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Apple executive chairman Tim Cook met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to discuss the proposed EU Kids Act. Von der Leyen said on X that the two agreed on the importance of privacy, safety and security for children online, part of a wider push by the bloc on child safety regulation.
The European Commission has proposed requiring data centers with over 500 kW capacity to disclose their energy and water usage through a standardized rating system, similar to appliance energy labels. The rules would not cap power or water consumption but would require operators to report water use relative to local water stress and disclose whether they recycle waste heat back into local energy systems.
The European Commission unveiled a plan to bar children under 13 from social media, allowing parent-supervised accounts for ages 13 to 15. To enforce this, Brussels has built its own free, open-source age-verification app, being piloted in Cyprus, Denmark, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy and Spain, with full EU rollout expected by end of 2026.
The European Commission unveiled the EU Kids Act, a proposal that would ban social media accounts for children under 13, mandate age verification, and force companies like Meta, Google, YouTube and Roblox to prove their platforms are safely designed. President Ursula von der Leyen said the law shifts the burden of proof onto platforms and gives parents more control over children's online experiences. The measure still needs to go through debate and a vote before becoming law.
The European Commission unveiled the EU Kids Act, a proposal that would bar children under 13 from social media entirely, require parental-managed sub-accounts with restrictions for 13- and 14-year-olds, and only allow independent accounts at 15. The plan also mandates platforms remove addictive design features like infinite scroll, nighttime notifications, and unsolicited contact from strangers, while requiring AI chatbots be disabled by default for minors.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a proposal to bar children under 13 from using social media across all 27 EU member states. The plan also calls for supervised 'mini accounts' with restricted features for teens aged 13-15, and mandates 'safe design' standards for platforms serving 15-to-18-year-olds.
A coalition of European founders and VCs published an open letter urging EU lawmakers to preserve key features of the proposed 'EU Inc' company statute, which would allow startups to incorporate once and operate across the bloc. They warn that national lobbies, including Germany's notary association, are pushing changes that could weaken the framework before final negotiations conclude.
Google is revising how its Search results appear across the European Union, following an €460 million fine from the European Commission for allegedly favoring its own services over competitors. Under the new format, one specialized comparison engine, such as Expedia or Hotels.com, will appear prominently at the top of results, with two others shown with fewer details, while a carousel for hotels, airlines and restaurants will be stripped of features like real-time pricing. Google's own algorithm will still determine the rankings of these vertical search services.
Following a €460 million DMA fine over self-preferencing in travel and shopping searches, Google has altered its European search results to comply with EU rules. Instant hotel and flight pricing and availability are being removed, replaced by links to specialized search engines and a carousel ranked purely by Google's algorithm rather than business partnerships.