#eu

Around 3% of people want tracking. EU governments dropped the plan to end cookie banners.

A civil-society coalition wants EU browsers to send a machine-readable privacy signal instead of showing consent pop-ups. The Council deleted the provision on June 18.

Policy·last week

$1 billion. The EU fined Google for favoring its own results and blocking cheaper app deals.

Brussels fined Google 890 million euros, its first Digital Markets Act penalty, for self-preferencing in Search and blocking app developers from steering users to cheaper deals.

An open passport photo page, the kind of government ID that age-verification systems ask users to upload.

Policy·last month

The web wants your ID now. Most age checks leak the data they collect.

Mandatory age-verification laws are turning the open internet into a checkpoint. Here's what the UK, EU, and US states actually require, and why the methods leak.

Apple·2 months ago

Apple is opening AirPlay's slot in iOS 27. Google Cast can become the default on EU iPhones.

Mark Gurman's Sunday Power On says iOS 27 will let users pick Google Cast or another protocol over AirPlay for system-level streaming, to satisfy the EU DMA.

Abstract illustration representing VPN connections and digital privacy

Policy·3 months ago

The EU called VPNs 'a loophole that needs closing.' Proton's UK signups rose 1,800%.

An EU Parliament briefing and Executive VP Henna Virkkunen both flagged VPN circumvention of age verification. The UK's attempt to solve it backfired into record VPN adoption.

European Commission illustration for new EU rules on durable, energy-efficient, repairable smartphones and tablets

Policy·3 months ago

The EU's 'replaceable phone batteries by 2027' headline is misleading. Here's the rule.

Article 11 of EU Batteries Regulation 2023/1542 kicks in February 18, 2027. Most flagship phones will dodge user-replaceable batteries through the Ecodesign exemption instead.