Neowin News Feed for: Ec

European Commission says Meta and TikTok could be violating DSA

Paul Hill — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 14:40:02 +0000

Meta and TikTok may need to make some alterations to be compliant with the Digital Services Act of the European Union after criticism from the Commission. Read more...

EFF sounds the alarm on Chat Control, a regulation allowing scanning of private messages

Usama Jawad — Mon, 29 Sep 2025 20:16:01 +0000

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has criticized Europe's Chat Control regulation, which potentially allows governments to spy on phones. Read more...

AliExpress faces EU crackdown, makes promises to fight illegal products

Paul Hill — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 10:44:01 +0000

The European Commission has announced two big actions against AliExpress. It has got the Chinese firm to make several legally binding agreements and it has found the firm broke its rules. Read more...

EU Commission fines Apple and Meta €500 million and €200 million

Paul Hill — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 11:28:01 +0000

The European Commission has fined Apple and Meta €500 million and €200 million, respectively, for violating the Digital Markets Act. Read more...

EU authorities order Apple to end geo-blocking practices

Pradeep Viswanathan — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 14:44:01 +0000

The European Commission has ordered Apple to stop geo-blocking practices on its various services, including the App Store and Apple Music Read more...

Google claims Microsoft's cloud business is anti-competitive; files a complaint to the EU

John Callaham — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 13:14:01 +0000

Google has sent a formal complaint to the European Commission, the regulations agency of the European Union, claiming Microsoft's cloud business is anti-competitive. Read more...

Microsoft points finger at the EU for not being able to lock down Windows

Paul Hill — Sun, 21 Jul 2024 14:58:01 +0000

The CrowdStrike Windows outage that hit the world this week stems back to an EU-Microsoft deal from 2009 that meant Microsoft had to give antivirus vendors the same Windows API access it had. Read more...

The EU says X is in violation of its Digital Services Act for how it handles verified users

John Callaham — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 10:56:02 +0000

The EU's regulatory body, the European Commission, says that in its preliminary view, X violates its Digital Services Act for a number of issues, including how it handles verified users. Read more...

European Commission wants more info from Amazon about its recommender systems and more

Paul Hill — Fri, 05 Jul 2024 13:38:01 +0000

The European Commission has requested more information from Amazon about its recommender systems and Ad Library for its probe to see whether the company is complying with the Digital Services Act. Read more...

European Commission apparently getting ready to give X and Elon Musk a formal DSA warning

Paul Hill — Fri, 05 Jul 2024 09:36:01 +0000

The European Commission could issue a warning to X in the next few weeks for not meeting its obligations under the Digital Services Act. It will include the EC's preliminary findings from its probe. Read more...

EU ready to charge Meta over 'pay or consent' model in latest big tech crackdown

Paul Hill — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 08:24:04 +0000

The European Union is set to charge Meta over its 'pay or consent' model in some European countries. The EU executive, the EC, is planning to make a statement soon according to sources. Read more...

The EU believes Microsoft has breached antitrust rules with its Teams bundles

John Callaham — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 12:40:01 +0000

The European Union's regulatory body, the European Commission, has announced that it believes Microsoft has broken the EU's antitrust rules by bundling its Teams service with other products. Read more...

The EU has officially stated Apple is in violation of its Digital Markets Act

John Callaham — Mon, 24 Jun 2024 11:46:01 +0000

The European Union's regulatory body, the European Commission, has officially announced it believes Apple has violated the EU's Digital Markets Act due to its App Store policies and developer prices. Read more...

EU adds Temu to its VLOP list under the Digital Services Act (DSA)

Paul Hill — Fri, 31 May 2024 14:24:01 +0000

The online marketplace, Temu, has been designated as a very large online platform by the EU after it passed 45 million users in the EU. As a VLOP, it will now be under more scrutiny. Read more...

The EU has given Microsoft until May 27 to provide requested info on its generative AI tools

John Callaham — Fri, 17 May 2024 13:20:01 +0000

The European Union announced today that Microsoft has not sent over requested information on some of its generative AI tools, and has given the company until May 27 to do so, or risk being fined. Read more...

The EU has launched a Digital Markets Act violation probe for Apple, Alphabet, and Meta

John Callaham — Mon, 25 Mar 2024 12:20:01 +0000

The EU's regulatory body, the European Commission, has launched an investigation against Apple, Alphabet, and Meta to see if they have violated compliance with the Digital Markets Act. Read more...

Apple gets fined nearly $2 billion by EU over music streaming rules; Apple will appeal

John Callaham — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 14:42:01 +0000

Apple has been hit with a $2 billion fine by the EU's European Commission, stating it abused its App Store rules and made consumers pay more for music streaming. Apple has already said it will appeal. Read more...

The EU's European Commission has launched an official probe to investigate TikTok

John Callaham — Mon, 19 Feb 2024 14:14:01 +0000

The European Union's regulatory body, the European Commission, has launched a formal probe to investigate if the TikTok social network has violated the EU's Digital Service Act in several ways. Read more...

Report: Amazon to get antitrust approval for iRobot acquisition in the EU

Paul Hill — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 16:20:02 +0000

Amazon is likely to get approval from the EU over its acquisition of iRobot which makes the popular Roomba vacuum cleaners, three sources have said. A final decision is due on February 14. Read more...

EU fines Intel $400 million for blocking AMD's market access through payments to PC makers

Omer Dursun — Fri, 22 Sep 2023 13:18:01 +0000

The European Commission has fined Intel €376 million for paying PC manufacturers to limit or delay products using AMD CPUs. Intel's restrictions included payments to HP, Acer and Lenovo. Read more...

EU investigating acquisition of Figma by Adobe over competition concerns

Paul Hill — Mon, 07 Aug 2023 17:10:01 +0000

Adobe's acquisition of Figma is coming under more scrutiny, the European Commission has announced. The body said that it's concerned about the implications the deal could have on the market. Read more...

TikTok will let Europeans disable For You feed

Paul Hill — Fri, 04 Aug 2023 23:24:01 +0000

TikTok has announced a whole raft of updates that it's going to introduce for users in the European Economic Area. The flagship change is that users will be able to disable the For You feed. Read more...

Microsoft and Apple slapped with gatekeeper label, says EU Commissioner

Paul Hill — Tue, 04 Jul 2023 18:02:02 +0000

The European Commission has named the Big Tech companies that will be considered gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act. They will be subject to rules to ensure they don't trample competition. Read more...

TikTok slams EC's decision to ban app on its staff's phones as “un-European”

Paul Hill — Thu, 23 Feb 2023 18:30:01 +0000

TikTok has criticized the European Commission's decision to ban its employees from using TikTok on their devices. It said the process to reach the decision was "un-European" due to its secretiveness. Read more...

European Commission tells its staff to remove TikTok from their phones by March 15

John Callaham — Thu, 23 Feb 2023 14:02:01 +0000

The executive of the European Union has ordered its 32,000 employees to remove TikTok from their personal smartphones and devices that have official apps, due to unnamed cybersecurity concerns. Read more...

Microsoft to face antitrust probe over Slack complaint about Teams

Usama Jawad — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 16:06:01 +0000

Microsoft could soon be facing an antitrust probe from the European Commission regarding bundling Teams in the Microsoft 365 suite. The root of the potential probe is a Slack complaint from 2020. Read more...

It's official: iPhones released after December 2024 need to ditch Lightning, switch to USB-C

Usama Jawad — Fri, 09 Dec 2022 02:04:02 +0000

The EU has published documentation confirming the exact date from which new electronic devices will be required to adopt USB-C charging. The law impacts Apple the most and is a bid to reduce e-waste. Read more...

EU reportedly gearing up to investigate Microsoft over Teams antitrust complaints from Slack

Usama Jawad — Fri, 25 Nov 2022 01:46:01 +0000

The European Commission (EC) is reportedly preparing to launch an antitrust probe into complaints made against Microsoft Teams by competitor Slack. The two firms have clashed many times in the past. Read more...

EU's Digital Markets Act enters into force on November 1

Paul Hill — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 23:32:01 +0000

The European Union's Digital Markets Act enters force on November 1. It aims to help third-party businesses better interact with customers without so-called gatekeepers making business difficult. Read more...

The EU is making it easier to sue for damages when it comes to AI systems

Usama Jawad — Tue, 27 Sep 2022 22:58:01 +0000

The European Union is set to announce the AI Liability Directive that will make it easier for individuals to sue the manufacturer of an AI product or its user through "presumption of causality". Read more...

Google loses antitrust appeal in EU court, will have to pay record €4.1 billion fine

Usama Jawad — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 10:26:01 +0000

Google has lost its appeal in the EU General Court for a case that required it to pay a €4.34 billion fine. Although this fine has been slightly reduced now, it is still its biggest penalty in the EU. Read more...

European Commission says member states need to double down on 5G rollout

Paul Hill — Fri, 29 Jul 2022 02:26:01 +0000

The European Commission has published its DESI 2022 report, which looks at how much digitalization progress member states are making. It highlighted that the deployment of 5G is going too slow. Read more...

Danish job search company files antitrust complaint against Google

Usama Jawad — Mon, 27 Jun 2022 08:54:01 +0000

A job search firm in Denmark has filed a complaint against Google, saying that the company uses its inferior Google for Jobs tool to stifle the competition and tighten its grip over the labour market. Read more...

European Union planning big fines for firms that don't tackle deepfakes

Paul Hill — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 22:40:01 +0000

The European Commission could unveil new rules on Thursday, according to a new report. It would see social media firms having to take action against deepfake content being posted on their platforms. Read more...

USB-C to become charging standard for most electronics in EU by 2024

Usama Jawad — Tue, 07 Jun 2022 13:37:44 +0000

The European Union has agreed to make USB-C the charging standard for a wide range of electronics, including phones and tablets, by 2024. The legislation will also apply to laptops around 2026. Read more...

Report: Apple accessories will soon ditch Lightning and switch to USB-C

Usama Jawad — Mon, 16 May 2022 05:56:01 +0000

A report claims that Apple will not only ditch Lightning connectivity for iPhones in the near future, but also for other accessories such as AirPods, MagSafe Battery Pack, Magic Mouse, and more. Read more...

Intel wins major battle as court overturns $1.2 billion fine for anticompetitive practices

Usama Jawad — Thu, 27 Jan 2022 07:12:01 +0000

Intel has seen a major victory in court as a 2009 European Commission ruling and a $1.2 billion fine against it for anticompetitive behavior and practices to stifle AMD has been overturned. Read more...

European Commission puts forward its declaration on digital rights

Paul Hill — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 19:44:01 +0000

The European Commission has put forward its declaration on digital rights. EU officials will now look over the draft, debate it, and then the EC wants to ratify the document in the summer. Read more...

European Union accepts Nuance acquisition by Microsoft

Paul Hill — Tue, 21 Dec 2021 18:34:01 +0000

The European Commission, the executive body of the EU, has given the go-ahead for Microsoft's acquisition of Nuance. Nuance develops transcription software and will boost Microsoft's AI prowess. Read more...

European Commission decides to go after ‘precarious' side-hustle gig economy jobs

Paul Hill — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 20:24:01 +0000

The European Commission is working on a new Directive that'd re-classify many self-employed people as workers making them eligible for a range of benefits such as sick pay and the minimum wage. Read more...