Thursday, July 25, 2024

On the Antitrust Implications of Embedding Generative AI in Core Platform Services

 T. Hoppner, S. Uphues, here

Nach wettbewerblichen Bedenken – Rücknahme einer Fusionsanmeldung im Bereich Crashtest-Dummies

 Bundeskartellamt, hier.

Google’s latest Privacy Sandbox gambit could pit user choice against tracking

 Natasha The Great, here.

CrowdStrike: il Garante privacy avvia accertamenti sugli effetti del blocco informatico

 GPDP, here.

Joint Statement on Competition in Generative AI Foundation Models and AI Products

 EU, UK, US, here.

IV BRAZIL-EUROPEAN UNION FORUM

 With M.M, here.

Von der Leyen muss Prioritäten setzen für Europas Wirtschaft

 T. Duso, hier.

Breaking Up the Giants of Harm

 Balanced Economy Project, here..

Beyond prices: The role of Monopoly Power in global inflation

 SOMO, here.

CrowdStrike IT Outage Explained by a Windows Developer

 Dave's Garage, here.

La CNMC investiga al grupo Apple por posibles prácticas anticompetitivas relacionadas con la distribución de aplicaciones en sus dispositivos

 Nota de prensa aquì.

Rot Economics - An Interview With MIT's Daron Acemoglu

 Here, and podcast here.

Competition Bureau advances an investigation into Kalibrate’s gas pricing services

 PR, here.

Digital Platform Services Inquiry – March 2025 – Final Report: Issues Paper

 ACCC, here.

Copyright and Generative AI: What Can We Learn from Model Terms and Conditions?

 G. Cifrodelli, L. Edwards, here.

Monday, July 22, 2024

Competition and industrial policy in the 21st century

 J. Tirole, here

Japan's competition chief speaks to MLex

 MLEX, here

DIGITAL ECONOMY REPORT 2024

 UNCTAD, here

FRANK PASQUALE: «NECESITAMOS UNA INTELIGENCIA ARTIFICIAL AL SERVICIO DE LOS HUMANOS»

 Telos, aquì

Beware the rise of the super-app that does everything

 K. Birch, here

Artificial intelligence and copyright: use of generative AI tools to develop new content

 IP Helpdesk, here

Far From a Punt, SCOTUS’s NetChoice Decision Crushes Big Tech’s Big Litigation Dreams

 Epic, here

Statement 3/2024 on data protection authorities’ role in the Artificial Intelligence Act framework

 EDPB, here

EU Court upholds Commission decision to designate TikTok parent as gatekeeper

 Euractiv, here

Avviata istruttoria nei confronti di Google per pratiche commerciali scorrette

 AGCM, qui

The DOJ Antitrust Division isn’t afraid to go to court

 The Verge, here

EU Antitrust Regulators Probe Google-Samsung AI Deal for Potential Anti-Competitive Practices

 CPI, here

Friends of the Neo-Brandeisian Movement Unite!

 NLR, here

Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission Extend Public Comment on Request for Information Targeting Serial Acquisitions, Roll-Up Strategies Across U.S. Economy

 Here

Digital sovereignty in the G20

 FGV, here and here

The Economics of Biodiversity Loss

 S. Giglio et al., here

Nigeria’s $220 million fine against Meta previews a clash over market power

 Semafor, here

FINAL ORDER AND NOTICE OF THE FEDERAL COMPETITION AND CONSUMER PROTECTION COMMISSION here

Kamala Harris’ ties to Silicon Valley: Here’s what you need to know

CNBC, here.  

No, EU competition policy was not responsible for global IT chaos

 I. Brown, here

CrowdStruck

E. Zitron, here

IT outage exposes fragility of tech infrastructure

 BBC, here

The 6 Companies That Own (Almost) All Media [INFOGRAPHIC]

 WebFX, here

If it walks like a firm exercising market power post-merger...

 FTC, here

And here

New European Competition Trends in Digital Markets

Open Access Book, here

Commission coordinates action by national consumer protection authorities against Meta on ‘pay or consent' model

 Here

Commission accepts commitments by Vifor to address possible anticompetitive disparagement of iron medicine

 PR, here

The Korean Air-Asiana Airlines Merger Shows How Rational Actors May Produce Irrational Outcomes

 S. Lee, here

AI mass surveillance at Paris Olympics – a legal scholar on the security boon and privacy nightmare

 A. Toomey McKenna, here

Friday, July 12, 2024

Apple Pay Antitrust case: EC press conference (get your alternative wallets default and ready)

It's obviously hard to get excited about online payment methods, but this is the most important thing to happen at the interface between fintech, big tech, and competition that I can think of.

Press conference here.

Press release here

Lucky us, Natasha the Great covered it, here.

I wonder how Australian banks - and the @acccgovau - are taking this news, eight years later (from @wavesblog archives  https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/apple-is-closed-and-controlling-say-banks-as-iphone-dispute-heats-up-20161017-gs4590 - interestingly also, in retrospect, who their economic consultant was.

Wednesday, July 10, 2024

On Open-Weights Foundation Models

 FTC, here.

Economic termites

DNW Podcast here.

The star economist who inspired Sir Keir Starmer’s ‘missions’

"The Telegraph" here.

The Public-In-The-Loop and the European Approach to AI Policy and Regulation

 From the AI Office trenches, here.

With AI, we need both competition and safety

 Brookings, here.

A false start is not an option for the EU AI Office

 Euractiv, here.

Call for tenders: Online advertising at the crossroads of different regulatory frameworks

 EU, here.

Artificial Intelligence Co-Regulation: The role of standards in the EU AI Act

 C. Marsden, here.

CODE’s Contribution to the European Digital Agenda

 Here.

Design trompeur : les résultats de l’audit du Global Privacy Enforcement Network

 CNIL, ici.

The Netherlands: DMA Enforcement Paradise?

 J. van den Boom et al., here.

Filmwerkstatt Düsseldorf v. Meta

 Düsseldorf Regional Court, here (GenAI translation).

And Freiheitsrechte on the ruling hier.

[Video hier.]

Ecosystem theories of harm in EU merger control: analysing competitive constraints and entrenchment

 M. Batra, here.

Dutch Torpedo at Work – AG Collins’ Opinion in the Booking Case

 Kluwer CLB, here


And dusting-off, this (much praised by the very kind Heike when I first presented it).

Public Interest AI for Europe? Shaping Europe’s Nascent Industrial Policy

 AINOW, here.

[This is a real] Conference Debrief – Highlights from the ECN DMA Workshop

 SCiDA, here.

Monday, July 08, 2024

Round Table on recent developments in merger control standards

 Competition Commission of South Africa, here.

Enforcing competition law in digital markets and ecosystems: policy challenges and options

 Competition Commission of South Africa, here.

The E.U. Goes Too Far

 Stratechery, here.

The Digital Markets Act: A short guide for tech challengers

 Belgian Competition Authority, here

Press release here.

The Japanese Smartphone Act: Teaching Competition Law New Tricks

 A. Ribera Martìnez, here.

Das Dateninstitut kommt. Die Gemeinwohlorientierung bleibt fraglich

 OKF, here.

Enforcing competition law in digital markets and ecosystems

 Portuguese Competition Authority, here.

The EU’s Investigation Into Microsoft Teams: A Preliminary Assessment

 C. Bergqvist, here.

Transparency Unveiled: Access to Information in Digital Markets Act Proceedings at Member State Level – The German and Austrian Experience

 J. Helminger, here.

Transparency Unveiled: Access to Information in Digital Markets Act Proceedings on EU Level

 L. Hornkohl, here.

Instagram e Facebook usam suas fotos e textos para treinar IA: por que a prática está sendo questionada?

 Globo, here.

Industrial Policy Is a Nostalgic Pipe Dream

 J. Galbraith, here.

Global Digital Compact - and the rest of us

 Technologists, here.

MaCCI 2024 Conference on merger control

 Videos here.

BEREC’s input to the EC public consultation on the White Paper “How to master Europe’s digital infrastructure needs?”

 Here.

ICN Workshop on Sustainability

 Video here.

Antimonopoly Antitrust Metrics

 H. Hovenkamp, here.

Four Strengths of the Government’s Lawsuit Against Live Nation-Ticketmaster:

 M. Carrier, Part I and II

The unanimous overhaul of the Competition Act is a big win for Canadians

 The Globe and Mail, here.

The Roberts Supreme Court’s Decision on Netchoice Was Righteous

 Z. Teachout, here.

Promoting Innovation Ecosystems in Antitrust: A Framework for Antitrust Analysis Applied to Emerging AI Technologies

 Roosevelt Institute, here.

A call to action from civil society’s frontlines

 Siaisa Place, here.

Sanzione alla Figc per abuso di posizione dominante

 AGCM, qui.

Facial Recognition Technology: Current Capabilities, Future Prospects, and Governance

 National Academies, here.

DMA, One Year On: Taking Stock of the EU’s Attempts to Rein In Big Tech

 BotPopuli, here.

Delivery Hero may face significant fine due to antitrust violations and intends to increase corresponding provision

 EQS, here.

AI Overviews and Google's AdTech Empire

 


Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000, Podcast here.

Publicité en ligne : la CNIL se prépare aux évolutions des modèles d’affaires

 CNIL, ici.

Europe needs competition, not national champions

 Brookings, here.

Commission requests information to Amazon under the Digital Services Act

 EC, here.

Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Map Launch

 UCL IIPP, here.

Google considered blocking Safari users from accessing its new AI features, report says

 9To5Mac, here.

The Global Benefits of Reining in Live Nation-Ticketmaster’s Power

 K. Montoya, D. Hanley, here.

GEN AI: TOO MUCH SPEND, TOO LITTLE BENEFIT?

 Goldman Sachs, here.

Epic Games CEO promises to ‘fight’ Apple over ‘absurd’ changes

 TechCrunch, here.

The Great Scrape: The Clash Between Scraping and Privacy

 D. Solove, W. Hartzog, here.

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

Commission sends preliminary findings to Apple and opens additional non-compliance investigation against Apple under the Digital Markets Act

 EC, here.

US Antitrust: Principles, Cases, and Materials (2d Edition)

 D. Francis, C. Sprigman, here.

Protecting competition in a changing world

 EC, here

Conference here (27 June), Live-stream 2PM here.

The European Union's AI Act: beyond motherhood and apple pie?

 N. Smuha, K. Yeung, here.

European Elections & the Digital Markets Act: J Espinoza (FT) L Crofts (MLex) S. Stolton (Bloomberg)

 Chez Oles, here.

Commission sends Statement of Objections to Microsoft over possibly abusive tying practices regarding Teams

 Here.

Varieties of corporate innovation systems and their interplay with global and national systems: Amazon, Facebook, Google and Microsoft’s strategies to produce and appropriate artificial intelligence

 C. Rikap, here.

United Nations Global Principles For Information Integrity

 Here.

Let's Talk Competition | Episode 7: Past and future of Competition policy

 Video here.

ECN DMA Conference in Amsterdam: This is not a de-briefing.

 

The conference unfolded under the quintessential Amsterdam weather—perfectly sunny and temperate. The venue was notably accessible and comfortable, which, coupled with its considerable distance from the city’s main attractions (a city where, full disclosure, my husband was born), ensured that attendance remained high throughout the event. The dessert buffet was quite impressive, matched only by the quality of the snacks provided during the post-conference reception.

From a substantive standpoint, the conference aimed to showcase the potential of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) to the business community. I can personally attest to the presence of CEOs from a diverse array of small to medium-sized enterprises, not just from Europe. Naturally, there was a risk that discussions might veer towards the non-compliance of gatekeepers; however, I believe this was mitigated, at least to a point. The presentations and ensuing discussions were constructive, both in the plenary sessions and the breakout rooms.

While I'm not sure if new business ideas directly stemming from the DMA emerged, the conference certainly brought to light several research topics (see our call for papers here). It was particularly intriguing to note the presence of investors interested in enterprises that could benefit from the DMA. Remember, navigating the DMA is a marathon, not a sprint. Fingers crossed.

M. Vestager, speech here.

The DMA, A short guide for tech challengers here

My X posts, unrolled here.

Friday, June 21, 2024

Wednesday, June 19, 2024

The Promise and Perils of Human Rights for Governing Digital Platforms: Symposium Introduction

 TechPolicyPress, here.

Transatlantic Dialogue: areas of convergence

 DOJ, here.

How the EU’s DMA is changing Big Tech: all of the news and updates

 The Verge, here.

EBU publishes “strategic asks” on generative AI and media

 BroadbandTVNews, here.

REDISCOVERING ADAM SMITH

 M. Holyoak, here.

Learning from the EU’s Mistakes: What To Do About Google’s Dominance in Search

 T. Cowen et al., here.

How to master Europe's digital infrastructure needs

 Internet Society, here.

We put the Google Finance link first

 Google, video here.

The Hacking of Culture and the Creation of Socio-Technical Debt

 e-flux Journal, here.

What’s All the Fuss About Antitrust?

 ACS, here.

The alarm bells are ringing: Competition is the solution to the productivity crisis - in Canada

 M. Boswell, here

Video here.

SCiDA Podcast on the DMA!

 Here.

UBS/Credit Suisse: FINMA schliesst Kontrollverfahren ab

 FINMA, hier.

Africa: The need for a new competition policy approach in digital economies

 F. Wang'ombe Kariuki, R,.Mazer, here.

Wettbewerbsbehörde beantragt Geldbuße gegen Brau Union

 ORF, hier.

RTL/DPG: Vergunning aanvragen

 ACM, Beslissing in NL and E-DeepL.

Monday, June 10, 2024

2024 Milton Handler Lecture on Antitrust: Bill Baer on Competition Policy and Enforcement

 Video here.

Procompetitive Industrial Policy

 EU at the OECD, here.

Monopolisation, Moat Building and Entrenchment Strategies

 US at the OECD, here. And the EU, here.

The Evolution of the Case Law on ‘Abuse’ of Dominance in EU Competition Law

 P. Akman, audio here

The impact of the EU General data protection regulation on product innovation

 K. Blind et al. here

Pay or Okay coercion or a fair deal

 CPDP.ai, video herehere

Fifty Years of the Brussels-New York Connection

 EC and Fordham, video herehere

Entretien avec Shoshana Zuboff : les mutations du capitalisme de surveillance à l'ère de l'IA

 France Culture, Podcast ici

Opinion on Meta’s reference offer published in March 2024 to facilitate WhatsApp interoperability under Article 7 of the Digital Markets Act

 BEREC, herehere

Governing Digitization in Public Interest

 F. Bria, herehere

What Is Bold, Old, and Necessary about the DOJ’s Lawsuit Against Live Nation-Ticketmaster

 J. Kwoka and Tommaso, here

AI governance in India – law, policy and political economy

 D. Joshi, herehere

Three Algorithms in a Room

 L. Goldstein, herehere

BMW, Mercedes, Thyssenkrupp und VW dürfen zum Erwerb von bestimmten Technologielizenzen gemeinsam verhandeln

 Bundeskartellamt, hierhier

Intelligence artificielle : la CNIL poursuit ses travaux pour une IA innovante et respectueuse de la vie privée

 CNIL, iciici

EX-ANTE VERSUS EX-POST IN COMPETITION LAW ENFORCEMENT: BLURRED BOUNDARIES AND ECONOMIC RATIONALE

 P. Bougette & Friends, herehere

Auswirkungen von KI auf die Meinungsvielfalt und Regulierungsansätze

 KEK, hierhier

50 YEARS OF THE GERMAN MONOPOLIES COMMISSION

 D'Kart, here

Where it all began: The Bundeskartellamt’s Meta case

 Germany at the OECD, here.

Mass Surveillance in Digital Markets Raises Many Privacy and Competition Concerns

 US at the OECD, here.

The intersection between competition and data privacy

 OECD, Background Note here.

Apple has drawn a fuzzy line about what counts as console emulation on iPhone

 AppleInsider, here.

The Digital Fixer

 


Part I, Part II, and Part III.

Thursday, May 30, 2024

The slipstream strategy: How high-status OEMs coopete with platforms to maintain their digital extensions' edge

 G. Reischauer et al., here

Competition policy in the Biden administration: Translating campaign poetry into governing prose

 B. Baer, here.

Commission calls on 18 Member States to comply with the EU Data Governance Act

 EC, here

The Evolving Role of Non-Price Competitive Parameters in EU Merger Review

 Norton Rose Fulbright, here

Fairness and contestability in the provision of software application stores services

 J. Padilla, here

Vertical Interoperability in Mobile Ecosystems: Will the DMA Deliver (What Competition Law Could Not)?

 G. Colangelo, A. Ribera Martínez, herehere

How a DOJ [IO] Economist Approaches Antitrust in America

Odd Lots, herehere.  

Harmful Online Choice Architecture

 CERRE Report, here.

Assessing India’s Ex-Ante Framework for Competition in Digital Markets

 V. Kathuria, here.

The Digital Services Act Meets the AI Act: Bridging Platform and AI Governance

 TechPolicy.Press, here.

Devising a trajectory towards a just and fair future: the identity of data protection in times of AI

 EDPS, here.

Pro-competitive industrial policy

 OECD, here.

Yann LeCun: AI Dynamics and Regulation

 Video here.

Taxonomy of Human Rights Risks Connected to Generative AI

UN B-Tech Project, here.

Privacy EU’s ChatGPT taskforce offers first look at detangling the AI chatbot’s privacy compliance

 Natasha The Great, here.

CDT EU Hosts DSA Civil Society Roundtable

 CDT, here.

Internet shutdowns in 2023: a global overview

 Access Now, here.

Ecosystem Theories of Harm: A Deeper Dive

 OECD, BIAC, Video here.

Reading the "Shadow Report" on US AI Policy

 TechPolicy.Press, here.

UK CMA Provides First Insights into the Application of UK Merger Control Rules to AI Partnerships

 Morrison & Foerster, here.

Regulating general-purpose AI: Areas of convergence and divergence across the EU and the US

 Brookings, here.

AI Integration and Modularization

 Stratechery, here.

Faux ScarJo and the Descent of the A.I. Vultures

 The New Yorker, here.

A new agenda to boost competitiveness and growth in the European Union

 Germany and France, here.

The Berlin Summit Declaration – Winning back the people

 Forum New Economy, here.

Justice Department Sues Live Nation-Ticketmaster for Monopolizing Markets Across the Live Concert Industry

 DOJ, here.

Private Ordering and Generative AI: What Can We Learn From Model Terms and Conditions?

CREATe, here.

Promoting competition in AI

 DOJ and Stanford, video here.

The ugly truth behind ChatGPT: AI is guzzling resources at planet-eating rates

 M. Mazzucato, here.

What Does the Supreme Court Have to Say About Consumer Welfare? A Reply to Professor Hovenkamp

 D. Bush, here.

THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF INDUSTRIAL POLICY

 R. Juhász, N. Lane, here.

Saturday, May 25, 2024

Fear and concentrated market power

 L. Khan, here

Media Companies Are Making a Huge Mistake With AI

 J. Lessin, here.

Artificial intelligence, data and competition

 OECD BP, here.

The Future of Collaborative Technology and Democracy

 G.Weyl, A. Tang, here.

Bringing Back Business Competition

 Lina in the Dragons' Den, here.

Consultation on new digital markets competition guidance

 CMA, here


Apple may soon have to allow third-party app stores in Japan too

 9to5mac, here.

Interim report 8: data products and services

 ACCC, here.

From Brussels to Boulder: Colorado Enacts Comprehensive AI Law on the Heels of EU’s AI Act with Significant Obligations for Business and Employers

 Baker McKenzie, here.

Olivier Guersent: Antitrust, Tech Giants and the Digital Markets Act in Talks with Aurelien Portuese

 GW, Podcast here.

Measuring the Openness of AI Foundation Models: Competition and Policy Implications

 T. Schrepel, J. Potts, here.

Towards a Framework for Openness in Foundation Models

 A. Basdevant et al., here.

How Does Competition in Generative AI Work?

 Video here.

Gateways Comparing Digital Communication Systems in Nordic Welfare States

 S. Sophus Lai, S. Flensburg, here.

Danish market investigations

 Here.

Monopolisation, moat building and entrenchment strategies

 OECD, here.

A Competition Lawyer’s Digest of the Letta Report – What You Need to Know

 S. MacMahon Baldwin, here.

Café IA, un dispositif pour débattre et agir sur notre relation aux technologies.

 CNN, ici.

Follow the (personal) Data: Positioning Data Protection Law as the Cornerstone of EU’s ‘Fit for the Digital Age’ Legislative Package

 G. Zanfir-Fortuna, here.

WIPO Member States Adopt Historic New Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge

 WIPO, here.

Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act receives Royal Assent

 UK Gov, here.

Thursday, May 23, 2024

Dynamics of Corporate Governance Beyond Ownership in AI

 C. Rikap, here.

Further investigation needed into acquisition of media company RTL by rival DPG

 ACN, here.

PUT THE PUBLIC IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT: SHADOW REPORT TO THE US SENATE AI POLICY ROADMAP

 CSOs, here.

Signal is a mighty example proving that tech can be done otherwise

 M. Whittaker, here.

CMA's Cloud services market investigation

 Competitive landscape working paper, here

Egress fees, here

Committed spend agreements, here.

High-Level Group for the Digital Markets Act Public Statement on Artificial Intelligence

 HLG, here.

Remarks by Executive Vice-President Vestager on the adoption of an antitrust decision against Mondelēz for cross-border trade restrictions

 Here.

FTC and DOJ Seek Info on Serial Acquisitions, Roll-Up Strategies Across U.S. Economy

 FTC, here.

2024 Anti-Monopoly Summit

AELP, Video here.

Tuesday, May 14, 2024

Of Hope, Reality, and the EU Digital Markets Act

 C. Caffarra, here

POWER & DIGNITY The Ends of Online Behavioral Advertising in the European Union

 A. Zerdiashvili, here

Private equity escapes major antitrust lawsuit

 Axios, here

What’s Happening in France, Portugal, and Poland? Catching Up With International Enforcers at the 2024 Spring Meeting

 ABA, Our Curious Amalgam here

Las Startups españolas denuncian prácticas anti-competitivas de Microsoft ante la CNMC

 Startups, aquí

CNMC public consultation on cloud services

 Here

Avec Antoine Monin, directeur général de Spotify France

 On n'arrête pas l'éco,  ici (de 21:25). 

Computational Antitrust and the Future of Competition Law Enforcement

 V. Robertson, J. Fleiss, here

A Regulatory Roadmap to AI and Privacy

 D. Solove, here

ICN 2024 Conference

 Live streams here

The new EU and UK regimes for regulating competition in digital markets: we finally see what’s on the plate—but do we know how to eat it?

 O. Andriychuk, here

Smart Data Roadmap – a response from non-govt members

 Here

Microsoft is launching its mobile game store in July

 TechCrunch, here

What to expect during dawn raids under the DMA, the DSA, and the draft AI Act

KCLB, here

Generative AI for Pro-Democracy Platforms

 MIT, here.

Governments Must Shape AI’s Future

 M. Mazzucato, F. Gernone, here (and here). 

Wednesday, May 08, 2024

How the EU’s DMA is changing Big Tech: all of the news and updates

The Verge, here.  

CASE AT.40437 – Apple – App Store Practices (music streaming)

 Decision here

EU Competition Day 2024

 Video here

Noncompete agreements in a rigid labor market: the case of Italy

 T. Boeri et al., here

How to Fix a Failing Art. 102 TFEU: Substantive Interpretation, Evidentiary Requirements, and the Commission's Future Guidelines on Exclusionary Abuses

 H. Schweitzer, S. de Ridder, here (and here). 

Are Letta, Macron and Draghi Marking the End of Neoliberalism in Europe?

 C. Caffarra, here

Digital Ecosystems: Market challengers and pro-competitive solutions

 Edited by V. Falce, here

Commission seeks feedback on commitments offered by Vifor over possible anticompetitive disparagement of iron medicine

 Here

24th Annual Loyola Antitrust Colloquium

 Here

Readings: 

Breaking Up Bottlenecks in Big Tech and Everywhere Else: Two Remedies That Keep Your Packages Arriving in Two Days

The Healing Power of Antitrust  

Monsters in the deep?

 Bank of England, here

AI and the Law: Regulation and Opportunity

 Panel moderated by R. Picker (I don't often agree with him, but always learn something), Video here

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Big companies, big risks

 ACM, here

Article 102 Guidelines: Where Are We Heading?

 E. Iossa, here

EU COMPETITION LAW AFTER THE GRAND CHAMBER’S DECEMBER 2023 SPORTS TRILOGY: EUROPEAN SUPER LEAGUE, INTERNATIONAL SKATING UNION AND ROYAL ANTWERP FC

 G. Monti, here

Investigation opened against Novamont for alleged abuse of dominant position by Novamont

 AGCM, here

Calling on the European Commission to Enforce Data Portability

 MyData, here

Bundesgerichtshof bestätigt Amazons überragende marktübergreifende Bedeutung für den Wettbewerb

 Hier

CMA Conference for its 10th anniversary

 Video here

How open, effective competition and targeted, effective regulation can together help to drive economic growth and productivity

 CMA, here

CMA seeks views on AI partnerships and other arrangements

 CMA, here

Consent or Pay: The EDPB weighs in

 iapp, video here

Monday, April 22, 2024

L'economia dei dati nell'Intelligenza Artificiale

 


Video qui

You don’t need to own an iPhone for the government lawsuit against Apple to benefit you

 Los Angeles Times, here and here

Audizioni sul ddl n. 1066 (Norme per lo sviluppo e per l'adozione di tecnologie di intelligenza artificiale)

 Senato, video qui

Considerations for AI Opt-Out

 M. Nottingham, here

EU Data Summit of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung: Always learning something new and unexpected


Programme, here

Recordings:

Day 1 here.

Day 2 here

(Study mentioned during the "Level Playing Field in Accessing Vehicle Data?" here, BTW). 

Day 3 here


Second time that I participate in person, the other 4 editions I followed online (and I hereby gratefully acknowledge that I normally use the summit's recordings also as teaching material for my courses). 

Saffron Risotto - sophisticated dish
This time I participated in a transatlantic panel on antitrust (as a humble researcher and observer, I didn't have perhaps tons to say - apart from talking of saffron risotto - but the other two Panelists did - worth watching for their comments and the excellent questions by Samuel Stolton). But I also had a fun dual role as a moderator of a truly insightful DMA panel (first time I moderated a panel - and it showed - but, luckily, my great Panelists didn't need me at all!).

Driving Innovation with Antitrust

 G. Massarotto, here

EU Merger Regulation 139/2004: 20 Years that Made a Difference

 EC, Video here

OECD-EU Online Workshop on Regulation of Artificial Intelligence

 Video available here

Competitive and resilient high-tech manufacturing base in Europe

 M. Vestager, here.

Letta Report here

Draghi's Géopolitiques Article here

AI Foundation Models: Technical update report

 CMA, here

Non-price competition in EU merger control

 EC, Policy Brief here

Toward a Safer, Freer, and Fairer Digital Economy

 FTC, here

USTR Initiates Section 301 Investigation of China’s Targeting of the Maritime, Logistics, and Shipbuilding Sectors for Dominance

 US, here

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

 NYTimes, here

European cloud customers affected by restrictive licensing terms for existing on-premise software, new [paid for] research finds

 Savanta, here

Konferenz: Shaping AI - Demokratisch. Nachhaltig. Innovativ

 Grüne im Bundestag, Video hier

EDPB: ‘Consent or Pay’ models should offer real choice

 Here

Sam Altman Invests in Energy Startup Focused on AI Data Centers

 WSJ, here

2024 Antitrust and Competition Conference

Full of amazing panels, you just have to watch them all - over the coming weeks and months, also because they'll even get better with time.

Day one, video here

How Much Does Antitrust Enforcement Affect Productivity Growth? (8:23)

Case Studies: AT&T & IBM (2:07:25)

The Quest for Next: How Antitrust Shapes Competition and Innovation in Computers and Chips (3:45:17)

Case Study: Microsoft (4:48:19)

Case Study: Google (6:11:24)

The End of the Beginning for the Antimonopoly Movement? (7:33:50)

Conversation with Lina Khan and Jonathan Kanter (9:39:53)



Day two, video here.

Regulatory Competition, the DMA and Innovation (14:05)

How (Not) To Regulate AI: Challenges and Opportunities (1:50:54)

The Proper Role of Economics in Merger Review (3:34:20)

Privacy, Property Rights and the Diffusion of AI (4:52:29)

This Conference is NOT Funded by Big Tech (6:20:55)


Sunday, April 14, 2024

FTC chair Lina Khan on playing "anti-monopoly"


 CBS News, here

Gen AI - Law & Policy Challenges

 DCI, Video here.

Rebalancing Europe: A new economic agenda for tackling monopoly power

 Programme here; livestream here

Meta Seeks Dismissal of FTC’s Antitrust Lawsuit Over Instagram, WhatsApp Deals, Claiming It ‘Faces Fierce Competition From a Range of Platforms’

 Variety, here

Regulating Big Tech: India Joins the Club

 V. Kathuria, here

Monopoly Round-Up: A Judge Can Break Up Google Right Now. Will He?

 M. Stoller, here

Développement des systèmes d’IA : les recommandations de la CNIL pour respecter le RGPD

 CNIL, ici

Nach EU-Milliardenstrafe: Apple streicht Linkverbot, beharrt auf Provision

 Heise.de, hier. Also here

How Tech Giants Cut Corners to Harvest Data for A.I.

 NYTimes, here.

Reshoring and Restoring: CHIPS Implementation for a Competitive Semiconductor Industry

 Economicliberties.us, here

Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity

 D. Acemoglu, Video here

Sure, No One Knows What Happens Next. But Past Is Prologue When It Comes To AI

 TechPolicy.press, here

Google's Chrome Antitrust Paradox

 S. Munir et al., here

Revision of EU pharmaceutical legislation

 EP, here

The DSA and Platform Regulation Conference 2024

 Videos here

Meta's Pay-or-Okay Model: An Analysis Under EU Data Protection, Consumer, and Competition Law

 A. D'Amico et al., here

Grüne Technik: EU-Kommission will Chinas Marktdominanz eindämmen

 Heise.de, hier

In Conversation with Mariana Mazzucato, Tim O’Reilly and Ilan Strauss on Algorithmic Attention Rents

 Video here

EU Companies Criticize Proposal Favoring Big Tech in Cloud Computing Contracts

 CPI, here

The EU Artificial Intelligence Act: our 16 key takeaways

 Stibbe, here

UN: AI resolution must prioritise human rights and sustainable development

 Article 19, here

Said no to tracking cookies? Good chance your data are still being collected

 Amsterdam Law School, here

Rebalancing Europe – a new economic agenda for tackling monopoly power

 EU civil society, here

Amazon Self-preferencing in the Shadow of the Digital Markets Act

 J. Waldfogel, here

Global dominance of biggest stocks rises to highest in decades

 FT, here and here

Business Blog’s Clear Eye on AI

 FTC, here

The Forgotten Anti-Monopoly Law: The Second Half of Clayton Act § 7

 R. Lande, J. Newman, R. Kelly Slaughter, here

Alternative browsers report uplift after EU’s DMA choice screen mandate

 Natasha The Great and I. Mehta, here

AI Foundation Models: Update paper (11 April 2024)

 CMA, here

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

 TechCrunch, here

Commission approves Illumina's plan to unwind its completed acquisition of GRAIL

 Here

3 key interlinked risks to fair, open and effective competition (update)

 CMA, here

The Dispersion of Power: Samuel Bagg’s Urgent Call to Redefine Democracy

 Yale ISPS, here

Epic's proposed permanent injunction

 Here

The historic all-star, whole-of-government approach panel


 Video here, from 41:50. 

Tuesday, April 09, 2024

Friday, April 05, 2024

Big Tech's inside job

 Business Insider, here

Does Apple Stifle or Promote Innovation?

 M. Stucke, here

Amazon offers free credits for startups to use AI models including Anthropic

 Reuters, here

Vestager: Apples Sicherheitsbedenken wegen Sideloading per DMA sind Blödsinn

 Heise.de, hier. Video here

Projet de loi visant à sécuriser et réguler l'espace numérique

 DOSSIER LÉGISLATIF, ici

Reinvigorating Antitrust: Citizens, not just Consumers

 Transcript, here

Ten years later, Facebook’s Oculus acquisition hasn’t changed the world as expected

 TechCrunch, here

A first look at Europe’s alternative iPhone app stores

 The Verge, here

Lina Khan – FTC Chair on Amazon Antitrust Lawsuit & AI Oversight | The Daily Show

 Video here

EU AI Act Compliance Checker

Here.  

Regulator Probes BlackRock and Vanguard Over Huge Stakes in U.S. Banks

 WSJ, here

Data Protection Reform: CIPIL spring conference 2024

 Videos here

Algorithmic Collusion by Large Language Models

S. Fish et al., here.  

Banking in video games and virtual worlds

 CFPB, here

EU: AI Act fails to set gold standard for human rights

 Article 19, here

THE original law school paper on Amazon: did you read it?

 S. Sharda, here

Will Antitrust Become Progressive?

 H. Hovenkamp, here

For AI firms, anything "public" is fair game

 Axios, here

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Eleanor Fox on Global Computational Antitrust

 Video here

EU Policy. Deal on landmark health data space clinched in the eleventh hour

 Euronews, here

Meta v Bundeskartellamt — data-based conduct between antitrust law and regulation

 A. Witt, here

Avviata istruttoria nei confronti di Booking per presunto abuso di posizione dominante

 AGCM, here

Quantum antitrust – A unified exclusionary abuse theory

 Xiaomi, here

An Economic Framework for Understanding Artificial Intelligence

 The White House, here

Preserving competition across the spectrum

 DG Comp, here

Breaking down the DOJ's complaint against Apple

 S. Sharda, here

Competition in Generative AI: Future of Life Institute’s Feedback to the European Commission’s Consultation

 Here

Qualcomm Abandons Bid to Buy Autotalks, FTC Welcomes Decision

 WSJ, here

EDPS INVESTIGATION INTO USE OF MICROSOFT 365 BY THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION

 EDPS, here

Apple, Google and Meta face first formal investigations under EU’s DMA

 Natasha The Great, here

Online news: Research Update

 Ofcom, here

Google Attempts to Redefine Its Local Services to Avoid DMA Compliance Consequences

 Near Media, here

MARKET POWER IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

 J. Gans, here

‘Even stronger’ than imagined: DOJ’s sweeping Apple lawsuit draws expert praise

 The Verge, here

ASOS, Boohoo and Asda: greenwashing investigation

 CMA, here

A Bump in the Road for Apple

 The American Prospect, here

Digital public infrastructure and public value: What is ‘public’ about DPI?

 UCL, here

Case C-797/23, Meta Platforms Ireland: Request for a preliminary ruling

 Here

A Big Defeat for Big Tech

 J. Stiglitz, here

In-App Browsers: The worst erosion of user choice you haven’t heard of

 Open Web Advocacy, here

Commission opens investigation into possible anticompetitive conduct by Zoetis over novel pain medicine for dogs

 EC, here

Government Agencies Act to Elevate and Build Tech and Digital Capacity

 FTC, here

Building Tech Capacity in Law Enforcement Agencies

 FTC, here

Online advertising: Amazon’s request to suspend its obligation to make an advertisement repository publicly available is rejected

 CJEU, here

AI: Accountability Report

 NTIA, here

Workshop series on DMA compliance

 Recordings here

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

After raising $1.3B, Inflection got eaten alive by its biggest investor, Microsoft

 


TechCrunch, here

Meta offers lower cost for EU ad-free subscription under privacy review

 TechCrunch, here

The new digital landscape: Interaction between the DMA and rules of national and EU law governing the conduct of gatekeepers

 G. Gryllos, here

Apple’s AI ambitions could include Google or OpenAI

 The Verge, here

It’s time to strengthen data protection law for the AI era

 Ada Lovelace Institute, here

BEREC high-level position on artificial intelligence and virtual worlds

 Here

Digital Platform Services Inquiry – September 2024 report revisiting general search services

 ACCC, here

The Meta Smokescreen

 OurCuriousAmalgam, here

BEREC publishes its Opinion on Meta’s draft reference offer for WhatsApp interoperability

 Here

Turkey Imposes Interim Measures on Meta Platforms

 CPI, here

Friday, March 15, 2024

Accelerating America’s shift to open banking

 CFPB, here

Competition in Virtual Worlds and Generative AI

 Some contributions to the EC's call are surfacing:

Austrian Federal Competition Authority, here

AK Austria hier

Inatba here

GAI here

ICLE here.

Group of civil society organizations here.

Erwerb der MorphoSys AG durch die Novartis AG freigegeben

 Bundeskartellamt, hier

TikTok Is Facing Its Greatest Threat Yet

 Wired, here

After AWS and Google, Microsoft says it’s removing Azure ‘egress’ data transfer fees — but with caveats

 TechCrunch, here

Spotify says its iPhone app updates in the EU are getting held up by Apple

 The Verge, here

Competition in Generative Artificial Intelligence

 cepInput, here

Journal of AI Law and Regulation!

 Here

Commission sends requests for information on generative AI risks to 6 Very Large Online Platforms and 2 Very Large Online Search Engines under the Digital Services Act

 EC, here

Natasha The Great, here

The Future of American Innovation: A Conversation With Lina Khan 

 Video here

Apple to allow web distribution for iOS apps in latest DMA tweaks

 Natasha The Great, here

SIMS: Meta’s actions threaten our society

 Toronto Sun, here

ANTIMONOPOLY NOW: A CONVERSATION ON PRACTICE AND THE ACADEMY WITH FTC CHAIR LINA KHAN

 Video here

Copyright as an Access Right: Concretizing Positive Obligations for Rightholders to Ensure the Exercise of User Rights

 C. Geiger, B. J. Jütte, here

Market Factors Relevant to Infant Formula Supply Disruptions 2022

 FTC here

Safeguarding the financial system's spare tyre: regulating non-bank retail lenders in the digital era

 BIS, here

Oh look, cracking down on Big Tech works. Brave, Firefox, Vivaldi surge on iOS

 The Register, here

The False Choice Between Digital Regulation and Innovation

 A. Bradford, here

Generative AI and Competition Policy ~ What is the Role of Competition Policy Toward Further Innovation ?

 Osaka Symposium, Presentations here

IKK 2024 - Bubdeskartellamt

 Videos here

Some direct links:

S. Giegold here

M. Vestager here

Panel: AI - Blessing or curse here

Panel: Abuse of dominance - What are we aiming at? here

Panel Merger control - Challenges and perspectives here

Monday, March 11, 2024

Antitrust For Innovation: A Progress Report

 R. Gilbert, D. Melamed, here

DYNAMIC COMPETITION AND ANTITRUST: QUICK-LOOK INFERENCES FROM THE ANALYSIS OF BIG TECH’S R&D EXPENDITURE RATIOS

 J. Padilla et al., here

“Can Telecommunications Regulation Inform Emerging Regulatory Approaches To Generative AI?: An Initial Inquiry”

 DOJ, here

EU DATA ACT: NEW RULES ON DATA SHARING AND PORTABILITY OF CLOUD SERVICES NOW IN FORCE

Mayer/Brown, here

Full (Regulatory) Steam Ahead: Gatekeepers Issue the First Wave of DMA Compliance Reports

 A. Ribera Martinez, here

Challenging Big Tech in the Age of AI

 Public Knowledge, here

The Most Terrifying Words in Lina Khan’s Stand-Up Comedy Routine

 The Sling, here

Brussels to the Bay: How the DMA Transforms Digital Markets and Boosts Innovation

 EC, Video here

Competition and ‘Zeitenwende’

 S. Giegold, here

‘She’s going to prevail’: FTC head Lina Khan is fighting for an anti-monopoly America

 The Guardian, here

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

 WSJ, here

A few words on digital mergers (Oh Freunde, nicht diese Töne)

 M. Vestager, here

Reflecting on 20 years of the EU Merger Regulation

 EC, here

Digital Markets Act: Apple und Google setzen einige Vorgaben nicht um

 vzbv, hier

Report on Competition Policy 2023

 EC, here

Commission Staff Report here

Interoperability in the Metaverse

 Videos here.

To comply with DMA, WhatsApp and Messenger will become interoperable via Signal protocol

 TechCrunch, here

C-604/22: IAB Europe

 CJEU, here

AWS follows Google in announcing unrestricted free data transfers to other cloud providers

 TechCrunch, here. 

II ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION LEGAL SERVICE 2024

 Video here

On the interplay between competition law and privacy: the impact of Meta Platforms case

 A. Gorecka, here

RETHINKING MY ECONOMICS

 A. Deaton, here

Apple’s exclusionary app store scheme: An existential moment for the Digital Markets Act

 J. Crémer et al., here


13 March 2024: the plenary of the European Parliament will vote on the AI Act

 Here

Friday, March 08, 2024

OECD Competition Open Day 2024

 Videos 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]