The Hague, Netherlands:

The Dutch data protection watchdog said Monday it hit ride-hailing app Uber with a 290-million-euro ($324 million) fine over the transfer of personal data of European drivers to US servers.

The regulator said the transfers were a “serious violation” of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as they failed to appropriately protect driver information.

“Uber did not meet the requirements of the GDPR to ensure the level of protection to the data with regard to transfers to the US. That is very serious,” Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) chairman Aleid Wolfsen said in a statement.

The DPA said Uber collected sensitive information of European drivers, including taxi licences, location data, photos, payment details, identity documents, “and in some cases even criminal and medical data of drivers”.

Over a two-year period, the DPA said, the information was transferred to Uber’s US headquarters without using transfer tools.

“Because of this, the protection of personal data was not sufficient,” the DPA said.

Uber said it would appeal the fine.

“This flawed decision and extraordinary fine are completely unjustified,” an Uber spokesperson said in a statement

“Uber’s cross-border data transfer process was compliant with GDPR during a 3-year period of immense uncertainty between the EU and US. We will appeal and remain confident that common sense will prevail,” the statement said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will impose an additional 25 per cent tax on energy-intensive goods exported from India to the EU, a new report said on Wednesday.

This tax burden would represent 0.05 per cent of India’s GDP, according to the report titled “The Global South’s Response to a Changing Trade Regime in the Era of Climate Change” by the independent think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).

These findings are based on data from the past three years (2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24). CBAM is the EU’s proposed tax on energy-intensive products, such as iron, steel, cement, fertilizers, and aluminium, imported from countries like India and China. The tax is based on the carbon emissions generated during the production of these goods.

The EU argues that this mechanism creates a level playing field for domestically manufactured goods, which must adhere to stricter environmental standards, and helps reduce emissions from imports. But other nations, particularly developing countries, are worried this would harm their economies and make it too expensive to trade with the bloc.

The move has also sparked debate at multilateral forums, including UN climate conferences, with developing countries arguing that, under UN climate change rules, countries cannot dictate how others should reduce emissions.

Avantika Goswami, who leads CSE’s climate change programme, said that India’s CBAM-covered goods exports to the EU accounted for 9.91 per cent of its total goods exports to the bloc in 2022-23. She said 26 per cent of India’s aluminium and 28 per cent of its iron and steel exports were destined for the EU in 2022-23. These sectors dominate the basket of CBAM-covered goods shipped from India to the EU.

In 2022-23, the exports of CBAM-covered goods to the EU made up about one-fourth (25.7 per cent) of India’s total such goods exported globally, which is significant for the industries operating in these sectors. Currently, hydrogen and electricity are not exported from India to the EU. Of India’s total goods exported worldwide, CBAM-covered goods exports to the EU constitute only about 1.64 per cent.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

London:

European Union (EU) regulators on Monday opened a new investigation into Apple’s support for alternative iOS marketplaces in Europe under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), adding that the App Store’s “steering” policies violate the DMA meant to encourage competition.

Margrethe Vestager, who heads competition policy in Europe, said their preliminary position is that Apple does not fully allow steering.

“Steering is key to ensure that app developers are less dependent on gatekeepers’ app stores and for consumers to be aware of better offers,” she said in a statement.

The EU regulators said they are concerned as Apple’s new business model makes it too hard for app developers to operate as alternative marketplaces and reach their end users on iOS.

“We will look into Apple’s new business model – the commercial terms Apple imposes on app developers who want to reach end users on the iOS platform,” said the regulators.

The regulators also said that they have adopted their first preliminary findings in a case of non-compliance.

“And it is again about Apple. About the many ways in which their new terms fall short of the DMA requirements regarding steering users to options outside the Apple App Store. As they stand, we think that these new terms do not allow app developers to communicate freely with their end users, and to conclude contracts with them,” they added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Istanbul, Turkey:

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Ankara could “part ways” with the European Union if necessary when asked about the contents of a European Parliament report on Turkey.

The report, adopted earlier this week, said Turkey’s accession process with the 27-member bloc cannot resume under current circumstances and called for the EU to explore “a parallel and realistic framework” for its ties with Ankara.

Turkey has been an official candidate to join the EU for 24 years, but accession talks have stalled in recent years over the bloc’s concerns about human rights violations and respect for the rule of law.

“The EU is trying to break away from Turkey,” President Erdogan told reporters ahead of a trip to the United States. “We will make our evaluations against these developments and if necessary, we can part ways with the EU.”

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said earlier this week that the European Parliament report contained unfounded allegations and prejudices and took “a shallow and non-visionary” approach to the country’s ties with the EU.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)