Business News Roundup, Oct. 21

Ireland will investigate a complaint about U.S. spies potentially accessing Facebook Inc. users’ private details after the European Union’s highest court overturned a trans-Atlantic pact that allowed the free flow of such data 15 years ago.

Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner agreed to probe the complaint by Austrian law student Max Schrems following the landmark Oct. 6 ruling by the EU Court of Justice, Paul Anthony McDermott, a lawyer for the authority, said Tuesday.

The Irish data watchdog’s initial refusal to examine the complaint led to the EU court case, which led to the banning of the safe harbor accord, struck between the EU and U.S. in 2000.

Last year, an Irish judge asked the top EU court to decide on key points in the Schrems case, seeking guidance on whether the safe harbor still protects privacy and whether national regulators have the power to suspend illegal data flows from the EU to the U.S.

The digital ride-sharing company started its effort Tuesday with a news conference in the state Capitol in Albany.

General manager Josh Mohrer released a report showing that Uber would create 13,000 jobs and generate $80 million in fares its first year operating in the regions, home to more than 10 million residents.

Construction companies built more apartment complexes in September, sparking a temporary rise in housing starts for a real estate market that otherwise appears to have crested this summer.

The Commerce Department said that housing starts last month rose 6.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.21 million homes.

[...] rising prices and the absence of wage growth have capped growth as affordability became an issue.

Viacom has acquired a significant minority stake in the live entertainment company DigiTour Media, which produces concerts and festivals that feature popular personalities from YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat and other online outlets.

Fifth Harmony, Hayes Grier, Demi Lovato and 02L are among the social media stars that have performed in DigiTour events, which are designed for teenage and tween audiences.

DigiTour now is selling $35 tickets for a Sept. 5 festival in Houston that includes several social media stars.

For Viacom, the investment represents a bid to stay relevant to a generation of social networking, streaming viewers who are abandoning traditional television.

The media group is struggling to reverse ratings declines at its networks, which include MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon.