“Spyware has become a hydra, and Europe is its safe haven.”

– Sophie in ‘t Veld, Dutch MEP with the Renew Europe group told Euractiv on Tuesday.

Story of the week: Amnesty International’s ‘The Predator Files: Caught in the Net’ report, delving into ‘Predator Files’, revealed on Monday the EU’s inefficiency in regulating the spyware sector, involving the company group, Intellexa Alliance. “Even after hacking attempts of multiple high-level EU officials, the Commission still clearly lacks any sense of urgency,” Jeroen Lenaers, Dutch MEP and PEGA-Chair, told Euractiv. Previously, the European Parliament’s PEGA Committee reported breaches of EU law by the Council and Commission while also laying out non-binding recommendations. “The big problem is the intergovernmental set-up of the EU, which makes the national governments virtually untouchable, and the Commission their loyal servant,” explained MEP Sophie in ‘t Veld.  Read more.

Don’t miss:  EU Commissioner Thierry Breton said in an open letter on Tuesday that he had indications that social media platform X “is being used to disseminate illegal content and disinformation in the EU”. Following Hamas’ assault on Israel, Breton urged Elon Musk, the owner of X, to tackle disinformation posted there “within 24 hours” amid growing signs of the EU’s vexation with the platform formerly known as Twitter. Breton particularly emphasised X’s obligations under the EU moderation of illegal content online regulation, the Digital Services Act (DSA). These include timely answers to disinformation content flagged to the platform and effective mitigation measures. Since its formal enforcement on 25 August, this is the first time Breton has published such a direct and harsh letter addressed to a specific platform. Read more.

Also this week: 

• British Information Commissioner voiced concerns about Snapchat chatbot
• Spanish EU presidency warns about online radicalising of minors by terrorists
• Digital Networks Act: Breton lays out vision for EU telecom operators
• Breton’s view of EU geopolitics in the telecom sector vis-à-vis China, US
• EU politicians dream of ‘bluer’ skies
• Child sexual abuse material: Spanish Presidency floats limiting detection orders’ scope
• Germany suggests splitting up child sexual abuse material regulation

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Balancing safety and innovation. The European Parliament consulted on Monday by means of an in-depth discussion about the AI Act. The meeting focused on the balance between AI safety and innovation, tweeted digital trade association DIGITALEUROPE. 

Promising alliance. With the Franco-German AI Alliance, Germany hopes to score a ‘major win’ that will turn Europe into a tech counterweight to the US and China and secure  “Europe’s prominent position in international competition for decades to come,” Maximilian Funke-Kaiser, digital policy spokesman for the German parliamentary group FDP, told Euractiv. “When Paris and Berlin pull together, the EU takes a leap forward,” Funke-Kaiser added.

As energy-intensive as the Netherlands. By 2027, the AI industry could be compared to the Netherlands in terms of its energy consumption, a study by PhD candidate Alex De Vries reveals. If the current AI industry growth slows down, however, the energy consumption levels would not be as bad as currently predicted.

AI and capitalism. US Senator Bernie Sanders discussed his new book ‘It’s OK to Be Angry About Capitalism’ in Brussels on Tuesday with journalist Karl van den Broeck. Sanders briefly touched upon AI, saying that jobs will change in the next 10-20 years. In his opinion, the question is who will benefit from this and who decides what kind of a job people will have when their previous one disappears.

AI-ducation. The company OpenClassroom, well-known for its online courses on tech, IT, and data, providing certifications, launched free courses around Artificial Intelligence. The three courses are “Use ChatGPT in order to increase your productivity”, “Emerging Technologies”, and “Initiation to AI”. 

A lack of tr-AI-ning. Findings of the research by Ricoh Europe reveal that organisations implement AI tools in the workplace, however, do not provide employees with the right guidance and training. 18% of companies introduced measures to manage risks and ensure a safe and transparent use of AI.

EU or UK, who to trust? The European Tech Insights 2023 Report, published by IE University in Spain, demonstrates that 44% of Europeans trust their own governments less in regulating AI than the EU bodies. The only exception is the UK, where 51% trust it more than the EU for AI regulation. 25% of Britons, however, prefer EU oversight.

Telecom(petition). In view of the sector’s growing geopolitical significance and competition with the US and China, Commissioner Thierry Breton supported the need to find a financing model for investment in the EU telecom sector and advocated for more control and security in its infrastructure. The Commission decided in June to restrict or ban Chinese telecom infrastructure, particularly from Huawei and ZTE, urging member states to do the same. Read more.

Think twice. After the European Commission blocked Booking’s mergers with Etraveli last week, as Euractiv also reported, the head of Booking Holdings, Glenn Fogel, said in an interview with the Financial Times that regulations should give more thought to blocking the acquisition because it could make “the European tech ecosystem much less competitive than the United States or other parts of the world”.

Done deal. The British Competition and Markets Authority finalised Microsoft’s $68.7 billion proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard today, after the EU already gave the green light to the merger in May. The decision does not come as a surprise since the UK watchdog said in September that the revised offer from the tech giant sufficiently addressed their previous concerns.

Who let you do this? The European Commission formally ordered American biotechnology company Illumina, Inc. on Thursday to unwind its $7 billion merger with cancer-test provider Grail Inc., as the firms completed the acquisition without the EU watchdog’s permission. If the company doesn’t comply, it can face fines of up to 5% of the average daily aggregate turnover and 10% of its annual worldwide turnover.

Google fights back. Google warned in a recent letter to the EU watchdogs that it will not accept the EU’s warning to break up the tech giant’s ad business, which would probably lead to an antitrust battle.

Speak up. The British Competition and Markets Authority said on Wednesday it will give opportunities to competitors to express their opinion on Vodafone’s proposed merger with CK Hutchison Holdings before it starts the official investigation.

Hamas attacks in cyberspace. Killnet, a group of Russian volunteer hackers that allies with Hamas, the Sunni Islamist militant group, claimed cyberattacks on Israeli media and government websites. Responsibility for cyberattacks on the website of Jerusalem Post was claimed by Anonymous Sudan, a hacking group supporting Palestine.

Russian Secret Service, is it you? Yango, a driving-service app and unit of Russian firm Yandex NV, is accused of being a tool for the Russian Secret Service to get hands-on data from Europe’s customers. Concerns about the app were first raised by Finnish and Norwegian authorities and now the Netherlands will cross-examine Yango under the EU’s data protection rules.

GDPR white paper. A white paper, published by the International Center for Law & Economics’s Academic Affiliate Giuseppe Colangelo of the University of Basilicata on Thursday, examines how EU policymakers apply the General Data Protection Regulation when it comes to antitrust inquiries.

EU code week to fight off skills gap. Committed to fighting the “significant shortage of specialists using advanced digital technologies”, the EU launched its EU Code Week 2023. “In the next years, the EU will need more and more qualified and creative ICT specialists,” commented Thierry Breton, the commissioner for internal market.

Data cable tampering. The data cable between Finland and Estonia has been damaged over the weekend. According to a statement by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, “the investigation is based on the assumption of a possible deliberate act”.

Western Balkans’ digitalisation. An event on Tuesday by the Digital SME Alliance about the Western Balkans’ digital agenda discussed policy recommendations such as establishing the role of a Digital Attaché in the Western Balkan’s EU Delegations or a Cybersecurity Skills Academy to provide specialised training for young graduates.

Bing, are you next? By talking to Microsoft users and rivals, the EU antitrust regulators are trying to figure out whether Bing should be subject to stricter market competition regulations set out under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The bit-tech companies that are subject to a special abuse oversight regime and listed as gatekeepers under the DMA include Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft.

Dear TikTok, you need to comply. On Thursday, Commissioner Breton posted on X, formerly Twitter, a letter addressed to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, reminding Chew that TikTok has particular obligations to protect minors against online violence and terrorist propaganda under the DSA. “Given the urgency, I also expect you to be in contact with the relevant law enforcement authorities and Europol and ensure that you respond promptly to their requests, the letter reads.

Dear Mr. Musk, you too. This week the Commission responded to the allegation that X is spreading illegal content like hate speech and terrorist propaganda by sending a formal request for information under the DSA to the platform. The deadline for X is 18 October.

Another promising alliance. This week the Franco-German intergovernmental consultation took place, where both countries jointly called for less bureaucracy at the EU level. To strengthen the EU’s competitiveness, France and Germany are calling on the EU Commission to develop an action plan addressing the reduction of bureaucracy. The initiative particularly focuses on SMEs.

All eyes on Kyoto. From Sunday to Thursday, the International Governance Forum (IGF) took place for the 18th time in Kyoto. Agenda items included, AI, internet fragmentation, cybersecurity, data governance, and global digital cooperation. “The Internet Governance Forum has shown in recent days, given the geopolitical situation, that we can only preserve a free Internet together – with a strong involvement of civil society,” Tobias B. Bacherle, German MP and chairman of the digital committee, told Euractiv.

Limiting detection orders. A partial general approach by the Spanish EU Council Presidency, dated Tuesday and seen by Euractiv, suggests limiting the scope of the detection orders in the regulation aiming to detect and remove online child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The Spanish Presidency invited the Permanent Representatives Committee, COREPER II, to discuss the file today. Depending on the meeting, the draft law could go on to be approved by the Justice and Home Affairs Council, likely next Thursday. Read more.

Split up. Germany has suggested splitting off the more controversial parts of the CSAM draft regulation, according to the country’s position paper dated Thursday and seen by Euractiv. These parts could be “discussed without time pressure”, to come up with solutions that protect children and also respect data privacy and should be included in a new draft regulation. Read more.

In favour. New polling data about online CSAM by the ECPAT and National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, published today, shows that 95% of EU citizens support the regulation, ahead of the Council vote.

Slovakia’s populistic Socialist party attacked journalists online before elections. Slovakia’s populist Socialist Smer party published a wave of negative posts targeting journalists on social media in the two months leading up to Slovakia’s snap election, which Robert Fico’s party won. According to the Investigative Center Ján Kuciak, former prime minister Fico’s party published 174 posts targeting journalists on social media ahead of the elections in early October. Read more.

New approach to counter online hate speech. An enhanced Code of Conduct against illegal hate speech, called ‘Code of Conduct+’ should aim with the interplay of the Digital Services Act at prevention by anticipating threats instead of taking reactive measures such as taking content down. “We are now advancing fast towards a “Code of Conduct+” and I prompt all signatories to find soon an ambitious agreement to contribute to make the EU a place where there is no place for hate,” said Didier Reynders, the commissioner for justice.

Terrorists target minors for radicalisation. A document by the Spanish EU Council Presidency, dated Tuesday and seen by Euractiv, highlighted that minors are especially vulnerable to manipulation by terrorist organisations and that more action is needed to respond quickly to this growing threat. Borderline content can disguise terrorists’ ideologies “by softened language and humour”, or even memes, making radicalisation more likely, as shown in an EU Internet Forum study. Read more.

Passwords? So last season. Google would like users to log in with passkeys in the future, such as fingerprint, face scan, or pin number, instead of using passwords, which would eventually be phased out, the tech giant said on Tuesday. The company believes this would offer more security and a faster login.

EU politicians dream of ‘bluer’ skies. With a spike in disinformation on the Israel-Hamas conflict challenging social media platforms and EU institutions tasked with enforcing new content moderation standards, some politicians are considering moving to different platforms. In a move that some could describe as voting with his feet, Breton also decided on Wednesday (11 October) to advertise his account on the new social media platform Bluesky, much touted as a rival to X. Read more.

New vision for EU telecom operators. Commissioner Breton unveiled the core proposals of a highly awaited EU telecom legislation, the Digital Networks Act (DNA). “Telecom operators need scale and agility to adapt to the technology revolution, but market fragmentation holds them back,” he said. However, “fair competition must not be confused with ‘market fragmentation”, Cláudio Teixeira, legal officer at independent consumers’ organisation BEUC, told Euractiv. Read more.

Digital Networks Act in conflict with GIA? While the German fibre association BREKO welcomes the aim of the Digital Networks Act, the association criticises that in the same context, “the EU Commission itself has caused considerable uncertainty among fibre investors with its draft Gigabit Infrastructure Act by proposing regulations that would facilitate a strategic double roll-out of fibre networks,” said Sven Knapp, head of BREKO’s main offices.

Encrypted Webex Meetings. On Wednesday, Cisco announced that together with Deutsche Telekom and Eviden, it will introduce so-called ‘sovereign controls’ for EU customers. In other words, Webex meetings and user-generated information from messaging and calls will be encrypted and data will be handled on “European soil”.

Israel-Hamas conflict and tech. The conflict between Israel and Hamas could also affect the tech sector, as there are development centres operating in Israel, by IBM, Apple, Sony, Microsoft, Google, and Facebook, after they bought Israeli start-ups. The country has the second largest tech ecosystem after Silicon Valley, but many workers from such companies are now serving in the defence forces. For now, however, the Israel-based Tower Semiconductor said, for example, that it was operating as usual, providing customers with chips, mostly for the automotive and consumer industries.

• Alphabet’s UK AI Lab DeepMind Slashed Employee Costs 39% in 2022 (Bloomberg)
• Bias, fairness, and other ethical dimensions in artificial intelligence (BankUnderground)
• What the EU list of critical technologies tells us about its de-risking plans (ECFR)

Théophane Hartmann contributed to the reporting.

[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]

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