Global Marketing News – 12th January 2016
EU data protection laws and penalties get tougher
The EU has finalised its new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) after years of negotiations and planning.
The regulations still require approval from the EU Parliament, with approval being expected to take place this month.
Once it has been approved, it will come into force in 2018 and apply to all 28 member states, replacing their existing patchwork of differing data protection laws.
The new regulations outline stricter online protection laws for the continent, with the four biggest changes being: raising the age of consent for digital data collection from 13 to 16, deleting information from servers if a right to be forgotten request is made and approved, creating a single data protection office to deal with all complaints, and requiring all companies to inform the EU within 72 hours of a data breach occurring.
The laws apply to all companies, regardless of whether they are based in Europe or not, if they are collecting data from an EU citizen.
The punishment for companies who do not comply will be a fine of 4% of the company’s global revenues – something that could be billions of dollars for the top internet companies such as Google and Facebook.
More clues that Google may re-enter China
There are further clues that Google is seeking to re-enter the Chinese market, after job vacancies by the search giant were spotted on the professional social network LinkedIn.
The job ads are for around 50 software engineering and creative consultant roles in the Beijing and Shanghai areas. The roles involve working on the search giant’s mobile business and Google Play Store.
In September last year, the first signs that Google was thinking of re-entering the country emerged after it was rumoured that Google was going to launch a Chinese version of its Google Play app store which complies with the country’s strict censorship laws.
This was an apparent U-turn on Google’s previous stance to censorship in China, which culminated in the search engine leaving the country in 2010, and being banned by the so-called Great Firewall of China, after refusing to censor its search results.
Napsers prepares for Netflix’s entry into South Africa
Naspers has said it is unperturbed by Netflix’s entry into South Africa’s online TV market.
Naspers, which runs the rival online TV service Showmax in the country, said that Netflix’s entry was actually a good thing as it would increase interest more generally in online TV in the South African population.
Last week, Netflix embarked on a massive international expansion plan, launching in 130 new countries worldwide, including South Africa.
The South African online TV market is fairly new and has plenty of room for growth as the cost of internet-connected devices falls and internet speeds increase.
Ecommerce sites Moxy and Bilna merge
Two South East Asian ecommerce sites have announced that they will be merging.
Moxy, the fashion and lifestyle site, and Bilna, the baby products site, will be merging to form MoxyBilna, an ecommerce site specifically targeted at women.
The site will be aimed at Indonesia and Thailand – countries already covered by the existing sites – as well as new South East Asian markets such as Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
The South East Asian ecommerce market is growing rapidly, helped along by a rising internet population facilitated by the rise of affordable smartphones in the region.
Baidu CarLife to be used in Audi, Volkswagen and GM cars
And finally, Baidu has signed deals with Audi, Volkswagen and General Motors to use Baidu’s in-car software CarLife in their vehicles in China.
Baidu CarLife allows users to connect their cars to their smartphones to take calls, dictate and listen to texts, stream music and use Baidu Maps.
The new deals mean that the technology will be installed in certain Audi, Volkswagen and General Motors models on sale in China in the future, although it is unclear when the first of these cars will be available.
Webcertain’s global marketing news bulletins are daily 5-minute videos, providing marketers with the latest international digital marketing news in an easy-to-digest format.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Gemma Houghton
Latest posts by Gemma Houghton (see all)
- Watch the recording: How to identify and seize growth opportunities in international markets - April 20, 2022
- International marketing recruitment: How to drive global growth amid The Great Resignation - February 23, 2022
- 5 trends to include in your 2022 international digital marketing strategy - December 21, 2021
