Ireland
Latest
Facebook goes full Snapchat with filters and vanishing messages
Facebook has "borrowed" a lot of ideas from Snapchat lately, including the concept for Instagram Stories and Facebook Live selfie filters. In perhaps its most audacious move yet, the social network has started testing a new camera that lets you take selfies and videos with filters, effects and masks, which you can then share with friends in your News Feed. If nobody replies within 24 hours, they'll disappear.
Facebook says it shouldn't pay back taxes from Irish loophole
Apple and Google aren't the only big tech companies fighting against requests to pay back taxes they allegedly racked up through loopholes. Filings obtained by Ars Technica show that Facebook is resisting the IRS' request for taxes owed after the social network reportedly undervalued property transferred to its Irish holding company. If you ask the US agency, Facebook owes $1.7 million plus interest for at least 2010. That doesn't sound like much for such a profitable company, but Facebook claims that it could wind up paying $3 billion to $5 billion (before interest and penalties) if the IRS really does want money from the past several years.
Tim Cook says EU tax ruling is 'total political crap'
Apple and other giant tech companies have long stashed cash overseas where they've paid less taxes on it, but the days of that happening could be numbered. Earlier this week, the EU said that Apple must pay back a whopping $14.5 billion plus interest because of an illegal tax deal between the company and Ireland. Unsurprisingly, Apple is appealing the ruling, and CEO Tim Cook is angry at the way the company's actions have been characterized.
EU Commission: Apple must repay its $14.5b Irish tax break
The European Commission has ruled that Apple was given up to €13 billion ($14.5/£11.1 billion) in an illegal sweetheart tax deal with the Irish government. The amount of money involved here dwarfs the EU antitrust penalties handed out to Google, Microsoft and others, but this is effectively a backdated tax bill, rather than a fine. Officials opened the investigation into Apple's tax affairs back in 2013 and soon found that the agreement that it had signed with Ireland was illegal.
Tim Cook: 'Apple could unlock iPhones, but won't'
To celebrate both Tim Cook's fifth year at the helm of Apple and the production of the billionth iPhone, the chief has sat down with the Washington Post. It's very much a goodwill piece, although there are a few insights into both Cook and Apple that the CEO lets slip along the way. For instance, on the subject of the San Bernardino iPhone, the company did spend a long time working out if they could unlock it. After deciding that it was possible, but that it'd be extremely difficult to stop the exploit being shared, Cook refused to do it. As he explains, "the risk of what happens if it got out, we felt, could be incredibly terrible for public safety."
Irish court orders accused Silk Road admin's extradition to US
Silk Road's saga hasn't ended just because some of its primary architects are behind bars. An Irish court has ordered the extradition of Gary Davis, an alleged key administrator for the Dark Web-based black market, to the US. Davis reportedly both handled customer questions and organized Silk Road's many items (including drugs and hacking tools) into sections. He's poised to appeal the ruling, and for good reason: he could face a life sentence if the US convicts him.
Microsoft victory protects overseas data from US warrants
For the past three years, Microsoft has been locked in a legal battle with the New York district court over a deceptively simple question: does a US Judge have the right to issue a warrant for data stored overseas? According to a new ruling from the US Court of Appeals Second Circuit, the answer, is no.
NBCUniversal has a streaming service for reality TV fans
If you're a fan of American reality TV shows but you live in the UK, Ireland or Australia, you'll soon be in luck. NBCUNiversal announced Hayu, a streaming service dedicated to the high-quality content only reality television can offer. The monthly subscription will give viewers in those locales access to over 3,000 episodes of shows like The Real Housewives, Top Chef franchises, Made in Chelsea, The Millionaire Matchmaker and RuPaul's Drag Race. And, perhaps most importantly, Keeping Up with the Kardashians and its spinoffs will be included, too.
Apple fined $347 million for Italian tax... irregularities
Apple's Italian subsidiary has reportedly been slapped with a €318 million ($347 million) bill for failing to pay tax in the country. According to the BBC and La Repubblica, authorities found disparities between the amount of money it brought in and the amount it handed over between 2008 and 2013. In that five-year period, it's believed that the firm paid just €30 million ($33 million), significantly less than the €880 million ($961 million) it's believed to have owed.
YouTube Kids entertains children outside of the US
Some seven months after launching, YouTube Kids is expanding outside of America. Folks living in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom can access the family friendly section of Google's video wing. What's more, Mountain View says that the apps' been downloaded over 10 million times to date and that apparently more time has been spent watching "Wheels on the Bus" than "Gagnam Style." Mind you, the "Wheels on the Bus" video is almost an hour long versus just over four minutes for PSY's smash hit. Oh, and Google says to keep an eye out for upcoming holiday specials on the app over the next few weeks. [Image credit: Associated Press]
Apple plans to add 1,000 more jobs in Ireland
Apple is gearing up to add another 1,000 employees in Ireland, and it's also expanding its headquarters in Cork to make room for the new crop, reports RTÉ. That would bring the company's total count of employees in Ireland up to 6,000, and it's an easy way for it to demonstrate its commitment to Ireland. That's particularly useful, now that the European Commission is probing into Apple's tax situation in the country, which has been criticized for being a bit too friendly (and illegal). Ireland plans to end Apple's tax deal in a few years, but it'll still have the benefit of fairly low corporate tax rates.
Microsoft takes on the US government over data held overseas
Do you think that America's law enforcement agencies should have free access to the emails of your friends over in Ireland? It's the question that an appeals court is being asked to consider in a matter that has serious consequences for everyone in the world. The issue began when drug enforcement officials wanted to access to messages that were stored on a Microsoft server in Dublin. As far as Microsoft was concerned, that was a matter for the Irish government, but the g-people tried to hold the company's US arm accountable. Disturbingly, the US won the first two legal challenges, and now New York's 2nd circuit is about to hear to the appeal on behalf of Microsoft, with some cheering on from the rest of the technology industry.
3D printing resurrects Iron-Age Irish musical instruments
While 3D printing is often used for advancements in medicine or science, such as FDA-approved drugs or rocket pumps, this week it made an academic one. A PhD student at the Australian National University recently used a 3D printer to duplicate an Irish artifact previously known as the "Conical Spearbutt of Navan," thought to be a tool and weapon. Billy Ó Foghlú's replica was able to prove that the ancient spearbutt was, in fact, an ancient mouthpiece -- likely to an iron-age horn.
Ireland will eliminate Apple's sweet tax deal within four years
Apple and other tech giants had better not lean too heavily on Ireland's super-favorable tax environment; at least one big perk is going away. Finance minister Michael Noonan has detailed a new budget that, among other things, will phase out the "double Irish" system that let companies operating in Ireland (including Apple) move their revenue to an Ireland-registered offshore tax haven. As of 2015, companies incorporated in the country will have four years to make sure that they're also tax resident -- that is, they'll pay the same as any other corporation operating on the Emerald Isle.
Apple accused of receiving illegal state aid in Ireland
Apple's alleged exploitation of a tax ruling in Ireland is getting some attention from the European Commission. In a preliminary finding that labels the treatment the company has been receiving "state aid," Apple and several other large companies, including Google and Microsoft, could see their tax situation in the country change dramatically. While the company employs thousands of people in the Irish city of Cork, accusations of unlawful tax practices stem from the funneling of money through their operations in Ireland to offshore accounts. This results in a greatly reduced tax burden, and the Irish government has been talking about slamming the door shut on such practices for many months already. Apple will have a month to gather its argument and present it to the European Commission, though in a statement to Business Insider, the company noted that its tax payments in Ireland have increased tenfold since the launch of the iPhone, asserting that the company has always played by the rules. Unfortunately for Apple, it looks like the rules are the problem this time around. [via Electronista]
EU says Apple's Irish tax deal is illegal
An EU commission has accused Ireland of granting "state aid" tax breaks to Apple that may break market rules. That was the result of an investigation by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) over Irish deals brokered in 1991 and 2007. It has now asked Ireland to provide more information about its tax arrangements with Apple and other companies, including Fiat and Starbucks. The OECD also looking into Luxembourg and the Netherlands as part of a larger probe to find out if certain EU nations help multinational companies swerve taxes. At 12.5 percent, Ireland has a lower tax rate than any other EU country, and Cupertino's complex tax deals there have been questioned before. As the US Senate saw recently, shuffling money around countries helps Apple avoid nearly $20 million a day in taxes -- and the EU seems to have a dimmer view of its strategy than the SEC did. [Image credit: pieceoplastic/Flickr]
Kickstarter is now accepting projects from Ireland and Scandinavia
Folks looking for crowdfunding in Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Ireland just got a lucky break: Kickstarter is expanding its international reach. Starting today, creators in Ireland and Scandinavia will be able to submit projects to the crowdfunding site. An FAQ on the company's blog lays out the details: The new projects won't go live until October 21st, but they'll be visible to the worldwide Kickstarter community when they do. Like all international projects, pledge amounts will be listed in local currency -- kroners and euros, specifically. Scandinavian and Irish creators can check out the official announcement at the source link below.
Irish court ruling says defacing Facebook and physical property are the same thing
What happens on Facebook doesn't just stay on Facebook, and your social network activity can be used against you in a court of law. Trolling, bullying and posting offensive content can all land you in hot water, not to mention that your Facebook history can be used as evidence in all kinds of criminal cases. Currently, even the US Supreme Court is trying to clarify legal accountability of social media. Now, in what's thought to be the first prosecution of its kind, a man in Ireland has been charged with "frape" -- the rather tactless term that describes defacing someone's Facebook page from within their account.
ZeniMax reduces ESO customer support staff in Ireland
The Connacht Tribune reported earlier this week that ZeniMax, which had established a customer service operation in Galway, Ireland, for The Elder Scrolls Online, has let go "up to 300 workers," apparently temporary, from its Rahoon location. It's not at all uncommon for MMO studios to let go crunch-time staff after a launch (or when a release is delayed, as ESO's console releases have been), but former employees told the publication that many of the staffers, some hired on short-term contracts of two to six weeks on up to six months in duration, were being terminated significantly earlier than anticipated. The Tribune suggests there are currently "just over 100 employees at the European customer services centre in the Rahoon Business Park." We have requested more information from ZeniMax and will update accordingly. [With thanks to tipster Paul!]
Secret's anonymous confession box comes to the UK, Ireland, Australia and NZ
Ever wanted to tell the world that you stuck your genitals into a bowl of jam (or vegemite) without compromising your reputation? Secret, the app that lets you anonymously bare your soul to the world has landed in the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. While you're likely to see the odd eye-rolling confession of sexual misconduct, Secret was also the venue that first broke the story that Google's Vic Gundotra was leaving the company. At least when you're caught using the app, you can say that you're hunting around for more of the latter, not contributing that time you were seen doing something unspeakable to a toasted sandwich.
