The EU has approved the use of 5G on planes, potentially opening up a lucrative new market opportunity for innovative new data and wide inflight services. Currently there are around 30,000 flights a day in Europe (around 80% of which are intra-Europe). Unveiling its decision, the EU’s European Commission said: “Airlines will be able to […]
The EU’s antitrust regulators have sent a questionnaire to game developers inquiring whether Microsoft’s planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard would be incentivised to block rivals’ access to titles such as Call of Duty and Overwatch. The US$69 billion deal was announced in January 2022, and would represent the largest-ever acquisition made by Microsoft and the […]
All mobile devices sold in Europe by the end of 2024 must be equipped with a USB Type-C charging port, the EU has voted. The long-awaited ruling will also see all laptops sold in the bloc need to make the switch by spring of 2026. The law will only cover hardware up to 100W of […]
The European Union is set to introduce new laws which will increase the cybersecurity scrutiny on smart device makers. The EU executive will announce its new proposal, dubbed the Cyber Resilience Act, on September 13 and it is expected to subsequently be signed into law. The new regulation will mean that any smart device connected […]
The European Union is set to ban three Russian state-owned news channels as part of the latest package of sanctions against the country. In a statement made to lawmakers in Strasbourg, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen confirmed the move without naming the broadcasters in question. She said: “We are banning three big Russian […]
The EU’s antitrust regulators have set a deadline of November 5 to decide on the proposed merger of Liberty Global’s Virgin Media and Telefónica’s O2. First announced in May, the 50-50 merger promises to create a major competitor to UK market leader BT. It will combine the fixed line and TV offers of Virgin with […]
The EU has provided conditional approval to Telia’s proposed SEK9.2 billion (€890 million) takeover of Bonnier Broadcasting. The deal, initially announced in July 2018, had been the subject of an antitrust investigation from the EU since May. Now, following a series of concessions from the operator, the EU has greenlit the deal. It had previously […]
Chipmaker Broadcom has been ordered to halt any exclusivity deals with TV makers amid investigations from the EU’s antitrust enforcers. As reported by Reuters, the European Commission had warned of a possible interim measure in June, with the vendor’s deals alleged to be anticompetitive. It is alleged that Broadcom has tied six TV set-top box […]
The European Commission has accepted commitments by Hollywood studios not to apply clauses in contracts with Sky that prevent EU consumers outside the UK and Ireland from subscribing to Sky’s UK pay TV service to access films via satellite or online. The EC has made commitments offered by Disney, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. and […]
The European Commission has reached an agreement over new copyright rules, including the controversial Article 13 that will require platforms like YouTube to tackle copyright infringements at the point of upload. One of the objectives of the of directive is to “reinforce the position of creators and right holders,” helping them to be remunerated for […]
