EU

Regulators in the European Union are evaluating whether Google is a dominant force in search and, if so, whether the company is abusing its position.

According to Reuters, EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia spoke today at a conference in Florence about the regulatory body's evaluation of Google. Almunia reportedly said that the EU is "trying to determine whether the company holds a dominant position in Internet search." What's more, Almunia said, according to Reuters, the commission is also trying to decide whether Google abuses its power in the marketplace.

"Google is the browser of choice … Read more

Europe's biodiesel industry could be wiped out by EU plans to tackle the unwanted side effects of biofuel production, after studies showed few climate benefits, four papers obtained by Reuters show.

Europe's world-leading $13 billion biodiesel industry, which has boomed in the wake of a decision by Brussels policymakers in 2003 to promote it, is now on the verge of being legislated out of existence after the studies revealed biodiesel's indirect impact cancels out most of its benefits.

"This study would pave the way for the demise of the European biodiesel sector," Philippe Tillous-Borde, chief of French oilseed giant Sofiproteol, which owns Europe's largest biodiesel producer, told Reuters.

The EU has been arguing for two years over the extent of indirect damage to the environment caused by it setting a target of increasing biofuel use to 10 percent of all road fuels by 2020, from less than three percent today.

Its own analysis shows the target may lead to an indirect one-off release of around 1,000 megatonnes of carbon dioxide--more than twice the annual emissions of Germany.

The emerging picture that the EU has got its policy wrong has proved unpalatable, and the European Commission has refused a Reuters freedom of information request for the latest studies, arguing the public interest of disclosure is insufficient.

However, those documents have now been leaked.… Read more

In light of yesterday's news that the Federal Trade Commission has officially launched an investigation into Google's business practices, it seems a good time to review the search giant's rich history in related antitrust matters.

The following is a timeline of some of some of the company's pivotal run-ins with trustbusters.

For its part, Google this morning acknowledged that it had received formal notification from the FTC about its probe and plans to work with the agency in coming months. But it stands by its principles and company mission and suggested the investigation is misguided.

The … Read more

Download.com Associate Editor Jaymar Cabebe stops by to help Antuan Goodwin host today's show. We take a look at CNET's wishlist for the rumored next Nexus phone and, boy, are our expectations great. Leaked photos show that LG is taking aim with a dual-screen gimmick phone at an entry level price. If rumors are to be believed, Antuan will have something to look forward to on his HTC Thunderbolt and so do you Motorola Atrix 4G users. Jaymar helps us figure out what Yahoo is up to with its new Play music app for Android and Antuan … Read more

The United States demanded today that the European Union exempt U.S. airlines from an EU law widening carbon permits to aviation, hardening a standoff over a scheme due to start in 2012.

After talks in Oslo, the European Union insisted it would not back down on its unilateral plan to penalize greenhouse gas emissions from planes taking off and landing in the European Union as part of efforts to slow climate change.

"We clearly stated our strong objections to the EU plans on both legal and policy grounds," a U.S. administration official told a telephone news conference after talks between EU and U.S. negotiators.

In the strongest public criticism of the EU carbon scheme to date by President Barack Obama's administration, Washington said U.S. airlines should be exempt from greenhouse gas penalties.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity like all other delegates, said the EU was using "the wrong way to pursue the right objective" of slowing global warming that is predicted to cause more droughts, floods, and rising sea levels.

The European Commission said there were no plans to back down, echoing… Read more

European countries have agreed to tougher penalties for cybercrimes, including new punishments for botnet creators, in an effort to clamp down on massive attacks.

The new rules are part of a European Commission proposal, adopted by the Council of Europe on Friday, which now goes to the European Parliament for approval. It aims to update existing EU rules on cybercrime, introduced in 2005, which cover interference with data and systems, and illegal access.

One new measure is the introduction of penalties for people who develop and supply malware or other tools for creating botnets or stealing passwords. Additionally, the illegal … Read more

Facebook and its opt-out-by-default policies have struck again, this time with automated photo-tagging through facial recognition, which had been in tests but is now being rolled out internationally.

Bloomberg reports that European Union data-protection regulators say they will investigate the photo-tagging feature. The Article 29 Data Protection Working Party, which advises national data protection agencies that could then potentially establish punishments, will evaluate whether the feature breaks privacy rules, according to member Gerard Lommel's comments to Bloomberg.

Facebook, which calls the feature "Tag Suggestions," admitted it messed up at least a little bit, telling various news outlets &… Read more

Oil and gas giant Total is set to buy 60 percent of solar panel maker SunPower on June 14 after the companies received approval from the European Union. The great unknown is whether this combination changes the energy industry or merely gives SunPower some cover as the solar industry enters a rocky period.

The EU approval, announced yesterday, clears the way for Total to close its all-cash offer for 60 percent of SunPower's outstanding shares in a deal valued at $1.4 billion. Given that the two companies received U.S. regulatory clearance already, the deal is set to … Read more

At a Paris event on Wednesday, GE announced a new gas-fuelled power plant it says offers more flexibility and efficiency than many other options currently available.

The FlexEfficiency 50 Combined Cycle Power Plant is rated at 510 megawatts, has a base-load efficiency of more than 60 percent, and, when fully operational, can provide enough energy to power more than 600,000 European homes, according to GE. The plant is built to incorporate fluctuating power sources like wind and solar, as well as a main source of natural gas, the company said.

"The FlexEfficiency 50 plant is engineered for flexible operation by integrating a next-generation 9FB gas turbine that operates at 50Hz, which is the power frequency that is most used in countries around the world; a 109D-14 steam turbine, which runs on the waste heat produced by the gas turbine; GE's advanced W28 generator; a Mark VIe integrated control system that links all of the technologies; and a heat recovery steam generator," GE said in a statement.

GE says the plant also conforms to the EU's strict plant emissions standards for NOx and CO2.

The plant represents $500 million in research and development and came out of GE's Ecomagination program to develop clean-energy projects. GE announced in June 2010 that it planned to invest $10 billion over five years in green-focused research and development.… Read more