Report from the Wall Street Journal In Brief – The Canadian Government of Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced it is rescinding its digital services tax (DST) that targets the largest US digital companies in a bid to boost trade talks with the US and avoid major...
Another Week. Another State Social Media Teen Law Blocked – Georgia
Report from MediaPost In Brief – Federal District Judge Amy Totenberg has blocked enforcement of Georgia law SB 351, the Protecting Georgia’s Children on Social Media Act. In her 50-page order she says, “The state seeks to erect barriers to speech that cannot...
Google’s Latest Offer to Change Vertical Search to Comply with EU DMA
Report from Reuters In Brief – Google has proposed more changes to its search results to improve the visibility of “vertical” search competitors, such as those specializing in hotels, airfares, or local services, aiming to resolve the European Commission’s preliminary...
Apple and Google Asked to Block DeepSeek Downloads in Germany
Report from Bloomberg In Brief – The Data Protection and Privacy Commissioner of Berlin has announced that she asked Apple and Google to remove China-based chatbot DeepSeek from their app stores due to data security concerns and a failure to comply with the EU General...
Google Agrees to Invest in Legal Compliance in a Shareholder Settlement
Report from Reuters In Brief – Google and a collection of plaintiffs in shareholder derivative litigation alleging leadership wrongdoing that exposed the company to antitrust liabilities have agreed on a settlement that will have the company invest $500 million over...
AU eSafety Commissioner Enters the Chat on YouTube’s Age Limit Exemption
Report from Reuters In Brief – Australia’s eSafety Commissioner is recommending that the Albanese Government not exempt YouTube from the country’s strict social-media age limit of 16 years old despite the government’s initial plan to do so. Google representatives...
Commission-Led Google DMA Meetings Fail to Resolve Search Issues
Report from Reuters In Brief – Google used a European Commission-hosted workshop on July 7–8 to outline two more proposals intended to address complaints over how it treats “vertical” search competitors, such as those specializing in hotels, airfares, or local...
Apple Appeals to the Courts on the Commission’s DMA Fine and Demands
Report from Politico In Brief – Apple has appealed the €500 million fine imposed by the European Commission for failing to comply with the Digital Market Act (DMA), calling the penalty “unprecedented” and arguing that the regulator’s demands for changes to its App...
Small Publishers File Complaints Against Google’s AI and Search Policies
Report from Reuters In Brief – The Independent Publishers Alliance, a UK-based trade group of small independent publishers, has filed antitrust complaints against Google with the European Commission and the UK Competition and Markets Authority accusing Google of...
Reddit Implements Age Verification in UK
Report from TechCrunch In Brief – Reddit, which is reported to be the fastest growing social media platform in Great Britain, has announced that they are checking the age of users in the UK to bring their services into compliance with the Online Safety Act (OSA). To...
Booking Faces European Commission DSA Investigation of Fraud Policies
Report from the Wall Street Journal In Brief – The European Commission has begun a formal investigation into whether Booking breached the Digital Services Act (DSA) by failing to adequately address online fraud and provide users with proper transparency into...
FTC Demands Nine Companies Give Data on Pricing and Gig Pay Practices
Report from Reuters In Brief – The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is demanding information from Delta, United, JetBlue, Lyft, Uber, DoorDash, Instacart, Target and Walmart about how they use personal data, including location, browsing history and income, to set...
Germany’s Top Civil Court Asks for More EU Views on Host Provider Liability
Report from Der Spiegel In Brief – Germany’s Federal Court of Justice has again suspended Green Party politician Renate Künast’s lawsuit against Meta and referred what it believes are unresolved legal questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for...
EU Commission Has Plan to Tax Tech Giants by Taxing Giant Companies
Report from the Financial Times In Brief – The European Commission is examining a plan to impose a big annual lump-sum levy on the largest, most profitable companies operating in Europe as a way to tax the US-based tech giants without imposing a direct tax on just...
Clearview AI’s Privacy Law Battle with the UK ICO Continues
Report from PPC Land In Brief – Clearview AI, the small US company that built a facial recognition database using images collected online, argued to the Court of Appeal in London that the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) lacks authority to enforce data...
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