Last week Germany blocked the sale of a satellite and radar firm to a Chinese state-backed buyer, the latest in a cooling of corporate relations between the two countries. China Aerospace and…
EC Premier von der Leyen: Europe will “Rewrite” Tech Regulation Rulebook
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has opened the Web Summit event by pledging to overhaul the way Brussels regulates the tech industry. Speaking on the first day of the influential…
Belgium’s Astanor Ventures Raises $324m for Europe’s Biggest Impact Fund
Astanor Ventures, a Brussels-based venture capital firm, has raised €273 million ($324m) for a fund aiming to “revolutionize the food and agriculture sector.” The company will invest its newfound cash exclusively in…
Facebook’s Libra Cryptocurrency is Already Under Attack on Multiple Fronts
It has barely been two months since Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook’s long awaited foray into the cryptocurrency market with Libra—but the platform already faces a raft of attacks from regulators and competitors.…
Confusion Reigns, As EU’s “Meme-Killing” Law Passes
This week the European Union voted in Articles 11 and 13, its new copyright directive some have dubbed the “war on memes”. It had already rejected one version of the laws in…
Nokia and Ericsson’s Baltic Battle a Barometer for the Future of 5G
This June, Finnish mobile giant Nokia’s shares plummeted almost 10% after missing profit predictions based on its 5G solutions. CEO Rajiv Suri claimed that the company’s fortunes would pick up in the…
On GDPR Eve, Tech Prepares for a Legal Storm
First the good news: from Friday you will receive no more faux-cheery ‘We Are Updating Our Privacy Policy’ emails. Tomorrow is GDPR Day, when Europe’s General Data Protection comes into force. It…
Brussels Shows Up America’s Toothless Big Tech Reaction
Last month, as Mark Zuckerberg faced questions from US senators over the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, took the microphone. “I’m a proud member of Facebook,” the…
The Top Three Irish Startups to Watch Out For This St. Patrick’s Day
It’s been a topsy turvy year for Ireland’s tech sector. The island nation has enjoyed a tech boom, thanks in no small part to its wooing of several key Silicon Valley players…
When it Comes to Online Hate Speech, Europe is Struggling for Solutions
Europe has a big hate speech problem. In fact, many of its states aren’t entirely sure what hate speech is. Germany has been the most proactive of all European countries in venting…