EuroprivacyDer Spiegel is reporting that the European Union is seeking to increase the private sphere of its citizens by strengthening data protection laws for the web. Large Internet firms and lobbyists are fighting the plans. Here’s a snapshot of the debate in Brussels:

…if the EU’s draft privacy and data protection law isn’t changed, Gmail and Facebook may be forced to abandon their ad-supported models and start charging their customers in Europe or stop providing them with these popular services altogether…”

By Konrad Lischka and Christian Stöcker @ SPIEGEL (english lang… )