IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 23 March
23-03-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
LinkedIn to set up Dublin base | Google censorship move draws China's ire
The Irish Times reports that European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science Maire Geoghegan-Quinn has forecast that a "smart" approach to the maritime sector will play a "vital role" in Ireland and Europe's economic recovery. Speaking at the Marine Institute in Galway, Geoghegan-Quinn said there was "enormous, but under-developed" potential in the sector, and Ireland's sea acreage made it "the third largest country in Europe". Geoghegan-Quinn, who was keynote speaker at a workshop on ocean technology, was presented with a Marine Institute draft strategy, entitled Smartocean, which aims to increase co-operation between IT and marine resources interests in order to tap in to global markets.
The paper also says that business networking site LinkedIn is to base its international headquarters in Dublin, creating jobs in marketing, sales, finance and customer service. LinkedIn said it will spearhead its international growth from a new Dublin base, working with teams in its existing London and Amsterdam offices. "Being based in Dublin gives us access to a highly skilled workforce and enables us to co-ordinate our business growth across Europe and beyond to deliver the best possible service to our members," said Kevin Ayres, MD of LinkedIn Europe, in a statement. The company said its Irish job vacancies would be posted on its website.
The paper also says that eBay Ireland is to create 150 new jobs at its facility in Blanchardstown, Dublin, as noted by ENN on Monday.
The Irish Independent reports that the Financial Regulator is considering imposing sanctions on MBNA after the credit card company admitted overcharging customers a total of EUR18 million. MBNA began to refund about 500,000 customers in the past few days. The overcharging was first identified at the end of last year. Amounts have been credited to customers' accounts stating that interest has been refunded, and interest on government tax has also been refunded. A spokeswoman for the Financial Regulator said she could not comment on how the watchdog interacted with regulated firms, but sources in the financial services sector indicated that MBNA was likely to face sanctions.
According to the Financial Times, IBM's antitrust problems are mounting, with a new complaint about its business practices being filed with Europe's top competition regulator. The complaint comes from French firm TurboHercules, which accuses IBM of refusing to allow customers to run IBM mainframe operating systems on non-IBM mainframe hardware. Competition officials at the European Commission began looking at IBM's mainframe activities several years ago. In the US, the Department of Justice started a preliminary investigation into IBM's dominance of the mainframe market last autumn.
The paper also says that Google has carried out its promise to end censorship of its local Chinese search engine. The internet giant has redirected all search requests on its local Chinese service to its Hong Kong arm, which it said stood beyond the reach of Chinese censors. "It's entirely legal and will meaningfully increase access to information for people in China," said David Drummond, Google's chief legal officer, in a blog post. "We very much hope that the Chinese government respects our decision, though we are well aware that it could at any time block access to our services." A Chinese official quoted by an official news service called the decision "totally wrong" and said Google had breached "the written promise it made on entering the Chinese market".
In other news of Google, the Wall Street Journal says that the alleged Chinese cyber-attacks on the company have spurred proposals at the State Department and on Capitol Hill to establish an ambassador-level cyber security post and to tie foreign aid to a country's ability to police cybercrime. "Google was a watershed moment," said James Lewis, a former State Department official and cyber security specialist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "It helped push the debate in the direction of better security." Officials at the State Department have circulated a proposal to create an ambassador-like cyber security post, according to sources. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is also drafting a proposal to create the role.
In yet more Google-related news, the paper also says the company is permitted under European law to allow advertisers to use the trademarks of major brands as search keywords, according to a ruling of Europe's highest court. "Google has not infringed trademark law by allowing advertisers to purchase keywords corresponding to their competitors' trademarks," the European Court of Justice said. Google was before the European court as part of a case being heard by French courts. A number of companies had complained that Google was violating their trademarks. The court added that Google may be liable for policing trademark infringements in advertising content on its site, but it said that was a matter for national court to decide.
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