May 28, 2019

Europe's privacy law celebrates its first birthday

Ina Fried

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

It's been a year since Europe's strict new privacy law, known as GDPR, went into effect.

What's happening: Ireland, which is tasked with investigating potential violations by most of the U.S. tech giants, has launched 19 cross-border probes, including 11 against Facebook, according to the BBC.

  • Twitter, LinkedIn and Google also face probes, per the BBC report.
  • Here are some of the other actions taken by various European regulators.

Why it matters: Despite fears GDPR's rules would be either too onerous or not go far enough, the law is emerging as a model for privacy legislation elsewhere, including in the U.S.

Go deeper

Justin Green

The coronavirus is Trump's slow-burn crisis

Photo: Money Sharma/AFP/Getty Images

At 6:30 p.m. from the White House press room, President Trump will publicly make himself the face of America's response to the coronavirus crisis.

Why it matters: This is exactly the situation where a president needs the credibility to truthfully explain a tough situation to the public.

Go deeperArrow42 mins ago - Politics & Policy
Fadel Allassan

Obama demands South Carolina stations stop airing misleading anti-Biden ad

Photo: Samir Hussein/Samir Hussein/WireImage

Former President Obama's office is calling on South Carolina TV stations to stop running a misleading attack ad by a pro-Trump super PAC that uses Obama's voice out of context to make it appear as if he is criticizing Joe Biden and Democrats on race.

Why it matters: It's a rare intervention by Obama, whose former vice president is facing a critical primary in South Carolina on Saturday. Obama has said he has no plans to endorse in the Democratic field.

Go deeperArrow47 mins ago - Politics & Policy
Bryan Walsh

The megatrends that will shape the 21st century

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

An enormous amount of change has been crammed into the first two decades of the 21st century — but what’s coming next will break every speed record.

The big picture: The world is being buffeted by rapid yet uneven advances in technology that will revamp work and what it means to be human. At the same time, fundamental demographic changes will alter democracies and autocracies alike while the effects of climate change accumulate, physically redrawing our globe.

Go deeperArrow1 hour ago - Technology