eu

U.S. seeks exemption to EU aviation CO2 plan

The United States demanded today that the European Union exempt U.S. airlines from an EU law widening carbon permits to aviation, hardening a standoff over a scheme due to start in 2012.

After talks in Oslo, the European Union insisted it would not back down on its unilateral plan to penalize greenhouse gas emissions from planes taking off and landing in the European Union as part of efforts to slow climate change.

"We clearly stated our strong objections to the EU plans on both legal and policy grounds," a U.S. administration official told a telephone news conference after talks between EU and U.S. negotiators.

In the strongest public criticism of the EU carbon scheme to date by President Barack Obama's administration, Washington said U.S. airlines should be exempt from greenhouse gas penalties.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity like all other delegates, said the EU was using "the wrong way to pursue the right objective" of slowing global warming that is predicted to cause more droughts, floods, and rising sea levels.

The European Commission said there were no plans to back down, echoing… Read more

EU nations give nod to tougher penalties for cybercrimes

European countries have agreed to tougher penalties for cybercrimes, including new punishments for botnet creators, in an effort to clamp down on massive attacks.

The new rules are part of a European Commission proposal, adopted by the Council of Europe on Friday, which now goes to the European Parliament for approval. It aims to update existing EU rules on cybercrime, introduced in 2005, which cover interference with data and systems, and illegal access.

One new measure is the introduction of penalties for people who develop and supply malware or other tools for creating botnets or stealing passwords. Additionally, the illegal … Read more

Facebook facial recognition prompts EU privacy probe

Facebook and its opt-out-by-default policies have struck again, this time with automated photo-tagging through facial recognition, which had been in tests but is now being rolled out internationally.

Bloomberg reports that European Union data-protection regulators say they will investigate the photo-tagging feature. The Article 29 Data Protection Working Party, which advises national data protection agencies that could then potentially establish punishments, will evaluate whether the feature breaks privacy rules, according to member Gerard Lommel's comments to Bloomberg.

Facebook, which calls the feature "Tag Suggestions," admitted it messed up at least a little bit, telling various news outlets &… Read more

Total closer to SunPower stake

Oil and gas giant Total is set to buy 60 percent of solar panel maker SunPower on June 14 after the companies received approval from the European Union. The great unknown is whether this combination changes the energy industry or merely gives SunPower some cover as the solar industry enters a rocky period.

The EU approval, announced yesterday, clears the way for Total to close its all-cash offer for 60 percent of SunPower's outstanding shares in a deal valued at $1.4 billion. Given that the two companies received U.S. regulatory clearance already, the deal is set to … Read more

GE unveils power plant in Paris

At a Paris event on Wednesday, GE announced a new gas-fuelled power plant it says offers more flexibility and efficiency than many other options currently available.

The FlexEfficiency 50 Combined Cycle Power Plant is rated at 510 megawatts, has a base-load efficiency of more than 60 percent, and, when fully operational, can provide enough energy to power more than 600,000 European homes, according to GE. The plant is built to incorporate fluctuating power sources like wind and solar, as well as a main source of natural gas, the company said.

"The FlexEfficiency 50 plant is engineered for flexible operation by integrating a next-generation 9FB gas turbine that operates at 50Hz, which is the power frequency that is most used in countries around the world; a 109D-14 steam turbine, which runs on the waste heat produced by the gas turbine; GE's advanced W28 generator; a Mark VIe integrated control system that links all of the technologies; and a heat recovery steam generator," GE said in a statement.

GE says the plant also conforms to the EU's strict plant emissions standards for NOx and CO2.

The plant represents $500 million in research and development and came out of GE's Ecomagination program to develop clean-energy projects. GE announced in June 2010 that it planned to invest $10 billion over five years in green-focused research and development.… Read more

Microsoft blasts EU antitrust fine in appeals hearing

Calling it "excessive," Microsoft criticized in an appeals hearing today the 899 million euro fine imposed three years ago by European Union antitrust regulators, according to Reuters.

The fine, equivalent to $1.35 billion in 2008 and $1.27 billion today, penalized Microsoft for failing to comply with sanctions in a case involving the information it provides to other companies to allow their products to work with Microsoft software. The fine specifically addresses the rates that Microsoft charges to license its interoperability protocols and patents to third parties.

At the time, the fine was the largest ever imposed … Read more

EU official says Sony, Apple need to rebuild trust

Sony and Apple could face a backlash from EU data protection officials following recent privacy-related issues surrounding their flagship products.

During a speech earlier today in Brussels, Belgium, European Union Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding noted that both companies needed to rebuild customer trust, saying "those in charge have to take the relevant technical and organizational measures to guarantee protection against data loss or an unjustified access."

The speech, which was covered by Bloomberg, comes days after Sony's announcement that as many as 100 million user accounts were exposed as part of an attack targeting its PlayStation Network … Read more

This hard drive will self-destruct

Links from Friday's episode of Loaded:

New rules in Europe prevent Internet advertisers from tracking people without permission

The next version of Apple's OS X operating system may have a do-not-track option in the built-in Safari browser

Toshiba has a new hard drive that will self destruct in the wrong hands

Google now allows you to set your own background image in Gmail

You can now control your Netflix queue with motion control in Microsot Kinect

The Nook Color is coming to Staples

The next Madden NFL game will launch August 30

YouTube's spin on 'American Idol'

Links from Thursday's episode of Loaded:

Motorola will sell the Wi-Fi-only Xoom for $599.

YouTube announces YouTube Next Up, its spin on "American Idol" for the Web.

The European Union is going to revamp its 16-year-old online privacy laws.

Apple changes in-app purchase protocol so that any additional purchases require a password.

Samsung releases a new line of laptops for students and office workers.

Google updates collaboration messaging within Google Docs.

Mozilla announces that Firefox 4 will be available for download next week on March 22.