Latest from Natasha Lomas
Earlier this week it emerged that the DPC had instigated court proceedings seeking an injunction against X over the data processing without consent.
Apps
Apple revises DMA compliance for App Store link-outs, applying fewer restrictions and a new fee structure
Apple has further revised its compliance plan for the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) rulebook, which, since March, has forced it to give iOS developers more freedom over how…
Government & Policy
UK’s internet regulator warns social media platforms over risks of inciting violence
The U.K.’s internet regulator Ofcom has published an open letter to social media platforms raising concerns about the use of their tools being used to incite violence.
Privacy
Elon Musk’s X taken to court in Ireland for grabbing EU user data to train Grok without consent
Elon Musk’s X is being taken to court in Ireland for using Europeans’ data to train AI models without asking for their consent.
Just for a minute, as we digest the information that Google has been found to operate an illegal monopoly, can you imagine a web without Google? An internet without Google…
Social
TikTok Lite: EU closes addictive design case after TikTok commits to not bring back rewards mechanism
The European Commission has closed a Digital Services Act (DSA) investigation of a rewards feature in TikTok Lite by accepting commitments from the social media giant to permanently withdraw the…
While both the DSA and DMA aim to achieve distinct things, they are best understood as a joint response to Big Tech’s market power.
Featured Article
How the theft of 40M UK voter register records was entirely preventable
A scathing rebuke by the U.K. data protection watchdog reveals what led to the compromise of tens of millions of U.K. voters’ information.
The European Union’s risk-based regulation for applications of artificial intelligence has come into force starting from today.
Axle Energy is a B2B, back-end infrastructure business focused on connecting flexible assets, such as electric vehicles and home batteries, to energy markets that aren’t otherwise available for consumers to…
Commerce
Spain’s antitrust watchdog fines Booking.com nearly $450M for unfair terms and restricting rivals
The CNMC opened an investigation of Booking.com back in October 2022, following complaints by the Spanish Association of Hotel Managers and the Regional Hotel Association of Madrid.
The EU has kicked off a consultation on rules that will apply to providers of general purpose AI models under the bloc’s AI Act.
The language is ambiguous, so it’s not clear whether X is helping itself to all user data for training Grok or whether this processing refers only to user interactions with…
Climate
Energy tech startup Greenely grabs €8M to reach more households and support Europe’s energy transition
The energy transition is a marathon, not a sprint. But opportunities for acceleration are growing. Swedish startup Greenely* has just spotted one. It’s closing an €8 million Series A funding…
The outcome of the Spanish authority’s probe could take up to two years to complete, and leave Apple on the hook for fines in the billions.
Meta has been given until September 1 to respond to consumer protection concerns in the European Union. The Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network, a network of authorities responsible for the…
Google is no longer proposing to deprecate third-party tracking cookies in Chrome, instead suggesting that users be given an option to deny tracking.
The EC has announced an investigation into Berlin-based food delivery giant Delivery Hero and its Spanish subsidiary, Glovo, citing cartel concerns.
Government & Policy
The EU just re-elected its president for another five years — here’s what that means for tech
The European Union’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, was confirmed in the role for another five years Thursday after parliamentarians voted overwhelmingly to re-elect her. The scale of her support…
Italy’s competition watchdog is investigating how Google gets user consent in order to link their activity across different services for ad profiling.
Government & Policy
On AI, new UK gov’t to work on ‘appropriate’ rules for ‘most powerful’ models and beef up product safety powers
There had been rumors the U.K.’s shiny new-in-post Labour government would commit to introducing a dedicated artificial intelligence bill on Wednesday as it unveiled its full legislation program amid the…
Can generative AI substitute for having a social graph? California-based local experiences discovery startup Bigfoot is hoping the addition of a conversational interface to its weekend planner website — in…
The smart ring has long played second fiddle to the smart watch. While tech giants like Apple and Google duked it out over wrists for years, the ring has been…
If X continues to violate Europe’s data protection rules, the company is on the hook for fines of up to €4,000 per day.
The platform formerly known as Twitter has earned the dubious honor of being the first very large online platform (VLOP) to face a preliminary finding of breaching the European Union’s…
The full and final text of the EU AI Act, the European Union’s landmark risk-based regulation for applications of artificial intelligence, has been published in the bloc’s Official Journal. In…
Government & Policy
EU ends Apple Pay antitrust probe with binding commitments to open up contactless payments
The European Union has accepted commitments from Apple over how it operates Apple Pay to settle a long-running competition investigation. Commission EVP Margrethe Vestager, who heads up the EU’s competition…
Government & Policy
XNXX joins handful of adult sites subject to EU’s strictest content moderation rules
The European Union has designated adult content website XNXX as subject to the strictest level of content regulation under the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA) after it notified the bloc…
Solo founder Cat Jones took the plunge on setting up a travel business right around the time the pandemic was hitting Europe in March 2020. Fast-forward to summer 2024 and…
An adtech business owned by Microsoft is the target of a complaint backed by European privacy advocacy group, noyb — a nonprofit that punches far above its weight when it…
