Last week, Donald Trump issued a stark warning: European states that enforce EU law against American tech giants risk trade tariffs. This is not a negotiation tactic. It is an assertion of power‚ a demand that Europe surrender its legal order to foreign influence. This is not a negotiation. It is a test. Europe possesses Read more about Europe must reach for the bazooka‚ or be humiliated[…]
Alphabet’s Google was hit with a 2.95-billion-euro ($3.45 billion) European Union antitrust fine on Friday for anti-competitive practices in its lucrative adtech business, a sharp sanction that riled up U.S. President Donald Trump. The fine, the fourth penalty Google has faced in its decade-long fight with EU competition regulators, follows bubbling trade tensions between major Read more about Google hit with $3.45 billion EU antitrust fine over adtech practices where US judge also found guilt but refused to punish[…]
So you pay hundreds yearly for access to the Connected Drive API. You use Home Assistant to set the charging times of your BMW depending on when the price of electricity is low. BMW shuts you down (no re-imbursement, of course) and forces you to use one of their Charge Point providers. BMW then says Read more about BMW kills home assistant integration access to paid ConnectedDrive API to “protect security”[…]
In this article I take a look at AI Slop and how it is effecting the current internet. I also look at what exactly the internet of today looks like – it is hugely centralised. This centralisation creates a focused trashcan for the AI generated slop. This is exactly the opportunity that curated content creators Read more about AI Slop Is Great For Internet (Re-)Decentralisation[…]
Last year, Google lost an antitrust case to Biden’s DoJ. The DoJ lawyers beat Google like a drum, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that Google had deliberately sought to create and maintain a monopoly over search, and that they’d used that monopoly to make search materially worse, while locking competitors out of the Read more about The worst possible antitrust outcome – unless you are Google[…]
So the judge says that because things changed in the search space (AI / GPT searching) that changes the advertising space (which the GPTs don’t really do much of – yet) which is what the case was about. The anti-competitive facts of the case were before GPTs came along and are not relevant to the Read more about Judge who ruled Google is a monopoly says no need for punishment.[…]
William Gibson famously said that “Cyberpunk was a warning, not a suggestion.” But for every tech leader fantasizing about lobotomizing their enemies with Black Ice, there are ten who wish they could be Darth Vader, force-choking you while grating out, “I’m altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it any further.” I call this business Read more about Pluralistic: Darth Android – Altering Terms After the Fact[…]
As first reported by TorrentFreak, Apple is preventing downloads of the iTorrent app on iPhones in the EU. Developer Daniil “XITRIX” Vinogradov’s app was a popular BitTorrent client available from AltStore PAL, which is among the most popular third-party iOS app stores overseas. The company revoked the app developer’s ability to distribute apps on such Read more about Apple pulls torrenting app from a third-party store (one that it should not be able to control!) in the EU[…]
Australia’s Federal Court has given Epic Games another win in its global fight against the way Apple and Google run their app stores. The Court yesterday delivered its oral decision in a long-running case that, like similar cases elsewhere, considered whether the tech giants abuse market power by preventing developers from pursuing distribution channels that Read more about Epic Games has another win over Apple and Google, in Oz[…]
Yesterday, when Epic won its Google antitrust lawsuit for a second time, it wasn’t quite clear how soon Google would need to start dismantling its affirmed illegal monopoly. Today, Google admitted the answer was: 14 days. Google had just 14 days to enact major changes to its Google Play app store, and the way it Read more about Google had just two weeks to begin cracking open Android Play Store, it admits in emergency filing, manages to stay to three weeks[…]
[…]It’s bad enough when a company goes fully kablooey, has to shut down all their backend servers and gear, and renders their products useless. That sucks, there are ways around it, and it shouldn’t be allowed, but it’s quite different than perfectly healthy companies selling a product that has features and capabilities out of the Read more about Futurehome Breaks IoT Devices Unless A New Subscription Is Paid For[…]
Google’s attempt to appeal the decision in Epic v. Google has failed. In a newly released opinion, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has decided to uphold the original Epic v. Google lawsuit that found that Google’s Play Store and payment systems are monopolies. The decision means that Google will have to abide by the Read more about Google lost its antitrust appeal with Epic[…]
In late May, Apple announced what seemed on its face to be a big, positive development for iPad owners: It was going to begin selling repair parts for iPads to the general public, which is a requirement of a series of new right-to-repair laws. “With today’s announcement, we’re excited to expand our repair services to Read more about Apple throws usual tissy fit at law and now sells iPad Repair Parts for Astronomical Prices[…]
Secure comms biz Proton has joined a lawsuit that alleges Apple’s anticompetitive ways are harming developers, consumers, and privacy. Proton is a Switzerland-based (for now) provider of encrypted communications services and on Monday filed a legal complaint [PDF] against Apple, claiming the iGiant is abusing its control of iOS and the App Store in ways Read more about Proton joins anti-Apple lawsuit to force App Store changes in the US[…]
It’s just a comma in a 66-page document. But a comma that will cost Apple billions of euros in Europe. Starting June 23, the Cupertino-based company will no longer be able to collect commissions on external transactions made from an iPhone or iPad. In other words, all app developers will be able to redirect their Read more about Apple thinks it can argue its’ way out of EU DMA with a single comma. No it can’t and this fight will cost it billions in Europe[…]
Apple has filed an appeal with the European Union’s General Court in Luxembourg challenging the bloc’s order requiring greater iOS interoperability with rival companies’ products under the Digital Markets Act. The EU executive in March directed Apple to make its mobile operating system more compatible with competitors’ apps, headphones, and virtual reality headsets by granting Read more about EU to force Apple to open up IOS for developers[…]
[…]The new lawsuit was filed May 2, 2025, following news that a federal judge found the tech giant in contempt of court for violating a 2021 antitrust injunction which required Apple to permit its app developers to sell subscriptions and other in-app products directly to their customers using links within their apps. Without the injunction Read more about Apple Hit with Class-Action Lawsuit for App Store Injunction Violation after Judge rules apple execs lied and willfully ignored injunction – join here[…]
Epic Games v. Apple judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has ruled that, effective immediately, Apple can no longer take a cut from purchases made outside apps and has blocked the tech giant from restricting how developers can point people to third-party payment options. The judge was also not happy that Apple has seemingly not complied with Read more about Judge: Apple Lied In Fortnite Case, chose to not comply with court order, must immediately allow external payments without a cut[…]
A federal judge has ruled that Google maintained illegal monopolies in the digital advertising technology market. In a landmark case, the Department of Justice and 17 states found Google liable for antitrust violations. Federal Court Finds Google Violated Sherman Act U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled that Google illegally monopolized two key markets in digital Read more about Google Found Guilty of Illegal Ad Tech Monopoly in US Federal Court Ruling[…]
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has removed over 300 blog posts published during the agency’s leadership under former chair Lina Khan, Wired reports. These include posts that are critical of companies like Amazon and Microsoft for their handling of customer data. The FTC did not respond to a request for comment. As FTC chair during Read more about FTC removes posts critical of Big Tech from its website[…]
Brazil has ordered Apple to allow users to bypass the App Store and sideload apps within 90 days, according a report in Valor Econômico seen by 9to5Mac. The new ruling follows similar orders issued in Europe and elsewhere that were referenced by the Brazilian court. “[Apple] has already complied with similar obligations in other countries, Read more about Apple must allow app sideloading in Brazil within 90 days, judge orders[…]
Amazon is once again demonstrating that buying things in today’s world does not mean you actually own them. The company is closing a loophole that enabled owners of Kindle books to strip them of their anti-piracy protection and take them elsewhere. Some avid digital books enthusiasts prefer other e-reading applications to Amazon’s Kindle—perhaps because another Read more about Amazon Is Making It Harder to Move Your E-Books Around[…]
The complaint, filed in May 2021, accuses Apple of breaching European and UK competition laws by “its exclusion of any other app stores from iOS devices” like iPhones and iPads. It claims that some 20 million Apple users may have been overcharged by the company “due to its ban on rival app store platforms”. The Read more about Billion-pound lawsuit against Apple over App Store opens in UK[…]
Top Justice Department antitrust officials have decided to ask a judge to force Alphabet Inc.’s Google to sell off its Chrome browser in what would be a historic crackdown on one of the world’s biggest tech companies. The department will ask the judge, who ruled in August that Google illegally monopolized the search market, to Read more about DOJ Will Push Google to Sell Chrome to help Break Search Monopoly[…]
Meta Platforms Inc. was hit with a €798 million ($841 million) fine by European Union regulators by tying its Facebook Marketplace service to the social network, the US tech giant’s first ever penalty for EU antitrust violations. In a groundbreaking decision, the European Commission ordered Meta to stop tying its classified-ads service to Facebook’s sprawling Read more about Meta Fined €798 Million by EU Over Classified Ads Dominance in Facebook[…]