bbieron@platformeconomyinsights.com

Meta Bringing Ad-Free Facebook and Instagram Subscriptions of the UK

Report from The Times In Brief – Meta has announced that it will offer ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram by subscription in Great Britain. The move follows settlement of a privacy lawsuit brought by digital accountability advocate Tanya O’Connell and...

EU May Block Digital Gatekeepers from New Consumer Finance Data Regime

Report from the Financial Times In Brief – The European Union appears set to prevent the largest US tech giants from participating in a new system of consumer financial data sharing. The EU’s Financial Data Access (FiDA) regulation is intended to give consumers the...

Roblox Sued by Kentucky for Harming Teens

Report from AP News In Brief – The Attorney General of Kentucky has filed a lawsuit against Roblox, a vast platform of user-generated games and interactive experiences, accusing the company of failing to protect children and that the platform is a “playground for...

EU Investigating How Four More Large Platforms Protect Minors

Report from Courthouse News In Brief – The European Commission has asked Snapchat, YouTube, Apple’s App Store and Google Play how they protect children on their platforms, including how they attempt to verify users’ ages and prevent minors from accessing harmful...

California Joins Social Media Warning Label Movement

Report from Politico In Brief – California has enacted legislation requiring social media platforms to display warning labels to users unless the platform has “reasonably determined” that they are over age 17. The required warning label reads, “The Surgeon General has...

Google Makes Another Vertical Search Offer to Comply with the EU DMA

Report from Reuters In Brief – Google has proposed more changes to its search results page to improve the visibility of “vertical” search competitors, such as those specializing in hotels, airfares, or local services, to resolve the European Commission’s preliminary...

Key US House Chairman Questions Who Will Control the US TikTok Algorithm

Report from Reuters In Brief – House Select Committee on China Chair John Moolenaar (R-MI) remains concerned that the deal to transfer control of TikTok’s US assets to US buyers could be problematic if the US platform licenses the content algorithm from China-based...

Italian Publishers File a DSA Complaint About Google AI Overviews

Report from The Guardian In Brief – FIEG, the Italian federation of newspaper publishers, has announced that it has submitted a formal complaint to Agcom, Italy’s communications watchdog, calling for an investigation into Google’s AI Overviews, arguing that the search...

Klarna Sues Google to Win Billions Over Shopping Site Discrimination

Report from Courthouse News In Brief – A Swedish court has begun hearing arguments in a lawsuit brought by Pricerunner, a shopping comparison site owned by Swedish fintech giant Klarna, against Google. The civil lawsuit is one of many being pursued by European...

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