The Tech Brief

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The Tech Brief

Euractiv's Tech Team gives a breakdown of the week’s biggest European tech news in the world of politics and policy.

  1. 06/09/2024

    Brussels boots on the ground in San Francisco

    The European Commission is currently engaged in "direct" and "intensive" collaboration with California legislators, who have just approved a new AI bill that could "strengthen" and "complement" the EU’s AI regulation. In today's episode, we learn how the Commission works in California and explore whether the US state could prove an important ally in the EU’s efforts to enforce its new digital rulebook. Join Tech Reporter Jacob Wulff Wold as he sits down with Gerard de Graaf, senior EU envoy to the US for digital and tech and head of the EU office in San Francisco, and Pierre Larouche, professor in law and innovation at the University of Montreal and research fellow at the Centre on Regulation in Europe.

    28 min

  2. 23/08/2024

    Elon Musk's Brat Summer

    English singer Charli XCX’s new album, "Brat," is making waves, and Elon Musk, with his legal battles, clashes with the EU, and endorsement of Donald Trump, seems to embody the “brat” vibe. Did you miss the summer drama? Euractiv’s tech team has you covered.

    25 min

  3. 26/07/2024

    Dissecting Apple's compliance with EU digital competition rules from a civil society perspective

    A group of digital rights organisation said that Apple’s plans to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) are ineffective in a submission to the European Commission. The EU executive has opened three non-compliance investigations into Apple’s plans to conform to the DMA, the bloc’s landmark digital competition law. In one of these investigations, the Commission said in preliminary findings that the company is in breach of the DMA with its App Store policies.We are joined by Simonetta Vezzoso, who is an academic from Trento university. She is also a lawyer and economist who a consults Article 19, one of the organisations that filed the submission.

    22 min

  4. 05/07/2024

    Europe’s quest for critical raw materials

    The EU has set ambitious goals for securing its supply of critical raw materials, which are key to the digital and green transitions. Today we talk to Chad Blewitt, managing director of the Jadar Project, a highly-anticipated and highly-delayed lithium mining site in Serbia. Jadar is operated by Rio Tinto, the world’s second largest mining company. Can the goals set by the Critical Raw Materials Act be achieved by 2030, and, crucially, how important is cutting red tape to achieving these goals?

    21 min

  5. 21/06/2024

    The preamble to Meta’s decision to halt AI launch in EU

    On Friday afternoon, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced it is pausing plans to roll out artificial intelligence (AI) features that would use users’ public posts to train its AI models. The company cited a request from the Irish Data Protection Commission. Digital rights NGO Noyb filed 11 complaints against Meta’s AI plans in Europe earlier that week, asking for an urgency procedure.This week, we speak to Noyb founder and lawyer Max Schrems about why they filed  the complaints and what to expect.

    23 min

  6. 07/06/2024

    How consumer protections can be enhanced in e-commerce

    This week, together with Marco Scialdone, a lawyer and adjunct professor of law and management of digital content and services at the European University of Rome, we delve into the impact of the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) on consumer protection in e-commerce, focusing on the responsibilities of online marketplaces and the role of consumer organisations like Euroconsumers in ensuring product safety.

    17 min

  7. 31/05/2024

    The Commission’s coordination failures in AI investment

    The European Commission kicked off plans to boost investments in its AI sector back in 2018. But they were neither clearly defined, nor well coordinated, argued the European Court of Auditors (ECA) in a report released this week. The gap of investments and innovation has only grown with the US since these plans were put in motion, research has found. This week we talk to Mihails Kozlovs, a member of the ECA who led the report, about what it means for the future.

    19 min

  8. 24/05/2024

    The AI Convention on Human Rights: Worth the hype?

    The Council of Europe, the bloc's human rights body, adopted its first framework convention on artificial intelligence (AI_, democracy and the rule of law on 17 May. It's heralded as the world's first binding international treaty to ensure the technology doesn't interfere with human rights. But the negotiations were riddled with criticism, particularly around the treatment of the private sector.   We are joined by Hanne Juncher, Director of Security, Integrity and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe, who deals with AI and negotiated the Convention to discuss if it is worth the hype after all.

    18 min
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    Euractiv's Tech Team gives a breakdown of the week’s biggest European tech news in the world of politics and policy.

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    • Channel
      EURACTIV
    • Creator
      Euractiv
    • Years Active
      2020 - 2024
    • Episodes
      191
    • Rating
      Clean
    • Copyright
      © 2022 Euractiv BV
    • Show Website
      The Tech Brief

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