Competition

Competition 11-06-2024

OpenAI, Apple deal raises questions about enforcement of EU antitrust rules 

Est. 4min

ChatGPT integration into Apple's operating service iOS later this year could trigger an update of EU's digital antitrust regulation by the European Commission, a spokesperson said.

Competition 10-06-2024

Commission probes UAE state-owned acquisition of Czech telecoms operator

Est. 3min

The European Commission opened a new foreign subsidies investigation into a commercial acquisition that would see UAE state-owned Emirates Telecommunications Group Company (e&), be in 'sole control' of the European telecom operator PPF Telecom, according to a press release.

Competition 30-05-2024

European startups call for a more integrated single market in declaration

Est. 4min

Associations of European startups called for more integration of the EU's single market to better support innovators in a political declaration.

Technology 29-05-2024

Panasonic patents trust files claim against Xiaomi in Paris

Est. 3min

The 4G telecoms patents owner Sun Patents Trust has "summoned" Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi to a Paris court, according to a Wednesday (29 May) press release, and may be looking for witness testimony from the European telecommunications standardisation body. 

Competition 10-04-2024

European industrial giants condemn latest EU cybersecurity agency decision on cloud sovereignty

Est. 3min

A group of Europe's 18 major industry players insist on cloud sovereignty requirements.

Data & Privacy 05-04-2024

France, EU to take landmark decisions on cloud sovereignty requirements

Est. 4min

French MPs and EU cybersecurity agency ENISA are expected to take landmark decisions on cloud cybersecurity on 10 and 15 April, respectively, amid concerns of  espionage and fragmentation of the EU cloud market.

Platforms 27-03-2024

Deal on major digital bill: French lawmakers give in to EU Commission demands

Est. 5min

French lawmakers reached a compromise on Tuesday (26 March) on a hard-fought all-encompassing digital bill, agreeing to water down provisions that would otherwise conflict with EU legislation, white putting sovereign cloud requirements into law.

Competition 18-03-2024

Council strengthens call to make influencers accountable for their actions

Est. 3min

The Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU is taking a stronger position on the accountability of influencers for content shared online, according to a draft document dated 13 March and seen by Euractiv.

French MPs voice sovereignty, competition concerns after Microsoft-Mistral AI deal

Est. 5min

After Mistral AI and Microsoft announced their strategic partnership on Monday (26 February), sparking an outcry from lawmakers in the European Parliament, French MPs have voiced concern over the partnership's impact on competition and sovereignty in the cloud sector.

Competition 28-02-2024

EU probes Microsoft’s security software practices

Est. 2min

The European Commission is probing if Microsoft is preventing customers from relying on certain security software from its competitors, according to a document that regulators sent to at least one rival in January, seen by Reuters.

Technology 21-02-2024

Orange-MásMóvil merger ‘approved with very good remedy’, says EU’s Vestager

Est. 4min

The European Commission accepted on Tuesday (20 February the €18.6 billion deal between Orange and MásMóvil in Spain, provided that spectrum bandwidths are divested to the Romanian mobile operator Digi.

Technology 21-02-2024

Connectivity package: Commission opens consultation, commits to post-quantum cryptography recommendation

Est. 4min

The Commission announced a consultation on EU's telecom market, open until June and committed to a post-quantum cryptography recommendation, when presenting its connectivity package.

Competition 20-02-2024

Ensuring competition in AI will also preserve democracy, experts say

Est. 5min

With artificial intelligence, focus on enforcing competition laws is vital and goes hand in hand with the preservation of democracy, industry experts said at a panel discussion in the European Parliament.

Competition 29-01-2024

Amazon shuts down iRobot acquisition following EU regulators’ concerns

Est. 4min

E-commerce giant Amazon has given up on its bid to acquire the smart vacuum cleaner manufacturer iRobot, following EU regulators' concerns about it possibly restricting competition in the product’s market.

Competition 19-01-2024

EU Commission seeks feedback over Apple Pay’s commitments

Est. 4min

The European Commission shared commitments by Apple to allow third-party payments on Friday (19 January) and invited comments on them due to competition concerns over restricted access to the technology used for contactless payments on mobile devices.

Competition 16-01-2024

Big Tech slammed by rivals for falling short of complying with EU’s Digital Markets Act

Est. 3min

As the deadline to comply with the EU’s Big Tech rulebook is fast approaching, the competitors of the designated gatekeepers are worried they are nowhere near satisfactory compliance.

Competition 12-01-2024

Short-term rentals: EU court advisor reaffirms country of origin principle

Est. 3min

A non-binding opinion of Polish advocate general Maciej Szpunar to the Court of Justice of the EU suggests reaffirming the country of origin principle on joined cases of the short-term rental industry.

Competition 11-01-2024

Influential legal opinion sides with EU Commission’s €2.4 bn fine in Google Shopping case

Est. 3min

The Advocate General of the EU Court of Justice Juliane Kokott released its opinion on the Google Shopping case on Thursday (11 January), suggesting that the EU top court confirms the European Commission’s fine of €2.4 billion.

Competition 09-01-2024

EU Commission to examine Microsoft-OpenAI partnership

Est. 5min

The European Commission announced on Tuesday (9 January) that it is examining the nature of the relationship between tech multinational Microsoft and ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, as the recent ousting and reinstatement of the latter's CEO highlighted the companies' close connection.

Competition 18-12-2023

Adobe cancels €18bn Figma acquisition over antitrust concerns

Est. 4min

US companies Adobe and Figma decided on Monday (18 December) to call off a €18 billion merger they had been foreseeing for 15 months following concerns from regulators in the EU, UK and US.

Competition 14-12-2023

EU’s top court rules in favour of Amazon in €250m tax dispute

Est. 4min

The EU’s top court rejected on Thursday (14 December) a decision of the European Commission that, in 2017, ordered Amazon to pay back €250 million in unpaid taxes to Luxembourg. 

Competition 08-12-2023

UK competition authority mulls investigating Microsoft-OpenAI partnership

Est. 5min

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) invited interested third parties to comment on Microsoft’s ongoing partnership with OpenAI on Friday (8 December).

EU Commission allows state aid for pan-European cloud project

Est. 4min

The EU executive gave the green light to public spending up to €1.2 billion by seven member states for their common research interest project on interoperable cloud and edge computing for multi-providers.

Competition 05-12-2023

MEPs call to ramp up Big Tech enforcement in competition review

Est. 5min

The European Parliament’s Economic Affairs Committee adopted the annual competition policy report with a broad majority on Monday (4 December), suggesting expanding the reach of the EU’s Big Tech law to the cloud and Artificial Intelligence sectors. The Digital Markets Act …