Competition

Meta’s ad-free subscriptions for Instagram and Facebook break European tech rules and could lead to billions in fines, EU says

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Topline Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta broke Europe’s strict digital competition rules by forcing users to “pay or consent” to share personal data, the European Commission said Monday. The breach could cost the company billions of dollars and comes just a week after the powerful regulator clamped down on iPhone giant Apple for stifling … Read more

Meta’s ‘pay or consent’ model fails under EU competition rules, says Commission | TechCrunch

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Meta’s ‘pay or consent’ model fails EU competition rules, Commission finds

A European Commission investigation has found that Meta’s ‘pay or consent’ offer to Facebook and Instagram users in Europe does not comply with the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), according to preliminary findings released by the regulator on Monday reported. The Commission wrote in a press release that the binary choice offered by Meta “forces … Read more

EU accuses Microsoft of infringing competition through Teams bundling | TechCrunch

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The European Union accused Microsoft on Tuesday of violating competition rules. In a formal statement of objections, the bloc said it suspects the software giant of abusing antitrust rules by bundling its real-time communications and collaboration tool Teams with popular productivity apps, including cloud-based business suites Office 365 and Microsoft 365. The EU opened an … Read more

Computers built like brains could be a ‘competition killer’? – BBC news

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Image source, Getty Images Image caption, The demand for electricity from data centers is rising rapidly Item information Author, Zoe Corbyn Role, Technology reporter Reporting from San Francisco 5 hours ago Modern computers’ hunger for electricity is increasing at an alarming rate. According to a recent report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), data center, … Read more

Computers built like brains could be a ‘competition killer’? – BBC news

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Image source, Getty Images Image caption, The demand for electricity from data centers is rising rapidly Item information Author, Zoe Corbyn Role, Technology reporter Reporting from San Francisco 9 hours ago Modern computers’ hunger for electricity is increasing at an alarming rate. According to a recent report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), data center, … Read more

To kill the competition, bacteria throw bits of dead viruses at them

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Enlarge / This is an intact phage. A tailocin looks like one with the head cut off. Long before people became interested in killing bacteria, viruses were already at work. Viruses that attack bacteria, called “phages” (short for bacteriophage), were first identified by their ability to create bare spots on the surface of culture plates … Read more

BT warns three UK and Vodafone merger to harm competition and cause higher prices

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bt beyond limits uk isp logo

Broadband and telecoms giant BT (EE) has warned the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) that the mega-merger (here) between rival mobile operators Three UK and Vodafone would trigger a “significant reduction in competition“, which they claim that “finally [result] in higher prices, poorer network quality and reduced incentives to invest.” The merger, which would see … Read more

Despite a rocky start, ROG Ally turned portable PCs into real competition with Steam Deck

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ROG Ally celebrates its 1-year anniversary today, June 13, 2024. Below, we look back at how it overcame its launch problems to become a viable Steam Deck competitor, and a sign of just how open the portable PC market can be. Considering how much the portable gaming PC market has exploded since Valve launched the … Read more

10 ‘breathtaking’ photos of our galaxy from the 2024 Milky Way Photographer of the Year competition

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Milky way photographed above a glacier in Aoraki, Mount Cook National Park, New Zealand

The Milky Way has long fascinated humanity, covering the night sky with its familiar constellations and dense streams of stars. The full beauty of our galaxy is difficult to see with the naked eye, but with the help of modern cameras, photographers can capture it in vivid detail. The annual one Milky Way Photographer of … Read more

The best Bourbon according to the international Wine & Spirit Competition 2024

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WL Weller, Full Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 57% ABV, 750 ml. Photo, courtesy of Sazerac Four Straight Bourbons took top honors in the first round of the International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWSC), recently completed in London. Five other American whiskeys also earned top honors. The judging was the first round of a two-step … Read more