US moves against intel-linked Chinese tech companies
The US is considering blacklisting the Chinese technology company Hikvision - a world leader in video surveillance products that include artificial intelligence, speech monitoring and genetic testing which broadens the capacity for facial and body...
5G supplier concerns remain issue of transatlantic tension
The Western post-war model of stability and prosperity has been, in realist terms, founded upon the simple tenet that the United States largely underwrote the trans-Atlantic collective security that allowed for trade between the...
Vodafone discovers hidden backdoors in Italy’s Huawei infrastructure
UK telecom giant Vodafone has discovered vulnerabilities in Huawei equipment used for the company's activities in Italy several years ago, news that comes at an inopportune time for the Chinese telecom company’s reputation as...
China dominance of 5G seen as a threat by British and American politicians
Conservative UK MP Tom Tugendhat and Republican US Representative Mike Gallagher see China's dominance of 5G as a threat, they write in an opinion article published on April 19, 2019 in The Times.
Tugendhat and Gallagher point...
Commission shuns US pressure to ban Huawei
The European Commission has recommended Tuesday a series of operational measures to ensure a high level of cybersecurity for 5G networks across the EU, a decision that fell far short of the full ban...
Major operators at Mobile World Congress explore 5G’s potential
The Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGMN) held a press briefing at the recently completed 2019 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain with several key operators to discuss future use cases for 5G networks outside of...
5G connections to account for 15% of mobile industry by 2025
A new study released by the research body of the GSMA (the Global System for Mobile Communications), a trade body for mobile operators worldwide, shows that 5G is projected to make up 15% of...
We have to force Facebook to be responsible on illegal content
It’s 15 years since Facebook was born and – like all adolescents – it’s getting into trouble. However, Facebook’s kind of trouble is a little more serious than most teenagers.
For a start, lackadaisical content...
UK defence secretary concerned about Huawei’s role in 5G networks upgrade
British Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has expressed "deep concerns" about digital Chinese giant Huawei’s involvement in updating the UK’s mobile network after Alex Younger, the head of Britain's MI6 intelligence services, said the country had recently faxed...
Tech companies warn of turbulence ahead as EU-US work on trade deal
The internet as we know it may still end. That is the stark warning delivered by a consortium of major technology companies - Facebook, Google, Amazon, and others - to the US Trade Representative...
Why “data is the new oil” and what happens when energy meets Industry 4.0
It is clear that in today’s world, information is the new precious commodity. In the era known as the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’, companies are looking to take advantage of robotics, artificial intelligence, big data...
EU Commission clears Apple’s acquisition of Shazam
The European Commission approved the acquisition of music identification app Shazam by US tech giant, Apple, after Brussels reviewed a proposed takeover under the EU's Merger Regulation which concluded that the deal would not adversely...
Google’s Redirect Program: An Anemic Response to the Plague of Terror Content
Google’s attempts to tackle the dangers of terrorist content on its online platforms, including YouTube, have come far too late and remain disturbingly inadequate, according to findings in a new study by the Counter Extremism Project...
European Commission cancels first WiFi4EU call, carries budget forward
After New Europe exposed the problems of first call for WiFi4EU project, which aims to install free public Wi-Fi hotspots in public squares, libraries, town halls or other places of public interest, the European Commission has...
Are claims that the FCC killed net neutrality true?
Journalists around the world read stories from the American media on neutrality and internet regulation. Some copy-paste the stories into Google Translate to make an article for their local language publication. Some journalists consider...
NATO, EU to tackle cyber threats
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia – NATO has to take the necessary steps to protect the alliance from external cyber threats from other countries but also weaknesses within NATO, General John Allen told a closed on the...
Vodafone agrees €18.4 bln takeover of Liberty Global assets in Germany, East Europe
British multinational telecommunications conglomerate Vodafone Group Plc has agreed to buy Liberty Global Plc’s German and Eastern European units for €18.4 billion, a deal that shakes up the region’s TV and broadband market as...
EU institutions strike preliminary 30% quota deal on Netflix-like providers
The EU’s legislating tripartite of the European Parliament, European Council and European Commission has reached a preliminary deal on revisions to the audiovisual media services directive.
According to the Vice-President for the digital single market,...
Hatred of journalism threatens democracies says media watchdog RSF
The organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is warning that violations of press freedom are no longer the practice of authoritarian regimes and dictatorships.
The Paris-based group said in its 2017 World Press Freedom Index, released...
Google, Amazon services partially blocked in Russia
Google, Amazon and other services inside Russia have been hit by the country's bids to stop people using the Telegram messaging app.
On 17 April, Roskomnadzor, Russia's state authority regulating telecommunications has asked Apple and...
BEREC’s net neutrality process is a black box
Strand Consult has followed the net neutrality debate around the world for years. Its team includes some of the leading experts, and we have published many reports on the topic. In this research note...
US and UK issue warning about Russia cyberattacks
State-sponsored Russian hackers are actively seeking to hijack essential internet hardware, US and UK intelligence agencies say.
Britain's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the FBI, and the US Department of Homeland Security issued a joint alert on...
Spanish police breakup Ukrainian-Russian ATM hacker gang
Spanish law enforcement officials have broken up a cybercrime gang made up of Ukrainians and Russians that allegedly stole more than €1 billion from financial institutions worldwide during a five-year spree.
According to statements issued...
Cancellation of EU ‘geo-blocking’ laws gives consumers more access to online services
A geo-blocking legislation on the Digital Single Market that recently entered into force allows subscribers to have the service available from outside their national borders, making popular sites such as Netflix 'transportable' from abroad.
The legislation...
Future of Europe in focus at 2018 ACRE Summit
The Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE) gathered at Brussels' Steigenberger Wiltcher’s Hotel on March 22 to take part in a landmark summit aimed at mapping out the road ahead as Europe...
Digital Communications Minister wants to lower roaming tariffs in Western Balkans
The EU's Bulgarian-born Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society Mariya Gabriel hopes to lower roaming charges in the Western Balkans, according to a plan she put forward on March 6.
The EU's digital connectivity to the...
Commission releases plan to stop the spread of illegal online content
The European Commission on March 1 released its operational measures to quickly and efficiently remove illegal content - including hate speech, terrorist content, child pornography, and copyright infringement - from the public domain.
"The rule of law applies...
UN Secretary-General wants global regulations to combat cyberwars
UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday called for the creation of a regulatory body charged with fighting electronic warfare campaigns that target civilians
While speaking at his alma mater, the University of Lisbon, the UN...
HRW criticises Germany’s new social media law as ‘dangerous precendent’
A new German law that compels social media companies to remove hate speech and other illegal content can lead to unaccountable, overbroad censorship and should be promptly reversed, Human Rights Watch said today.
On January 1, Germany started enforcing...
Russian hackers “Fancy Bear” may have disrupted the Olympic Games
The Russian intelligence hacking group 'Fancy Bear', who recently set up a sophisticated email "phishing" scheme designed to get access to US Senate emails and targeted US defence contractors, was reportedly behind the disruption of...
Moscow may block Youtube, Instagram due to latest Navalny video
Russia has threatened to shut down YouTube and Instagram unless they agree to remove a video accusing Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Prikhodko of corruption.
Putin’s arch-foe, opposition leader Alexey Navalny, posted a half-hour video last week purportedly showing...
US and EU discuss the “Race to 5G”, cyber security and the future of...
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Cyber and International Communications and Information Policy Robert L. Strayer, and Brendan Carr, Commissioner for the Federal Communications Commission are in Brussels today to discuss the future of the internet...
Theresa May takes on social media for hosting terrorist propaganda
Speaking in Davos before her meeting with US President Donald Trump, British Prime Minister Theresa May warned the World Economic Summit attendees that new forms of technology are being exploited by people with "malevolent intentions," and...
AT&T seeks to move net neutrality discussion forward with grander ‘Internet Bill of Rights’
AT&T Chairman and CEO, Randall Stephenson, surprised the tech industry yesterday in an open letter saying that “Consumers need an internet bill of rights”, in order to guarantee neutrality, transparency, openness, non-discrimination and privacy...
Belgian telecom Proximus to stop zero rating ahead of stricter EU regulations
Belgium's largest telecom company Proximus will stop its zero rating service as it prepares for stricter rules from the EU on net neutrality.
Proximus started a zero rating service pilot project in 2015. The service allows...
MEPs call on US Congress to restore net neutrality
Dutch MEP Marietje Schaake, sent a letter to the US Congress on Monday urging Washington to restore net neutrality.
The Federal Communications Commission reversed US net neutrality rules in December, meaning internet service providers in the United...
European Commission’s Jourova says digital wild west is over
Europe’s Commissioner for Justice, Consumer and Gender Equality Vera Jourova, while presenting the results of the 3rd edition of Code of Conduct on countering illegal online hate speech on Friday, said the time of...