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☆ EU antitrust regulators scrap investigation into Coca-Cola, bottlers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 28 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators on Tuesday scrapped an investigation into potential anti-competitive practices by The Coca-Cola Co (KO.N) and its bottlers, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and Coca-Cola Hellenic (CCHB.UL), citing insufficient ground for the case. It subsequently collected information from Coca-Cola and its bottlers, retailers and competitors. "Based on the evidence collected, the Commission has concluded that there is insufficient ground to further pursue the investigation," the EU competition enforcer said in a statement. "The closure of the investigation is not a finding that the conduct in question complies with EU competition rules," it said. (This story has been refiled to correct the company's name in the headline)Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

BRUSSELS, Feb 28 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators on Tuesday narrowed their case against Apple (AAPL.O), saying its App Store rules that prevent developers from informing users of other purchasing options violate the bloc's rules against unfair trading conditions. The European Commission, which acts as the executive for the 27-country European Union, dropped an earlier charge that targeted Apple's rules which require developers to use its own in-app payment system. Apple said it was pleased the Commission had narrowed the case and it would respond to the regulator's concerns. The case was triggered by Spotify (SPOT.N), which complained Apple unfairly restricted rivals to its own music streaming service Apple Music on iPhones. That prompted the Commission to open a case and issue a charge sheet against Apple in April 2021 over its anti-steering mechanism and in-app payment system.

☆ EU privacy body raises concerns about possible U.S. data transfer pact
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The European Union data protection watchdog on Tuesday expressed concerns about a European Commission draft decision that could pave the way for a new data transfer pact with the United States, saying more should be done to protect Europeans' privacy rights. The European Data Protection Board's (EDPB) non-binding opinion comes after the Commission issued a draft decision in December saying U.S. safeguards against American intelligence activities were strong enough to address EU data privacy concerns. The Commission subsequently published a draft adequacy decision to which the EDPB, EU countries and EU lawmakers will have to review and offer non-binding opinions. A final adequacy decision is expected by the summer. Set up under landmark privacy rules known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the EDPB is made up of representatives of national data protection authorities in the 27 EU countries and the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) to ensure the consistent application of GDPR rules.

☆ European Parliament to ban TikTok from staff phones, EU official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The European Parliament has decided to ban Chinese short video-sharing app TikTok from staff phones for security reasons, an EU official said on Tuesday, the latest EU institution to do so. The ban will also apply to private devices with Parliament email and other network access installed on them, the official said, adding that the decision is expected to be announced soon. The European Commission and the EU Council last week banned TikTok from staff phones, underlining growing concerns about the company owned by Chinese firm ByteDance and whether China's government could use its app to harvest users' data or advance its interests. TikTok is banned on U.S. Senate employees' government-owned devices, with Canada adopting a similar decision on Monday. India has banned the app too.

☆ OnlyFans loses UK VAT fight at EU top court
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 28 (Reuters) - OnlyFans, an online platform known for adult content, should pay UK value added tax (VAT) on the full amount paid by subscribers to content creators, not only its 20% cut of the fees, Europe's top court said on Tuesday, siding with Britain's tax authority. Founded in 2016 and with more than 150 million users, OnlyFans' popularity has soared as content creators look to earn money by selling directly to paying subscribers. OnlyFans operator Fenix clashed with UK tax authorities after they ordered it to pay VAT on all the money paid by fans between 2017 and 2020, not just the 20% it took from creators for services such as collecting and distributing fees. The company took its grievance to a UK tribunal which then sought advice from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), Europe's highest. The CJEU judgment is final and the UK tribunal now has to examine the case in accordance with it and make its final ruling.

☆ EU industry chief Breton says not favouring Big Telecoms over Big Tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 27 (Reuters) - EU industry chief Thierry Breton on Monday defended a consultation on whether Big Tech should foot the bill for billions of euros of investments in Europe's telecoms infrastructure, saying it was not about putting Big Telecoms' interests above tech companies. Still, Breton took a swipe at the big U.S. tech companies with their large-scale data centres, their cloud-based radio access network (RAN) - the radio element of a cellular system - and their closed ecosystems. "And interoperability or openness are not currently a strong feature of their business model." "I see these two issues as currently holding back our collective potential compared to other continents," Breton said. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Dutch warn against internet toll as EU looks to Big Tech to fund networks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE), Orange (ORAN.PA), Telefonica (TEF.MC), Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI) and other operators have long lobbied for a Big Tech contribution and have found an ally in Breton, a former chief executive at Orange. These companies account for more than half of data internet traffic, according to telecom operators. Adriaansens said the Dutch government had commissioned a study by economic consultancy Oxera which showed the drawbacks of such a tax. "I think that there is this concern that our infrastructure is not able to meet our expectations and our ambitions. According to Oxera's study, Europe's telecoms providers have not been burdened with higher network costs despite the strong growth in internet data traffic.

☆ Exclusive: Broadcom faces EU antitrust warning on $61 billion VMware deal - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The Broadcom Limited company logo is shown outside one of their office complexes in Irvine, California, U.S., March 4, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File PhotoBRUSSELS, Feb 27 (Reuters) - U.S. chipmaker Broadcom (AVGO.O) is set to receive an EU antitrust warning about the possible anti-competitive effects of its proposed $61 billion bid for cloud computing company VMware (VMW.N) in the coming weeks, people familiar with the matter said. The EU competition enforcer, which will decide on the deal by June 7, declined to comment. Broadcom said it will continue its "constructive work" with the Commission. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, Editing by Louise Heavens and Jane MerrimanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ TikTok accuses EU of keeping it in the dark over staff phone ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 24 (Reuters) - TikTok accused the European Commission on Friday of failing to consult it over a decision to ban the Chinese short video sharing app from staff phones on cybersecurity grounds, a move subsequently followed by another top EU body. The EU executive and the EU Council, which brings together representatives of the member states to set policy priorities, said on Thursday staff will also be required to remove TikTok from personal mobile devices that have access to corporate services. The European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment on TikTok's statement. Greer said TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, who met EU industry chief Thierry Breton and other commissioners in Brussels in January, was "concerned and a little puzzled". Other EU institutions should do their own research before making decisions on the app, Greer said.

☆ EU eyes Big Tech as it seeks feedback on who should pay network costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Big Tech in turn calls it an internet tax that will undermine EU network neutrality rules to treat all users equally. Tech and telecoms companies will be asked to respond to 60 questions. The Commission is likely to propose legislation after the consultation, which will need to be agreed with EU countries and EU lawmakers before it can become law. The questionnaire also asked whether the EU should create a continental or digital levy or fund. "Europeans already pay telecom operators for internet access, they should not have to pay telcos a second time through pricier streaming and cloud services," Christian Borggreen, CCIA Europe's senior vice president, said in a statement.

☆ EU Commission to ban TikTok on staff phones, citing security
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 23 (Reuters) - The European Commission is suspending Chinese short video-sharing app TikTok from its employees' corporate phones, EU industry chief Thierry Breton said on Thursday, citing a focus on cybersecurity. Breton however declined to give further details at a news conference on whether there were any incidents involving TikTok. "This measure aims to protect the Commission against cybersecurity threats and actions which may be exploited for cyber-attacks against the corporate environment of the Commission," it said. TikTok said it was disappointed with the Commission decision, saying it was "misguided and based on fundamental misconceptions". The Commission said security developments at other social media platforms will also be kept under constant review.

☆ EU antitrust regulators to decide on Google's maths app buy by March 28
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 22 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators have set a March 28 deadline for their decision on Alphabet (GOOGL.O) unit Google's acquisition of Croatian maths app Photomath, according to a European Commission filing on Wednesday. "We can confirm that we entered into an agreement to acquire Photomath in May 2022, subject to regulatory review," a Google spokesperson said. "Photomath's technology will help Google to enhance its ability to provide better math learning experiences to students, helping to build out Google's homework help offerings for users." Photomath's app uses a smartphone's camera or scientific calculator to recognize and explain symbolic math problems. Menlo Ventures, LearnCapital, Goodwater Capital, GSV Ventures and Cherubic are investors in the company.

WHAT IS THE ACTIVISION DEAL? A group of 10 gamers in the United States has filed a private consumer antitrust lawsuit over the deal. Both companies have signed 10-year licensing deals that will bring Call of Duty to their gaming platform if the Activision deal is approved. Spain's Nware also signed a 10-year deal to bring Xbox and Activision Blizzard games to the Spanish cloud-gaming platform. Microsoft's Smith said the company would fight the FTC's request to block the deal.

Persons: Tencent, Martin Coleman, Brad Smith, Smith, Spain's Nware, Meta, Microsoft's Smith, Foo Yun Chee, Aurora Ellis, Maju Samuel Organizations: U.S . Federal Trade Commission, Microsoft, Activision, ACTIVISION, HK, Sony, U.S . FTC, Britain's, Markets, FTC, Nintendo, Sony Group, CMA, Commission, WHO, United States, May, Games Development, UNI Global Union, Nvidia, MICROSOFT, Britain, NINTENDO, NVIDIA, Xbox, Activision Blizzard, Antitrust, Facebook, Thomson Locations: metaverse, U.S, United, Brazil, Chile, Serbia, Saudi Arabia

☆ Explainer: How Microsoft is addressing antitrust concerns over Activision deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WHAT IS THE ACTIVISION DEAL? The UK competition agency CMA has suggested divesting Call of Duty to address its concerns while the European Commission has warned Microsoft about the possible anti-competitive impact of the deal. A group of 10 gamers in the United States has filed a private consumer antitrust lawsuit over the deal. WHAT ARE THE NINTENDO AND NVIDIA LICENSING DEALS? Both companies have signed 10-year licensing deals that will bring Call of Duty to their gaming platforms but these are conditional on the Activision deal being approved.

☆ Microsoft's president to push Activision deal at EU hearing; Google, Nvidia also present
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Smith will lead a delegation of 18 senior executives, including Microsoft Gaming Chief Executive Officer Phil Spencer, while Activision will be represented by its CEO Robert Kotick according to a European Commission document seen by Reuters. Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google and chip designer and computing firm Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O), which has a gaming business, will also be taking part in the hearing, the EU document showed. "The European Commission asked for our views in the course of their inquiries into this issue. We will continue to cooperate in any processes, when requested, to ensure all views are considered," a Google spokesperson said. The European Games Developer Federation (EGDF), which has said the deal will allow Microsoft to challenge Apple (AAPL.O), Google and Tencent, is one of the participants.

Microsoft President Brad Smith told a news conference on Tuesday he was now more optimistic of getting the Activision acquisition done after the Nvidia deal and a similar arrangement with Nintendo Co Ltd (7974.T). Instead, Nvidia's 25 million customers will need to pay Nvidia for access to its cloud gaming platform and pay Microsoft for its games. Shares of Microsoft fell 2%, Nvidia dropped 3.4% and Activision fell 0.7% in a broadly lower market on Tuesday afternoon. Nvidia said it now supports the Xbox maker's bid to purchase Activision, but the deal could still be a hard sell with regulators. Smith said he hoped that rival Sony Group Corp (6758.T) will consider doing the same type of deal with Nvidia.

☆ Microsoft president says he has Activision licensing deal with Nvidia
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Microsoft (MSFT.O) President Brad Smith said on Tuesday the U.S. software giant has agreed to a licensing deal that will bring Activision (ATVI.O) games to Nvidia's (NVDA.O) gaming platform and hoped that rival Sony (6758.T) will consider doing the same. Smith told a news conference he was now more optimistic of getting the Activision deal done after the Nvidia deal as well as a similar licensing deal with Nintendo (7974.T). Reporting by Foo Yun Chee Editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Google, Twitter, Meta face tougher EU online content rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google, Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) and Twitter face stricter EU online content rules according to monthly user numbers published by the companies on Thursday which exceeded the EU threshold. The European Commission had given online platforms and search engines until Feb. 17 to publish their monthly active users. Very large online platforms have four months to comply with the rules or risk fines. Twitter said it has 100.9 million average monthly users in the EU, based on an estimation of the last 45 days. It said the average monthly number of signed-in users totalled 278.6 million at Google Maps, 274.6 million at Google Play, 332 million at Google Search, 74.9 million at Shopping and 401.7 million at YouTube.

The bloc's highly-anticipated AI Act is widely expected to be put to a vote at the European Parliament at the end of March, at which point individual nations will begin negotiating final terms of the legislation. Following a crunch five-hour meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, however, MEPs had yet to agree to a set of basic principles. One of the most controversial areas of debate is deciding which AI systems would be categorised as "high risk", such as those affecting a person's safety or infringing fundamental rights. “The obvious tension here is between the focus on fundamental rights, on the one hand, and those who say these necessarily conflict with innovation,” said Greens MEP Sergey Lagodinsky. A source at the European Parliament said negotiations were ongoing with a view to agreeing a strong text.

Feb 15 (Reuters) - Adobe Inc (ADBE.O) will need to secure European Union antitrust approval for its $20 billion bid for cloud-based designer platform Figma even though the deal falls short of the EU turnover threshold for a review, EU regulators said on Wednesday. The move by the European Commission underlines regulators' worries on Big Tech acquiring smaller innovative rivals and the impact on competition. Photoshop maker Adobe had originally sought approval from antitrust agencies in Austria and Germany for the deal. Austria subsequently referred the case to the Commission, prompting the other EU countries to join in. "We look forward to working constructively with the European Commission to address its questions and bring the review to a timely close," a spokesperson for San Francisco, California-based Figma said.

☆ Norwegian payment app Vipps takes on Apple, wants EU antitrust action
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Norwegian mobile payment app Vipps wants European Union (EU) antitrust regulators to force Apple (AAPL.O) to allow access to its tap and go technology without any restrictions so that other companies can be more competitive, Vipps Chief Executive Rune Garborg said. "Apple is only sharing NFC with banks, which have to pay for installing their cards in Apple Pay. Vipps said NFC access would increase the geographical reach of its mobile wallet, make it easier to innovate products and better enable cross-border transactions. The company has previously said that Apple Pay is one of many options available to European consumers and which has ensured equal access to its technology. Vipps said it tried several alternatives to NFC but found them cumbersome and not competitive.

☆ EU regulators set new June 7 deadline for Broadcom, VMware deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 15 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators have resumed their investigation into Broadcom's (AVGO.O) $61 billion bid for cloud computing company VMware (VMW.N) and will decide by June 7 whether to clear or block the deal, a European Commission regulatory filing showed on Wednesday. The EU competition watchdog had stopped the clock on its investigation on Jan. 31, effective Jan. 24, while waiting for the companies to provide requested information. The UK antitrust agency is also investigating the deal. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee. Editing by Jane MerrimanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EU antitrust regulators set March 20 deadline for Orange's MasMovil bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 14 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators will decide by March 20 whether to clear French telecoms provider Orange's (ORAN.PA) $19 billion bid for Spanish telecoms provider MasMovil, a European Commission filing showed on Tuesday. Orange sought EU approval the previous day. The EU competition watchdog can clear the deal with or without remedies after its preliminary review ends, or it can open a four-month investigation if it has serious concerns. The deal marks a tie-up between Spain's second and fourth largest telecoms operators, which could trigger more stringent scrutiny by the Commission. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee Editing by Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Exclusive: EU's Breton to kick off network cost consultation end-Feb
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

STRASBOURG, Feb 14 (Reuters) - EU industry chief Thierry Breton is poised to launch a consultation on whether Big Tech should bear some telecoms network costs, he said on Tuesday ahead of a telecoms conference taking place in Barcelona from Feb. 27 to March 2. Asked when the consultation would be launched, Breton told Reuters: "Wait for my speech at Barcelona. Yes, I will announce it soon. At Barcelona." Reporting by Foo Yun Chee Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Microsoft to defend Activision deal at EU hearing on Feb. 21
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Microsoft (MSFT.O) will make a last-ditch effort to defend its $69 billion bid for "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O) in front of EU and national antitrust officials at a closed hearing on Feb. 21, the U.S. software company said on Tuesday. The company asked for the hearing after receiving a statement of objections from the European Commission warning about the possible anti-competitive effects of the deal. A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed the oral hearing. Microsoft is expected to offer remedies after the hearing. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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