Apple opens NFC access, EU Commission takes on X

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“Today, the Commission has decided to accept commitments offered by Apple. These commitments address our preliminary concerns that Apple may illegally have restricted competition when it comes to mobile wallets on iPhones.” 

– said Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager during a briefing on Thursday.

Story of the week: The European Commission legally bound Apple to commitments on Thursday, addressing previous competition concerns over its refusal to grant rivals access to the Near-Field Communication (NFC) technology for contactless payments. Since the Commission decided to legally bind Apple in these commitments, which would open this ecosystem to competitors, the company has dodged further antitrust scrutiny in this field for now. Read more. 

Don’t miss: The Commission accused social media platform X of breaching the Digital Services Act (DSA) over its verified accounts policy and lapses in transparency, in preliminary findings released on Friday. These are the Commission’s first preliminary findings under the DSA, which identified three issues of non-compliance with the Act to which X can respond. If the company’s responses are unsatisfactory, the Commission can impose fines of up to 6% of X’s annual global turnover. Read more.

Also this week: 

• European Commission probes Amazon over recommendation systems
• XNXX joins list of porn sites subject to EU digital rulebook
• Disinformation more rife in run-up to national elections than EU vote, say experts

Artificial Intelligence 

Hello, AI Act! On Friday, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act was published in the Official Journal of the European Union and will enter into force on 1 August. 

US tech trade association calls to implement AI Act thanks to a unified single market. US-based Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), published on Wednesday a position paper on how to support the development of artificial intelligence in the EU, calling for a successful implementation of the AI Act through the single market and promotion of legal clarity.

Microsoft, Apple give up OpenAI board seats. Microsoft gave up its board observer seat at OpenAI to address US and UK antitrust concerns about its influence over the AI startup, and Apple won’t take one, as planned, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) remains unconvinced this resolves all issues, Reuters reported on Wednesday.  

Samsung’s AI features. Samsung introduced new AI features in its latest foldable smartphones, the Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6, such as a “listening mode” for simultaneous voice interpretation, Reuters reported on Wednesday. In June, Apple also announced AI-powered features for iOS18, but will halt the rollout of three of them in the EU, due to “regulatory uncertainties” caused by the Digital Markets Act (DMA).  

Manufacturers and GenAI. Manufacturers are slowing their adoption of Generative AI due to accuracy concerns, as found in a Lucidworks study, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Only 20% of planned AI projects were implemented last year, but 55% of manufacturers believe they are keeping up with industry peers in AI adoption, said he study of over 2,500 AI decision-makers. 

Bumble’s AI photos. Bumble introduced a new reporting option allowing users to flag profiles suspected of using AI-generated photos and videos, TechCrunch reported on Tuesday. 

US senators take on AI copyright. A group of four US bipartisan Senators introduced a bill on Thursday to increase transparency and copyright protections in AI.  

Competition 

Microsoft Edge and DMA. Browser Opera is appealing to the Court of Justice of the EU the Commission’s February decision the Commission’s February decision to exclude Microsoft Edge from its list of important services operated by the tech giant, which is designated as a gatekeeper, according to a Friday press release. “Because Edge has not been designated as a gatekeeper service under the DMA, the vastly popular Windows operating system is still able to make it difficult for users to choose and continue to use an alternative browser as the system default and it keeps treating its own browser, Edge, in a preferential way,” said the press release. 

Data & Privacy 

New GDPR complaint. Xandr, a Microsoft subsidiary, is facing a General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) complaint from privacy group noyb for mishandling personal data in its targeted advertising operations, the non-profit announced on Tuesday. The company collects and shares sensitive user data, such as health and political opinions, for real-time bidding, yet often contains inaccurate or contradictory information, noyb said.

Digital Markets Act 

Civil society vs. Apple. A group of civil society organisations criticised Apple’s non-compliance with the DMA, specifically App Stor practices, in a joint submission published on Monday. The submission calls for the European Commission to swiftly impose non-compliance decisions and fines against Apple. 

Digital Services Act 

Amazon’s recommender systems. The Commission also sent a request for information to Amazon on measures taken to comply with a landmark EU law on content moderation, the Digital Services Act (DSA), according to a press release last Friday. Amazon is to provide information on the transparency of its recommendation systems, including data inputs, and opt-out options offered to users who do not want to be profiled by their algorithms, by 26 July. The e-commerce giant is also requested to answer questions on its Amazon Store Ad Library, including a risk assessment report. Read more. 

New VLOP designation. The European Commission designated the pornography platform XNXX as a very large online platform (VLOP) under the content moderation regulation Digital Services Act (DSA) on Wednesday. The Commission’s designation of the pornography website XNXX as a VLOP, is the fourth in the adult site industry, after Xvideos, Pornhub, and Stripchat, last December. XNXX must now comply with the DSA’s strictest requirements by mid-November, or risk fines of up to 6% of its global turnover. Read more. 

No delay for Pornhub. The EU General Court ruled against Pornhub’s appeal to delay the publication of advertiser details under the DSA, citing the Act’s importance in ensuring a safe online environment. Aylo, Pornhub’s operator, faces financial risks but not existential threats due to this requirement, which affects 99% of its revenue from advertising, MLex reported last Thursday. The court dismissed concerns that revealing advertiser information could harm competition or jeopardise Pornhub’s operations, emphasising compliance with EU digital regulations, the article reads. 

Law enforcement 

Swedish-French influence. Sweden and France pushed for changes to the draft law on combating online child sexual abuse material (CSAM), Contexte reported on Monday, based on a document from 14 June. The draft law was removed from the agenda of the 20 June meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER), who were supposed to vote on it. 

Platforms 

EU vs. national elections disinformation. The level of disinformation in national elections, such as the recent ones in France and the UK, was higher than in the European elections, according to disinformation experts in recently published reports. Read more. 

New SHEIN investment. The online fashion retailer SHEIN is investing €250 million in the UK and EU over five years aimed at boosting circularity and supporting local entrepreneurs, it announced on Wednesday. 

Meta’s policy update. Meta will now remove posts using the term “Zionist” in conjunction with antisemitic tropes or dehumanising rhetoric, CNN reported on Tuesday.  

Telecom 

Germany to remove Chinese high-risk vendors from telecoms… in 2029. Following pushes by the European Commission and a number of member states German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced on Thursday that the German government agreed to phase out Chinese high-risk vendors from its 5G networks by 2029. This move comes four years after the EU introduced the 5G Toolbox, urging member states to exclude Huawei and ZTE from the construction of sensitive telecommunications networks. According to the Commission’s report, only 10 out of the 27 EU member states had restrictions in place in June 2023. 

Meta-Vodafone partnership, the road to settling fair share debate? On Tuesday, Meta teamed up with Vodafone to optimise short-form video delivery on European mobile networks, aiming to optimise data traffic while maintaining quality amidst rising demand from short-video digital services like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. CCIA Europe’s (Computer & Communications Industry Association) CEO David Friedlander said this was a practical step to address network investments driven by Big Tech digital services, which led to the senders-pay principle or fair share tax debate in 2023.  

Cloud, settled. EU cloud providers and Microsoft settled a software licensing dispute dating back to 2022, CISPE, an association representing these cloud providers, and Microsoft announced on Thursday. Under the settlement, Microsoft has nine months to develop a service allowing CISPE’s members to run their applications on their services and local cloud infrastructures at the same price. This decision comes less than three weeks after the EU Commission accused Microsoft of breaking its antitrust rules with bundle Teams app, to which Microsoft vice-chair Brad Smith said the company would take additional interoperability steps.  

Ukraine gets another roaming extension. The Commission announced on Wednesday the fifth prolongation of Ukraine’s roaming agreement with the EU for another year. Ukraine has made progress to join the EU roaming area but is still not quite there. Read more. 

What else we’re reading this week: 

Students Target Teachers in Group TikTok Attack, Shaking Their School (The New York Times) 

Elon Musk’s Neuralink Is Ready to Implant a Second Volunteer (Wired)

Democrats decry FCC commissioner’s Project 2025 involvement (Washington Post)

[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]

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