Report from CNBC In Brief – Nearly 100 European companies and lobbying groups, many representing smaller EU-based tech firms, have signed an open letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and digital chief Henna Virkkunen calling for “radical...
EU Parliamentarians Tell Commission Not to Water Down AI Act Duties
Report from the Financial Times In Brief – European Members of Parliament (MEPs) who played leading roles crafting the EU’s AI Act are urging the European Commission to reject attempts to reduce the mandates imposed on the developers of the largest general AI systems....
Brazil Steps Back from Digital Services Tax in Face of Trump Tariff Threats
Report from Reuters In Brief – The Brazilian government has shelved the plan it announced last September to enact a new tax on big tech firms in 2025. The measure, which was expected to mostly impact US-based digital giants like Amazon, Google, and Meta, was expected...
Meta’s Zuckerberg Lobbying President Trump to Settle FTC Antitrust Case
Report from the Wall Street Journal In Brief – Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently met with President Trump in the White House and discussed settling the federal antitrust lawsuit that aims to break up the company by forcing Meta to spin out Instagram and WhatsApp. The...
Arkansas Social Media Age Limit Fully Blocked by Federal Judge
Report from the Arkansas Advocate In Brief – A federal judge has blocked Arkansas from enforcing its 2023 law that requires teenagers under age 18 to have parental consent to create accounts on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat....
Google Offers Play Store In-App Payments Alternative in the UK
Report from TechCrunch In Brief – Google has announced that it is offering app developers in the UK the ability to use other billing services for in-app payments in their Android apps besides Google’s own payments system. The company’s “user choice billing” program...
Trump “Reciprocal” Tariff Pause Leads EU to Reciprocate on Retaliation
Report from the Washington Post In Brief – Following an announcement from US President Donald Trump that new “reciprocal” tariffs would be paused for 90 days for all countries other than China, the EU announced a similar delay in the 25% tariffs it had announced in...
Trial Finally Begins in Meta Antitrust Lawsuit Filed by Trump FTC in 2020
Report from the Washington Post In Brief – The bench trial pitting the FTC against Meta before US District Judge James Boasberg is finally underway in a lawsuit initiated in 2020 by the first Trump Administration. The regulator’s antitrust complaint alleges that...
Apple and Google Face Regulation Under Japan’s New Digital Regime
Report from the Japan Times In Brief – The Japanese Fair Trade Commission has formally designated three companies as being subject to the new law regulating major information technology companies in the smartphone application market, the American mobile ecosystem...
Google Settles Android Auto Dispute with German Antitrust Regulator
Report from Reuters In Brief – The German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) has announced the end of its antitrust probe of Google’s automotive services and maps platform with the company agreeing to changes addressing the regulator’s concerns. “I am delighted that we have...
Japan Moving to Regulate Social Media and AI in Election Campaigns
Report from Nippon.com In Brief – Japan's House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, has approved two bills by a majority vote that are intended to address the misuse of social media during election campaigns. The bills, which must next be considered by...
New Jersey Joins Blue States Regulating Grocery Store Pricing Practices
Report from the Shelby Report In Brief – The New Jersey legislature has approved the Fair Price Protection Act and sent it to Governor Mikie Sherrill (D), who has indicated she will sign the measure into law. Once enacted, New Jersey will become the third state to...
UK CMA Joins the Apple and Google App Store Global Regulation Parade
Report from Reuters In Brief – Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced its proposed new regulations to require Apple’s and Google’s app stores to allow app developers to direct users to third-party payment options to increase competition and...
Supreme Court Rejects Appeals to Block Texas App Age Limit Law
Report from Courthouse News In Brief – The US Supreme Court has rejected the emergency appeals filed by a youth advocacy organization and tech company trade group asking the justices to block Texas's App Store Accountability Act as litigation challenging its...
European Opponents of Cross-Border Data Flows Continues to Oppose Them
Report from Computing UK In Brief – EU privacy campaigners are pressing the European Union to dismantle its 2023 data transfer agreement with the United States following the recent decision by the US Supreme Court that granted the President the authority to remove...
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