Forward

Competition authorities are increasingly turning to enforcement in AI markets. Following a wave of market studies—most focused on the upstream value chain—authorities have launched several antitrust investigations across both upstream and downstream segments. Upstream, the Commission is examining Google’s data collection practices for model training. Downstream, authorities in Italy, Brazil, and the European Union are scrutinising WhatsApp’s October 2025 policies that limit the distribution of third-party AI assistants on the platform.

At the same time, the Commission is pushing ahead with DMA enforcement despite calls from the US administration to pause the regulation. It has opened multiple DMA investigations while, in parallel, using the framework in ways that align with its industrial policy goals to strengthen European competitiveness—an approach that departs from the DMA’s core purpose of safeguarding contestability and fairness.

My Work

Analysis: The Politicisation of the Digital Markets Act

The DMA aims to ensure contestability and foster innovation. Using it to promote European competitiveness in the cloud sector is legally unfounded and risks weakening competition and Europe’s overall competitiveness. The analysis

Opinion: How Brussels’ Regulatory Machine Crunches Innovation

Brussels’ regulatory machine is choking innovation in Europe. It must change its regulatory culture to adapt to a fast-changing world. The opinion

Submission: Digital Competition’s Submission to the Commission Public Consultation on the Digital Markets Act Review

Reviewing the Digital Markets Act’s implementation as of July 2025, the submission highlights designation imbalances, warns against premature scope expansion, and calls for clearer compliance guidance and deeper cooperation with national authorities. I am available to discuss and present the report to the Commission, interested competition authorities, and third parties. The submission

Outlook: Digital Competition Outlook 2025/2026

This Outlook is designed to help government agencies, tech companies, and law firms prepare and navigate these new and complex issues. The year 2025-2026 will be pivotal in four priority areas: artificial intelligence (AI), digital competition regimes, digital mergers, and competitiveness. The outlook

Report: Europe’s Progress in the Digital Single Market: A Proposal for Consistency

European digital regulations shape the Digital Single Market, raising complex issues of regulatory consistency. This report assesses and proposes recommendations to ensure coherence across countries, regulatory regimes, and the rule-making process. The report

New service: Regulatory intelligence

I now offer in-depth analysis of the latest market and regulatory developments in digital and competition policies, providing actionable insights tailored to your specific needs. Delivered monthly, so you can anticipate emerging issues before they become risks. The service

Research projects: Let’s work together

News

Generative AI

AI Partnerships

AI partnerships continue to shape the market, even though no authority has opened a new investigation into such arrangements this year. Key developments include:

• Microsoft/OpenAI: Microsoft now holds a 32.5% stake in OpenAI’s for-profit entity and has secured certain IP exclusivity rights. Microsoft/OpenAI.

• Google/Anthropic: Anthropic gains access to additional Google chips to train and deploy its models. Google/Anthropic.

• NVIDIA–Microsoft/Anthropic: Nvidia and Microsoft have invested in Anthropic, allowing it to adopt Nvidia’s architecture and deploy models on Azure. NVIDIA-Microsoft/Anthropic

WhatsApp AI Assistants Under Three Antitrust Investigations

Authorities in Italy, Brazil, and the European Union have opened probes into WhatsApp’s October 2025 policies, which allegedly block third-party AI assistants from accessing the platform, while tying WhatsApp’s own assistant to the service. Such conduct could restrict competitors’ access to a key distribution channel. These investigations signal a willingness to intervene rapidly in downstream AI markets. Italy. Bazil. Europe Union

EU Investigates Google’s AI Model Training

The European Commission is examining Google’s use of publisher and YouTube content for model training, arguing that this may confer an unfair upstream advantage. The investigation intersects with unresolved copyright issues, potentially creating tensions between competition law and copyright law. The investigation

Germany Clears Qualcomm/Alphawave

The German authority cleared the Qualcomm/Alphawave merger, finding that it could strengthen competition against Nvidia, AMD, and Intel in AI chips. The case shows that authorities remain open to mergers that enhance competitive pressure in the AI value chain. The merger

India Publishes AI Market Study

The Indian Competition Authority released its AI report, covering the AI stack, applications in sectors such as retail and e-commerce, potential competition concerns (including concentration, lock-in, collusion, pricing practices, and exclusive partnerships), and international approaches.

The authority proposes new guidance, transparency measures, compliance workshops, improved technical capabilities, a think tank on digital markets, and enhanced cross-regulatory coordination. The report

Digital Competition Regimes

Apple and Google are Designated Under the UK DMCCA

The UK CMA has designated Apple and Google’s mobile ecosystems under the new digital regime and is now assessing possible conduct requirements. The designation

Microsoft and Amazon Under EU DMA Cloud Designation Investigation

The Commission is examining, as part of a market investigation, whether Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure should be designated as gatekeepers despite not meeting quantitative thresholds. It also launched a parallel investigation to introduce new obligations to address concerns that could restrict competitiveness or are unfairness in the cloud sector. Coordination with the French competition authority is expected following the release of a report on self-preferencing in the cloud sector, highlighting some competition concerns. As argued in my analysis, these investigations are legally unfounded. The investigations. My analysis. The French report

Apple Maps and Apple Ads Under DMA Investigation

Apple has notified the Commission that Apple Maps and Apple Ads meet the DMA thresholds for gatekeeper designation. The Commission is now reviewing the notification. The notification

Google Under DMA Non-Compliance Investigation

The Commission is assessing whether Google’s “site reputation abuse” policy demotes publishers’ content in search. Google claims the measure prevents ranking manipulation. The case likely turns on Article 6(12)’s FRAND access requirement and on whether Google’s policy is justified in addressing unwanted content. The investigation 

Commission Acknowledges Meta’s Data Collection Commitment

Meta has proposed a commitment in the DMA “pay-or-consent” case, but key questions remain. The press release does not clarify whether the Commission has formally accepted the commitment under Article 25. Meta plans to offer two free versions with ads—one with personalised ads (with consent), one with less personalised ads (without consent)—but it is unclear whether the ad-free paid version will remain. The scope of data collection, the choice screen, and the service conditions for the “less personalised” version are not described. The commitment

Italian Authority Influences Google’s DMA Compliance

Italy’s competition authority accepted commitments from Google to amend its new DMA-related data policy after finding misalignment with consumer protection rules. The case shows how national authorities can indirectly influence DMA implementation through domestic legislation. The commitment

Competition

Apple ATT Under Multiple Investigations

Poland has opened proceedings against Apple’s App Tracking Transparency rules. France, Germany, Italy, and Romania are conducting similar investigations, and France has already imposed a fine. Apple has proposed remedies to the German authority, now under market test. The case illustrates the challenges of parallel national actions where the Commission has not taken the lead. Poland. Germany

US DOJ Settles RealPage “Algorithmic Pricing” Case

The US DOJ has proposed a settlement requiring RealPage to stop using non-public, competitively sensitive data to set rental prices. The case

Digital Policies

Commission Consults on the Digital Fitness Check

The Digital Fitness Check aims to evaluate the coherence of digital regulations and address inconsistencies. My report, “Europe’s Progress in the Digital Single Market: A Proposal for Consistency,” provides relevant analysis for this initiative. The Digital Fitness Check. My report