For large multinational companies, or even smaller outfits with modest aspirations of foreign expansion, the patchwork of global laws and regulations governing security and privacy can present a major compliance challenge.

The European Commission on Monday issued its formal "statement of objections" over Oracle's planned acquisition of Sun Microsystems, saying the deal would harm competition in the database market.

The European Commission wants to scrap the patchwork of national rules governing what music and movies consumers can download from the Internet, and instead create one marketplace for everyone in the European Union, commissioners Vivane Reding and Meglana Kuneva said Tuesday.

The European Union is refining a set of guidelines that would strengthen its ability to respond to computer security crises as well as ensure Internet infrastructure in member countries is more resilient.

Microsoft's plan to strip out its Internet Explorer (IE) browser from Windows 7 in Europe, due for sale in the fall, is designed to force the European Commission's hand as it devises an antitrust remedy to restore fair competition in the browser market, said Jon von Tetzchner, the CEO of Norwegian browser maker Opera.

The European Commission unveiled a long-awaited draft recommendation Friday for how to create new fiber-optic-based telecommunication networks throughout Europe, but the move was heavily criticized from both sides in the debate over next-generation networks.

The European Commission has set a code of conduct for companies using RFID (radio frequency identification) tags that it hopes will safeguard citizens' privacy and allow the quick rollout of the new technology.

Intel lawyer Bruce Sewell accused the European Competition Commission of relying on dodgy evidence, after Intel received a record fine for anti-competitive practices.