EC

European bodies agree strict new rules for online platforms

The European Parliament and the European Council, the body that represents member states, have agreed new rules to govern the behaviour of online platforms that includes opening up access to platforms’ algorithms, requirements to remove illegal products and services, and restrictions on recommendation and targeting. Under the new Digital Services Act, the European Commission and […]

AT&T secures ‘favourable’ IRS ruling as Discovery-WarnerMedia merger moves forward

US telco AT&T has secured a favourable ruling from the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for its plan for a tax-free merger of its WarnerMedia unit with Discovery. The pair had previously announced that the merger would take advantage of a merger provision in US law that would ensure its tax-free status. AT&T will achieve […]

European Commission takes issue with planned French SVOD rules

The European Commission has expressed reservations about France’s plans to implement in national law new European rules that place obligations on international video-on-demand platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+. According to information seen by consultancy group NPA Conseil and financial daily Les Echos, the EC has taken issue with key elements of France’s […]

Vivendi contests finding that execs manipulated market as EC casts doubt on new media law

Italian authorities have accused Vivendi bosses Vincent Bolloré and Arnaud de Puyfontaine of market manipulation – allegations hotly denied by Vivendi – while the EU has cast doubt on the validity of an Italian media law that allowed its regulator to probe Vivendi’s assets in the country. The Milan public prosecutor’s office last week published […]

EC passes Virgin Media-O2 merger back to UK regulator

The European Commission has acceded to a request by the UK competition regulator, the CMA, to review the planned merger between Liberty Global-owned Virgin Media and Telefónica’s O2. The CMA lodged its request soon after the EU started its investigation into the merger in October. The decision means that the CMA will now begin a […]

Spanish watchdog consults on audiovisual services regulation of video-sharing platforms

Spanish competition watchdog the CNMC has opened a public consultation on the regulation of service providers on video sharing platforms, with the goal of assessing the application of the country’s audiovisual law on such platforms. The CNMC said that it was consulting with the objective of garnering viewpoints and information relevant t to the function […]

Broadcom commits to stop locking in set-top OEMs to head off EC action

The European Commission is to seek the views of “interested parties” after chipset giant Broadcom agreed to make changes to its agreements with set-top and modem vendors to head off possible fines for breaches of competition rules. The EC could potentially make the commitments from the company binding. If Broadcom subsequently breaks the agreement it […]

German operators take legal action against Liberty Global-Vodafone approval

German regional network operator NetCologne has confirmed it is taking legal action to challenge EU approval of Vodafone’s acquisition of Unitymedia from Liberty Global, after European Court of Justice officials told German press that it, together with Deutsche Telekom and Tele Columbus had filed complaints about the decision.   The Cologne-based operator said that the […]

Telia ‘offers concessions’ to secure green light for Bonnier acquisition

Telia is reportedly offering to give rival service providers access to its free-to-air and basic pay TV channels at fair and reasonable rates to secure EU approval for its acquisition of Bonnier Broadcasting. According to Reuters, citing an EU document it has seen, Telia has offered to give TV service providers in Sweden and Finland […]

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