Natasha Lomas
Senior Reporter
The Latest from Natasha Lomas
TikTok fined in Italy after ‘French scar’ challenge led to consumer safety probe
Italy’s competition and consumer authority, the AGCM, has fined TikTok €10 million (almost $11 million) following a probe into algorithmic safety concerns. The authority opened an investigatio
Europe eyes LinkedIn’s use of data for ads in another DSA ask
Microsoft-owned professional social network, LinkedIn, is the latest to get a formal request for information (RFI) from the EU. The Commission, which oversees larger platforms’ compliance with a
EU dials up scrutiny of major platforms over GenAI risks ahead of elections
The European Commission has sent a series of formal requests for information (RFI) to Google, Meta, Microsoft, Snap, TikTok and X about how they’re handling risks related to the use of generativ
AliExpress is first online marketplace to face DSA investigation by EU
The European Union has opened its third formal investigation of a very large platform under the Digital Services Act (DSA), with China’s AliExpress earning itself the dubious honor of being the
Deal on EU AI Act gets thumbs up from European Parliament
The European Parliament voted Wednesday to adopt the AI Act, securing the bloc pole-position in setting rules for a broad sweep of artificial intelligence-powered software — or what regional law
Apple to allow web distribution for iOS apps in latest DMA tweaks
Apple will allow iOS developers located in the European Union to distribute apps from the web, rather than from its App Store. The option, which it says will be made available to qualifying developers
Worldcoin fails to get injunction against Spain’s privacy suspension
Controversial eyeball scanning startup Worldcoin has failed to get an injunction against a temporary suspension ordered Wednesday by Spain’s data protection authority, the AEPD. The authority us
EU’s use of Microsoft 365 found to breach data protection rules
A lengthy investigation into the European Union’s use of Microsoft 365 has found the Commission breached the bloc’s data protection rules through its use of the cloud-based productivity so
How DMA gatekeepers are responding to the EU’s new competition rules — in their own words
The compliance deadline for the six tech giants regulated under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) expired yesterday. Which means Alphabet/Google, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance/TikTok, Me
Worldcoin says it’s paused services in Spain, after filing legal challenge to temporary ban
A German subsidiary involved in Sam Altman’s controversial crypto blockchain digital identity business, Worldcoin, was reported Friday to have filed a legal challenge against a suspension order
Tracking-ads industry faces another body blow in the EU
It’s been over two years since a key piece of the tracking-ads’ industry’s consent collection apparatus was found to breach European Union’s data protection laws. Today the sur
Europe’s DMA rules for Big Tech explained
The Digital Markets Act (DMA), an ex ante European Union reform of digital competition rules, will be in force today, by midnight Brussels’ time, on six tech giants — applying a new set of
EU looking into Apple’s decision to kill Epic Games’ developer account
The European Union has confirmed it’s looking into Apple’s decision to close Epic Games’ developer account — citing three separate regulations that may apply. Yesterday the For
Worldcoin hit with temporary ban in Spain over privacy concerns
Spain’s data protection authority has ordered Worldcoin to temporarily stop collecting and processing personal data from the market. It must also stop processing any data it previously collected
Google points to privacy changes, choice screens and data API ahead of DMA compliance day
Google has trailed another bundle of product tweaks ahead of Thursday’s deadline for compliance with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). The DMA applies to Alphabet, GoogleR
Apple fined €1.84BN in EU over anti-steering on iOS music streaming market
The European Union has fined Apple €1.84 billion (just under $2 billion) for breaching antitrust rules in the market for music streaming services on its mobile platform, iOS. The penalty is focused
Now the EU is asking questions about Meta’s ‘pay or be tracked’ consent model
Meta’s controversial pay or be tracked ‘consent’ choice for users the European Union is facing questions from the European Commission. Today the bloc said it’s sent Facebook an
Meta’s ‘consent or pay’ data grab in Europe faces new complaints
A controversial move by Meta last year, when it switched to charging users in the European Union for an ad-free subscription to Facebook and/or Instagram unless they agreed to be tracked and profiled
Liveliness is a sports community app for finding new workout buddies
Finding people who share your active passion — to go hiking, biking, running, whatever — is a pretty enduring problem. Existing friends and family aren’t always going to be into the same sporty
Sweanty’s wearable patch for athletes tracks salt loss to help them hydrate
Wearables are coming in an increasing array of shapes, form factors and guises these days as health and fitness tracking proliferates. Here at 4YFN at the MWC tradeshow we spotted a new one: A stick-o