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New technologies come with new risks, and the impact of cyber-attacks through digital products has increased dramatically in recent years. Consumers are increasingly falling victim to security flaws linked to digital products such as baby monitors, robo-vacuum cleaners, Wi-Fi routers and alarm systems. For businesses, the importance of ensuring that digital products in the supply chain are secure has become pivotal, considering three in five vendors have already lost money owing to product security ...

The initiative's objective is to facilitate the use of digital tools and processes in EU company law. The problem definition appears to be well supported by evidence. The IA substantiates the nature and scale of the problem, as well as who it affects (business registers, public authorities, businesses, citizens/ consumers) and how. The policy options are not alternatives to each other but each one of them is a group of (sub-) options for each of the four intervention areas. The sub-options under ...

The EU has started reflecting on its vision for emerging virtual worlds (metaverses) and providing funding opportunities to develop these worlds. The aim is to ensure that people are protected in virtual worlds and that EU businesses, in particular SMEs, are not driven out of competition.

The European Commission tabled a proposal for an EU regulatory framework on artificial intelligence (AI) in April 2021. The draft AI act is the first ever attempt to enact a horizontal regulation for AI. The proposed legal framework focuses on the specific utilisation of AI systems and associated risks. The Commission proposes to establish a technology-neutral definition of AI systems in EU law and to lay down a classification for AI systems with different requirements and obligations tailored on ...

The video games sector is the fastest growing cultural and creative sector in Europe, with an estimated European market size of €23.3 billion in 2021. A highly innovative digital sector, it directly employs more than 90 000 people in Europe, and continues to generate new employment opportunities for many creators, including game developers, designers, writers, and music producers. Half of all Europeans consider themselves to be video game players; of these, almost half are women. An essential part ...

Platform work is on the rise, with hundreds of digital platforms active in the EU and millions of workers earning some income by working for them. A proposed EU directive seeks to set criteria to determine whether platform workers are self-employed or employees, which is key for improving their working conditions and social rights. In addition, it would set the first EU rules on the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace. With their positions agreed, the European Parliament and the Council ...

Most rare diseases are incurable. Research into new diagnostics and therapies is hampered by the low number of patients, limited amount of data, lack of multi-centre coordination and low profitability. Biosensors are a technology that, driven by continuous advances in artificial intelligence, can help disease detection, lower the cost of novel therapies, replace placebo groups in clinical trials and foster patient-centred, personalised (e)-medicine. Governance of biosensor technology involves targeted ...

On 1 March 2023, the European Commission published its legislative proposal on driving licences – a matter of EU competence – with the purpose of enabling the free movement of persons and goods throughout the EU by modernising the driving licence system. This involves making driving licence rules future-proof, improving road safety and simplifying rules for those wanting to get a driving licence. The proposal provides for accompanied driving for young learners, zero tolerance for drunk driving, better ...

The war in Ukraine was again central to the plenary session in June, with a debate on the humanitarian and environmental consequences of the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam and sustainable reconstruction and the integration of Ukraine into the Euro-Atlantic community. Another important debate concerned the preparation of the European Council meeting set for 29 30 June 2023, in particular in the light of the recent steps forward on agreeing the EU migration pact. Members held a number of debates ...

Emerging alongside the rapid development of the internet and digital technologies that have particularly thrived over the past two decades, music streaming (and streaming in general) is a technology that offers unlimited access to a selected catalogue of audiovisual content via an online platform. The year 2006 is often seen as the starting date for music streaming, with the launch of the Swedish streaming platform Spotify, the current market leader. The technology, however, had already been developed ...