Latest news with #antitrust
CNA
2 hours ago
- Business
- CNA
EU probes Musk's xAI buyout of X, Bloomberg News reports
Elon Musk's $33 billion xAI acquisition of X has drawn fresh scrutiny from the European Union, as regulators evaluate potential fines under the Digital Services Act, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday. The European Commission recently circulated fresh questions to X, probing the social media platform's corporate structure following its acquisition by xAI, the report said citing people familiar with the matter. Musk said in March the combination valued "xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion". Before its summer recess in August, the regulator could announce a fine on X for alleged infractions under the DSA, though delays are possible, according to the report. Representatives for the European Commission, xAI and X did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Any firm found in breach of the DSA faces a fine worth up to 6 per cent of its global turnover, and repeat offenders may be banned from operating in Europe altogether. Earlier this month, X highlighted a disclaimer to its blue checkmark in an attempt to head off a possible hefty fine from EU antitrust regulators. The Commission issued preliminary findings under the DSA in July last year that X violated rules on deceptive design, especially by turning the blue checkmark into a paid verification, assigning false credibility to users. X had disagreed with the assessment. The EU had announced a probe into X's alleged breaches of the DSA in December 2023.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
EU probes Musk's xAI buyout of X, Bloomberg News reports
June 19 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's $33 billion xAI acquisition of X has drawn fresh scrutiny from the European Union, as regulators evaluate potential fines under the Digital Services Act, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday. The European Commission recently circulated fresh questions to X, probing the social media platform's corporate structure following its acquisition by xAI, the report said citing people familiar with the matter. Musk said in March the combination valued "xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion". Before its summer recess in August, the regulator could announce a fine on X for alleged infractions under the DSA, though delays are possible, according to the report. Representatives for the European Commission, xAI and X did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Any firm found in breach of the DSA faces a fine worth up to 6% of its global turnover, and repeat offenders may be banned from operating in Europe altogether. Earlier this month, X highlighted a disclaimer to its blue checkmark in an attempt to head off a possible hefty fine from EU antitrust regulators. The Commission issued preliminary findings under the DSA in July last year that X violated rules on deceptive design, especially by turning the blue checkmark into a paid verification, assigning false credibility to users. X had disagreed with the assessment. The EU had announced a probe into X's alleged breaches of the DSA in December 2023.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
EU probes Musk's xAI buyout of X, Bloomberg News reports
(Reuters) -Elon Musk's $33 billion xAI acquisition of X has drawn fresh scrutiny from the European Union, as regulators evaluate potential fines under the Digital Services Act, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday. The European Commission recently circulated fresh questions to X, probing the social media platform's corporate structure following its acquisition by xAI, the report said citing people familiar with the matter. Musk said in March the combination valued "xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion". Before its summer recess in August, the regulator could announce a fine on X for alleged infractions under the DSA, though delays are possible, according to the report. Representatives for the European Commission, xAI and X did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Any firm found in breach of the DSA faces a fine worth up to 6% of its global turnover, and repeat offenders may be banned from operating in Europe altogether. Earlier this month, X highlighted a disclaimer to its blue checkmark in an attempt to head off a possible hefty fine from EU antitrust regulators. The Commission issued preliminary findings under the DSA in July last year that X violated rules on deceptive design, especially by turning the blue checkmark into a paid verification, assigning false credibility to users. X had disagreed with the assessment. The EU had announced a probe into X's alleged breaches of the DSA in December 2023. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Reuters
4 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Google suffers setback at EU court over record $4.9 bln fine
Alphabet's Google faced a potential setback on Thursday as an adviser to Europe's highest court sided with EU antitrust regulators in the company's fight against a record $4.98 billion fine from 2018. Fiona Jones reports.
Reuters
6 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
EU regulators clear with conditions UniCredit's acquisition of Banco BPM
BRUSSELS, June 19 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators on Thursday approved with conditions Italian bank UniCredit's ( opens new tab takeover of rival Banco BPM ( opens new tab. UniCredit agreed to sell 209 branches in northern Italy to allay competition concerns. "These commitments fully address the competition concerns identified by the Commission, by removing the horizontal overlap between the companies' activities in those areas and ensuring that competition is preserved," the European Commission said in a statement. The EU said it had declined a request from the Italian competition authority to refer the merger to it for assessment under Italian competition law. Italy had invoked its "golden powers" over the bid, on the grounds of national security concerns and to set the terms of UniCredit's offer. UniCredit had challenged the government-imposed conditions, with a court hearing set for next month. "The Commission has a particular interest in ensuring that competition is preserved in sectors such as banking and insurance, which are of crucial importance for the economic development of the Capital Market Union and Savings and Investment Union," the commission said in its statement. "Moreover, the Commission is well placed to deal with the transaction as it has developed significant expertise in analysing banking markets," the EU said. Reuters reported on June 10 that the deal would be cleared after UniCredit agreed to asset sales.
