Early February, European Commission Vice-President Kroes set-out the Commission’s digital priorities for 2013-14, a package of 7 actions around the regulatory environment for broadband, with the headline Digital Agenda target of ‘100 MBps for every European’ in mind. And that includes efforts ranging from rules on wholesale broadband and engineering costs, to universal...

The IAMCP European Summit is the annual event that brings together members of the International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners from all across Europe.

Microsoft has a longstanding commitment to privacy, and works hard to earn the trust of customers around the world by, in part, developing and adopting meaningful privacy practices. To this end we have been facilitating @Microsoft Conversations on Privacy in Washington, D.C. for over a year, on each occasion bringing together a diverse mix of stakeholders to explore some of the most pressing issues related...

The European Central Bank’s proposal to buy unlimited amounts of crisis-hit government bonds has provided a glimmer of light through the shadows of the financial downturn. In the long term however, it’s clear that Europe must re-engineer its economy to achieve sustainable economic growth and abate record-high unemployment levels, especially among young people.

Late June several hundred academics, entrepreneurs, regulators, politicians, civil society and other ‘digital enthusiasts’ met in Brussels for the second annual Digital Agenda Assembly, led by the European Commission.

On 25 January 2012, the European Commission unveiled a comprehensive proposal to modernize its 17-year-old data protection regime. Given the vast technological and societal changes that have occurred since Directive 95/46 went into effect, this is a vitally important effort, and the stakes are high.

This week privacy authorities from all 27 European Union member states adopted a long-awaited Opinion clarifying what companies must do to safeguard the private information of Europe’s citizens when these companies use cloud services. Known as the Article 29 Working Party, the Opinion from these experts is essential reading for every business considering moving to the cloud.

On March 27, I had the pleasure of attending the third annual Summit of the International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners (IAMCP) in Brussels. I was greeted by over 100 IAMCP partners who had come together to position innovative SMEs at the centre of Europe's economic recovery.

One problem, one solution, right? If I use some metaphors in my consulting work over and again, it’s because they work.

On 25 January 2012, the European Commission announced a proposed General Data Protection Regulation.  The Commission’s proposal introduces sweeping reforms designed to modernise Europe’s 17-year-old data protection regime. Microsoft welcomes steps to strengthen and harmonise the data protection regime.

More protection for EU citizens, but organizational costs for enterprises, with sanctions determined at the EU level – that, in a nutshell, is the EU Commission’s proposal for General Data Protection Regulation.

The roundtable discussion revolved around exploring the impact of cloud computing on the European economy and examine the challenges of the existing legislative frameworks.

A big question for governments and business at the moment, and indeed for users of the internet all over the world, is how personal data – a person’s identity, personal materials, financial or sensitive information – can be protected in a workable and effective way.

Visit a website, get a cookie. You can’t see it, but it is a small file that is installed on your computer whenever you browse a travel site, buy books online or search for a new refrigerator. The cookie remembers you, allowing the site to store information about you and your preferences – and making you a better advertising target.

Scammers are getting more clever. But software companies and policymakers are becoming smarter too.

Governments across Europe increasingly recognize the benefits of making their non-sensitive and non-personal data open and reusable. The topic was outlined in many discussions at the EU Digital Agenda Assembly a few weeks ago. Indeed better access to public sector information based on open data can improve quality of life and facilitate interfacing with governments.

As those of you following policy issues in Europe are aware, data protection and online privacy are hot topics in Brussels at the moment.  In fact, these are getting a lot of attention from governments, companies and consumers all over the EU.  At the forefront of the discussion is the upcoming publication of the Commission’s proposal to update EU data protection rules, which should appear...

While the web, blogs and social networks have given users more freedom to express themselves, a substantial amount of political or otherwise motivated discourse has moved into the digital realm. Where controversial or contested content is at stake, companies in the ICT sector and policymakers face increasing challenges to respond. We all agree on the right to free expression in principle, and recognize that...

The Centre for eGovernance Development in Ljubljana and the Austrian Computer Society in Vienna have co-organised the 9th Eastern European eGov Days on "eGovernment in Times of Economic Challenges”.

As you may know, the EU is reviewing its data protection laws, and recently I participated in a hearing hosted by the European Parliament’s EPP group on one of the many important questions being looked at: “Who pays for Data Protection?”

New technologies become interwoven with our everyday lives and our relationship with gadgets is constantly evolving. Do the current terms and concepts of consumer protection remain valid in the digital age? What are the new vulnerabilities and do we need to re-learn consumer protection?

Brad Smith, Microsoft’s General Counsel and Senior Vice President, yesterday gave an interesting speech at the French Assemblée Nationale in Paris. Brad talked about the trends and possibilities of cloud computing, and what needs to be done in the way of better laws and improved industry and government cooperation to get ready for this technological shift. Microsoft also released...

One of the Commission’s long-time dreams, according to the recent Communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, has been an EU “single market” where people can trade without barriers between all of its Member States. The digital revolution that launched buying, selling and services online is helping this...

Cloud computing may indeed become one of the backbones of our digital future”, stated Vice-President Kroes in a speech on "Cloud computing and data protection". While discussing the potential opportunity that cloud computing represents, and that “the free movement of personal data within the EU is another way to help to complete the Digital Single Market in Europe”, she emphasized...

In this case study, you can read about how the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) worked with Active Web Solutions (AWS) to develop a cost-efficient, cloud-based application to help them save more lives at sea. High numbers of deaths at sea is a major concern for anyone in the fishing industry, with an estimated 24,000 crew members drowning worldwide each year. To try and prevent these...

Last week, Commissioner Reding re-stated her desire to reform and modernize the EU’s Data Protection Framework Directive (95/46/EC).

Safer Internet Day, organised by Insafe, will be celebrated on 9 February 2010 in more than 50 countries across the world and will this year focus on the theme “Think before you post!”

To celebrate Safer Internet Day 2010 and for the second year in a row, Microsoft subsidiaries across Europe are organizing employee volunteering activities to educate children, teachers and parents on how to make the best of the internet, and avoid the risks. Through local partnerships with NGOs, schools, customers and partners, around 650 Microsoft employees in 24 subsidiaries throughout Europe will train...

At her European Parliament hearing last week, Commissioner-Designate Viviane Reding mentioned online privacy as one of her key priorities.

New videos regarding Data Potection Day 2010 and the importance of data and online privacy!  

As each year, on 28 January 2010, we celebrate Data Protection Day in Europe and other continents to raise awareness on privacy and data protection amongst citizens.

With the web providing access to entertainment, banking and even healthcare, EU citizens are increasingly spending more time online. We have grown to rely and trust the internet to help us get on with our daily lives. However, the internet will fail to achieve its full potential if people lose faith in the way we protect people’s privacy and the information we share online. As a global leader,...

Confidential data need to be kept confidential – but there are times when the information needs to be shared, too. That's where the new EU Framework Programme Consequence comes in.