The Latest from Natasha Lomas
EU’s new rules for Big Tech will come into force in Spring 2023, says Vestager
The European Union’s flagship reform for tackling Big Tech platform power, the Digital Markets Act (DMA), will come into force in early 2023, Commission EVP Margrethe Vestager has said — r
Sidekick Health grabs $55M for digital first care programs
Digital therapeutics plus pills? Iceland’s Sidekick Health has developed a gamified digital care platform that’s designed to support healthcare outcomes by applying personalized behavioral
Match Group Google Play Store complaint triggers Dutch antitrust probe
A competition complaint against Google’s Android Play Store by Match Group, the company which owns Tinder and a number of other dating apps, has led to a preliminary investigation by the Netherl
Fleksy switches to a SaaS model for its custom keyboard tech
Keyboard startup Fleksy has launched a new self-serve SDK to expand its reach for indie developers wanting to add custom keyboard software to their apps. The Barcelona-based mobile keyboard software m
UK parliament invites Twitter-lovin’ Musk to talk ‘authenticating all humans’
The British parliament has invited Elon Musk to “discuss the future of Twitter” because we live in deeply wild times. If Musk agrees to speak to parliamentarians on the Digital, Culture, M
Meta faces years of tougher antitrust oversight in Germany
Facebook’s rebranded parent, Meta, has become the next tech giant to be confirmed as subject to a special competition abuse control regime in Germany, following a 2021 update to its digital comp
Google touts more Workspace controls for users in Europe
Google has announced a package of additional controls for users of its productivity suite, Google Workspace (neĆ© G Suite), in Europe — which it’s rolling out by the end of this year and n
Back pain? This app uses your webcam to detect bad posture and says it doesn’t spy…
Are you slouching at your desk again? There’s an app for that… Zen uses posture mirroring software to help information workers stop hunching over their desks — sending alerts when it
Europe’s top court unblocks more GDPR litigation against Big Tech
A ruling by the European Union’s top court today is set to unblock a raft of litigation brought by consumer protection organizations seeking to apply the bloc’s General Data Protection Reg
Yandex signs deal with VK to sell its media products, News and Zen
In further fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Yandex, the company that’s sometimes referred to as the ‘Google of Russia,’ has signed a term sheet to sell its media divi
Leaked Facebook ads document raises fresh questions over GDPR enforcement
Motherboard/Vice had an explosive report on Facebook’s business yesterday that’s sure to raise fresh questions over the lack of enforcement of European privacy laws against the adtech gian
Ravio is bringing real-time data to the talent fight
UK-based Ravio reckons real-time data is the best way to arm businesses to win the global talent war. Its new-to-market compensation benchmarking tool lets users see how the compensation (wages and be
Will Elon Musk put Twitter on a collision course with global speech regulators?
Elon Musk joked earlier this month that he hoped buying Twitter won’t be too painful for him. But the self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” may indeed be inviting a world of pain
How Bounce beat pandemic disruption and bagged a16z to lead its Series A
Bounce, a San Francisco-based startup that’s spent over three years building up a business which layers a number of convenience-focused services, starting with luggage storage and package accept
Europe seals a deal on tighter rules for digital services
In the small hours local time, European Union lawmakers secured a provisional deal on a landmark update to rules for digital services operating in the region — grabbing political agreement after
Report reveals Big Tech’s last minute lobbying to weaken EU rules
A new report has peeled back the curtain on big tech’s frenzied lobbying of European Union lawmakers as they finalize a major series of updates to the bloc’s digital rulebook. It reveals s
Freshflow is helping grocery retailers fight food waste
For years grocery retailers have been using data driven forecasting to help them predict demand to figure out which products to reorder to keep shelves stocked. That’s nothing new. But Berlin-ba
Tresorit bolts on E2EE email via a plug-in for enterprise software
Swiss-Hungarian end-to-end encrypted cloud services provider Tresorit has added a new string to its security bow: It’s started offering E2E encrypted email as a subscription add-on for business
MEPs vote to expand scope of common charger rules
European Union lawmakers have taken a step closer to agreeing on rules to standardize how a range of mobile gadgetry is charged. Today MEPs in the European Parliament’s internal market and consu
UK targets fake reviews and killer acquisitions in reform package
The UK has announced a bundle of consumer protection and competition reforms which could see platforms that fail to tackle fake reviews fined up to 10% of their global annual turnover. Also incoming: