Amazon loses appeal against €746m Luxembourg data protection fine
A Luxembourg court has ordered Amazon to pay a €746 million fine imposed for data protection breaches by the national data watchdog, throwing out an appeal brought by the online retail giant.
The administrative court dismissed the appeal against the penalty in a hearing on Tuesday, still the second-largest ever imposed since the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) took effect in 2018.
The complaints against Amazon originated in France, where 10,000 online users organised by a digital rights advocacy group complained that even though the company declares the data they collect and how they process it, they do not explicitly ask for consent for processing. The case was taken up by Luxembourg’s CNPD because it is the site of Amazon’s European headquarters.
Frieden says Luxembourg will not surrender SES voting rights
Amidst a push from a US-based shareholder to scale back the central role played by the Luxembourg government in decisionmaking at the satellite company Société Européennes des Satellites (SES), Prime Minister Luc Frieden on Tuesday affirmed that the government will push to keep its voting rights as they are.
“SES is listed on the stock market and its shareholders decide what they think is right for the company. The Luxembourg government supports SES and recognises its importance. The state, represented by the government, has no intention of surrendering the voting rights it currently has under the statutes of SES,” Frieden said on the floor of parliament.
He also said that if a situation arose in which the SES board went through reorganisation, then the government will insist, “provided we get a majority of votes, that the state will retain the same proportion of seats on the new board as it has now.”
Microinsurance Network wants to connect with Luxembourg insurers
The Luxembourg insurance industry could become more involved with microinsurance in several ways, says Matthew Genazzini, the relatively new director of the Luxembourg-headquartered Microinsurance Network.
“Since Brexit, a lot of insurance companies have been coming to Luxembourg, so the industry here has grown quite drastically. It’s an enormous opportunity for us to bring them into the into this circle,” Genazzini told the Luxembourg Times.
Although the Luxembourg government remains a core source of funds – the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooporation as well as the Ministry of Finance together provide around 55% of the organisation’s budget – getting active support from the Luxembourg insurance lobby group ACA (Association des Compagnies d’Assurances et de Réassurances) is another matter.
There is a real opportunity for a transfer of knowledge, according to Genazzini, for instance from the insurance industry in Luxembourg and the EU, down to developing countries.
How Covid-19 changed investment habits
When COVID-19 forced the world into lockdown in early 2020, financial markets were thrown into chaos. Global stock indices experienced extreme volatility. By March 2020, the S&P 500 had plummeted more than 30% from its February peak.
European markets mirrored this turmoil. The Euro Stoxx 50 index, representing 50 blue-chip companies across the eurozone, lost approximately one-third of its value between February and March 2020.
However, aggressive fiscal and monetary interventions facilitated a rapid recovery. The S&P 500 rebounded to its pre-pandemic levels by August 2020, and the Euro Stoxx 50 surpassed its pre-pandemic level in April 2021. Both have continued to rise since then with the S&P 500 having almost doubled.
Sharing insights on women in tech
The Luxembourg chapter of ISACA, a global professional association focused on IT governance, is hosting a She Leads Tech panel discussion on women in the digital trust sector and in technology.
The 25 March event will see Luxembourg industry leaders share insights on career advancement, allyship and strategies for enabling diverse teams.
“We would like to encourage more women to work in the tech space. It’s important for us to celebrate and promote the contribution that they make,” said Phil Frimpong, the president of ISACA Luxembourg.
The panellists include Tara Gulatee, executive director at J.P. Morgan working in tech governance; Sabika Ishaq, chief information security officer at Grant Thornton Luxembourg; and Luba Ivanova, chief revenue officer at UME, a regtech startup. The discussion will start at 18:00 on 25 March at Patisserie Namur, 2 rue de Bitbourg, Luxembourg.