News about Margrethe Vestager

Brussels is especially concerned that Meta, the company which runs the social media platforms, does not have an 'effective' tool in place to monitor elections ahead of EU-wide polls June 6 to 9. There have been warnings about a surge of Russian interference ahead of the crunch vote, with reports that pro-Kremlin networks are thriving on the West's most popular social media sites. 'We are overwhelmed by Russian propaganda, on a scale which would have been hard to imagine just a few years ago,' France's European affairs minister Jean-Noël Barrot said. The probe announced today is under the EU's new Digital Services Act, a landmark law that cracks down on illegal content online and forces the world's biggest tech companies to do more to protect users online. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has vowed to act against 'disinformation and manipulation by third countries'.

The European Commission has announced today that Apple, Meta, and Google are all under scrutiny for suspected anti-commission abuses. In the wake of allegations that they may have violated the EU's Digital Market Act, the EU has launched five separate probes into the world's top tech firms (DMA). The probes have highlighted company practices that make it impossible for consumers to purchase items not owned by these businesses. If found in breach of the rules, the defendants could face fines up to ten percent of their annual turnover - potentially billions of dollars for the biggest companies.

In new measures to brace for a potential conflict with Russia, the European Union has threatened to cut arms to the UK and keep arms within the bloc. Thierry Breton (pictured, bottom right) the EU's defense minister retorted the bloc's military plan yesterday, saying that the union had to look after itself in a "security crisis." EU countries would also be compelled to limit the number of arms they could buy from UK-based companies, including BAE systems, if they wanted to receive additional funds from the EU's budget allocation.

Apple was fined by the European Union after the tech giant found that it unfairly preferred its own music streaming service over Spotify. Apple barred app developers from informing iPhone users of alternate and cheaper music subscription options outside of the app,' according to the European Commission, the 27-nation bloc's executive branch and top antitrust enforcer. That is unlawful under EU antitrust law. Apple performed this way for almost a decade, triggering several customers to pay'significantly more for music streaming subscriptions,' according to the commission.

One percent of Chrome users worldwide, or about 30 million people, has been chosen to be the first to have third-party cookies turned off. The move restricted websites from using third-party cookies to track users as they browse the web to display relevant ads as part of Google's contentious Privacy Sandbox. Although the change is cited as a result of user privacy concerns, commentators believe Google's decision to ban third-party cookies from Chrome would boost the tech giant's clout in the online advertising industry.

As part of a EU clampdown aimed at safeguarding minors, three of the world's biggest porn websites have been hit with fresh measures. According to the European Commission, Pornhub, XVideos, and Stripchat have been classified as "very large online platforms" and are now subjected to more stringent controls under the Digital Services Act. The adult websites fell within the scope of a historic bill designed to screen online media because they each have more than 45 million monthly users, such as Facebook, TikTok, and Wikipedia. The three websites are the first to be affected by the sweeping Digital Services Act, which imposes stringent requirements on customers in order to protect them from unlawful content and dodgy goods.

Jeff Bezos' online shopping behemoth had been accused of striking a sweetheart agreement with Luxembourg, which meant that the company did not have to pay tax on 75% of its European income. Margrethe Vestager (pictured) of the EU has battled the extra tax treatment that seems to be offered to Silicon Valley giants.

The 27-nation EU has led the global movement to cracking down on big tech firms, including pioneering AI, but it has not relied on issuing blockbuster fines, including three antitrust fines for Google worth billions of dollars. It's the first time the bloc has told a tech giant that it will have to split up key portions of its market due to EU's tough antitrust laws, but details on what it looks like haven't been revealed. Google will now defend itself by presenting its case before the commission makes its final decision. The company said it disagreed with the findings and "will respond as soon as possible," with the EU probe focusing on a small part of the company's ad sector.

In spite of all its engineering and technology expertise, Europe has struggled to imitate the United States' success in the creation and dissemination of digital giants Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google. Arm Holdings, Britain's only viable digital king, is in limbo, owned by a skeptless Japanese investor SoftBank.