By Zoya Sheftalovich | @zoyashef | send tips to zsheftalovich@politico.eu | subscribe for this daily column: http://politico.eu/registration/ | if you prefer to read this on your desktop click here
GOOD MORNING and welcome to Morning Tech, your little secret in the closet of EU tech politics and policy.
— WHAT’S HAPPENING
BELGIAN TAXI UPDATE: September in Belgium is going to be interesting. Tara Palmeri writes that taxi drivers are giving the Belgian government an ultimatum: 10 days to arrest more Uber drivers and release the results of an inquiry into the impact of the ride-sharing app, or they’ll consider wide-scale strikes starting September 16. But it’s looking unlikely the government will give in. http://politi.co/1MGAr15
VODAFONE’S LITTLE-BIG MISTAKE: An error in Vodafone’s billing system has led to about 47,000 German customers overpaying for their mobile phones. The error, discovered by AreaMobile, was caused by incorrect settings in the LTE network, and affected customers for about three months. Vodafone says the problem has been fixed and customers who have overpaid will be compensated. In German: the latest http://bit.ly/1J6XGgP and the original investigation http://bit.ly/1NHpfys
LONDON CALLING: Amazon’s web services division, which rents out computing power and data storage, is opening a “Loft” in London next month, the FT reports. The move to be closer to the east London cluster of digital start-ups is another signal Amazon wants to become an integral part of the city’s digital companies. The outlet will provide startups with various support services, including training and access to advisers. http://on.ft.com/1NyLokB
PATENT SPAT: Microsoft filed a lawsuit Thursday against InterDigital, alleging the company failed to fairly license its technology considered essential to mobile phones. The move comes just days before the U.S. International Trade Commission rules on whether Microsoft smartphones should be banned from being imported into the U.S. for infringing two of InterDigital’s patents. http://reut.rs/1LnGrLW
WARNER BROS. V. RUSSIAN PIRATES: U.S. film company Warner Bros. is trying to stop Russians pirating the film Entourage by using Russia’s 2013 anti-piracy law, government media watchdog Roskomnadzor said Wednesday. It’s the first foreign company to do so, according to The Moscow Times. As a result of an application by Warner, 16 websites have already removed the film and another four will have to do the same by August 24. http://bit.ly/1gYBCew
AUDI’S ELECTRIC VISION: Audi will reveal an electric sports utility vehicle that can travel almost 500 kilometers on battery power alone at next month’s motor show in Frankfurt. It’s the latest luxury car maker setting its sites squarely at the current big cheese, Tesla. http://on.ft.com/1hssTlO
SAMSUNG GREETS NASDAQ: The Samsung Bioepis will be listed on a U.S. stock market, The Wall Street Journal writes. This will be the first time a Samsung company has appeared on the Nasdaq and it looks like it won’t be a small one. The listing is anticipated to be worth $1 billion. The company develops generic versions of biotech drugs. http://on.wsj.com/1E6NE0w
MORE ASHLEY MADISON: The leaked data dump, containing details of tens of millions of the site’s users, could hurt more than the people who used the site — it could be used to damage national security. Thousands of government and military email addresses were attached to the site’s lists of users. There’s some concern those addresses could be used to coerce employees into giving up national secrets or to fuel future hacks. More on that from The Hill: http://bit.ly/1E5kFdp And Reuters reports that emails from the company’s founder were also leaked in a second data dump Thursday. http://reut.rs/1gZtSJi
In other morning news, a site that allowed people to check if their details (or those of their significant other) were leaked has been taken offline after a copyright claim from Ashley Madison’s legal team: http://ind.pn/1WH6ykq. And if your details were leaked, here’s a small comfort: if you’re in the U.S., you might be able to take part in a class action against the site http://bit.ly/1LmTe19
CHINA HANGING UP: Smartphone sales in China, the world’s biggest country for smartphone sales, have fallen for the first time, according to Gartner research. Sales fell by 4 percent year-on-year during the second quarter this year. Globally it’s a different story, with smartphone sales growing 13.5 percent. http://bit.ly/1MF6YEK
MICROSOFT EYES MESOSPHERE: Microsoft has reportedly been trying to buy 2-year-old cloud computing startup Mesosphere, which is rumored to be worth close to €1 billion. The company has created an open-source data center operating system, which is a hot commodity for cloud computing providers. http://bit.ly/1WH22SW
TRIP OUT: A Canadian company has been granted a patent for an almost 20 kilometer-tall, free-standing tower containing a space elevator that can launch astronauts (and everyday folk) into space. It’ll cost roughly $5 billion to build. http://cnb.cx/1EESQn4
CUBA CUTS WIRES: Cuba has installed wireless Internet access in 35 public areas, loosening the government’s firm hold on online freedom in the country. The hot spots cost about €1.80 an hour to use and have turned public areas of the nation into busy hubs. http://on.wsj.com/1hs9IbR
WIKI CLARIFICATION: Contradicting reports that Wikipedia is losing traffic from Google, the online collaborative encyclopedia has clarified that the reverse may be true. The site has had increased direct referrals from Google over the past few months, according to a paper released by Wiki. Here’s the full report: http://bit.ly/1JkBexO.
SAMSUNG’S APPLE APPEAL: Samsung will make a last-ditch effort to reduce the $400 million in damages it will have to pay Apple for patent infringement, appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court. In its paperwork, the company wrote: “The questions present issues of enormous importance to patent litigation and the scope of innovation, especially in high-technology industries.” http://bit.ly/1Jl0nww
GOOGLE SHUTS EXPRESS: The Google Express delivery service is shuttering its two delivery hubs in the U.S., according to reports. While the service launched in March 2013, it struggled in the crowded market. http://on.recode.net/1J5Pa1G. But tales of the death of Google Glass have been widely exaggerated, it seems. Medical professionals at least are fans: http://bloom.bg/1WGSBms
GOOGLE’S NETWORK SCALE: Google has revealed how it has been working on scalability of its network over the past decade, starting at a time when other companies weren’t even thinking about such things. A long and technical read, but a big deal for network nuts. http://on.wsj.com/1KxKPC9
NO-DRONE ZONES: U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer wants to force drone makers to build software into their devices that keeps them from flying too high or over restricted areas. From POLITICO’s U.S. edition, paywalled: http://politico.pro/1fqbdp7
SNAPCHAT’S BIG LOSS: Leaked documents show the company lost $128 million in the first 10 months of last year. But don’t cry for the social media site — it is aiming to make $50 million in revenue this year and $200 million next. Re/code has the story: http://on.recode.net/1TUBJd2
ONE HOT UNIT: Owners of The Weather Channel are reportedly considering selling their digital business unit, including their popular mobile weather app, weather.com and Weather Underground, writes the FT. If you’re interested, you’ll need to start saving your pennies as this puppy isn’t going to come cheap. http://on.ft.com/1gYzMKW
— WHAT’S COMING
INNOVATIVE PRIZE: The European Commission has launched the third edition of its EU Prize for Women Innovators. The contest is open to all founders or co-founders of a company, who have taken part in the EU’s research framework programs. First place gets €100,000, second €50,000 and third €30,000. Entries close October 20. http://bit.ly/1kEH32b