ByAFP
October 10, 2025
A file photo of customers at a Microsoft store in NYC. — © Digital Journal
Austria’s data protection authority has determined that Microsoft “illegally” tracked students using its education software and must grant them access to their data, a privacy campaign group said Friday.
Austria-based privacy campaign group Noyb (None of Your Business) in 2024 lodged a complaint against the company, accusing its Microsoft 365 education software of violating EU data protection rights for children.
Noyb said that Microsoft 365 Education installed cookies that collect browser data and are used for advertising purposes, a practice likely affecting millions of students and teachers across Europe.
In a statement on Friday, Noyb announced that the regulator had issued a decision this week, which “finds that Microsoft 365 Education illegally tracks students and uses student data for Microsoft’s own purposes”.
Microsoft was ordered to provide users, including the complainant — a minor represented by her father — access to their personal data.
The Austrian data protection authority confirmed that it issued a decision on Wednesday but did not give any further details.
While not responding to requests by users for access to data related to its education software, Microsoft “tried to shift all responsibility to local schools” or other national institutions, Noyb said.
“The decision… highlights the lack of transparency with Microsoft 365 Education,” Noyb data protection lawyer Felix Mikolasch said in the statement.
“It is almost impossible for schools to inform students, parents and teachers about what is happening with their data,” he added.
Microsoft said in a statement sent to AFP that the company would review the decision and decide “on next steps in due course”.
“Microsoft 365 for Education meets all required data protection standards, and institutions in the education sector can continue to use it in compliance with GDPR,” it added, referring to the EU’s landmark General Data Protection Regulation.
Noyb, founded by the online privacy activist Max Schrems, has launched several legal cases against technology giants, often prompting action from regulatory authorities over violations of the GDPR.
It has filed more than 800 complaints in various jurisdictions on behalf of internet users.
UK opens door to tougher regulation of Google search
By AFP
October 10, 2025
Photo illustration: — © Digital Journal
Alexandra BACON
Britain’s competition watchdog on Friday paved the way for tougher regulation to tackle Google’s dominance in online search, under new targeted measures focused on technology giants.
The Competition and Markets Authority said it has designated Google with “strategic market status” (SMS), subjecting it to special requirements, in a final decision following a nine-month investigation.
“We have found that Google maintains a strategic position in the search and search advertising sector,” Will Hayter, executive director for digital markets at the CMA, said in a statement.
A similar tech competition law from the European Union, the Digital Markets Act (DMA), carries the potential for hefty financial penalties.
The CMA plans to launch a consultation this year to determine the rules to impose on the US tech giant.
Google warned the UK against “unduly onerous regulations” and urged it to learn from “negative results seen in other jurisdictions”, referencing the EU’s DMA.
“Many of the ideas for interventions that have been raised in this process would inhibit UK innovation and growth,” said Oliver Bethell, Google’s senior director for competition.
– ‘Substantial’ power –
Google added Friday that unfavourable regulation could slow the launch of new product launches in the UK.
The company last month announced a £5-billion ($6.6-billion) investment in the UK over the next two years to help power the UK’s AI drive.
“The UK enjoys access to the latest products and services before other countries because it has so far avoided costly restrictions on popular services,” Bethell said.
The regulator noted that Google’s Gemini AI assistant was not included in the designation but would be kept under review.
Its other AI-based search features will, however, be included in the new status.
Britain’s CMA launched in January its investigation into Google’s dominant position in the search engine market and its impacts on consumers and businesses.
It determined Friday that Google has “substantial and entrenched market power”.
Google search engine accounts for more than 90 percent of online enquiries in the UK, according to the regulator.
The CMA added that more than 200,000 businesses in the UK rely on Google search advertising to reach customers.
“For businesses, effective competition in general search would help keep down the costs of search advertising, in turn leading to lower prices across the economy,” the CMA said.
Google, along with Apple, also faces an investigation to determine whether it will be given SMS designation for dominance in the mobile device market.
EU grills Apple, Snapchat, YouTube over risks to children
By AFP
October 10, 2025
Inspired by Australia's social media ban for under-16s, Brussels is analysing whether such a measure could work in the 27-country bloc - Copyright AFP SEBASTIEN BOZON
Raziye Akkoc
The EU Friday demanded digital giants including Snapchat and YouTube explain how they are protecting children from online harm, as member states explore restricting minors’ access to social media at a European level.
The European Union has stringent rules regulating the digital space, including what children should be able to see, but there is increasing concern that more needs doing to tackle the issue.
Inspired by Australia’s social media ban for under-16s, Brussels is analysing whether such a measure could work in the 27-country bloc after several states, including France and Spain, pushed for limits on minors’ access to platforms.
Europe’s biggest weapon for ensuring platforms tackle illegal content and keep children safe online is the Digital Services Act, which has sparked censorship claims from the US tech sector and retaliation threats from President Donald Trump.
Now, as part of “investigative actions” under the DSA, the European Commission has sent a request for information to Snapchat about what steps it is taking to prevent access for children under 13.
The commission has also asked Apple’s App Store and the Google Play marketplace to provide details on measures taken to prevent children downloading illegal or harmful apps — for example, those with gambling services or sexual content.
The EU wants to know in particular how Apple and Google stop children downloading tools to create non-consensual sexualised content — so-called “nudify apps” — as well as how they apply apps’ age ratings.
“Privacy, security and safety have to be ensured, and this is not always the case, and that’s why the commission is tightening the enforcement of our rules,” tech chief Henna Virkkunen said before EU ministers met in Denmark.
A request for information can lead to probes and even fines, but does not in itself suggest the law has been broken, nor is it a move towards punishment.
– Winds of change –
Regarding Snapchat, Brussels wants to know how the messaging app stops users from buying drugs and vapes, a claim echoed by Danish Digital Minister Caroline Stage Olsen on Friday.
It also wants YouTube to provide details on its recommender system, “following reporting of harmful content being disseminated to minors”, the commission said.
The demands are not the first under the DSA.
The EU is also probing Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, as well as TikTok, over fears they are not doing enough to combat the addictive nature of their platforms for children.
In a parallel push on child protection, EU telecoms ministers will Friday discuss age verification on social media and what steps they can take to make the world online safer for minors.
They are expected to agree on a joint statement backing EU chief Ursula von der Leyen’s plans to study a potential bloc-wide digital majority age, according to a draft document seen by AFP.
Von der Leyen has voiced personal support for such a move, and said last month she would establish an experts’ panel “to assess what steps make sense” at the EU level.
Denmark, in charge of the rotating six-month EU presidency, has been pushing the bloc to take more collective action through new rules.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Tuesday Denmark planned to introduce a ban on social media for children under the age of 15.
France already has a law requiring parental consent for social media users under the age of 15.
By AFP
October 10, 2025
Inspired by Australia's social media ban for under-16s, Brussels is analysing whether such a measure could work in the 27-country bloc - Copyright AFP SEBASTIEN BOZON
Raziye Akkoc
The EU Friday demanded digital giants including Snapchat and YouTube explain how they are protecting children from online harm, as member states explore restricting minors’ access to social media at a European level.
The European Union has stringent rules regulating the digital space, including what children should be able to see, but there is increasing concern that more needs doing to tackle the issue.
Inspired by Australia’s social media ban for under-16s, Brussels is analysing whether such a measure could work in the 27-country bloc after several states, including France and Spain, pushed for limits on minors’ access to platforms.
Europe’s biggest weapon for ensuring platforms tackle illegal content and keep children safe online is the Digital Services Act, which has sparked censorship claims from the US tech sector and retaliation threats from President Donald Trump.
Now, as part of “investigative actions” under the DSA, the European Commission has sent a request for information to Snapchat about what steps it is taking to prevent access for children under 13.
The commission has also asked Apple’s App Store and the Google Play marketplace to provide details on measures taken to prevent children downloading illegal or harmful apps — for example, those with gambling services or sexual content.
The EU wants to know in particular how Apple and Google stop children downloading tools to create non-consensual sexualised content — so-called “nudify apps” — as well as how they apply apps’ age ratings.
“Privacy, security and safety have to be ensured, and this is not always the case, and that’s why the commission is tightening the enforcement of our rules,” tech chief Henna Virkkunen said before EU ministers met in Denmark.
A request for information can lead to probes and even fines, but does not in itself suggest the law has been broken, nor is it a move towards punishment.
– Winds of change –
Regarding Snapchat, Brussels wants to know how the messaging app stops users from buying drugs and vapes, a claim echoed by Danish Digital Minister Caroline Stage Olsen on Friday.
It also wants YouTube to provide details on its recommender system, “following reporting of harmful content being disseminated to minors”, the commission said.
The demands are not the first under the DSA.
The EU is also probing Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, as well as TikTok, over fears they are not doing enough to combat the addictive nature of their platforms for children.
In a parallel push on child protection, EU telecoms ministers will Friday discuss age verification on social media and what steps they can take to make the world online safer for minors.
They are expected to agree on a joint statement backing EU chief Ursula von der Leyen’s plans to study a potential bloc-wide digital majority age, according to a draft document seen by AFP.
Von der Leyen has voiced personal support for such a move, and said last month she would establish an experts’ panel “to assess what steps make sense” at the EU level.
Denmark, in charge of the rotating six-month EU presidency, has been pushing the bloc to take more collective action through new rules.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Tuesday Denmark planned to introduce a ban on social media for children under the age of 15.
France already has a law requiring parental consent for social media users under the age of 15.
Child protection vs privacy: decision time for EU
ByAFP
October 8, 2025
Image: -© AFP/File Brendan Smialowski
Camille CAMDESSUS
Does protecting children justify snooping on private messages? That is the sensitive question facing EU countries Wednesday as they wrangle over a push to combat child sexual abuse material online.
The meeting in Brussels could seal the fate of a legislative initiative that has stirred fierce debate since it was put forward by the European Commission in May 2022.
Backed by multiple child protection groups, the proposal would require online platforms and messaging services to detect and report images and videos of abuse, as well as attempts by predators to contact minors.
But critics — including the EU’s own data protection authorities, lawmakers, and countries such as Germany — warn it poses a “disproportionate” threat to privacy.
They are particularly alarmed by the use of technology that would scan private conversations, including on encrypted apps like Signal and WhatsApp.
“This would spell the end of secrecy of correspondence, which is essential for whistleblowers,” the German activist and former EU lawmaker Patrick Breyer told AFP.
His big fear? That such legislation could eventually be exploited by authoritarian regimes to “crack down on political opponents” by monitoring their conversations.
Messaging platforms themselves staunchly oppose the plans.
– Mass surveillance? –
Opponents have been flooding EU officials with messages aimed at swaying the debate as part of a campaign dubbed “Stop Chat Control” — their nickname for the proposal.
“I’ve never seen anything like it, on any other file,” one EU diplomat told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We’re receiving thousands of emails every day.”
Denmark, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency and drafted the latest version of the proposal, insists it includes the necessary safeguards.
Firstly, only images and links — not text messages — would be subject to scanning.
Second, the system would only be activated following a decision by an independent judicial or administrative authority.
“We have to be very clear: under this proposal, there is no general monitoring of online communications. There will be no such thing as ‘chat control’,” said European Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert.
“This is about protecting our children against a terrible crime, a crime that happens more and more online.”
– Germany holds key –
A report by the UK-based Internet Watch Foundation found that 62 percent of the child sexual abuse material identified internationally last year was hosted on servers within the EU.
Under the bloc’s current rules, platforms detect such content on a voluntary basis, which Brussels considers inadequate given the scale and rapid growth of the problem.
The existing legal framework remains in place until April 2026 — pending adoption of the commission’s new proposal making detection mandatory.
What happens next will hinge largely on Germany, with two possible scenarios following Wednesday’s meeting:
— If Berlin backs the proposal, that would likely push it past the post under the EU’s qualified majority voting rules. Member states could then formally adopt the measure at a meeting in Luxembourg next week.
— If Berlin abstains or remains opposed, that would send negotiators back to the drawing board, with no certainty the text will eventually become law.
Several EU officials involved in the talks said Germany could make its stance known in the coming hours.
ByAFP
October 8, 2025
Image: -© AFP/File Brendan Smialowski
Camille CAMDESSUS
Does protecting children justify snooping on private messages? That is the sensitive question facing EU countries Wednesday as they wrangle over a push to combat child sexual abuse material online.
The meeting in Brussels could seal the fate of a legislative initiative that has stirred fierce debate since it was put forward by the European Commission in May 2022.
Backed by multiple child protection groups, the proposal would require online platforms and messaging services to detect and report images and videos of abuse, as well as attempts by predators to contact minors.
But critics — including the EU’s own data protection authorities, lawmakers, and countries such as Germany — warn it poses a “disproportionate” threat to privacy.
They are particularly alarmed by the use of technology that would scan private conversations, including on encrypted apps like Signal and WhatsApp.
“This would spell the end of secrecy of correspondence, which is essential for whistleblowers,” the German activist and former EU lawmaker Patrick Breyer told AFP.
His big fear? That such legislation could eventually be exploited by authoritarian regimes to “crack down on political opponents” by monitoring their conversations.
Messaging platforms themselves staunchly oppose the plans.
– Mass surveillance? –
Opponents have been flooding EU officials with messages aimed at swaying the debate as part of a campaign dubbed “Stop Chat Control” — their nickname for the proposal.
“I’ve never seen anything like it, on any other file,” one EU diplomat told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We’re receiving thousands of emails every day.”
Denmark, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency and drafted the latest version of the proposal, insists it includes the necessary safeguards.
Firstly, only images and links — not text messages — would be subject to scanning.
Second, the system would only be activated following a decision by an independent judicial or administrative authority.
“We have to be very clear: under this proposal, there is no general monitoring of online communications. There will be no such thing as ‘chat control’,” said European Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert.
“This is about protecting our children against a terrible crime, a crime that happens more and more online.”
– Germany holds key –
A report by the UK-based Internet Watch Foundation found that 62 percent of the child sexual abuse material identified internationally last year was hosted on servers within the EU.
Under the bloc’s current rules, platforms detect such content on a voluntary basis, which Brussels considers inadequate given the scale and rapid growth of the problem.
The existing legal framework remains in place until April 2026 — pending adoption of the commission’s new proposal making detection mandatory.
What happens next will hinge largely on Germany, with two possible scenarios following Wednesday’s meeting:
— If Berlin backs the proposal, that would likely push it past the post under the EU’s qualified majority voting rules. Member states could then formally adopt the measure at a meeting in Luxembourg next week.
— If Berlin abstains or remains opposed, that would send negotiators back to the drawing board, with no certainty the text will eventually become law.
Several EU officials involved in the talks said Germany could make its stance known in the coming hours.
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