Topic: competition law
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Google to Pay £260m to Settle UK Play Store Fee Lawsuit
Google agreed to pay £260 million to settle a UK class action lawsuit regarding alleged unfair Play Store fees, avoiding trial while maintaining that it committed no wrongdoing. The settlement allocates £160 million for developer compensation and £100 million for legal costs, with individual payo...
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EU Orders Google to Share Search Data with Competitors
On April 16, 2026, European regulators proposed a detailed framework under the Digital Markets Act requiring Google to share critical user search data with rivals, explicitly including AI chatbots with search functionalities. The proposal sets specific rules for data sharing, including its scope,...
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EU Fines Google $1 Billion for Prioritizing Its Own Search Services
The European Commission fined Google $1 billion for violating the Digital Markets Act by abusing its dominance in EU search and app store markets, and ordered it to stop prioritizing its own services in search rankings. Google must also allow app developers to communicate and transact with users ...
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UK rules Google must let publishers block AI Search features
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has mandated that Google must allow website owners to opt out of AI-powered search features like AI Overviews and prevent their content from being used to fine-tune Google's AI models. This "world first" ruling empowers publishers to control their ...
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Apple Fights EU's Digital Markets Act, Demands Repeal
Apple has formally requested that the European Union repeal the Digital Markets Act, escalating tensions between major US tech firms and EU regulators. The DMA aims to curb Big Tech's dominance with severe penalties, including fines up to 10% of global revenue, and has faced opposition from US po...
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Google Could Alter EU Search Results to Avoid Fines
Google is testing major changes to its European search results to elevate rival services in categories like hotels and flights, reducing the prominence of its own offerings to comply with EU antitrust demands and avoid large fines. The changes are a direct response to the EU's Digital Markets Act...
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Italy Orders Meta to Halt WhatsApp's AI Chatbot Ban
Italian regulators have ordered Meta to suspend a policy that would block third-party AI chatbots from using WhatsApp's business tools, citing concerns it abuses its dominant market position. The investigation focuses on whether Meta is unfairly promoting its own AI chatbot while restricting comp...
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UK CMA demands Google explain search ranking methods
The UK's CMA has ordered Google to improve transparency in search rankings by establishing clear procedures for businesses to raise concerns, ranking organic results objectively, and providing advance notice of significant algorithm changes. Google must also enable data portability within three m...
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Apple ordered to stop warning iPhone users away from third-party apps
Germany's antitrust regulator preliminarily found that Apple's data consent prompts are asymmetric, with the App Tracking Transparency prompt discouraging consent while the Personalized Ads prompt encourages it, violating fair choice principles. Design elements like differing icons, wording, vagu...
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French newspapers sue Google over AI Overviews
Nearly 300 French newspapers, via the APIG alliance, filed a complaint accusing Google of breaching a 2022 compensation deal by launching AI-generated search summaries (AI Overviews) without publisher consent, which they argue reduces web traffic to news sites. APIG claims the AI summaries underm...
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Seoul court suspends order naming Coupang founder as controlling person
The Seoul High Court temporarily blocked South Korea's Fair Trade Commission from designating Coupang founder Bom Kim as the company's controlling person, pausing mandatory disclosure requirements while the lawsuit proceeds. Coupang argued the FTC's ruling was based on outdated information and an...
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End-of-life battery recycling program gets green light to continue
The ACCC has granted the Battery Stewardship Council a five-year exemption, enabling the B-cycle Battery Stewardship Scheme to proceed legally and enhance battery recycling and safe disposal across Australia. The scheme provides public benefits by reducing landfill waste and fire risks, while als...
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