Contextualizing ancient texts with generative neural networks

 Nature, here.

Has Brazil Invented the Future of Money?

 P. Krugman, here.

[In 2017 (!)  I had the honour of talking about fintech, competition, and the PSD2 to a Brazilian audience - people were genuinely interested in what the EU was doing; now they have outdone us - good for them! Why hasn't the EU achieved more? I've plenty of biased opinions!]

Martijn Snoep: Antitrust & Industrial Policy. Independence or Coordination. Champions. Latest Cases

Tools available to make markets work 

Chez Oles, here. 

Impressive, brave interview. 

 I'm perhaps a bit more positive about the long term impact of the DMA: it's going to evolve (that was the legislators' will), it creates new, important rights for end users and business users, and it is already influencing competition policy in a positive way. But it was never supposed to act in isolation (again, as foreseen by the legislators - see e.g. the HLG). Plenty of potential in many directions...

UK Regulator Flags Apple’s iOS Browser Engine Ban in Draft SMS Designation

 OWA, here.

Epic Games blasts ‘weak’ plan to break Apple, Google mobile grip

 Developer-Tech, here.

Get DMA Enforcement Back on Track: Our Message to the IMCO Working Group

 Neutralsearch.eu, here.

For a Strategic, European and Competition-Oriented Industrial Policy

 T. Duso et al., here.

The Relationship Between Competition Policy and Industrial Policy in an Era of Structural Change

D. Coyle, here. 

IA : la CNIL finalise ses recommandations sur le développement des systèmes d’IA et annonce ses futurs travaux

 Ici.

Europe Can Build Its Own Social Media

 S. Vogelsang, here.

CMA proposes next steps for improving mobile platforms in the UK

 Here. 

FREEDOM FOR FACTS: For true freedom of expression on online platforms!

Here.

Towards a new ‘agile competition law’ paradigm

 I. Lianos, here.

Best cuisines in the world united to enforce their local DMAs ;-)

F. Chirico from LinkedIn, here.  

PayPal taps wallets from China and India to make cross-border payments easier for 2 billion people

 TechCrunch, here.

[Paypal creating a privately owned infrastructure for cross-border payments?]

Real innovation happens when companies have to compete on merit, not on who can kiss the leader’s ass most effectively

 TechDirt, here.

[Invited by the OECD to speak on competition and innovation, I only wish I’d presented my research findings just as effectively]

Nerd Reich: why tech billionaires want a ‘corporate dictatorship’

 

Decoder, here. 

[What can a humble researcher, middle-aged woman and Italian on top of that, possibly do against what is already a serious threat to our precious democracy in the name of *tech and innovation*? Nothing, I'm afraid. But I'll keep frantically blogging, also a bit outside Wavesblog's traditional core topics - since October 2007, at least until Google starts censoring us here on Blogger ;-)]

The Sound of Reduced Competition? Music, Data, and the UMG/Downtown Merger

Not the usual Competition Commissioner's statement.
Whole-of-Commission Approach? 

EC, here. 

[Dutch company buying an US company, mind you. At any rate, it sounds lkve a no brainer theory of harm]

Amazon to acquire Bee AI wearable that hears every word you say: what could possibly go wrong?

 

BUT we have the DMA

Digit.in, here.

Imagine...we still had competition cops on the beat.

Stating the obvious: Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results

 

Pew Research Center, here. 

South Korea considering "exceptions to exclude app market fees from Google and Apple to minimize concerns over trade friction"

 

Chosun, here. 

South Korea: Local DMA Bill "likely to be put on hold due to pressure from the TRUMP administration"

 S. Lee (from LinkedIn), here. 

"Discovered" by a researcher coming back from vacation? Don't they have civil society active in digital in South Korea?  

Trump Goes to Bat for Big Tech in Global Trade Talks

 

WSJ, here. 

[South Korea - local DMA dropped already? Cautious to say the least.  Brazil - everything you want to know about their draft DMA and "electronic payment practices" aka Fab Pix here].

[I wonder how Brazilians would react if Trump successfully undermined their highly efficient sovereign digital infrastructure for electronic payments].  

The fabulous Destiny of OpenAI in the UK: Royal Tour from CMA to No.10

 Reuters, here. 

Monopoly Round-Up: The Incredible Shrinking Trump Antitrust Enforcers

 M. Stoller, here.

After Pledging to Keep Prices Low, Amazon Hiked Them on Hundreds of Essentials

 

Weddings in Venice are notoriously expensive

   WSJ, here.

Figma looks to raise nearly $1 billion as it kicks off its IPO roadshow

 

TechCrunch, here. 

The abandoned Adobe/Figma merger? Hats off to the CMA. It deserves a pat on the back, not a muzzle.

Does Using In-Copyright Works as Training Data Infringe?

 P. Samuelson, here.

Deregulation Swings the Pendulum Toward Financial Crash

 The Prospect, here.

The Case for Europe’s Backing of Digital Civil Society Groups

 M. Scott, here.

X slams French criminal probe over alleged algorithm ‘manipulation’

 FT, here.

From Digital Feudalism to Digital Sovereignty

 UCL IIPP, bog and video here.

From economy of occupation to economy of genocide

 F. Albanese, here.

CPDP LatAm 2025

Day 1  Here and aquí

Day 2 here. and aquí

Commission issues first opinion on the compatibility of a sustainability agreement in the French wine sector with competition rules for agriculture

 EC, here. 

Impact of FTC v Meta with Brendan Benedict

 Podcast, here.

Senate Hearing Debates AI Training on Copyrighted Works

 Publishersweekly, here.

TBH, I've been appalled seeing how publishers fought against copyright exceptions for blind people at the WIPO and mistrusted their lobbying since (disclosure: I was representing the Italian Library Association in the negotiations), but this time they are right :-). 

Microsoft kann US-Zugriff auf EU-Cloud nicht verhindern - egal was Brad Smith erzählt...

 Golem, hier.

EU Merger Control – Revolution or Reset?

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, here.

AI Age: no more copyright protection for anyone

 D. Baldacci, here.

Die neuen Facetten des Widerstands (2)

 Orf.at, hier (Max Schrems ab 9:34). 

Tim Cowen: History of Competition Law & Telecommunication Policy

 Chez Oles, here.

How Money and Markets Really Work

 Daily Show, here.

Antitrust 101: Commissioner Mark Meador

 Podcast, here.

Commission sends Statement of Objections to Vivendi for possible breach of EU merger rules by implementing the acquisition of Lagardère before merger approval

 Here.

Apple's Browser Engine Ban Persists, Even Under the DMA

 OWA, here.

Is EU consumer law getting ready for the agentic "revolution"?

 Public consultation on the Digital Fairness Act, here.

Wie Booking.com so groß wurde und warum Hotels klagen

Deutschlandfunknova.de, hier. 

Privacy NGO Noyb targets three Chinese apps with data access complaints

 Euractiv, here. 

Competition Law 2.0: Forging A New Paradigm in a Crisis-Driven World

S. Makris and T. Davies, here.

Mexico: Competition Policy Reform

 Aquì.

Behavioural Economics in Competition Enforcement

T. Höppner,  here.

Escape Forward: are we finally making progress? Cristina asks

 

And two seconds later she did block me 😇- nothing personal, ofc.
Just belonging myself to one of those DMA groupies as 
annoying as mosquitos at sunset

Here.

Cory Doctorow was in conversation with Maria Farrell

 Here.

No, gatekeepers cannot hide behind DMA's "specific choice" (read also Meta non-compliance decision)

 ICCLE, here.

DHH rant against Apple

 Lex Friedman, here.

Is the DMA Ready for Agentic AI?

 CERRE, here.

[The DMA was never supposed to work in perfect isolation...And should constantly evolve _ whatever it takes]

America First Antitrust w/ Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Gail Slater

 Video here.

[The name AFA makes me nostalgic even of the Chicago School: same with you?] 

Digital Markets Act Workshops: Key Takeaways from Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple

 M. Kirkwood, here.

Rapportage AI & Algoritmes Nederland

 Dutch DPA, hier.

Updating Merger Control as an Economic Policy Tool for Europe?.

 CEPR, Video here.

What is digital sovereignty and how can Europe achieve it? Ask Robin

 Here. 

Listened to it at least twice - fresh air for Rome's hot summer!

Article 19 market investigation into AI: that woul be nice!

 A. Schwab, here.

REGULATING DIGITAL PLATFORM ECOSYSTEMS THROUGH DATA SHARING AND DATA SILOING: CONSEQUENCES FOR INNOVATION AND WELFARE

 J. Krämer, S. Shekhar, here.

Neue Wege in der wirtschaftsrechtlichen Rechtsdurchsetzung: Der Digital Markets Act

 R. Podszun, here.

Navigating the Strait of Leipzig: 5,000 euros in damages to a Meta's end user for processing personal data on third-party websites

 

From the Strait of Messina, where Scylla and Charybdis lurked, to an imaginary Strait of Leipzig, where a judge has just awarded damages to a Facebook/Instagram (?) user for a GDPR breach that reverberates with much of what was discussed in the marathon post on the DMA Meta 5(2) non-compliance decision (🍎🍏🟠). Not being too put off by the Trockenheit of German legal prose (survived practising and doing research as a young lawyer in Biergärten-full Munich), this ruling is nothing short of thrilling...Why not jotting down a couple of observations? 

You Wavesblog Reader are no longer a Spanish Facebook user but a German user not at all enjoying reading gardening websites (your last Bavarian geraniums died off long ago, with no regrets) but you have an health issue (sorry for that!) and spend a lot of time surfing the Internet and spending time specifically on websites like apotheken.de, shopapotheke. de, docmorris.de, aerzte.de, helios-gesundheit.de, jameda.de (You tried out ChatGPT too but are far from trusting its advice).

Google to Pay $2.4 Billion in Deal to License Tech of Coding Startup, Hire CEO

 WSJ, here. 

Competition authorities are a bit distracted, as of late. Too little of real value or impact has been learned or done. Those who at least tried (Previous CMA, FTC under Lina Khan,  DOJ under Jonathan Kanter) have been muted or removed. But, of course, we can all keep busy writing submissions and/or watching webinars.

Digital Markets Act Enforcement: Impact and next steps: Call for Papers (17 days left, so that you know)

 

 

Here. Of course, economies of scale and scope with the EC's public consultation on the DMA review would be rational!

Equo compenso: decisione sui diritti dovuti da Meta a GEDI

AGCOM,  here.

Revising the DMA Variation-Selection-Adaptation Paper

Time for comments closed! Thank you for your great ones, Wavesblog Readers and beyond! Revising and updating it right now. Peer Reviewers are waiting. 

I was already unofficially asked to make it (much) shorter: Sunday's cutting ✂✄

...

Submitted!

AI for humanity

 

Google not complying with the Turkish CA´s 2021 (!) order regarding self-preferencing

 Here. 

A #saveourholidays letter from some MEPs - but also about meaningful inputs, objectives, communication, civil society's role and means...

 

YouTube prepares crackdown on ‘mass-produced’ and ‘repetitive’ videos, as concern over AI slop grows

 

TechCrunch, here. 

BfDI launches public consultation on AI models

 Here.

Why Big Tech is threatened by a global push for data sovereignty

 Rest of World, here.

After years of discussions: public consultation on Reg. 1/2003

 Here.

§ 19a, DMA usw: Jahresbericht 24/25

 Bundeskartellamt, hier.

Enforce the law: why we need the DMA to be applied without fear or delay

 NextCloud, here.

Upcoming, because you've the right to be presented with the specific choice of an *alternative* podcast ;-) - Wavesblog: surfing the digital economy and its regulation

 Soon. 

Commission provides guidance on the creation of a licensing negotiation group in the automotive sector for the licensing of standard essential patents

 EC, here.

Starting today, Gemini AI will access your WhatsApp and more. Learn how to disable it on Android.

 Tuta, here.

Cloudflare Wades into the Battle Over AI Consent and Compensation

 C. Radsch, here.

AI training exemption saves Meta from DMA data combination penalties

 PCC.land, here. 

Protecting Privacy and Dissent in an Age of Authoritarianism and AI

 TechPolicy Podcast, here. 

Silicon Valley’s Challenge: Antitrust as a Shield for Democracy

 Digi-con, here. 

Our "strategy for online tracking”: Thou shalt be tracked, whatever

 ICO, here. 

AI, Antitrust & Privacy: When More Competition Makes Things Worse

 

M. Stucke, here. 

But, on a remote island off the French Coast...

Inside the Media’s Traffic Apocalypse

 Intelligencer, here.

The real winners of the AI Race

 SOMO, here. 

Rencontre Draghi-Aghion-Coeuré

 Vidéo ici; texte ici.

Results: YouGov survey on public attitudes to Big Tech in France, Germany and Spain

 

What do EU citizens expect?

  Digitalrechte, here.

Imagining the Future of European Digital Infrastructures

 AlgoSoc, here.

Renewing the dynamic of European integration: Single Market Stories by Business Leaders

 ERT, here.

PROFILING BY PROXY HOW META'S DATA DRIVEN ADS FUEL DISCRIMINATION

 ORG, here. 

The Companies Betting They Can Profit From Google Search’s Demise

 WSJ, here. 

Free Lunch Is Over for the AI That Broke the Web

 Gizmodo, here.

Google's Hotseat Hypocrisy

 OWA, here.

So müssen Online-Dienste ihre Datensilos öffnen

 Netzpolitik, hier.

Don't forget what Silicon Valley tried to do

 Blood in the machine, here.

Meta’s Second DMA Compliance Workshop: A Half-an-Egg Omelette

 A. Ribera Martinez, here.

Musk, Bezos, Thiel - Die Macht der Tech-Milliardäre

 Phoenix Runde, hier.

Why Cloudflare wants AI companies to pay for content

 TechCrunch, here. 

Great, but shouldn't it be a democratic decision taken by a legislator and not by an infrastructure ("gatekeeper")? Not just "tech is law" - get over it? 

Targeted advertising by Meta democratised advertising and made people love ads (so we heard): discuss

 Meta DMA enforcement/compliance workshop, video here.

Datenschutz im KI-Zeitalter: Warum das Urteil zu Meta ein Weckruf sein muss

 t3n, hier.

AI: is there a future for competition - and which one - at all? [My title, not CERRE's]

CERRE, Video here. 

Draft Report on the 28th Regime

 Here.

Consultation on the first review of the Digital Markets Act

 EC, here.

Buy side vs Sell side vs Regulatory side

 Monopoly Report, Podcast here.

British Browser Boiz in Brussels! Fun at Microsoft’s DMA compliance meeting

 B. Lawson, here.

Beyond AI & Copyright funding a sustainable information ecosystem

 Open Future, here.

America must not defang Europe’s new tech law

 L. Lowe, here and here. 

And the EC has once again confirmed that it won't, here and here.

ACM market investigation into computer-controlled consumer prices in the airline sector: research methods and consultation

 PR, here. 

UK Announces Proposed Measures in Google Investigation

 M. Kirkwood, here. 

The Technical Feasibility of Divesting Google Chrome

 KGI, here. 

ByteDance Compliance/Enforcement DMA Workshop: "Just" technical questions - engineers couldn't make it, sorry!

 

How Monopolies Secretly Steal Your Freedom

 Brought to you by the inimitable Lina Khan, here (may I please live long enough to see a Khan US Presidency, or two?). 

Alphabet’s Second DMA Compliance Workshop: A Self-Reported Engaged Gatekeeper

 A. Ribera Martinez, here. 

Recording here.

Privacy-focused app maker Proton sues Apple over alleged anticompetitive practices and fees

 TechCrunch, here. 

Senators Reject 10-Year Ban on State-Level AI Regulation, In Blow to Big Tech

 Time, here. 

Dear Ursula, ensuring GPAI Rules Serve the Interests of European Businesses and Citizens

 Letter here. 

Brasil, rumo ao ("DMA") gol!

It was a real pleasure yesterday to share some reflections on the European experience with the Digital Markets Act across the Atlantic. You can watch the recording here.

We spoke candidly: about what seems to be working, about what remains difficult, and about what, in hindsight, might have been done differently. These are not easy conversations, but they are necessary ones.

What stood out, above all, was the seriousness and clarity of purpose shown by our Brazilian counterparts. There’s no doubt: they are approaching the challenge of platform regulation with a level of determination that is both impressive and encouraging. It’s not just about legal design or enforcement mechanics: it’s about political will. And in Brazil, that will is clearly there. 

This isn’t Brazil against Europe (or Italy ;-)): it’s one match, one team.
And the stakes couldn’t be higher.

Damien Geradin: Maintaining Competition in Digital Markets: The Role of Public & Private Enforcement

Chez Oles, here.  

Apple’s Second DMA Compliance Workshop: An Aggressive Defence of Rights

 A. Ribera Martinez, here. 

Recording of the workshop here. Watching it soon!