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The recent European Court of Justice victory for TowerCast has reverberated around the European Union, with the court’s decision suggesting a path for regulators to deal with so-called killer acquisitions. The court sided with an interpretation confirming that a prohibition on abuse of a dominant position is an acceptable avenue for officials wanting to block deals that involve established companies buying startups to shut down any risk of future competition. The decision is now casting a shadow over Illumina’s jurisdictional appeal for its acquisition of Grail — an acquisition that has been vetoed by the European Commission.

Last week’s collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank has again focused world attention on the health of US-based lenders and the regulatory framework in which they operate. The US government stepped in to protect deposits, as investors rushed to withdraw their funds — Silicon Valley Bank suffered a $42 billion run in a single day. However, attention in now turning to whether more stringent regulation could have detected the problems sooner. Meanwhile, the Bank of England moved swiftly to stabilize Silicon Valley Bank’s UK unit — a move that suggests the BOE’s resolution powers are working as they should.

Once the realm of science fiction, today the prospect of artificial intelligence having a say in our lives is demanding the attention of regulators and lawmakers. In the US, a patchwork of state privacy laws taking effect this year includes the right not to let increasingly sophisticated AI and machine-learning technologies use personal data to make decisions about consumers. Yet for companies planning to deploy AI for the processing of personal data, the impact of these rules remains uncertain.

The technology developments for connected and automated cars are intersecting across a number of global policy areas. From privacy regulation, to global trade discussions and national energy policy debates, these breakthrough vehicles look set to not only revolutionize our daily lives, but also global auto markets and the rules that govern them.

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the foundational law that underpins the modern Internet, is facing its first-ever review in the US Supreme Court. The lawsuits targeting Twitter and YouTube are set to establish whether the platforms should be held responsible for hosting extremist content. The case could lead to one of the most important court decisions of the first three decades of online commercial activity, with Big Tech lawyers warning that the court’s decision could “upend the Internet.

On paper, Meta won its court case against the US Federal Trade Commission fair and square, allowing it to acquire Within, a software company that develops apps for virtual-reality devices. Yet the outcome could have been worse for the US antitrust enforcer: Meta failed in its attempt to convince the judge that the FTC had used “dead letter” law; the tech giant also fell short in its claim that the relevant market for VR fitness apps was particularly competitive. Yet the FTC’s failure to provide evidence to prove the counterfactual — that Meta’s “Operation Twinkie” would have seen the company develop its own VR fitness app — is likely to prompt some soul-searching.

US President Joe Biden has sounded a warning to social-media companies: Put child safety ahead of profits. Meanwhile, some lawmakers and policy officials are arguing that the best way to keep children out of harm’s way is to ensure they stay off social-media platforms altogether. For its part, the FTC says that to address the problem, it needs to get a better understanding of the kind of harm children may be suffering when logging on to digital platforms — an understanding that may require the agency to hire staff psychologists.

In the first of a three-part podcast series about the US Federal Trade Commission, the MLex panel discusses the high-profile clashes at the very top of the agency. The antitrust world was rocked recently about the very noisy resignation of Commissioner Christine Wilson. Today’s program examines the extent to which the criticisms leveled by Wilson at FTC Chair Lina Khan go beyond the normal cut-and-thrust of US political divisions.

Assa Abloy’s move to outflank a US Department of Justice attempt to block the Swedish-based conglomerate’s acquisition of a Spectrum Brands unit has sparked a heated debate. After the DOJ moved to block the deal, amid competition concerns, Assa Abloy announced it was ready to divest two of its divisions to scupper the DOJ’s competition concerns. But its next move was to take those remedies to a court — a move dubbed “litigating the fix.” The tactic is likely to advance federal caselaw and may set the stage for future clashes, as the US’s antitrust agencies strengthen their position on remedies.

As one of Australia’s top antitrust lawyers, Gina Cass-Gottlieb had a reputation for being calm, measured and in control — honing a consensus-based leadership style that appears to have served her well. Now, as the head of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, Cass-Gottlieb’s sang froid will be put to the test, as the competition enforcer grapples with its criminal-cartel enforcement agenda, while taking on well-resourced tech companies and holding payment companies up to scrutiny. In an extended interview with MLex’s Sydney-based correspondent Laurel Henning, Cass-Gottlieb discusses both how she got to where she is and the way forward for her agency.

Why would US automakers be taking such a close interest in privacy policy in the US? The answer is simple: smart cars. The personal data generated by the next generation of connected vehicles means that, as data harvesters, carmakers will be comparable to smartphone makers and app developers. And with state governments developing their own privacy legislation, the auto industry is doing what it can to ensure that the management of the data vehicles collect isn’t caught up in restrictive regulation.

Today’s podcast brings together MLex financial-services reporters around the globe to discuss our most recent special report, covering the regulation of crypto assets and policies that address sustainable finance.

Google has found itself fighting essentially the same battle in two different courts against two different coalitions of enforcers. In so doing, the search giant is exposing itself to a potential court loss that could see it forced to divest parts of its digital advertising business. Meanwhile, Google is also alone among the tech giants in its adversarial relationship with California’s attorney general.

Meta Platforms can expect a bruising 2023 when it comes to data protection enforcement in Europe, with a series of cases taking aim at its business model and the possibility of more hefty fines and settlements on the horizon. And in the United States, the road ahead is just as rough, with the company agreeing to pay $725 million to settle claims relating to its decision to allow apps on Facebook’s platform to access users’ personal data. Yet with the tech company’s access to data now being challenged worldwide, the hefty fines may prove to be the least of the tech giant’s problems.

The Year of the Rabbit will play out against an interesting background for Chinese antitrust policy and enforcement. On the one hand, the government will be keen to kickstart the economy, following the abandonment of the zero-Covid policy — leading to enforcement being dialed down. Yet competition policy is likely to remain prominent, as the government moves to create a more competitive environment for businesses. In today’s special podcast to mark the start of 2023, our correspondent, Yonnex Li, ponders what the year is likely to bring.

On today’s 2023 preview podcast, our London-based financial-crime reporter, Martin Coyle, walks us through some of the legislative and enforcement changes that lie ahead, both in the UK and internationally. And top of the agenda: the departure of the UK Serious Fraud Office head, Lisa Osofsky, whose tenure had become mired in controversy.

The issue of how best to regulate cryptocurrencies came to the fore in 2022, with the spectacular implosion of crypto-exchange FTX prompting plenty of soul-searching. The upheaval appears to have paved the way for what is likely to be the big regulatory story of 2023: how best to rein in the excesses of the new ledger-based technologies. Yet as officials around the globe grapple with the challenge, our London-based reporter Phoebe Seers tells us there’s no clear path forward.

With several antitrust battles between the European Commission and Big Tech likely to come to a head in 2023, the next 12 months are likely to tell us something about the legacy of the bloc’s antitrust chief. In this special podcast to mark the start of 2023, Nicholas Hirst ponders the challenges facing Vestager, as she nears the end of what’s expected to be her final term as the EU’s competition commissioner.

If there’s one thing that Southeast Asian jurisdictions have in common, it’s the rapid pace of regulatory developments. In this review of what we can expect in 2023, our correspondent ponders recent changes and how regulators across the region are gearing up for the challenges that lie ahead.

In this letter from Brussels, chief correspondent covering data privacy and security, Matthew Newman, explains why the enforcement of the EU’s Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act is likely to be dominating MLex’s coverage in 2023. It will come down to what Big Tech companies are designated as gatekeepers and what they will need to do to comply with the legislation.