Tag: dutch

  • Netherlands fines Uber over data protection

    Netherlands fines Uber over data protection

    Dutch regulators said Wednesday they are imposing a 10 million euro ($10.8 million) fine on ride-hailing app Uber for lack of transparency in how it treats the personal data of its drivers.

    The Dutch Data Protection Authority said it imposed the fine after a group of 170 French drivers complained to a French human rights organisation.

    The complaint was handled in the Netherlands because it is where Uber has it European headquarters.

    “The DPA found that Uber had made it unnecessarily complicated for drivers to submit requests to view or receive copies of their personal data,” the authority said in a statement.

    DPA said the process for drivers to request access to their data “was located deep within the app and spread across various menus.”

    “In addition, they did not specify in their privacy terms and conditions how long Uber retains its drivers’ personal data or which specific security measures it takes when sending this information to entities in countries outside the European Economic Area,” it said.

    Uber has taken steps to improve the situation and has appealed the decision, the statement said.

  • Islamophobic Dutch leader Geert Wilders seeks to form government after election victory

    Islamophobic Dutch leader Geert Wilders seeks to form government after election victory

    Far-right populist leader Geert Wilders is all set to form a coalition government after a dramatic election victory.
    Geert is openly anti-Islam and anti-EU, with aims to take the country out of the Union and banning the Quran. He also wants restrictions on asylum and immigration.

    Against all predictions, Wilders’ party PVV won 37 out of 150 seats on Wednesday, well ahead of 25 for a joint Labour/Green ticket and 24 for the conservative People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

    Talks for the formation of a coalition will follow in the coming months. “I would be very happy to become the Dutch prime minister, of course,” Wilders told party members who welcomed him with champagne and cake, adding that he was willing to negotiate.

    It is predicted that he will have to compromise on his motives because the other parties may not agree to the anti-islam and anti-EU demands.
    Wilders’ victory has caused shockwaves all across Europe, sending a message to all populist leaders across the continent that “a new Europe is possible”.

  • Teen on space flight tells Bezos he has never used Amazon

    Teen on space flight tells Bezos he has never used Amazon

    A Dutch teenager who became the world’s youngest space traveller told billionaire Jeff Bezos on the space flight that he had never ordered anything from Amazon.com.

    An 18-year-old physics student, Oliver Daemen, accompanied Bezos, his brother Mark Bezos and 82-year-old female aviator Wally Funk – the oldest person to go to space on a 10-minute space trip.

    Bezos funded exploration company Blue Origin by selling billions of dollars worth of stock in his online delivery business Amazon.

    “I told Jeff, like, I’ve actually never bought something from Amazon,” Daemen told Reuters in an interview on Friday at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. “And he was like, ‘Oh, wow, it’s a long time ago I heard someone say that’.”

    Daemen, who was picked after another candidate bidding $28 million for the ride cancelled at the last minute, found out he would be joining the flight while on a family holiday in Italy.

    “They called and said: ‘Are you still interested?’ and we were like ‘Yes! Yes! Yes!’”

    Daemen had dreamt of space travel since he was a kid.

    “We didn’t pay even close to $28 million, but they chose me because I was the youngest and I was also a pilot and I also knew quite a lot about it already.”

    “I don’t think I realised it until I was in the rocket: ‘Wow, it’s really happening’,” he said. “It was my ultimate, ultimate goal … but I never thought it was going to be this soon.”

    The crew was given safety training before the training, but nothing very hard, said Daemen.

    “That was super cool. It’s so weird to be weightless. It was easier than I had expected. It was kind of like being in the water.”

    Daemen, who is set to start at Utrecht University in September, said he was not sure what he wanted to do later in life, but would seriously consider a career in space travel.

    Asked what it was like travelling in a rocket ship with a billionaire, he answered with a wide smile: “They were super fun and all down to earth, as funny as that may sound.”