Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
GDPR goes into effect. Companies worldwide have scrambled to prepare for the General Data Protection Regulation, enforced by the EU starting today. Among the new rules, companies must reveal data breaches to regulators within 72 hours, tell users how their information is being used, and provide stored personal data to users on request.
Ireland votes on an abortion referendum. Irish women across the globe are returning to vote today on a divisive referendum to repeal the country’s eighth amendment, which made abortion illegal, even in cases of rape or incest. A recent poll found that 56% of voters plan to vote yes, much lower than the 65% who voted for marriage equality.
Harvey Weinstein may turn himself in. The disgraced Hollywood producer reportedly plans to surrender to authorities today. Several dozen women have accused Weinstein of sexual assault and rape dating back decades, and he’ll face arrest for at least one sex crime charge.
Titans of tech gather in Paris. Speakers at the VivaTech conference today include Eric Schmidt, technical advisor and former executive chairman at Alphabet, and Marc Pritchard, chief brand officer of P&G. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was interviewed at the conference yesterday.
Shinzo Abe meets with Vladimir Putin. Japan’s prime minister, currently visiting Russia, hopes to have a “heart-to-heart” chat with Putin on Saturday about the two nations’ World War II-era territory dispute over the Kuril Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Abe will also seek to reaffirm Russia’s support in pushing North Korea toward total denuclearization.
While you were sleeping
World leaders reacted to Donald Trump canceling the US-North Korea summit. South Korean president Moon Jae-in said he was ”perplexed,” while France’s Emmanuel Macron and Russia’s Putin, meeting in St. Petersburg, both lamented the move. North Korea called the cancelation “something unexpected” and expressed “great regret,” adding it was still open to talks.
A US jury awarded Apple $539 million in a Samsung patent case. It decided Samsung had copied patented smartphone features (paywall). The legal battle goes back to 2011, when Apple alleged Samsung had “slavishly” copied its products. Apple said in a statement, “We believe deeply in the value of design… This case has always been about more than money.”
An explosion in Canada injured over a dozen people. The blast occurred at a restaurant in Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto, at about 10:30pm local time on Thursday. About 15 people were taken to a hospital, three in critical condition. There has been no word yet on the cause.
Macron and Putin talked about rebuilding Syria. At a news conference, the French and Russian leaders emphasized the need for a new constitution and elections open to all Syrians, including refugees. They said they also want to coordinate efforts between world powers to push political solutions for the war-torn nation.
Amazon confirmed an Echo mishap. It admitted that its personal assistant device had recorded an Oregon family’s private conversation and sent it to an acquaintance in Seattle, unbeknownst to them. Citing an unlikely string of events involving misinterpreted words, it vowed to tweak the system so that a repeat incident was even more unlikely.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Roland Imhoff on what the 4% of Americans who believe in lizard people can teach us about conspiracy theories. “Belief in conspiracies can serve to set oneself apart from the ignorant masses—a self-serving boast about one’s exclusive knowledge. Adherence to conspiracy theory might not always be the result of some perceived lack of control, but rather a deep-seated need for uniqueness.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Italy’s new government could be the force that finally breaks Europe. The unlikely coalition behind it agrees the EU is largely to blame (paywall) for the debt-wracked nation’s problems.
Trump has pushed US allies into Putin’s embrace. Russia’s leader is happy to fill the void (paywall) as the US withdraws from its leadership role.
GDPR is the most unifying thing to happen to the EU in a while. It took six years, but 28 countries will now enforce data protection as a human right.
Surprising discoveries
The official US-North Korea summit coin is available at a discount. The meeting may be canceled, but the commemorative coin is still available.
The US military is taking on deepfakes. But spotting the ultra-realistic AI-powered fake video clips may be impossible.
The Loch Ness monster could be real. A new scientific expedition intends to find out by analyzing DNA floating around water samples.
Troops guarding US nuclear missiles ran a drug ring. Air Force airmen were allegedly into LSD, ecstasy, cocaine, and marijuana.
The people of Turkmenistan can no longer use their president’s image as toilet paper. Police are making sure Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov’s face isn’t being soiled.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, commemorative coins, and Nessie DNA to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day or download our apps for iPhone and Android. Today’s Daily Brief was written by Steve Mollman and edited by Alice Truong.