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☆ Meta loses as top EU court backs antitrust regulators over privacy breach checks
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Meta Platforms on Tuesday lost its fight against a German data curb order that strikes at the heart of its business model as Europe's top court backed the German antitrust watchdog's power to also investigate privacy breaches. The ruling from the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) potentially hand antitrust authorities more leeway in Big Tech probes. At issue was whether the German antitrust agency overstepped its authority by using its antitrust power to address data protection concerns, which are the remit of national data protection authorities. Thomas Graf, a partner at law firm Cleary Gottlieb, was more cautious on whether antitrust authorities would want to go into the details of privacy law. "Are antitrust authorities going to become GDPR regulators?

Persons: Andreas Mundt, Benoit Coeure, Thomas Graf, Cleary Gottlieb, Graf, Max Schrems Organizations: Justice, European Union, Big Tech, Meta, Facebook, Data Protection Locations: Menlo Park , California, Luxembourg

☆ German antitrust regulator opens door for curbs on Apple
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BERLIN, April 5 (Reuters) - Germany's antitrust regulator has opened the door for measures to curb Apple (AAPL.O) after deeming the U.S. tech giant a company of paramount significance for competition across markets, the body said in a statement on Wednesday. "On the basis of this decision, we can target practices that pose a threat to competition and practices and effectively prevent them," said Bundeskartellamt President Andreas Mundt. Apple was not immediately available for comment on the decision. The German authority has already declared Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL.O) and Facebook owner Meta (META.O) companies of paramount significance for competition across markets. Reporting by Rachel More, Editing by Friederike HeineOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ German regulator launches antitrust proceedings against Microsoft
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BERLIN, March 28 (Reuters) - Germany's antitrust regulator said on Tuesday it had launched proceedings against Microsoft (MSFT.O) to examine whether the U.S. tech giant is "of paramount significance for competition across markets". Andreas Mundt, head of the Bundeskartellamt regulator, said there were "good reasons" to examine whether this might be the case with Microsoft. "Such a finding would allow us to take action at an early stage and prohibit possible anti-competitive practices," he said in a statement. Writing by Rachel More Editing by Miranda MurrayOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Sleep experts explain why your dreams are so vivid that you remember them long after waking up
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Carla Delgado | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The most vivid dreams typically occur during rapid eye-movement (REM) sleep. A typical sleep cycle lasts about 90 to 110 minutes and transitions between two primary stages: non-rapid eye movement and rapid eye-movement (REM) sleep. Why your dreams are so vivid and sometimes disturbingYou're more likely to remember dreams closer to waking up. Therefore, we're more likely to remember dreams closer to waking up compared to right after falling asleep. Moreover, "we are more likely to remember dreams if … they are upsetting or if we consciously try to remember them," Mundt added.

BERLIN, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Germany's cartel office regulator said on Monday it had initiated proceedings against payment company PayPal Europe (PYPL.O) over the possibility that it hindered competition. The subject of the proceedings was PayPal's rules for extra charges and the presentation of PayPal in the terms of use for Germany, the watchdog said. "These clauses could restrict competition and constitute a violation of the prohibition of abuse," said cartel office chief Andreas Mundt in a statement. "We will now examine what market power PayPal has and to what extent online merchants are dependent on offering PayPal as a payment method." Changes to Germany's antitrust laws for digital corporations, which came into effect in 2021, give the cartel office more power in identifying and prohibiting some companies' dominant positions.

☆ German regulator stays vigilant as Meta changes VR headset rules
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Facebook's parent company Meta Platforms (META.O) has responded to the German cartel office's concerns by allowing the use of its virtual reality headset without a Facebook account, the office said on Wednesday. The cartel office has been closely watching Meta since May when it declared it was of "paramount significance for competition across markets", a classification that gives the regulator more scope to curb digital companies' market power. In a statement on Wednesday, Germany's cartel office said Meta will allow the device to be used with a separate Meta account, clearing the path for it to begin selling the Quest 2 headset in Germany. Cartel office chief Andreas Mundt pointed to Meta's strong position in social media as well as the growing VR market. Despite the headset being made available to others via the Meta account, the German regulator said it would continue to monitor the design of user choices and issues relating to the aggregation and processing of user data from Meta services.

☆ German antitrust watchdog widens Amazon probe under new regulation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Germany's antitrust watchdog said on Monday it had expanded two probes into U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon.com (AMZN.O) making use of new regulation allowing it to prohibit any anti-competitive behaviour at an earlier stage. "We are examining in both proceedings whether and how Amazon impedes the business opportunities of sellers that are active on the Amazon marketplace and compete with Amazon’s own retail business," Federal Cartel Office President Andreas Mundt said in a statement. Changes to Germany's antitrust laws for digital corporations, which came into effect last year, give the cartel office more power in identifying and prohibiting some companies' dominant positions. According to the cartel office, Amazon operates the most important marketplace in e-commerce, giving it a key position in that area that allows it to set the rules for competition on its platform. "Our new competencies, which are precisely intended to restrict such power to set rules, allow us to intervene more efficiently against Amazon’s anti-competitive practices," Mundt said.

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