Keep an eye on WhatsApp
In September 2016, WhatsApp started to share personal information with its mother company Facebook. The Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv) is fighting for WhatsApp to respect your privacy. Imagine You would like to use a specific messenger service on...
Lisa’s story and the price of anti-cancer drugs
The child of a dear friend of mine, whose name is Lisa, unfortunately developed cancer when she was only 4. She is now 8 and has received the all-clear from the doctors. She was one of the lucky children who...
Why privacy safeguards in trade deals need urgent improvement
The EU and 22 other countries are closing in on a huge deal to liberalise trade in services. One of the few pending issues in this Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) is the question of how to make sure trade...
Fuzzy maths or how the Commission solves ‘costly’ chemicals laws
The European Commission is running EU chemicals laws through its REFIT machine. REFIT sounds like a strenuous fitness regime for overweight risk managers, right!? It’s not. Instead, it is a Commission programme that looks to streamline EU laws – a...
Paying abroad may be costing you more than it should
You’ve probably never heard of the term ‘dynamic currency conversion’. But you’ve probably done it on holiday or on a business trip. And it’s most likely cost you money. Dynamic currency conversion is a service merchants offer consumers when they...
The consumer-policy nuts and bolts of the sharing economy
The sharing economy is a phenomenon which profoundly changes the way consumers buy or rent goods and services. It also allows consumers to enter the market to provide goods, services, time or skills themselves and become – what we call...
Big data, smart enforcement
Last week I spoke at a conference which was jointly organised by the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) and BEUC. Its motto hit the nail on the head: how can privacy rights be enforced in an era where big data...
Why eating right is an everyday challenge
Everyone is back to their pre-summer routine: back to school, back to work, back to stress. Does that mean a return to bad eating habits? It might not, if you can resist putting that sugar-laden cereal bar in your shopping...
Society wins as Europe moves to protect an open internet
A few days ago, European regulators issued a set of historic rules which frame the future of internet access in Europe. These rules clarify how Europe’s recent net neutrality law, a sometimes unclear text which was issued at the end...
When drug approval is quick, it should not be dirty
Imagine you or a loved one have a disease. It can be treated, but only with a new medicine that is not yet available. The time it normally takes for a new drug to reach the market means it might...