Tag Archives: EU

Back in April 2019, we learned that the European Commission was launching an anti-trust investigation into content geo-blocking. The investigation looked into several huge game publishers including Valve, ZeniMax, Capcom, Bandai Namco, Focus Home Interactive and Koch Media. Ultimately, the EU fined the companies for geo-blocking practices in 2021. Valve …

Shortly after the European Commission announced its decision to approve Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the CMA took to Twitter to outline the reasons it disagrees with the decision and is moving ahead with its decision to block. Now today, the EU has put out a lengthy statement on its …

The Microsoft-ABK acquisition has turned into a political circus here in the UK and Microsoft is making sure to throw its weight around, going as far as to hint at the possibility of pulling products out of the UK and investing elsewhere.

We've all seen the ten-year deals Microsoft has signed with various cloud gaming companies to offer Activision titles like Call of Duty to rival cloud gaming providers. As it turns out, in order to get its acquisition of Activision Blizzard approved by the EU, Microsoft had to go a step …

This afternoon, the European Commission officially approved Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, noting that the remedies offered by Microsoft should be enough to do away with competition concerns. Now, the UK's Competition & Markets Authority has responded, saying it stands by its initial decision.  In a series of tweets …

Last week, it was reported that the European Commission would announce its decision on Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard this week. As it turns out, that report was indeed accurate, with the commission publishing its press release today, approving the deal. 

While the FTC and the CMA are opposing Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, reports this week claim that the European Commission has a different view on the deal and plans to approve it.  According to sources speaking with Reuters, the EU will approve Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition. Previously, the Commission …

The CMA may have opted to block Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard but Microsoft is showing no signs of backing down. The company is already preparing to appeal the ruling and in the meantime, the company is also still signing 10-year deals guaranteeing access to major IP to other cloud …

Both the European Commission and the UK's CMA have extended deadlines to reach a decision on Microsoft's planned Activision Blizzard acquisition. Now, the EU is pushing the deadline further, moving from late April to late May.  While Microsoft initially planned to have this deal closed by mid 2023, that timeline …

The competition and market regulators are still evaluating Microsoft's planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard. While it seemed like things were trending towards the acquisition being blocked, sources this week have claimed that the EU is actually now planning to approve the deal. 

It is no secret that Microsoft's planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard is on shaky ground, with regulators seemingly wholeheartedly buying into Sony's objections to the deal, while also having concerns about the future of the cloud gaming market. According to a report this week, Microsoft is now preparing its ‘last-ditch' …

Earlier this year, the European Union officially passed the amended Radio Equipment Directive, which will enforce a common charging port for all smartphones and tablets. This will force Apple to finally join Android phone makers in using USB-C as the common charging port across devices.  While this rule passed earlier …

Here in the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority has entered a Phase 2 investigation of Microsoft's planned Activision Blizzard acquisition. Soon, the deal will undergo more scrutiny, this time from the EU, which also plans to enter a phase 2 investigation.  Similarly to the CMA, one of the EU's …

Earlier this year, the European Union announced legislation requiring smartphone and tablet makers to use a universal charging port to help reduce electronic waste. This isn't an issue for most Android device makers, as the vast majority have been using USB-C for years. When it comes to the iPhone though, …

The PS5 is nearing two years old and unfortunately, due to supply issues, we've yet to see any real deals for the new console at retail. Soon, the situation will get a little worse, as Sony is increasing the price of the PS5 in several markets across the world due …

The European Union has been looking to set a universal charging port standard for a while now. Most Android smartphones nowadays use USB-C, as do many laptops and other devices. Now, new EU rules will ensure that USB-C becomes the common charging port for all smartphones and tablets sold in …

Last year, Intel announced plans to build new facilities in Europe to boost chip production. Now, that plan has been finalised, with Intel today announcing plans to invest as much as 80 billion euros in the EU over the next decade, as well as plans to create six new facilities …

Apple is regularly in the news due to repeated antitrust violations. This time around, the company has been accused anti-competitive behaviour in Italy, with authorities also claiming collusion between Apple and Amazon to supress competition. As a result, both parties have been ordered to pay a $225 million fine. Italy's …

In recent months, a number of regulators have begun taking an interest in Nvidia's proposed $40 billion acquisition of Arm. The deal was announced in 2020 but has yet to be completed as the deal continues to go through regulatory checks. Recently, the UK's competition authority suggested the acquisition could …

Over the last year, Intel has begun planning new fab facilities in Europe, with financial support from the European Union. Since the EU is involved in the funding, the UK's exit from the European Union means that Intel did indeed strike the country off of its list for potential facility …

The European Commission is planning to introduce new rules that would mandate all electronics manufacturers use USB-C as the common charging port on their devices. This is something that would also apply to smartphone makers, which could finally push Apple to switch from Lightning to USB-C on future iPhones, just …

Earlier this week, it was reported that the European Commission would bring antitrust charges against Apple soon for breaking competition laws. Now, everything is official, with the commission finding that Apple is “in breach of EU competition law” with its 30 percent revenue cut and other iOS policies.  The EU …

We're all painfully aware of the current GPU stock situation, with shortages impacting both Nvidia's RTX 30 series and AMD's Radeon RX 6900 and RX 6800 series cards. We've got another AMD launch coming up soon – the Radeon RX 6700 XT and early reports indicate that supply will still …

Back in April 2019, we learned that the European Commission was launching an anti-trust investigation into content geo-blocking. The investigation looked into several huge game publishers including Valve, ZeniMax, Capcom, Bandai Namco, Focus Home Interactive and Koch Media. The investigation has since concluded, with the EU handing down a €7.8 …

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was rolled out across the EU back in 2018 and since then, we haven't seen many major fines in the tech or social media space. That changed today, with Ireland's Data Protection Commission officially fining Twitter €450,000 over a data breach. The data breach …

Over the last few years, one of the biggest cases against Apple has been an EU ruling to pay 13 billion euros in back taxes in Ireland. Since the beginning, Apple has had a firm stance on fighting this ruling and the Irish government was also on Apple's side. Now, …

Apple is under scrutiny once again in Europe due to its various business practises. This week, the European Commission opened up two separate antitrust investigations against Apple, one into the App Store and another into Apple Pay.  The first investigation focuses on the App Store's 30% revenue cut on sales …

Google has been battling with the EU for a few years now over various anti-trust concerns. At the moment, Google faces a hefty $2.6 billion (2.4 billion Euro) fine, which the company is still fighting.  The fine was initially imposed back in 2017 and this week during a three-day hearing, Alphabet …

Just a few weeks ago, we began hearing that the European Union was considering a several year ban on public use of facial recognition technology in order to buy some time to figure out the legal side of things. Since then, some changes have been made, with new reports indicating …

As the UK prepares to officially leave the European Union this Friday (31st January), the European Processor Initiative (EPI) is priming the first prototype of its HPC processor designed for advanced computing applications. The EPI was set up by the European Commission as part of the Framework Partnership Agreement, with …