Apple revised its warranty policy in Italy last year after being hit with a €900,000 fine for not complying with an EU-mandated two-year term, and it looks like those changes are now starting to spread further throughout Europe. The company has today revised the terms of its warranties in France, Germany and Belgium, specifying that customers are entitled to repairs and replacements of their Apple products for a full two years after purchase, and not just one as previously stated. No word yet on when the rest of the EU will see those changes, but it would now seem to be just a matter of time before other countries get the new terms as well.

Filed under: Cellphones, Laptops, Tablets, Mobile, Apple

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Via: Electronista

Source: ZDNet, 9 to 5 Mac

The European Union has only taken baby steps toward proper net neutrality legislation so far. Today, however, the European Commission's Neelie Kroes just gave the first glimpse of what those continent-wide rules could look like. Her proposals would let companies prioritize traffic, but not block or throttle it. The measures would also prevent gotchas once customers have signed on the dotted line: internet providers would not only have to offer clear terms of service, but make it easier to jump ship for something better. There are concerns that the proposals would let providers favor their own services, but Kroes also makes no arbitrary distinctions (and thus exemptions) between wired and wireless networks, like we've seen in the US -- can we get these rules elsewhere, please?

[Image credit: The Council of the European Union]

Filed under: Wireless, Networking, Internet

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Via: GigaOM

Source: European Union

Europe may be enjoying deeper and deeper integration, but that doesn't extend to mobile connectivity; citizens are still whacked with hefty roaming rates. European digital commissioner Neelie Kroes hopes to change this, telling business leaders that she's planning to push through a single mobile telecoms market before she retires in 2015. Speaking at the European Business Summit, she said she had "no intention to retire until [she'd] knocked down all the barriers to a single market," which was her "major priority" for the rest of her term. Hopefully those on that side of the pond will never again have to fork over $8 per day just to check Vine.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

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Source: EUObserver

Google has no doubt been on pins and needles wondering whether or not the European Commission will accept the search engine changes it's proposing to avoid an antitrust showdown. If what we're hearing is right, Larry Page and crew might just get to relax in the near future: sources for the New York Times claim that the EU agency has accepted Google's proposal. Reportedly, the terms of the deal are close to what had been mentioned last week. Google would have to explicitly label search results that come from its own services while sometimes showing those results from others. It would also have to test the results in the field to get feedback from both the Commission and competitors. While neither Google nor European officials have confirmed the apparent leak so far, any truth to the story could mean the long-running saga might draw to a close before it gets ugly.

Filed under: Internet, Google

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Source: New York Times

There's no question that most of the talk between Google and EU regulators over the firm's search ranking practices have taken place behind closed doors, but now the antitrust inquiry is one step closer to a binding resolution. Following a preliminary assessment in which the European Commission laid out its concerns, Google has offered up a formal list of commitments in attempt to assuage the regulator -- and in the process, avoid a nasty fine that could top $5 billion. Reuters sources suggest that one concession may involve labels within search results that distinguish Google's services from those of its rivals, but whatever the final resolution entails, EU Commissioner Joaquin Almunia asserts that it'll be a legally binding agreement. As for the next step, Google's proposal will be subject to input from its peers, which includes complainants such as Microsoft. If there were ever an opportunity to kick up some dust, we reckon this'd be it. Then again, it could be that Redmond is more preoccupied with Android nowadays.

Filed under: Internet, Google

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Source: Reuters

Believe it or not, the European Union's public data hasn't been very public: despite a 2003 directive, there wasn't a clear right to reuse weather or other vital data, whether it's for an app or a service. Logic is taking hold now that 27 countries on an EU Council committee have endorsed a European Commission revision opening the floodgates. The new rules would require that EU countries explicitly permit citizens and companies to reuse public information, either for free or no more than the basic cost of sending it out. The revamp would also push availability in open formats, along with expanding the directive's coverage to archives, libraries and museums -- you know, repositories of nothing but public knowledge. Both the European Parliament and individual governments will have to sign the changes into law sometime in the (likely not-so-near) future, but the shift could lead to a sudden wealth of data for Euro-centric hardware and software.

Filed under: Misc, Internet

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Via: GigaOM

Source: European Commission (1), (2)

Google has spent the past couple years facing down antitrust accusations in Europe for pushing its web services over those of competitors. But, just as that case is coming to a close, the New York Times now reports that new anti-competitive allegations have been levied against Android. This new complaint was filed by a group called Fairsearch -- whose members include old EU foes Microsoft and Nokia, plus Oracle and a host of travel booking websites -- and claims that Google's using Android as a way to deceive consumers into using Google apps instead of competitors' software. The problem, as Fairsearch sees it, is that Google forces OEMs who use Android to unfairly place apps like YouTube and Gmail in prominent places on the desktop. Of course, this new complaint is just the beginning, so we'll have to wait and see what the European Commission's investigation into the matter uncovers, and how the folks in Mountain View respond.

Filed under: Microsoft, Nokia, Google

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Source: New York Times

In 2011 Apple found itself in some hot water for failing to provide the legally required two-year warranty to European consumers. But, since being slapped with a €900,000 fine by Italy in December of that year, few other countries have taken any signifcant action. That's led European Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding to call on the nations of the European Union to step up their enforcement efforts and to cooperate more on consumer protection issues. She also said that the Justice Commission should take a more prominent role in helping various state institutions work together. The call for stricter enforcement comes after only five EU members took any action against Apple for openly flouting the Union's Warranty laws -- and just two (Italy and Bulgaria) imposed any financial penalties. Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg and Belgium are still investigating the company, but it's not clear what consequences if any remain to be faced. The company has begun to alter its warranty policies to fall more inline with local laws, but there are still concerns about the specific wording that leave room for abuse.

Filed under: Apple

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We already knew the current line of Mac Pros would be discontinued in Europe due to new regulatory standards come March 1st, but we didn't think Apple would pull the plug on its tower desktop this early. According to 9to5Mac, several European Apple Online Stores now show its Mac Pros as "currently unavailable" a couple of weeks before the computers are to be sunsetted. We're not sure if this is the case with machines in brick-and-mortar locales, but Europeans keen on the existing Mac Pro should get to their nearest reseller before it's completely out of stock. Either that or you can choose to sit tight and wait for that impending Mac Pro refresh, whenever the folks in Cupertino get around to it.

Filed under: Desktops, Apple

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Source: 9to5Mac, Apple Store (UK)

European Union regulators weren't exactly content with Google after it rolled up most of its privacy policies into a monolithic document early last year, and it doesn't seem like that's about to change. After giving Page and Co. four months to respond to 12 recommendations regarding its new policy, French regulator CNIL has come to the conclusion that "Google did not provide any precise and effective answers." Though EU officials aren't happy with Mountain View's responses, Google says its policies respect European law and that it replied with steps to address the concerns by the January 8th deadline. Still, data protection regulators are committed to their investigation and are aiming to form a group before the summertime that would respond to the search titan.

Filed under: Internet, Google

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Source: Reuters