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The logos of Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft displayed on a mobile phone with an EU flag shown in the background. A raft of major technology and media companies have signed an open letter accusing tech giants of failing to bring their businesses into full compliance with incoming European Union digital competition rules. The signatories say that companies defined by the EU as "gatekeepers," including Google , Amazon , Apple , Meta , Microsoft , and TikTok owner ByteDance, haven't done enough to engage effectively with them and others in their industry. They are required to, for example, make their messaging apps work with those of rivals, and let users decide which apps come pre-installed with their devices. Another EU requirement is that these platforms do not implement practices that lead to the "self-preferencing" of their services over others.
Persons: ByteDance, Organizations: Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Union, EU, Google, Meta, Big Tech Locations: EU
EU flag and TikTok logo are seen in this illustration taken, June 2, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration//File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Chinese conglomerate ByteDance's TikTok has asked Europe's second highest court to suspend its designation as a gatekeeper under onerous new EU tech rules until judges rule on its challenge against the label. TikTok last month challenged the EU decision at the Luxembourg-based General Court, saying its designation risks undermining the DMA goal of protecting gatekeepers from newer competitors like itself. "We have applied for interim measures," a spokesperson said. The bar for the court to approve interim measures is very high.
Persons: Dado Ruvic, TikTok, Europe's, Foo Yun Chee, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Markets, Google, Apple, Microsoft, EU, Companies, Commission, Thomson Locations: Luxembourg
[1/5] Customers visit the Second Chance Store, a new shop selling returned and refurbished products from Amazon's Second Chance programmes in-person in central London, Britain November 28, 2023. Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Consumer demand for refurbished and pre-owned goods in Britain and across Europe has created a billion pound ($1.3 billion) business for Amazon (AMZN.O), its UK boss said. "Customers are telling us that they’re shopping second hand items to save money in the ongoing cost of living crisis and because they want to shop more sustainably," Boumphrey told reporters. He was speaking at the launch of Amazon UK's "Second Chance Store" - a Christmas pop-up shop in London selling returned and refurbished items. Amazon has invested 56 billion pounds in Britain since 2010, including 12 billion in 2022 alone, Boumphrey said.
Persons: John Nguyen, Handout, John Boumphrey, Boumphrey, James Davey, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Acquire, Amazon, Reuters, Digital Markets, Competition, Consumers, European Union, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Europe
The Commission's legal service did not think a statement of objections regarding the deal was warranted, in contrast with antitrust officials handling the case, the people said. Without such a charge sheet, the deal would have been cleared unconditionally. The lawyers subsequently changed their mind and backed antitrust officials' decision to send the charge sheet setting out their concerns, the sources said on condition of anonymity, declining to provide confidential details. Antitrust officials can override objections from the legal service by either tweaking or narrowing their concerns to get their backing or by appealing to the top officials. While Amazon might still gain unconditional approval to buy iRobot, the charge sheet indicates that officials are looking to remedies from the company to address their concerns.
Persons: Pascal, Foo Yun Chee, Richard Chang Organizations: Rights, European Commission, Antitrust, Reuters, EU, Google, Digital, Big Tech, Thomson Locations: Boves, France, Rights BRUSSELS
The Apple logo is shown atop an Apple store at a shopping mall in La Jolla, California, U.S., December 17, 2019. The tough new legislation targets 22 "gatekeeper" services, run by six tech companies - Microsoft (MSFT.O), Apple (AAPL.O), Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google, Amazon (AMZN.O), Meta and ByteDance's TikTok. While details of Apple's legal challenge have not been made public, Bloomberg News reported last week the company would challenge the inclusion of its App Store on the list of gatekeepers. Fellow tech giants Meta (META.O) and TikTok had already filed appeals disputing the Commission's decision to include their services. In its appeal, Meta said it disagreed with the Commission's decision to designate its Messenger and Marketplace services under the DMA.
Persons: Mike Blake, TikTok, Meta, Martin Coulter, Louise Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, European Commission, Justice, European Union, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Meta, Bloomberg News, Facebook, Thomson Locations: La Jolla , California, U.S, Europe
LONDON (AP) — TikTok and Facebook owner Meta are filing legal challenges against new European Union rules designed to counter the dominance of digital giants and make online competition fairer by giving consumers more choice. The Digital Markets Act will take effect by March, with a list of dos and don'ts for big tech companies aimed at giving users more choices and threatening big penalties if they don't comply. Labeling TikTok a gatekeeper undermines the DMA’s goal by “protecting actual gatekeepers from newer competitors like TikTok,” the company said, adding that the video-sharing app is “arguably the most capable challenger” to bigger social media rivals. Political Cartoons View All 1250 ImagesAmazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft also were given the gatekeeper label in September, along with TikTok parent company ByteDance and Meta. Meta is not arguing with being designated a gatekeeper, but the company thinks the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, was wrong to specifically single out Marketplace and Messenger as core platform services.
Persons: — TikTok, Meta, TikTok, ” Meta Organizations: Facebook, Union, Digital Markets, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Meta, European Commission
The change – first reported by tech site 9to5Mac – will add features, such as read receipt, typing indicators, better support for group chats and higher quality media sharing of images and videos, across platforms. Apple told CNN in a statement it will add support for the standard, called RCS (Rich Communication Services), later next year. Meanwhile, Google, which already has support for RCS within its messaging app, has been vocal about wanting Apple to adopt the standard. The move, however, doesn’t necessarily mean the green bubbles (Android or other users) and blue bubbles (Apple users) that are displayed when messaging someone on the other platform will go away anytime soon. “Instead, RCS support will enable a smoother and better customer experience of iPhone users communicating across platforms.
Persons: iMessage, Apple, Steve Jobs, Tim Cook, Cook, , Dipanjan Chatterjee, Michael Inouye, ” Inouye, Chatterjee, ” Chatterjee, that’s Organizations: CNN, Apple, Communication Services, Universal, Google, Commission, European Union, , Forrester Research, ABI Research, GSM Association Locations: Europe
[1/2] EU flag and TikTok logo are seen in this illustration taken, June 2, 2023. Meta on Wednesday challenged the "gatekeeper" designations for its Messenger and Marketplace platforms, but did not appeal against the status for Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The European Union in September picked 22 "gatekeeper" services, run by six tech companies - Microsoft (MSFT.O), Apple (AAPL.O), Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google, Amazon (AMZN.O), Meta and ByteDance's TikTok. The company said it was designated a gatekeeper based on its parent company, ByteDance's, global market capitalisation that us based primarily on the performance of business lines that do not even operate in Europe. Last month, China's ByteDance bought back shares from U.S. employees in a deal that valued the company at $223.5 billion.
Persons: Dado Ruvic, China's ByteDance, Supantha Mukherjee, Nick Zieminski Organizations: EU, REUTERS, Rights, Meta, Digital Markets, Facebook, European Union, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Economic, European Commission, Thomson Locations: Rights STOCKHOLM, Europe, Stockholm
The Nothing Phone 2 will soon give Android users the option to communicate with Apple's iMessage. It works by asking you to log into your iCloud account through a Mac mini server farm, drawing security concerns. If messaging services are dividing phone users, then we want to break those barriers down. AdvertisementWhile a simple switch from green to blue bubbles might sound trivial, there really is an existing communication barrier for some Android users, especially when most of the people they talk to have iPhones. Business Insider previously spoke to Android users in their 20s who said they had received criticism and mean comments about their phone choice.
Persons: Apple's, They'll, , there's, we've, Marques Brownlee, Brownlee, they're, it's, Zers —, Piper Sandler Organizations: Service, EU, Google, Apple, Android, Business, Union's Locations: London, Canada, Europe
The logo of Meta Platforms' business group is seen in Brussels, Belgium December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSTOCKHOLM/BRUSSELS, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Meta (META.O) on Wednesday appealed against "gatekeeper" designations for its Messenger and Marketplace platforms, the first Big Tech company to challenge new European Union rules setting out dos and don'ts for the online services. Meta's Facebook, Instagram, Marketplace, and WhatsApp qualified as gatekeepers under the DMA, which was designed to level the playing field between Big Tech companies and smaller competitors. "This appeal seeks clarification on specific points of law regarding the designations of Messenger and Marketplace under the DMA," a spokesman said. Microsoft and Google have said they will not challenge DMA designations, while sources expect TikTok to file a challenge.
Persons: Yves Herman, WhatsApp, Microsoft's Bing, Supantha Mukherjee, Yun Chee, Emelia Sithole Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Big Tech, Union, Digital Markets, Facebook, European Commission, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Meta, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, Rights STOCKHOLM, BRUSSELS, Stockholm
[1/2] A sign is pictured outside a Google office near the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California, U.S., May 8, 2019. REUTERS/Paresh Dave/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS/STOCKHOLM, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Microsoft and Google will not challenge an EU law requiring them to make it easier for users to move between competing services such as social media platforms and internet browsers. As part of its latest crackdown on Big Tech, the European Union in September picked 22 "gatekeeper" services, run by six of the world's biggest tech companies, to face new rules . The Digital Markets Act (DMA) requires these gatekeepers to inter-operate their messaging apps with competitors and allow users to decide which apps they pre-install on their devices. The DMA will apply to services from Alphabet (GOOGL.O), Amazon (AMZN.O), Apple (AAPL.O), Meta (META.O), Microsoft (MSFT.O) and TikTok owner ByteDance.
Persons: Paresh Dave, ByteDance, Meta, WhatsApp, TikTok, Foo Yun Chee, Supantha Mukherjee, Sharon Singleton, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, Microsoft, Google, Big Tech, European Union, Markets, Apple, Amazon, Digital Services, European Commission, Digital Markets, Windows, LinkedIn, Industry, Reuters, Facebook, Bloomberg, Thomson Locations: Mountain View , California, U.S, BRUSSELS, STOCKHOLM, Luxembourg, Brussels, Stockholm
The Apple Inc. logo is seen hanging at the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, New York, U.S., October 16, 2019. Apple did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment, while the EU declined to comment. Even with the potential appeal, Apple will still be required to comply with the rules from March. Apple said in a filing this month it expects to make changes to the App Store as a result of the bloc's new rules. Reporting by Chandni Shah and Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Arun KoyyurOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons: Mike Segar, Apple, Chandni Shah, Yuvraj Malik, Anil D'Silva, Arun Koyyur Organizations: Apple Inc, Apple, REUTERS, Bloomberg, Markets, EU Commission, Google, Digital Services, Thomson Locations: Manhattan , New York, U.S, EU's, Bengaluru
Google signed a letter to the EU asking for iMessage to be made a "core platform service." The green text bubble currently singles out non-iPhone users. That could make the green text bubbles, which single out non-iPhone users a thing of the past. AdvertisementAdvertisementWhatsApp and Meta's Messenger have been designated as core platform services, meaning they are subject to stronger regulation. And the European Union has already been investigating whether iMessage should be deemed a core platform service, since it announced the designations in September.
Persons: , iMessage, Thierry Breton Organizations: Google, Apple, Service, Financial Times, Union's, European Union, SMS Locations: iMessage
UK antitrust regulator to take on Big Tech with new legal power
  + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +1 min
A 3D printed Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta is seen in front of displayed Google logo in this illustration taken on November 2, 2021. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) set up a dedicated Digital Markets Unit more than two years ago, armed with the expertise to examine rapidly evolving markets like social media. The proposed "Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers" law, whose powers were originally intended to come into force in 2022, will give the unit the "teeth" to underpin its remit. A small group of big tech companies with designated status will have to comply with the rules, the government said. They could be fined up to 10% of global turnover for breaches under the proposed bill announced on Tuesday.
Persons: Dado Ruvic, Paul Sandle, Kylie MacLellan Organizations: REUTERS, Markets Authority, Markets Unit, Markets, Competition, Thomson
The King's Speech - given by the monarch but written by government ministers - opens the new session of parliament. This is likely to be the last one before the election, which must be held by January 2025, and many policies were aimed at appealing to voters. CIGARETTES AND VAPESThe Tobacco and Vapes Bill will deliver on Sunak's promise made last month to phase out all tobacco sales in England. SOCCER REGULATORThe government plans to set up an independent football regulator, who will be responsible for scrutinising club owners and their financial resources. The new legislation will require owners to ensure fans are consulted on changes to club's badges, names and shirt colours.
Persons: Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer, Hannah McKay, King Charles, Bill, Andrew MacAskill, Alistair Smout, Elizabeth Piper, Alex Richardson, Barbara Lewis Organizations: British, Labour Party, REUTERS, Conservatives, Petroleum, Markets, Competition, Consumers, SOCCER, Super League, Trans, Pacific, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, England, North, Freehold, Wales, Pacific, Australia, Japan
The documents give the first full look at Bankman-Fried and his allies' contributions to so-called "dark money" organizations. While Bankman-Fried quietly funded more conservative dark money groups behind the scenes, he publicly cultivated a profile that was clearly aligned with the Democratic Party. Prosecutors on Monday filed into evidence a list of organizations that received money from Bankman-Fried and those close to him. The documents show that Bankman-Fried was clearly the lead "dark money" donor among the listed former FTX executives and the company itself. The list that prosecutors made public this week shows Bankman-Fried's "dark money" donations were closer to $47 million during the 2022 cycle alone.
Persons: Sam Bankman, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer, Nishad Singh, FTX's, Fried, Barbara Fried, FTX, Ryan Salame, Salame, Caroline Ellison, Ellison Organizations: FTX, Democratic, Republican, Democratic Party, Washington , D.C, Prosecutors, Alameda Research, Bankman, Federal, Commission Locations: Manhattan, New York City, Ky, Washington ,, Bankman, Alameda, Washington
Caroline Ellison, former chief executive officer of Alameda Research LLC, arrives to court in New York, US, on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023. Ellison, ex-girlfriend of FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried, outlined for a New York jury Wednesday how she worked with Sam Bankman-Fried to deceive lenders and customers to build his multi-billion dollar cryptocurrency empire, and their failed attempts to prevent a spectacular collapse. She pleaded guilty in December to two counts of wire fraud, two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. By 2021, she testified, Bankman-Fried had largely stopped coming into the Alameda office and had left more of the job to Ellison. Ellison also testified that Bankman-Fried had discussed adding a new co-CEO when Trabucco left, but she resisted.
Persons: Caroline Ellison, Ellison, FTX, Sam Bankman, Stephanie Keith, Mark Cohen, Lewis Kaplan, Cohen, Sam Trabucco, Alameda's, Trabucco, Fried, Ryan Salame, Ellison's Organizations: Alameda Research, New, Bloomberg, Getty, FTX Locations: New York, Manhattan, Alameda
[1/2] A sign of Microsoft Corp's Bing search engine is seen at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, China September 21, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS, Oct 9 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators are asking Microsoft's (MSFT.O) users and rivals whether Bing should comply with new tough tech rules and also whether that should be the case for Apple's (AAPL.O) iMessage, people familiar with the matter said on Monday. The European Commission in September opened investigations to assess whether Microsoft's Bing, Edge and Microsoft Advertising as well as Apple's iMessage should be subject to the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The probes came after the companies contested the EU competition regulator labelling these services as core platform services under the DMA. The Commission sent out questionnaires earlier this month, asking rivals and users to rate the importance of Microsoft's three services and Apple's iMessage versus competing services.
Persons: Stringer, Microsoft's, Bing, Microsoft's Bing, Foo Yun Chee, Deborah Kyvrikosaios, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Microsoft, Artificial Intelligence, REUTERS, Rights, European Commission, Edge, Microsoft Advertising, Digital Markets, EU, Apple, Google, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Rights BRUSSELS
REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBERLIN, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Alphabet (GOOGL.O) unit Google has agreed to change its user data practices to end a German antitrust investigation aimed at curbing its data-driven market power, the German cartel office said on Thursday. The German regulator said Google's commitments would give users more choice on how their data is used across the company's platforms. "This not only protects the users' right to determine the use of their data, but also curbs Google's data-driven market power," he said. Google's commitment covers more than 25 other services including Gmail, Google News, Assistant, Contacts and Google TV. It does not apply to Google Shopping, Google Play, Google Maps, Google Search, YouTube, Google Android, Google Chrome and Google's online advertising services, all of which are subject to a new EU legislation called the Digital Markets Act which has similar obligations.
Persons: Arnd, Andreas Mundt, Matthias Williams, Foo Yun Chee, Friederike Heine, Mark Potter Organizations: European Engineering, REUTERS, Rights, Google, Tech, Gmail, Google News, Big Tech, Apple, Thomson Locations: Zurich, Switzerland
BRUSSELS, Oct 4 (Reuters) - European Union antitrust regulators have commissioned a study into mobile ecosystems to help them counter any pushback from Apple (AAPL.O) and Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google in complying with new tech rules. They will also have to let users install apps from outside their app stores, a move which Apple said would make phones the target of malware or hijacking by cybercriminals. A tender for the study, worth 300,000 euros ($315,200), will run until Oct. 17, according to an announcement on the European Commission website. "The aim of the study is to support the supervision and enforcement of the DMA vis-a-vis the gatekeepers," the tender document said. ($1 = 0.9517 euros)Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons: Apple, Foo Yun Chee, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Union, Apple, Google, Markets, cybercriminals, European Commission, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS
FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan testifies during a budget hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce, April 18, 2023. Khan pointed to scale on Wednesday as a way Amazon leverages its power to dampen competition. Khan also explained the FTC's decision to define the market Amazon has monopolized as the online superstore. "We've had a whole set of antitrust cases that have succeeded when defining a market as the superstore market." This complaint applies that idea to the online world, Khan said, adding that there are functions that only an online superstore can serve through the "depth and breadth" of offerings.
Persons: Lina Khan, Khan, CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin, it's, We've Organizations: House Energy, Commerce, Amazon, Federal Trade, FTC, Yale, Intelligence Locations: U.S
An Apple logo is pictured outside an Apple store in Lille, France, September 13, 2023. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Apple Inc FollowBRUSSELS, Sept 26 (Reuters) - EU industry chief Thierry Breton on Tuesday called on Apple (AAPL.O) CEO Tim Cook to open up the iPhone maker's fiercely guarded ecosystem of hardware and software to rivals. "The next job for Apple and other Big Tech, under the DMA (Digital Markets Act) is to open up its gates to competitors," Breton told Reuters. "Be it the electronic wallet, browsers or app stores, consumers using an Apple iPhone should be able to benefit from competitive services by a range of providers," he said. Breton also took aim at Apple's arguments that security and privacy issues are the reasons why it has a closed ecosystem.
Persons: Stephanie Lecocq, Thierry Breton, Tim Cook, Cook, Breton, Foo Yun, Mark Potter Organizations: Apple, REUTERS, Apple Inc, Big Tech, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Lille, France, Brussels, EU
Governments race to regulate AI tools
  + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +7 min
ITALY* Investigating possible breachesItaly's data protection authority plans to review artificial intelligence platforms and hire AI experts, a top official said in May. ChatGPT became available to users in Italy in April after being temporarily banned over concerns by the national data protection authority in March. The country's privacy watchdog said in June it had warned OpenAI not to collect sensitive data without people's permission. SPAIN* Investigating possible breachesSpain's data protection agency said in April it was launching a preliminary investigation into potential data breaches by ChatGPT. It has also asked the EU's privacy watchdog to evaluate privacy concerns surrounding ChatGPT.
Persons: Dado Ruvic, Ursula von der Leyen, CNIL, Ziv Katzir, Israel, ChatGPT, OpenAI, Antonio Guterres, Guterres, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Lawmakers, Joe Biden's, Beryl Howell, Alessandro Parodi, Amir Orusov, Kirsten Donovan, Mark Potter, Christina Fincher, Milla Nissi Organizations: REUTERS, Baidu, Microsoft, Markets Authority, Big Tech, Britain, HK, SenseTime, Israel Innovation Authority, EU, UNITED, . Security, International Atomic Energy Agency, United Nations, U.S, IBM, Nvidia, Washington D.C, U.S . Federal Trade Commission, Thomson Locations: AUSTRALIA, Australia, BRITAIN, CHINA, China, FRANCE, Italy, Hiroshima, Japan, IRELAND, ISRAEL, Israel, ITALY, JAPAN, U.S, SPAIN, New York, Washington, Gdansk
FTX entered bankruptcy in November when the global exchange ran out of money after the equivalent of a bank run. Several other former FTX executives have pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges and are cooperating with investigators. The scheme involved Bankman-Fried receiving a loan from Alameda, then transferring the money to his parents. According to FEC records, Singh contributed roughly $9.7 million in 2022 and in late 2020 to various candidates and committees. The judge revoked Bankman-Fried’s bail last month after finding probable cause that he had tampered with witnesses.
Persons: Sam Bankman, , Allan Joseph Bankman, Barbara Fried, FTX, Fried, Bankman, , “ Bankman, John Ray III, Joe, Barbara, Ray, “ Fried, Nishad Singh, ” Singh, Singh, Ryan Salame Organizations: , FTX, Stanford University, Alameda Research, Stanford, FTX Group, Bankman, FEC, FTX Digital Markets Locations: Del, Bahamas, Delaware, Manhattan, Alameda, FTX
AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration taken June 23, 2023. Britain's anti-trust regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), is, like other authorities around the world, trying to control some of the potential negative consequences of AI without stifling innovation. The CMA's proposed principles, which come six weeks before Britain hosts a global AI safety summit, will underpin its approach to AI when it assumes new powers in the coming months to oversee digital markets. It said it would now seek views from leading AI developers such as Google, Meta, OpenAI, Microsoft, NVIDIA and Anthropic, as well as governments, academics and other regulators. Reporting by Paul Sandle and Sarah Young, Editing by Kylie MacLellan and David EvansOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons: Dado Ruvic, Sarah Cardell, Paul Sandle, Sarah Young, Kylie MacLellan, David Evans Organizations: REUTERS, Google, Microsoft LONDON, Markets Authority, CMA, Britain, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Thomson Locations: Britain, United States
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