The European Commission said Thursday that U.S. social media giants have made an effort to comply with EU consumer protection rules, but that Facebook and Twitter have not made all the required changes. “While Google’s latest proposals appear to be in line with the requests made by consumer authorities, Facebook and, more significantly, Twitter, have only partially addressed important issues about their liability and about how users are informed of possible content removal or contract termination,” the Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said in a statement. The three major internet companies had published on Thursday the changes they are making to comply with the demands of European regulators, which must be implemented in all languages by spring. Some of those changes include having the right to withdraw from an online purchase, being able to lodge complaints in Europe rather than in California where the companies are based, and the platforms being responsible towards EU consumers in the same way as offline services. “I am pleased that the enforcement of EU rules to protect consumers by national authorities is bearing fruit, as some companies are now making their platforms safer for consumers; however, it is unacceptable that this is still not complete and it is taking so much time,” said Vera Jourova, European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality. The European Union’s demands to the U.S. internet giants were made in November 2016 following numerous complaints by consumers in Europe about being hit with fraud and scams when using their… [Read full story]
The Vice Head of MoNRE's Department of Hydrometeorology and Climate Change (HCCD), Mr Nguyen Khac Hieu, said this on a press meeting on the World Day for the preservation of the ozone layer tiled "Ozone layer protection: governance and compliance at its best" held in Hanoi today (September 16). Vietnam has issued policies and measures to strictly control the import-export of all substances that deplete the ozone layer and has prohibited equipment that uses chloro-fluoro-carbons (CFC), said HCCD Vice Head Khac Hieu. The country has also banned the import of devices that use chlorofluorocarbon (CFC). It has eradicated 500 tonnes…... [read more]
Vietnamese enterprises have strictly complied with the regulations set by the European Union for exported goods, therefore the prospect of them getting access to the EU market and being competitive are very positivecomply, said an EU representative. "The technical standards set by the EU are growing in both quantity and depth, yet the amount of Vietnamese goods exported to the market has continued to increase over the years," said Hans Farnhammer, the EU delegation to Vietnam 's First Secretary at a trade conference in Hanoi on June 23. The conference on trade barriers to Vietnamese business associations and enterprises gathered…... [read more]
Social networking sites such as Facebook are not doing enough to protect children from potential dangers such as grooming by paedophiles or online bullying, European authorities said Tuesday. "I am disappointed that most social networking sites are failing to ensure that minors' profiles are accessible only to their approved contacts by default," said European Commission vice president Neelie Kroes in a statement. The authorities in Brussels say the number of minors who use the Internet and subscribe to social networking sites is growing -- currently 77 per cent of children aged 13-16 and 38 per cent of those aged 9-12.…... [read more]
Twitter Inc plans to toughen its rules on online sexual harassment and impose stronger penalties for misconduct, according to an email it sent to a group of safety advocates, academics and researchers that helps the social media service set its policies. The new rules, which will likely be introduced in the next few weeks, are aimed at tackling one of Twitter’s biggest and long-lasting problems. They follow a series of tweets by Chief Executive Jack Dorsey on Friday announcing plans to act more aggressively to limit the number of bullies and harassers using Twitter. The new guidelines include immediate and…... [read more]
The platform to verify questionable news stories will be launched by the end of October. Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc have joined a network of over 30 news and technology companies to tackle fake news and improve the quality of information on social media, the group said on Tuesday. First Draft Coalition, formed in June 2015 with the backing of Alphabet Inc's Google, said it would create a voluntary code of practice, promote news literacy among social media users, and launch a platform where members can verify questionable news stories. The platform will be launched by the end of October,…... [read more]