Beware the rise of the super-app that does everything

 K. Birch, here. 

Meta, in Its Biggest A.I. Push, Places Smart Assistants Across Its Apps

 NYTimes, here. 

Meta trials its AI chatbot across WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger in India and Africa

 TechCrunch, here. 

'Super Apps' and the Digital Markets Act

 

Short piece 'invited' by a Journal, preprint here.

Notate Bene: written before the DOJ v. Apple Complaint was filed ;-).

Elon Musk’s xAI to Open-Source Its Grok Chatbot, in Latest Swipe at OpenAI

 WSJ, here. 

‘Super-apps’ and the Digital Markets Act

 

Abstract

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) aims to ensure contestability and fairness in digital markets, particularly focusing on regulating Big Tech companies. The paper explores the DMA's capacity to address both current and future challenges in digital market contestability and fairness, spotlighting the trend towards platform integration and the potential rise of "super-apps" akin to WeChat and KakaoTalk. Specifically, it investigates WhatsApp, owned by Meta, as a gatekeeper that might expand its service offerings, integrating additional functionalities like AI and metaverse technologies. The paper discusses whether the DMA's obligations, such as mandated interoperability and data portability, can mitigate the emergent risks to market fairness and contestability from such integrations. Despite recognizing that the DMA has the potential to address many issues arising from platform integration, it suggests the necessity for adaptability and a complementary relationship with traditional antitrust law to ensure sustained contestability and fairness in evolving digital markets

[Very pleased to share with you, dear @Wavesblog Reader, my first draft (short paper because I had a word limit, submitted to a journal) and thankful for any comment you might have: simonetta.vezzoso@unitn.it]

What super-apps could mean for the communications sector

 Ofcom, here. Ofcom on interoperability here.