May 25, 2018

Facebook and Google are already facing GDPR complaints

Photo: Maciej Luczniewski/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Just hours after Europe's new online privacy policy went into effect, Facebook and Google are already facing their first complaints, filed by none other than European privacy advocate Max Schrems.

Why it matters: Schrems, via a non-profit, has filed complaints against Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Google's Android on behalf of unnamed individuals, arguing the companies are violating the GDPR through their "all or nothing" user consent prompts.

  • Who is Schrems? An Austrian lawyer, he first became interested in user privacy while an exchange student at Santa Clara University's law school in 2011. Since then, he's filed multiple complaints against Facebook's user data policies, eventually leading to the EU and U.S. having to rewrite regulations around user data protection and transfer.
  • GDPR: Stands for the General Data Protection Regulation, a new European Union law aiming to help individuals control whether online websites and services can collect their data.

Go deeper: A look at Schrems' new complaints.

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Fadel Allassan
Updated 25 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Biden: George Floyd's last words are "a wake-up call for our nation"

Former Vice President Joe Biden meets with clergy members and community activists during a visit to Bethel AME Church in Wilmington, Del. on June 1, 2020. Photo: JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

Vice President Joe Biden is calling George Floyd’s dying words “a wake-up call for our nation,” and criticized President Trump’s decision to unleash tear gas on peaceful protesters outside the White House, in a civil rights speech from Philadelphia on Tuesday.

Why it matters: Biden in the address drew a sharp contrast between himself and Trump, whose first remarks addressing nationwide unrest Monday highlighted law and order, extreme demonstrations of militarized “strength” and other blustery threats.

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Axios
Updated 33 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 11 a.m. ET: 6,302,318 — Total deaths: 376,322 — Total recoveries — 2,716,924 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 11 a.m. ET: 1,812,125 — Total deaths: 105,192 — Total recoveries: 458,231 — Total tested: 17,340,682 — Map.
  3. Public health: Protests against police brutality threaten coronavirus response.
  4. Business: Coronavirus could lower GDP by $15.7 trillion — More than 1 in 6 black workers lost jobs between February and April.
  5. Climate: The alarm over climate financial risk gets louder because of coronavirus.
  6. Media: Interest in the George Floyd protests has soared past the coronavirus.
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Dan Primack
1 hour ago - Economy & Business

The business of tear gas

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

U.S. forces yesterday used tear gas on peaceful protesters outside the White House gates, prior to a declared curfew, clearing a path for President Trump to visit a riot-damaged church for a photo opportunity.

The state of play: Two of the largest U.S. producers of tear gas are owned by private equity firms, but those firms have no interest in discussing their ownership.

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