Reuters: US files appeal in Google search antitrust case. “The U.S. government and a majority of U.S. states on Tuesday will appeal the outcome of a landmark antitrust case against Alphabet’s Google, according to court papers.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/02/04/reuters-us-files-appeal-in-google-search-antitrust-case/#antitrust
⚖️ "L'Antitrust USA chiede un'ulteriore revisione dell'intesa Apple-Google. La trasparenza digitale è in gioco! #Antitrust #TechTransparency"
🔗 https://www.tomshw.it/hardware/google-apple-doj-fa-appello-su-accordo-ricerca-2026-02-04
First was an engaging discussion with Oliver Budzinski on competition policy in the new reality at the Digital Markets Research Hub https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxZo-y5vbzk (2/6) #antitrust #economics
Senators Open Netflix Hearing With Serious Concerns Over Warner Bros. Deal: “Extraordinary In Both Scale And Potential Consequence”
#News #Politics #Antitrust #ElectionLine #Netflix #SenateJudiciaryCommittee #TedSarandos #WarnerBros
https://deadline.com/2026/02/netflix-warner-bros-senate-antitrust-1236707208/
@dazo@infosec.exchange
#WHATWG standards are dictated by the most used browsers, that are all US controlled anyway. And that's why it's such a monoculture, with #Firefox there only to provide a little #antitrust warranty to #Google: the standard themselves are designed to work as entry barriers to the browser market.
So again, open standards do not provide #DigitalSovereignty by themselves.
Open source and open standards only work in this regards whene there are several independent implementation from each country, so that there is no way to lock-in users, companies and countries' administrarions.
Without existing, multiple alternative, independent and fully interoperable implementations, open standards just reinforce centralization as Google proved when even #Microsoft abandoned their browser engine.
Then sure, #FreeSoftware helps with Digital #Sovereignty, since (and as long) people's #freedom is its primary concern.
But it's important to not conflate individual freedom and autonomy with digital sovereignty!
If all of your country payments are handled by US corporations, you might well use #GNU/#Hurd on your open hardware, but you are not free and your country has no sovereignty.
If all of your health data are stored by US corporations, they might well only use free software on open hardware located in your neighbourhood, but they are alware at a ssh of distance from #NSA, so you are not free and your country has no sovereignty.
What about your judges or your lawmakers exchanging unencrypted emails over #gmail or #outlook365?
Again, they can use opensource only, but you are not free, your country has no sovereignty and your vote is worth nothing.
So sure, after getting rid of US Tech we might even move to a #FOSS only stack EU-wide.
But first and foremost we need to break free from US control and surveillance.
Some opensource projects may help to ackieve this urgent goal.
Biggest ones won't and we shouldn't naively argue that going full opensource is per se useful or required to gain #DigitalSovereignty.
@jwildeboer@social.wildeboer.net
If you're concerned about the US controlling open source - you can fork it.This is a naive take: above a certain complexity, hard forks of a software is not licensing issue. So while you can legally fork #Chromium, nobody can really hope of doing so in any meaningful way.
#WHATWG standards are dictated by the most used browsers, that are all US controlled anyway. And that's why it's such a monoculture, with #Firefox there only to provide a little #antitrust warranty to #Google: the standard themselves are designed to work as entry barriers to the browser market.
So again, open standards do not provide #DigitalSovereignty by themselves.
Open source and open standards only work in this regards whene there are several independent implementation from each country, so that there is no way to lock-in users, companies and countries' administrarions.
Without existing, multiple alternative, independent and fully interoperable implementations, open standards just reinforce centralization as Google proved when even #Microsoft abandoned their browser engine.
Then sure, #FreeSoftware helps with Digital #Sovereignty, since (and as long) people's #freedom is its primary concern.
But it's important to not conflate individual freedom and autonomy with digital sovereignty!
If all of your country payments are handled by US corporations, you might well use #GNU/#Hurd on your open hardware, but you are not free and your country has no sovereignty.
If all of your health data are stored by US corporations, they might well only use free software on open hardware located in your neighbourhood, but they are alware at a ssh of distance from #NSA, so you are not free and your country has no sovereignty.
What about your judges or your lawmakers exchanging unencrypted emails over #gmail or #outlook365?
Again, they can use opensource only, but you are not free, your country has no sovereignty and your vote is worth nothing.
So sure, after getting rid of US Tech we might even move to a #FOSS only stack EU-wide.
But first and foremost we need to break free from US control and surveillance.
Some opensource projects may help to ackieve this urgent goal.
Biggest ones won't and we shouldn't naively argue that going full opensource is per se useful or required to gain #DigitalSovereignty.
@jwildeboer@social.wildeboer.net
5/ A US federal district judge just dismissed the #antitrust case against six academic #publishers (Jan 30, 2026).
https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/legaldocs/myvmqlljdvr/24-cv-06409-HG%20Uddin%20v.%20Elsevier%20B.V.%20et%20al.pdf
Article about the dismissal:
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/academic-publishers-defeat-lawsuit-over-peer-review-pay-other-restrictions-2026-01-30/
"The four scholars, scientists and professors who filed the lawsuit in 2024 had not shown sufficient evidence of a conspiracy involving publishers Elsevier, John Wiley & Sons, Sage Publications, Springer Nature, Taylor & Francis and Wolters Kluwer."
Netflix’s $ bid to acquire Warner Bros. raises fresh privacy questions 🎥
Merging two massive data sets—viewing, search, and location—could deepen user profiling risks 🔍
Regulators must weigh not just competition, but consent 🧩
#TechNews #Privacy #Data #Streaming #BigTech #Antitrust #Regulation #AI #Surveillance #Security #Ethics #ConsumerRights #Policy #DataProtection #Transparency #Netflix #Stream
Google will pay $68M to settle claims its Assistant recorded users without consent 📱
The lawsuit says “false activations” captured private chats since 2016, data later used for ads 🧠
A reminder of the tension between convenience and consent 🔍
🔗 https://www.thecooldown.com/green-business/google-assistant-privacy-lawsuit-settlement/
#TechNews #Privacy #Data #AI #Surveillance #BigTech #Google #Voice #Consent #Security #Ethics #Antitrust #Regulation #AIethics #OnlineSafety
#Raumfahrt: #Musk erwägt offenbar Fusion von #SpaceX, #xAI und womöglich auch #Tesla vor Börsengang. Wann werden #AntiTrust Behörden endlich sein #Kartell zerschlagen?
Raumfahrt: Musk erwägt offenbar Fusion von SpaceX und xAI vor Börsengang https://share.google/yvMVt0bBTERbE16C4
Google's AI is bleeding through the web like a blot of ink on a piece of paper. It's using summaries to manipulate traffic and divert it to its own domains. This may sound innocuous for individual consumers, but it's bad for online businesses.
The mere slap on the wrist Google received for its antitrust practices have empowered it. Google now fancies itself "unstoppable," and it will destroy the web if it isn't stopped. It would be fine were the AI parasites to build a whole new web exclusively for their thieving agents, but that's not what's happening. Instead, they are cannibalizing the human web.
Reuters, from yesterday: Google defeats bid for billions of dollars of new penalties in US privacy class action https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/google-defeats-bid-billions-dollars-new-penalties-us-privacy-class-action-2026-01-30/ @Reuters
From last month:
RealClear Science: Is AI Really Killing the Internet? https://www.realclearscience.com/video/2025/12/15/is_really_ai_killing_the_internet.html #Google #antitrust #privacy #Internet
RE: https://mastodon.social/@antitrust_bot/115988219184779819
Well, well... perhaps #JeffBezos didn't tip the government waiter enough at the last WH dinner.
There's a fresh new push by the #FTC vs #Amazon for a #retail #Antitrust case.
Netflix’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. merges its subscriber-level viewing data with Warner’s ~10,000-title library, creating a vertically integrated platform that can personalize at scale while raising antitrust concerns about market concentration. #Streaming #Mergers #Antitrust - Powered by FG
Next was an intriguing talk by Jasper van den Boom on regulating digital network competition at @Weizenbaum_Institut https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSU2abJVBAo (6/7) #antitrust
Apple ha pagato $851M in multa nel 2025.
Un importo che rappresenta
solo 3 giorni di ricavi
per il colosso tech. 📊
Le sanzioni sono sufficienti?
"Embrace, Extend, Extinguish"
www.ft.com/content/9493... #tech #antitrust #google #platformaccountability #filmandtv #audiovisual #tv #film #media
Google scuppers service compar...
Apple pagó “solo” 851M$ en multas en 2025 😬
Lo curioso: con su flujo de caja lo liquida en poco más de 3 días. Para muchos, ya no es castigo… es gasto operativo.
¿Sirven realmente las multas a las Big Tech? 🤨
#Apple #Privacidad #Antitrust
💬 Dal 16 febbraio Meta addebiterà agli sviluppatori 0,0572 euro per ogni messaggio di chatbot AI di terze parti su WhatsApp Italia.
10mila risposte giornaliere = 572 euro/giorno.
Una scelta che potrebbe cambiare l'ecosistema.
Brendan Carr Pretends To Care About Competition, Helps Larry Ellison Undermine Netflix Warner Brothers Merger
If this redistricting map stays this way by 2030, say goodbye to Dems winning a national election ever again.
I feel housing, affordabilty, diversity, and challenging corporate power should be a few of the main focuses of any local, state, and national candidate going forward.
#redistricting #maps #affordability #housing #antitrust #diversity #democracy
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