant step towards a safer digital space. They offer a unique opportunity to establish age verification a a standard practice across social networks—not as an optional feature, but as a strict requirement. Enforcing age verification will equip platforms with the technical means necessary to uphold their own terms of service. It will also facilitate the enforcement of EU and national laws that set minimum age requirements for access to specific digital products or services. If we are genuinely committed to ensuring that the digital world fosters healthy development, learning, and meaningful connection—rather than becoming a breeding ground for anxiety, addiction and harm—then the decisive action must be taken now. Alexander Pröll, State Secretary for Digitalisation, Combating Antisemitism and Public Service, and the Constitution, Austria; Prof Radovan Fuchs, PhD., Minister of Science, Education and Youth, Croatia; Damir Habijan, Minister of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation, Croatia; Dr Nicodemos Damianou, Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, Cyprus; Caroline Stage Olsen, Minister for Digital Affairs, Denmark; Clara Chappaz, Minister of Artificial intelligence and Digital Affairs, France; Elisabeth Borne, Minister of National Education, Higher Education and Research, France; Catherine Vautrin, Minister of Labour, Health, Solidarity, and Families, France; Karin Prien, Federal Minister of Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, Germany; Dimitrios Papastergiou, Minister of Digital Governance, Greece; Sofia Zacharaki, Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, Greece; Patrick O'Donovan, Minister for culture and communications, Ireland; Prof Giuseppe Valditar, Minister for Education and Merit, Italy; Alessio Butti, Undersecretary of State to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, responsible for technological innovation and digital transition, Italy; Elisabeth Margue, Minister for Justice and Minister attached to the Prime Minister, responsible for the Media and Connectivity, Luxembourg; Claude Meisch, Minister for Education, Children and Youth Affairs, Luxembourg; Tomáš Drucker, Minister of Education, Research, Development, and Youth, Slovakia; Ksenija Klampfer, Minister of Digital Transformation, Slovenia; Vinko Logaj, Minister of Education and Care, Slovenia; Oscar López Águeda, Minister for Digital and Civil Service Transformation, Spain and María del Pilar Alegría Continente, Minister for Education and Vocational Training, Spain all coauthored this opinion article.
Japan Today
2 days ago
- Business
- Japan Today
Facing EU deadline, Apple announces App Store changes
Apple announced changes to its App Store payment rules in Europe as it hit a Thursday deadline to address accusations of breaking EU digital competition rules -- or face steep new daily fines. The European Commission in April slapped Apple with a fine of 500 million euros ($586 million) after concluding it prevented developers from steering customers outside its App Store to access cheaper deals in violation of the bloc's rules. The EU warned Apple it had 60 days -- until Thursday -- to make changes to comply with the rules or face additional "periodic penalty payments", which it believed could be more than 50 million euros daily. Apple has changed the rules on the App Store effective Thursday, allowing developers to offer different payment options directly to consumers within their apps, arguing that the changes address the EU's concerns. Apple has paid the 500-million-euro fine but still plans to appeal the penalty on July 7 -- and it hit out on Thursday at the extent of the changes sought by Brussels. "The European Commission is requiring Apple to make a series of additional changes to the App Store. We disagree with this outcome and plan to appeal," Apple said. EU spokesman Thomas Regnier said the commission took note of Apple's announcement "and will now assess these new business terms" to see if they are compliant with the bloc's Digital Markets Act (DMA). "As part of this assessment the commission considers it particularly important to obtain the views of market operators and interested third parties before deciding on next steps," Regnier added. Apple has frequently hit out at the DMA antitrust rules, complaining it has no choice but to make the changes under threat of large fines. The EU reinforced its legal weaponry in recent years with major twin laws, the Digital Services Act and the DMA, which have provoked the ire of President Donald Trump. The U.S. leader has slammed the EU's digital laws and taxes as "non-tariff barriers" to trade and many tech CEOs have aligned with his administration. The EU and the United States are currently locked in negotiations to avoid Trump's sweeping tariffs on European goods but Brussels has insisted that the digital rules are a red line for the 27-country bloc. © 2025 AFP
