All articles tagged with #eu antitrust
EU antitrust officials are weighing rival Warner Bros. Discovery bids from Paramount Skydance and Netflix, with Brussels reviewing the implications and Paramount’s lobbying push underway. Regulators are focused on competition, consumer prices, and theatrical windows; while they rarely block deals outright, they could delay or condition approvals, leaving the final outcome uncertain as both sides present arguments.
The European Commission plans to impose interim measures to prevent Meta from excluding third‑party AI assistants from WhatsApp during an ongoing antitrust investigation into Meta’s AI policy, after preliminarily finding a breach of EU rules. Measures would require Meta to maintain access to WhatsApp under pre‑policy terms while the probe continues. Meta contests the approach, arguing there are many AI options and that WhatsApp Business API isn’t a key distribution channel. The action follows a string of 2025 fines against major tech firms for rule breaches.
Apple and Meta stocks are rising as the two tech giants move closer to reaching an antitrust agreement with the European Union, signaling potential regulatory progress.
The European Commission has launched an antitrust investigation into SAP, focusing on its practices related to software support services for its on-premises ERP software, amid concerns of market distortion, as SAP works to shift more towards cloud services amidst competition from Microsoft and Oracle.
The European Union accepted commitments from Microsoft to unbundle Teams from its Office products, effectively avoiding a potential hefty fine by making Teams optional and improving interoperability, following an antitrust investigation prompted by Slack's complaint.
Microsoft has avoided a fine from the European Commission by committing to measures that address competition concerns related to its Teams app being bundled with Office 365 and Microsoft 365, following a complaint from Slack. The commitments include offering versions of Office without Teams, allowing data portability, and ensuring interoperability, with most obligations enforced for seven years and some for ten years, to promote competition in the collaboration tools market.
The EU has imposed a €2.95 billion fine on Google amid ongoing antitrust battles, despite recent delays caused by US trade threats from Trump, highlighting the complex regulatory tensions between Europe and the US over Big Tech.
Google was fined $3.5 billion by the European Union for violating antitrust laws by using its dominance in the online advertising market to unfairly undercut rivals, marking the second legal action against the company this week for illegal business practices.
The European Union has launched an antitrust investigation into Mars' $35.9 billion acquisition of Kellanova, the maker of Pringles, due to concerns that the deal could increase Mars' market power and lead to higher prices for consumers across the EU. The investigation will assess the impact on product prices, with a decision expected by October 31.
Google faces a significant setback in its legal battle against a €4.7 billion EU antitrust fine, as the European Court of Justice’s advocate general recommended upholding the penalty, which was initially imposed in 2018 for abusing Android's dominance to stifle competition. The court's final decision is pending, but this case is part of broader EU efforts to regulate Big Tech.
Microsoft has informed EU antitrust regulators that Google holds a competitive advantage in generative artificial intelligence due to its access to data and AI-optimized chips, emphasizing the rivalry between the two tech giants. Microsoft highlighted Google's vertical integration, proprietary data from Google Search Index and YouTube, and AI-powered voice assistants as factors contributing to its advantage. Google responded by emphasizing its openness and history of customer lock-in. Microsoft also defended its partnerships with start-ups in the AI space as pro-competitive.
Delegations arriving in Cairo raise hopes for a cease-fire in Gaza, while concerns grow over the environmental impact and disruption of cargo shipments due to the sinking of the UK-owned Rubymar ship from a Houthi attack. Additionally, Elon Musk's X, TikTok-owner Bytedance, and travel website group Booking could face EU antitrust crackdown under new Digital Markets Act rules, and the European Commission is targeting a Chinese train maker under strict new subsidy rules. Furthermore, documents reveal that EU antitrust enforcers have been receiving free flights and hotels from consultancies with a stake in competition enforcement.
Microsoft has announced plans to unbundle its chat and video app, Teams, from its Office product in an effort to address concerns raised by the European Commission regarding antitrust violations. The move comes after an investigation was launched following a complaint by Salesforce-owned rival Slack. However, rivals argue that Microsoft's proposed changes may not be enough to avoid potential fines, and the company may need to do more to satisfy regulatory concerns. The EU competition enforcer has taken note of Microsoft's announcement but has not provided further comment.
Broadcom has received conditional approval from the European Union (EU) for its $61 billion acquisition of cloud computing firm VMware. In order to address competition concerns, Broadcom has offered remedies to rival Marvell Technology, including interoperability commitments and guaranteed access to source code. The deal will allow Broadcom to diversify into enterprise software. The US Federal Trade Commission and the UK competition agency are also reviewing the acquisition.
Microsoft's initial offer to address EU antitrust complaints filed by rivals is insufficient, according to German software provider Nextcloud and French cloud computing services provider OVHcloud. The complaints focus on Microsoft's cloud practices and licensing deals, as well as the bundling of its OneDrive cloud storage service with its Windows 10 and 11 operating system. Resolving the complaints could help Microsoft stave off a possible EU antitrust investigation that could lead to a fine as much as 10% of its global turnover.