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Apple, Google and Meta face their first formal investigation under the EU’s DMA

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What is the collective noun for Big Tech investigations? Because the European Union has just announced the launch of an investigation into the gatekeepers appointed under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Alphabet/Google, Apple and Meta face their first formal non-compliance investigations under the bloc’s revamped set of ex-ante competition rules.

The box shows Alphabet/Google’s Google Play control policy and its approach to custom preferences in search results. For Apple, the EU can be considering its rules on App Store controls and the design of selection screens for alternatives to the Safari web browser. The Commission will examine Meta’s ‘pay or consent’ model.

Three watchdogs appointed under the EU-wide regulation last autumn will face formal investigations into these areas to find out whether, as the Commission suspects, they’re breaching the rulebook. Confirmed DMA violations can lead to financial penalties of as much as 10% of worldwide annual turnover, and as much as 20% for repeat offenses.

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The EU could have as much as 12 months to finish the investigations. The initial report may be accomplished inside six months.

The bloc’s enforcement motion comes as antitrust scrutiny continues to accentuate against the three U.S. corporations, including at home.

Since the three corporations unveiled their DMA compliance plans, there was a series of criticism that the proposals will not be compliant with the latest EU law.

For example, Google was accused of attempting to avoid the regulation’s ban on preferring its own services by launching latest, wealthy features in search results that unfairly compete with competitors. Although Apple’s use of notifications for users warning them of the risks of venturing outside the walled garden has been attacked by developers as “intimidating screens”. Meta’s “pay or be tracked” tactics have been roundly condemned by privacy and consumer rights groups as exploitative. (Earlier this month, the Commission sent Meta questions on this matter also under the DMA’s sister regulation, the Digital Services Act).

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“The Commission has initiated proceedings to evaluate whether the measures implemented by Alphabet and Apple in reference to their app store obligations violate the DMA. Article 5(1) 4 DMA requires gatekeepers to permit app developers to “target” consumers freed from charge to offers outside gatekeepers’ app stores,” the Commission wrote, expressing concern about the pair’s control measures “will not be fully compliant because they impose various restrictions and limitations,” pointing out, for example, limitations on developers’ ability to “freely communicate and promote offers and directly conclude contracts.”

Following concerns about Google’s preferences, the EU said the investigation would give attention to Google’s vertical search services (e.g. Google Shopping, Google Flights, Google Hotels) and the impact these activities can have on similar competing services.

“The Commission is anxious that the measures Alphabet has implemented to make sure compliance with the DMA may not make sure that third-party services presented on the Google search results page are treated in a good and non-discriminatory manner in comparison with Alphabet’s own services, as required by Article 6 (5) DMA,” it said.

For Apple, the EU may also check whether it meets quite a few user selection obligations in iOS, including allowing end users to simply uninstall apps; easy to alter default settings; and prompts users with selection screens that it says “must effectively and easily allow them to select an alternative default service, such as the browser or search engine on their iPhones.”

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“The Commission is concerned that Apple’s measures, including the design of the web browser selection screen, may prevent users from actually exercising the selection of services in the Apple ecosystem, which is contrary to Article 6 section 3 DMA,” she added. .

In the case of Meta, the EU said the investigation would examine whether its recently introduced ‘pay or consent’ model for EU users complies with Article 5 section 2 DMA, noting that this a part of the regulation “requires gatekeepers to obtain users’ consent when they intend to combine or cross-use their personal data across different core platform services.”

“The Commission is concerned that the binary choice imposed by Meta’s pay-or-consent model may not provide a viable alternative in the event that users do not consent, thereby failing to achieve the objective of preventing gatekeepers from collecting personal data,” it said.

Commenting in a press release, Margrethe Vestager, Commission Vice President accountable for competition policy, said: “We suspect that the solutions proposed by the three corporations will not be fully compliant with the DMA. We will now examine whether corporations are complying with the DMA to make sure open and competitive digital markets in Europe.

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“The Digital Markets Act came into force on March 7. We have been talking to gatekeepers for months to help them adapt and we are already seeing changes taking place in the market. However, we are not convinced that Alphabet, Apple and Meta’s solutions deliver on their commitments to a fairer and more open digital space for European citizens and businesses,” added Thierry Breton, Commissioner for the Internal Market, in another follow-up statement. “If our investigation found a lack of full compliance with the DMA, guards would face significant fines.”

In response to the Commission’s announcement of the initiation of non-compliance proceedings, Apple sent us the following statement:

We are confident that our plan is consistent with the DMA and we are going to proceed to cooperate constructively with the European Commission because it conducts its investigations. Teams at Apple have created a wide selection of latest capabilities, features and tools for developers to make sure regulatory compliance. At the same time, we now have implemented safeguards to assist mitigate latest risks to the privacy, quality and security of our EU users. Throughout, we now have demonstrated flexibility and responsiveness towards the European Commission and developers, listening and considering their comments.

Google also sent a press release — attributed to Oliver Bethell, its chief competition officer:

To comply with the Digital Markets Act, we now have made significant changes to the way our services operate in Europe. Over the past yr, we now have engaged with the European Commission, stakeholders and third parties on dozens of events to receive and reply to feedback and balance conflicting needs in the ecosystem. We will proceed to defend our approach in the coming months.

Here is a press release from Meta defending this approach:

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Subscriptions as a substitute for promoting is a longtime business model across many industries, and we designed Ad-Free Subscription to handle several overlapping regulatory obligations, including DMA. We will proceed to cooperate constructively with the Commission.

The loudest critics of Apple’s approach to DMA compliance are prone to be disillusioned by Monday’s EU announcement, as the bloc has yet to formally examine Apple’s latest fee structure for iOS, which the iPhone maker has made contingent on developers’ willingness to exercise DMA permissions. Although the Commission has announced what it’s press release couches as “investigative steps” on this area. Therefore, on this case too, a couple of steps away from taking formal motion could also be enough.

In particular, the Commission says it’s Apple’s conditions regarding alternative app stores and the distribution of applications from the Internet (so-called sideloading) – arguing that the conditions imposed by Apple “could also be contrary to the purpose of its obligations under Article 6 section 4 of the DMA Act. . However, I repeat, to be clear, this will not be yet a formal non-compliance procedure.

The cited section of the DMA requires gatekeepers to “enable and technically enable the installation and effective use of third-party applications or application stores… and enable access to those applications or application stores by means other than the applicable underlying platform of that gatekeeper’s services,” and containing provisions designed to stop gatekeepers from interfering with third-party stores and sideloaded applications (e.g. by stopping users from setting them as default).

The Commission too signaled expects gatekeepers to stick to the spirit of the law, which suggests it should see regulatory impact as a key measure of compliance.

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Also today, the EU announced “investigative actions” against Amazon, saying it’s looking into Amazon’s rating practices in its marketplace because the Commission suspects it “may” itself favor its own brand products, in breach of the DMA. Again, this motion will not be a formal non-compliance procedure.

In response to the statement, an Amazon spokesperson said: “Amazon complies with the Digital Markets Act and has been engaging constructively with the European Commission on our plans since the designation of two of our services. We work hard every day to meet all of our customers’ high standards in the changing regulatory environment in Europe.”

Elsewhere, the EU told five guards to preserve documents it believed may very well be used to evaluate their compliance.

These “stop orders” are aimed toward Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft – so clearly the EU is casting a wider, perhaps preemptive net, as Microsoft will not be on the list of those under formal or investigative investigation today. The commission said the orders aim to make sure that tech giants “preserve available evidence and ensure effective enforcement.”

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Only ByteDance — the six appointed guardians of social network TikTok — avoided any DMA motion today.

Extension for Facebook Messenger interoperability

Finally, there may be some consolation for Meta – the Commission has granted it an extra 6 months to satisfy the DMA’s interoperability obligations for Facebook Messenger.

The regulation requires messaging applications designated as core platform services to divulge heart’s contents to competitors to enable cross-platform messaging. This element of DMA allows for a phased approach, with only basic text messages required in the first phase. The regulation also allows – “exceptionally” – extensions of deadlines in the case of a “justified request” and the Commission says this has been accepted by Meta.

“The decision relies on a selected provision of Art. 7 section 3 of the DMA and follows an affordable request submitted by Meta,” it wrote, adding: “Facebook Messenger stays subject to all other obligations under the DMA.”

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Under the DMA, a gatekeeper’s request for an extension of compliance deadlines must reveal that it’s “necessary to ensure effective interoperability and maintain the necessary level of security, including end-to-end encryption.”

This article was originally published on : techcrunch.com
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This is the shipping of products from China to the USA

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Shein and Temu icons are seen displayed on a phone screen in this illustration photo

The Chinese retailer has modified the strategy in the face of American tariffs.

Thanks to the executive ordinance, President Donald Trump ended the so -called de minimis principle, which allowed goods value 800 USD or less entering the country without tariffs. It also increases tariffs to Chinese goods by over 100%, forcing each Chinese firms and Shein, in addition to American giants, similar to Amazon to adapt plans and price increases.

CNBC reports that this was also affected, and American buyers see “import fees” from 130% to 150% added to their accounts. Now, nevertheless, the company is not sending the goods directly from China to the United States. Instead, it only displays the offers of products available in American warehouses, while goods sent from China are listed as outside the warehouse.

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“He actively recruits American sellers to join the platform,” said the spokesman ago. “The transfer is to help local sellers reach more customers and develop their companies.”

(tagstotransate) tariffs

This article was originally published on : techcrunch.com
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One of the last AI Google models is worse in terms of safety

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The Google Gemini generative AI logo on a smartphone.

The recently released Google AI model is worse in some security tests than its predecessor, in line with the company’s internal comparative test.

IN Technical report Google, published this week, reveals that his Flash Gemini 2.5 model is more likely that he generates a text that violates its security guidelines than Gemini 2.0 Flash. In two indicators “text security for text” and “image security to the text”, Flash Gemini 2.5 will withdraw 4.1% and 9.6% respectively.

Text safety for the text measures how often the model violates Google guidelines, making an allowance for the prompt, while image security to the text assesses how close the model adheres to those boundaries after displaying the monitors using the image. Both tests are automated, not supervised by man.

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In an e-mail, Google spokesman confirmed that Gemini 2.5 Flash “performs worse in terms of text safety for text and image.”

These surprising comparative results appear when AI is passing in order that their models are more acceptable – in other words, less often refuse to answer controversial or sensitive. In the case of the latest Llam Meta models, he said that he fought models in order to not support “some views on others” and answers to more “debated” political hints. Opeli said at the starting of this yr that he would improve future models, in order to not adopt an editorial attitude and offers many prospects on controversial topics.

Sometimes these efforts were refundable. TechCrunch announced on Monday that the default CHATGPT OPENAI power supply model allowed juvenile to generate erotic conversations. Opeli blamed his behavior for a “mistake”.

According to Google Technical Report, Gemini 2.5 Flash, which is still in view, follows instructions more faithfully than Gemini 2.0 Flash, including instructions exceeding problematic lines. The company claims that regression might be partially attributed to false positives, but in addition admits that Gemini 2.5 Flash sometimes generates “content of violation” when it is clearly asked.

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“Of course, there is a tension between (after instructions) on sensitive topics and violations of security policy, which is reflected in our assessment,” we read in the report.

The results from Meepmap, reference, which can examine how models react to sensitive and controversial hints, also suggest that Flash Gemini 2.5 is much less willing to refuse to reply controversial questions than Flash Gemini 2.0. Testing the TechCrunch model through the AI ​​OpenRoutter platform has shown that he unsuccessfully writes essays to support human artificial intelligence judges, weakening the protection of due protection in the US and the implementation of universal government supervisory programs.

Thomas Woodside, co -founder of the Secure AI Project, said that the limited details given by Google in their technical report show the need for greater transparency in testing models.

“There is a compromise between the instruction support and the observation of politics, because some users may ask for content that would violate the rules,” said Woodside Techcrunch. “In this case, the latest Flash model Google warns the instructions more, while breaking more. Google does not present many details about specific cases in which the rules have been violated, although they claim that they are not serious. Not knowing more, independent analysts are difficult to know if there is a problem.”

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Google was already under fire for his models of security reporting practices.

The company took weeks to publish a technical report for the most talented model, Gemini 2.5 Pro. When the report was finally published, it initially omitted the key details of the security tests.

On Monday, Google published a more detailed report with additional security information.

(Tagstotransate) Gemini

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Aurora launches a commercial self -propelled truck service in Texas

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The autonomous startup of the Aurora Innovation vehicle technology claims that it has successfully launched a self -propelled truck service in Texas, which makes it the primary company that she implemented without drivers, heavy trucks for commercial use on public roads in the USA

The premiere appears when Aurora gets the term: In October, the corporate delayed the planned debut 2024 to April 2025. The debut also appears five months after the rival Kodiak Robotics provided its first autonomous trucks to clients commercial for operations without a driver in field environments.

Aurora claims that this week she began to freight between Dallas and Houston with Hirschbach Motor Lines and Uber Freight starters, and that she has finished 1200 miles without a driver to this point. The company plans to expand to El Paso and Phoenix until the top of 2025.

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TechCrunch contacted for more detailed information concerning the premiere, for instance, the variety of vehicles implemented Aurora and whether the system needed to implement the Pullover maneuver or the required distant human assistance.

The commercial premiere of Aurora takes place in a difficult time. Self -propelled trucks have long been related to the necessity for his or her technology attributable to labor deficiencies in the chairman’s transport and the expected increase in freigh shipping. Trump’s tariffs modified this attitude, not less than in a short period. According to the April analytical company report from the commercial vehicle industry ACT researchThe freight is predicted to fall this yr in the USA with a decrease in volume and consumer expenditure.

Aurora will report its results in the primary quarter next week, i.e. when he shares how he expects the present trade war will affect his future activity. TechCrunch contacted to learn more about how tariffs affect Auror’s activities.

For now, Aurora will probably concentrate on further proving his safety case without a driver and cooperation with state and federal legislators to just accept favorable politicians to assist her develop.

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At the start of 2025, Aurora filed a lawsuit against federal regulatory bodies after the court refused to release the appliance for release from the protection requirement, which consists in placing warning triangles on the road, when the truck must stop on the highway – something that’s difficult to do when there isn’t a driver in the vehicle. To maintain compliance with this principle and proceed to totally implement without service drivers, Aurora probably has a man -driven automotive trail after they are working.

(Tagstranslate) Aurora Innovation

This article was originally published on : techcrunch.com
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