Foo Yun Chee

The European Commission is considering creating a new directorate that may be headed by two top antitrust officials to enforce tough new rules aimed at reining in the powers of Big Tech, two people familiar with the matter said.

U.S. satellite operator Viasat's bid for British satellite telecommunications company Inmarsat will need EU antitrust approval before it can be completed, the European Commission said on Wednesday.

French telecoms provider Orange's bid for a majority stake in Belgian peer VOO SA will face a full-scale investigation by EU antitrust regulators, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, which Orange subsequently confirmed.

Illumina has offered rivals royalty-free global licences for some of its patents and a three-year patent truce with Chinese rival BGI in Europe in a bid to address EU antitrust concerns over its acquisition of Grail, people familiar with the matter said.

Illumina's acquisition of biotechnology company Grail will likely be blocked by EU antitrust regulators because of concerns about concessions offered by the U.S.

State-controlled media outlet Russia Today on Wednesday lost its court fight against a European Union ban imposed in March due to its systematic disinformation over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

State-controlled media outlet Russia Today on Wednesday lost its court fight against a European Union ban imposed in March over alleged disinformation, prompting the Kremlin to warn of retaliatory measures against Western media.

EU antitrust regulators are set to beef up an investigation into Apple, triggered by Spotify, with new evidence but not new charges, in the hope of speeding up the case, people familiar with the matter said.

Alphabet unit Google said it will from Tuesday cut fees to 12%, from 15%, for non-gaming app developers on its Google Play App Store which switch to rival payment systems, as it moves to comply with new EU tech rules.

Greece on Thursday scored a win in its fight to protect their right to the term 'Feta' as Europe's top court reprimanded Denmark for not blocking local companies from using the name for sales outside the European Union.

Amazon has offered to halt online selling and marketing practices EU antitrust regulators regard as anti-competitive to try to end two investigations and avoid a possible hefty fine, ahead of EU rules that will target such methods from next year.

U.S. life sciences company Illumina on Wednesday lost its challenge against European Union scrutiny of its $8 billion cash-and-stock takeover of Grail, as a top European court agreed the EU antitrust watchdog had the right to do so.

Short-term accommodation services company Airbnb is obliged to provide information in rental contracts to tax authorities, an adviser to Europe's top court said on Thursday, in another potential legal setback in Europe for the company.

EU lawmakers gave the thumbs up on Tuesday to landmark rules to rein in tech giants such as Alphabet unit Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft, but enforcement could be hampered by regulators' limited resources.

EU states and lawmakers on Thursday agreed to rules to put a brake on state-backed foreign firms acquiring EU companies with annual turnover of 500 million euros ($520 million), underlining a more protectionist approach against a possible Chinese buying spree.

Proposed rules to put a brake on state-backed foreign firms acquiring European Union companies with annual turnover of 500 million euros ($520 million) or more are likely to win the backing EU states and lawmakers, a source said on Thursday.

Google has been targeted by a French consumer group and its peers in complaints to privacy watchdogs over its vast trove of users' personal data harvested via their Google accounts, European consumer organisation BEUC said on Thursday.

Google was hit with an antitrust complaint on Monday after Danish online job-search rival Jobindex took its grievance to European Union regulators, alleging the Alphabet-owned business had unfairly favoured its own job search service.

Google faces an antitrust complaint on Monday by Danish online job-search rival Jobindex, which told European Union regulators the Alphabet-owned business had allegedly unfairly favoured its own job-search service.

Swedish truckmaker Volvo and Paccar's DAF Trucks can be sued for compensation by a Spanish claimant over a truckmakers' cartel, Europe's top court said on Wednesday, in a ruling that could spur more claims against the cartel members.

The United States should play a more active role in combating Russian propaganda and online disinformation because of the threat to democracy, European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova will say on Wednesday.

Meta, Alphabet unit Google, Twitter and Microsoft agreed on Thursday to take a tougher line against disinformation under an updated EU code of practice that could hit them with hefty fines if they fail to do so.

U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm on Wednesday won its fight against a 997 million euro ($1.05 billion) fine imposed by EU antitrust regulators four years ago, dealing a major setback to EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager's crackdown on Big Tech.

U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm on Wednesday won its fight against a 997-million-euro ($1.05 billion) fine imposed by EU antitrust regulators four years ago for paying Apple to use only its chips and blocking out rivals such as Intel Corp.

EU antitrust regulators, which raided some fashion companies last month, are focusing on a group of designers who two years ago called for changes in sales periods and discounts, people familiar with the matter said.

Alphabet Inc unit Google, Facebook Inc, Twitter Inc and other tech companies will have to take measures to counter deepfakes and fake accounts on their platforms or risk hefty fines under an updated European Union code of practice, according to an EU document seen by Reuters.

Google parent Alphabet has offered to let rival ad intermediaries place ads on YouTube to address a crucial part of an EU antitrust investigation that could pave the way for it to settle the case without a fine, people familiar with the matter said.

Amazon has offered to share marketplace data with sellers and boost the visibility of rival products on its platform, trying to persuade EU antitrust regulators to close their investigations without a fine by the end of the year, people familiar with the matter said.

Meta's WhatsApp has until July to show that a privacy policy update introduced in January complies with EU consumer law, the European Commission said on Wednesday, in a case prompted by complaints from consumer bodies across Europe.