Looking Ahead

Sept. 20

Google faces a Sept. 20 deadline to amend its unified privacy policy for French users after the French government concluded in June that Google violates a local data protection law. The potential fines may be small—just $200,000 initially—but investigations in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands could put more pressure on the company to become more transparent.

Sept. 22

As the Emmy Awards roll out tonight, the biggest snub might not be to an individual actor or network—but to an entire concept. Long the powerhouses in the Emmys, traditional broadcast networks like CBS, NBC, and ABC couldn’t even break into the Outstanding Drama category this year. Each of the six nominees for the drama category come from cable or other nontraditional outlets.

Sept. 22

Polls show Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union in the lead in today’s parliamentary election in Germany but also well short of the number of seats needed to form a government without a coalition. The CDU’s favorite coalition partner, the Free Democratic Party, seems to be lagging behind, indicating that Merkel’s CDU may have some difficulty.

Sept. 23

Bailed-out Portugal today will have to fork over interest on bonds it took out as a condition of the 2011 International Monetary Fund’s rescue package. The timing could be better: On Aug. 30, the nation’s top court rejected the government’s plan to save $6.2 billion by the end of the year by reducing its work force by 6 percent.

Sept. 25

Christian students across America will gather around their school’s flagpole this morning for public prayer. The annual gathering, known as See You at the Pole, began in 1990.