Google Archives - Dialogues on European Digital Transition

Why the Spanish Data Protection Agency does not like Google Workspace for Education

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom July 18, 2024July 18, 2024Childhood, Data Protection, Google, Privacy, Spanish Agency for Data Protection

The use of technological tools in education is already common in primary and secondary schools, but over the past few months it has also become part of the debate about the possible negative effects of the use of technology among minors. Digitalisation in education, as in so many other areas, creates many benefits and opportunities. But at the same time, unfortunately, it opens the door to possible abuses by the big Internet giants, who base their business on the use of data, in this case data from a vulnerable population, that is, minors.

New York vs. TikTok, Facebook and YouTube for using addictive algorithms

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom March 20, 2024March 20, 2024Childhood, Facebook, Google, TikTok

The news that New York City was filing a lawsuit against various social media companies including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and YouTube appeared in the media and then quickly disappeared. At first glance, it may seem like a complaint doomed to failure. Nevertheless, that is not so.

What if the Google search engine unjustly harms a person’s reputation? Keys to ‘the right to be forgotten’

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom July 12, 2022July 12, 2022Data Protection, Digital rights, Google, Spain

The Spanish Constitutional Court has just endorsed, in a judgment on June 27, 2022, what is known as the ‘right to be forgotten’, declaring previous decisions in regard to this by the Supreme Court and the National High Court to be unconstitutional. Thus, the Constitutional Court has positioned itself in support of arguments made by the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD), which in turn protected a Spanish businessperson affected by negative comments published in the United States and accessible via the Google search engine.

More power for Google: the Spanish government’s mistake with the media and the Copyright Directive

European Association for Digital Transition Economic future December 29, 2021December 29, 2021Copyright Directive, Google, Press, Spain

In all industries, the digitalisation process is unstoppable. And it’s been the same in the written press, which has adapted its models and structures for the online market with great effort and speed. Each day, as an essential pillar of democracy, the media provides information in compliance with the rights to give and receive information proclaimed in Article 20 of the Spanish Constitution.

Apple, privacy, and control of data

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom August 4, 2021August 4, 2021Apple, Consumers, Data Protection, Google, Privacy

Without the free rein they had a few years ago in terms of control over data, the big tech companies have long been working on the concept of ‘privacy’, which has also become a marketing tool. Apple has taken this dispute very seriously, and in early June introduced a new concept on privacy for the clients of its cloud service, iCloud. It’s called Private Relay.

The ‘shadow value of personal data’: What value does something apparently “free” have for the consumer?

European Association for Digital Transition Economic future March 17, 2021June 9, 2021Consumers, Digital Services Act, Facebook, Google

Various events are being held this week to celebrate World Consumer Rights Day, a day in which civil society and regulators defend the rights of citizens-consumers. This year, the date takes on a special relevance. This is because it is being held in the midst of major discussions within the European institutions that are designing one of the most important regulatory frameworks for the coming years, that is, the ‘Digital Acts’ regulatory package: DSA, DMA, and DGA.

World Consumer Rights Day: Do big tech companies respect yours?

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom March 15, 2021June 9, 2021Apple, Consumers, Data Protection, Digital rights, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Privacy

March 15 marks World Consumer Rights Day, a commemoration established by the United Nations in 1983. The choice of March 15 comes from a speech delivered on that day in 1962 by John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Speaking at the United States Congress, the then U.S. president defined the consumer as an essential element in the production process, recognising their political relevance and urging institutions to protect their rights.

Big tech lobbying in Brussels: A lot of money. Too much influence?

European Association for Digital Transition Democratic quality March 4, 2021June 9, 2021Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Lobbying, Microsoft

It’s no surprise the Silicon Valley tech giants are paying close attention to regulatory activity in the European Union. As of March 2015, when then-Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker announced the Digital Single Market, Europe has been setting a distinct profile in its conception of digitalization, a profile that is increasingly uncomfortable for the so-called Big Five or GAFAM – Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft. Some of the issues the Commission is prioritising through the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act are potentially very dangerous for the business model of companies like Google and Facebook. And we’re talking about a market of more than 450 million people.

Digital Services Act: Google’s aggressive lobbying proves what’s at stake

European Association for Digital Transition Democratic quality October 30, 2020June 9, 2021Digital Services Act, European Commission, Google, Lobbying, Margrethe Vestager, Thierry Breton

The European Union has finalized a draft of its new Digital Services Act (DSA), which, according to all indications, will place restrictions on and control more closely the activity of large technology companies. There is even talk of forcing them to share their data with smaller companies and prohibiting them from applying any kind of preferential treatment for their products on their own platforms. All this is in the midst of a growing debate, also in the United States, about the excessive size and power of these companies and the possibility of forcing them to be split up to restore competition in the markets where they abuse their dominance.

Trump, Biden, and What Won’t Change Regarding the ‘Big Tech’ Companies

European Association for Digital Transition Economic future September 8, 2020June 9, 2021Amazon, Apple, Competition, Donald Trump, Facebook, Google, Joe Biden

For years, the big American technology companies have grown without too many regulatory impediments to the point of becoming global mastodons. Thanks to attractive products and services that respond to market demand, with loose or directly non-existent regulations in some areas, and wrapped in the American dream aura of the entrepreneur in their garage who becomes a billionaire, the big Silicon Valley companies have achieved such a powerful market position that many consider them de facto monopolies.

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