Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Google has been fined more than €400m (£345m) over the way it processed users’ location data.The fine, by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC), comes after complaints from multiple European consumer organisations that Google was following every step users took.Location-related adverts are familiar to holidaymakers, but seven European consumer organisations had complained that undue use of location data can also lead to a breach of privacy.Research by the Norwegian consumer agency suggested location data could reveal details such as religious beliefs (by tracking places of worship), political leanings (for example knowing a user has gone to demonstrations), health conditions (if a…

Google infringed the General Data Protection Regulation, the EU’s landmark laws, on four counts, said Ireland’s three privacy commissioners Des Hogan, Dale Sunderland and Niamh Sweeney. The issues concerned how Google processed and retained location data in its Web & App Activity, Location History and Location Accuracy functions, as well as transparency. The complaints from consumer groups alleged that Google had used dark patterns and unfair practices to incite users to enable features that shared their location data.   The Irish DPC has three other ongoing large-scale investigations against Google. Those are examining data processing by Google’s PaLM2 AI model, the company’s personalized advertising system, and Google’s account…

The party also argued the move would benefit shops, hotels, restaurants and the wider tourism industry.It pointed to research by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), which suggested fully restoring tax-free shopping for tourists could attract up to 2.35 million extra visitors and generate £4.1bn in extra spending.The report from earlier this month also estimated that for every £1 of VAT refunded, this could generate £1.54 in other taxes.Badenoch said: “We have iconic retailers, inventive designers and brilliant manufacturers, but they are being let down by a tax policy that is chasing their customers away.”Holidaymakers are choosing rival…

21 September 2026ECB has launched preparatory work to gain practical experience with investments in tokenised securities and distributed ledger technology (DLT) Transactions to be settled in central bank money in Pontes, the Eurosystem’s settlement solution for DLT transactions Initial investments to focus on euro-denominated euro area public sector and European supranational securitiesThe European Central Bank (ECB) has launched preparatory work to invest a small portion of its own funds in tokenised securities. This will enable the ECB to gain practical experience as an investor and build institutional expertise in the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in financial markets. The…

Brynn Putnam and Tristan Walker have already done something that most founders only dream about: created companies so compelling that bigger outfits bought them. Putnam, a trained ballerina with a small chain of boutique studios, built the connected-fitness company Mirror and sold it to Lululemon for $500 million in cash less than three years later. Walker, who interned at Twitter while at Stanford business school, built the popular men’s grooming brand Walker & Company Brands, selling it five years later to Procter & Gamble for undisclosed terms (reportedly in the range of $20 million to $40 million). That both of…

Hackers targeted operational technology (OT) systems at two private water utilities in Colorado in late August, apparently attempting to cause disruptions. Few technical details are available, but it seems the attackers targeted industrial control systems (ICS) at the water utilities, which serve fewer than 200 people.  A spokesperson for Colorado Governor Jared Polis told The Denver Post [paywalled] that the attackers changed equipment settings, disabled remote access and alarms, and altered pumping cycles. However, the disruptions were brief and did not affect water services or public safety. Hands-On Cyber-Physical Systems Training at ICS Cybersecurity Conference The Colorado governor’s office has…

In brief Four masked men broke into a house in Vendin-le-Vieil at around 4am on Sunday and bound a couple and their two children with tape. The father, a salaried IT worker in the crypto sector, was taken to a separate room and forced to hand over his access codes. Some €40,000, about $46,000, was taken. All four suspects are still at large. Four men broke into a family home in the northern French town of Vendin-le-Vieil in the early hours of Sunday, held a couple and their two children, and forced the father to transfer €40,000 in crypto, BFMTV…

Ukraine’s state-owned energy company Naftogaz Group and Poland’s Orlen have strengthened cooperation in liquefied natural gas (LNG) and petroleum product supplies, diversification of supply routes, and further stabilization of energy supplies to boost energy resilience in Ukraine and Central and Eastern Europe. Orlen and Naftogaz have further bolstered their strategic cooperation with two deals. Source: Orlen The two companies have signed two memoranda of understanding (MoUs) to develop cooperation in LNG and petroleum product supplies, diversify supply routes, and support stability of energy supplies in Ukraine and the wider region. The first MoU enables the duo to explore the potential…

The Supreme Court continues to make consequential rulings in the shadows. I analyzed tens of thousands of case files from the court’s online archives, parsing through filings to separate simple requests for deadline extensions from challenges to long-established constitutional rights. I discovered that in the term that ended in 2025, the justices issued more substantive decisions on their emergency docket than in cases argued in open court. Experts told me this was likely the first time this has happened in the court’s modern history.  Representatives from the Supreme Court did not respond to my questions.  Since I reported that story…

Vitalii Kim, Ukraine’s newly appointed minister for veterans’ affairs, has a job few would envy: helping Ukraine’s over 1 million veterans while operating on a shoestring budget, in a war where the shooting is far from over. Ukraine has to “build the engine while it’s driving the car,” he told Foreign Policy last week while visiting the United States to speak with U.S. officials and nongovernmental organizations. Vitalii Kim, Ukraine’s newly appointed minister for veterans’ affairs, has a job few would envy: helping Ukraine’s over 1 million veterans while operating on a shoestring budget, in a war where the shooting…