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Spain fines Amazon and Apple for alleged price-fixing
Spain has fined Amazon and Apple a total of 194.1 million euros (over $218 million) for antitrust violations. According to Reuters, the penalties relate to a deal the companies made in 2018 that made Amazon an authorized Apple dealer but also included alleged anti-competitive clauses. “The two companies restricted without justification the number of sellers of Apple products on the Amazon website in Spain,” Spain’s antitrust regulator, Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC), said today.
Google News redesign puts a greater emphasis on local stories
Google News has been given a major overhaul, including a new focus on local coverage.
Intel plans to build a $19 billion chip plant in Germany
It'll invest up to $88 billion in Europe over the next decade.
Spain sets new rules for influencers who promote cryptocurrency
Those with more than 100,000 followers need to include warnings about crypto risks.
Google News returns to Spain after a seven-year absence
The service was pulled in 2014 ahead of a change to the country's copyright law.
Netflix's latest mobile games have nothing to do with its shows
The library of five games is only available in Poland, Spain and Italy for now.
Vivo phones are coming to Europe
Vivo has expanded its reach and announced its entry into the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain. The Chinese tech manufacturer has also presented its first European line-up at an online media briefing broadcast from Dusseldorf, Germany, revealing that it’s hoping to win new fans in the region with the Vivo X51 5G. Aside from the new flagship, Vivo is making its European debut with a series of mid—range smartphones: the Y70, Y20s and Y11s.
Google expands Play Pass to nine countries beyond the US
It's also introducing a $30 annual subscription.
Google's true wireless Pixel Buds are now available outside of the US
They're on sale in Canada, the UK, Australia and a few other countries.
Amazon's Echo Auto comes to the UK, Canada and parts of Europe
Amazon's Echo Auto is now available outside of the US, Australia and India.
Disney+ will hit the UK and four other European countries March 31st
Disney+ will officially debut in the US, Canada and the Netherlands November 12th, and Australia and New Zealand a week later. The rest of the world will need to wait a little longer to stream the likes of Avengers: Endgame and The Mandalorian on the service. But Disney fans in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain might want to mark March 31st on their calendars. That's when Disney+ will land in those countries.
Twitter bans thousands of state-backed accounts spreading misinformation
Twitter has suspended thousands of accounts linked with state-backed misinformation campaigns. In a transparency report shared today, Twitter says it removed 4,248 accounts from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), 273 accounts from the UAE and Egypt, 1,019 accounts based in Ecuador, 265 accounts from Spain and six accounts from Saudi Arabia. It also released more data on 4,301 of the 200,000 accounts from China and Hong Kong that were suspended for stoking unrest around the Hong Kong protests.
Twitter removes nearly 4,800 accounts linked to Iranian government
Twitter has suspended nearly 4,800 accounts it suspected of being directly run or linked to the Iranian government. The social media giant released a transparency report that detailed recent efforts to tamp down on the spread of misinformation by insidious actors on its platform. In addition to the Iranian accounts, Twitter suspended four accounts it suspected of being linked to Russia's Internet Research Agency (IRA), 130 fake accounts associated with the Catalan independence movement in Spain and 33 accounts operated by a commercial entity in Venezuela.
La Liga fined €250k for using its app to catch illegal soccer streams
Spanish soccer league La Liga has been fined for inappropriately using its app to catch illegal streaming. The Spanish data protection agency charged La Liga with a fine of 250 thousand euros for violating several EU laws on transparency and data privacy, and ordered the app's removal by June 30th. The popular app -- used by over four million in Spain for displaying game results -- was found to be tapping into the location data and microphones of users to find bars that were illegally broadcasting games. But the league of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona isn't taking this lying down -- La Liga will be appealing the decision.
Spain halts plans to use electric shock treatment on violent inmates
Spain is putting on hold a scientific investigation that involved zapping prisoners' brains with electricity to curb violent urges. A pilot study saw the technique -- known as transcranial direct current stimulation, or tDCS -- carried out on 41 violent male prisoners, 15 of them serving murder sentences.
PlayStation Now game streaming expands throughout Europe
PlayStation Now still isn't widely available around the world, but Sony aims to fix that. It's expanding the game streaming service to Italy, Portugal and Spain in Europe in the near future, as well as Nordic countries like Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. There's no mention of a firm release date just yet. However, would-be players can register for a PS4 beta test due to start in early February.
Amazon workers held strikes across Europe on Black Friday
Amazon workers across Europe took part in walkouts on Black Friday to protest what they say are unfair work conditions. Following similar demonstrations on Prime Day in July, employees in Spain, Italy, Germany and the UK went on strike over pay and safety. However, Amazon told the Guardian that the walkouts didn't hamper its delivery efforts across the continent.
Virgin Hyperloop One to build a research facility in Spain
Virgin Hyperloop One announced today that it's expanding into Europe. The company plans to build a $500 million development facility in the small village of Bobadilla located in the Andalusian region of Spain. The center will develop, test and certify components of the firm's hyperloop systems -- though there won't be a test track at this location, a spokesperson told The Verge -- and it's projected to be up and running by 2020.
Xiaomi targets Europe with two cheap Android One phones
Remember Android One? Google launched the program in 2014 as a way to improve cheap, low-end Android phones. These days, though, that responsibility has passed to Android Go -- a new version of the operating system optimized for lower-performing hardware. Android One, meanwhile, has morphed into a 'pure Android' stamp of approval (similar to the old Google Play Edition branding) with timely software and security updates. Today, Xiaomi is announcing two new smartphones -- the Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite -- which run this near-stock version of Android. More importantly, both devices are coming to 40 markets, including Spain. Update: The Mi A2 will be available in the following European markets: Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey and Ukraine. It's also coming to Colombia and Mexico (no word on North America) and a variety of markets in the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, including Egypt, India, Hong Kong, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, and the UAE.
Amazon warehouse workers in Europe stage protest on Prime Day
Amazon warehouse workers in Germany, Spain and Poland are hoping to call the e-commerce giant's attention to their plea for better working conditions by going on strike on Prime Day. The workers for the company's fulfillment centers are protesting the increase in working hours even though they don't receive bonuses, as well as the lack of protection against illnesses. Stefanie Nutzenberger from German labor union Verdi, which called for the strike, said "The message is clear -- while the online giant gets rich, it is saving money on the health of its workers."
