Search engine Google has offered to settle an ongoing antitrust investigation by the European Commission in an attempt to end possible proceedings against the web giant. Google’s chairman, Eric Schmidt, has sent a letter to European Commissioner Joaquin Almunia, expressing his hope that a deal could prevent a fully-fledged and […]

A rapid surge in mobile payment initiatives is putting pressure on banks and mobile phone operators to move into the mobile payments industry quickly, after Deutsche Telekom and MasterCard announced they have formed a Europe-wide mobile payments partnership. ‘If financial service providers delay taking an active interest in mobile business […]

The East African Community (EAC) countries have been praised for their success in mobile money services but should make serious efforts to harmonise the different legal frameworks that cover the industry in the region, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has said. UNCTAD has released a report […]

The Netherlands passed a law in 2011 which prevents internet service providers from charging more for certain types of content, effectively making ‘network neutrality’ the norm. The Netherlands is the first country in Europe to enact such legislation and follows the lead of Chile, who enshrined the principle into law […]

As the online commerce market in China is rapidly expanding, businesses and consumers are demanding an update of the country’s complex regulatory framework. A range of decrees, regulations and provincial frameworks are currently in place, regulating issues such as domain names, internet surveillance and monitoring, electronic signatures, telecommunications, online content […]

Payment Integration Under Pressure as Europe Battles with Euro Crisis LONDON – The financial crisis and the uncertainty about the future of the Euro put progress of ambitious European payment integration plans, such as the Single European Payments Area (SEPA), increasingly under pressure. Lawyers and financial experts weighed in on the […]

Facebook’s announcement at the end of 2011 that all of its 800 million users will be forced to use its new Timeline concept within the next few months has caused a lot of controversy since the new year began. Timeline is Facebook’s most radical change since the social network was […]

Lady Gaga has become the first Twitter user ever to have more than 27 million followers. On 4th July, the unconventional US singer reached the social media milestone when the 26th million follower joined her online community at @LadyGaga and in the time between then and going to press, she’s […]