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France will start testing its COVID-19 tracking app the week of May 11th
France will learn about the efficacy of COVID-19 tracking apps when it starts testing StopCOVID the week of May 11th.
Amazon's French warehouses will remain closed until May 5th
When the appeals court revealed its decision, Amazon said it has to assess the ruling’s implications for its business in the country.
Amazon loses bid to resume selling non-essential goods in France
In mid-April, a court in France ruled that Amazon can only fulfill orders for essential products to protect its workers from COVID-19. For every delivery that doesn’t comply with the court’s requirements, the company would have to pay 100,000 euros or around $108,000.
France asks Apple to lift Bluetooth limits to further its coronavirus tracker
Apple's operating system settings are standing in the way of France's COVID-19 contact-tracing app.
Amazon keeps French warehouses closed in standoff over health protections
Amazon will keep its warehouses in France closed until April 22nd in a dispute over health protections.
Amazon may temporarily close French warehouses to assess COVID-19 risks
Amazon may close all of its distribution centers in France in order to assess risks related to COVID-19.
French court orders Amazon to continue only fulfilling essential orders
A court in France has ruled that Amazon should only fulfill orders for essential products, like food and hygiene and medical products, TechCrunch reports.
France orders Google to pay news companies for showing article extracts
France’s competition authority has ordered Google to negotiate payments with publishers and news agencies to display extracts on its news, search and discovery pages. The interim ruling comes after France implemented the EU’s “Copyright Directive” law that forced Google to pay publishers to use snippets of articles in searches.
France is developing an app to track the spread of COVID-19
France's Stop Covid app could help fight the coronavirus, but questions remain about privacy.
Amazon stops taking orders for some non-essentials in France and Italy
Amazon is taking dramatic steps to prioritize orders in areas hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The online retailer told Reuters in a statement that it would temporarily stop taking orders for "some non-essential products" in France and Italy to help Amazon warehouses focus on more vital deliveries. The company didn't say just what it was stopping, but it believes essentials include groceries, health products, household items, personal care, industrial goods, scientific products and pet supplies.
Apple hit with record-breaking $1.2 billion antitrust fine in France
Apple has been hit with a record-breaking fine for antitrust practices. French competition authority Autorité de la Concurrence has found Apple and its wholesale distribution partners Ingram Micro and Tech Data guilty of running a cartel for Apple products, and has fined the companies €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion), €62.9 million ($70.2 million) and €76.1 million ($85 million) respectively.
France threatens large fines and possible jail time for e-bike mods
France does not look kindly upon e-bike owners that hot rod their wheels. The country has just introduced a law that could see "offenders" slapped with a maximum fine of €30,000 (US$34,000), and up to a year in jail. And they could have their driving license suspended for up to three years.
Ford brings its Spin scooters to Germany this spring
Spin, the Ford-owned e-scooter company, is expanding its fleet into Europe. It will introduce dockless electric scooters in Cologne, Germany, this spring. The company plans to "explore opportunities" in Paris and the UK, too.
France fines Apple $27 million for slowing down iPhones
France's Competition and Fraud body, DGCCRF, has fined Apple €25 million ($27.3 million) for intentionally slowing the performance of older iPhones. The issue, which centered on battery management, was seen by many as an attempt to force users to upgrade before they needed to. Apple would eventually disclose the feature, but has agreed to pay the fine, and display a press release prominently on its French website.
France fines Google $167 million over unpredictable advertising rules
After a four-year investigation, France's competition watchdog is fining Google €150 million ($167 million) for opaque and unpredictable advertising rules, Reuters reports. The investigation began after French company Gibmedia accused Google of suspending its Google Ads account without notice. According to Reuters, the French regulator alleges that, by changing its terms of use and rules at will, Google abused its market power. Google plans to appeal the decision.
Huawei is suing French critics who say it's tied to the Chinese state
Huawei is taking a more aggressive stance against critics who say it has ties to the Chinese government, according to Bloomberg and French investigative site La Lettre A. The telecom giant has filed three defamation suits in France against a French researcher, broadcast journalist and wireless network expert, all of whom made comments on different television programs. Huawei has confirmed that the claims were filed back in March.
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.
The forgotten pioneers of computer animation
Everyone remembers ReBoot. It's hard to forget the show's lead character -- a bright blue 'guardian' named Bob -- and his fight to protect a city inside a computer. The computer-animated series premiered in September 1994, months before Pixar stunned theatergoers with Toy Story. It was a groundbreaking show that allowed its creator, Mainframe Entertainment, to pursue similar projects like Shadow Raiders and Transformers spin-off Beast Wars. Today, many believe that Mainframe was the only company to debut a computer-animated TV show in 1994. But that's incorrect. The Canadian studio had a European peer called Fantôme ("ghost" in French), which developed an equally important and pioneering series called Insektors.
A mind-controlled exoskeleton helped a paralyzed man walk again
A paralyzed man regained the ability to walk with the help of a robotic exoskeleton that he controlled with his mind. Unlike other, more invasive mind-controlled robotics, this one used electrodes implanted above the brain's outer membrane, not in the brain itself. That could reduce the risk of infection and other obstacles that have limited the success of mind-controlled robotics.
Google told it doesn't have to apply 'right to be forgotten' results globally
In a landmark privacy case, an EU court has ruled that Google does not have to apply "right to be forgotten" laws globally. That means it will only need to remove disputed search results in Europe, and nowhere else, after receiving an approved takedown request.