‘Mandelson also indicated that the UK must use its Brexit freedoms to embrace a more liberal, US-style approach to tech regulation and not allow future technologies to be “stifled with excessive regulation”, such as the EU’s data protection regulations and AI Act.’ https://on.ft.com/4gafHjP
“#AI is the ultimate distraction device for the C-suite, since it is now absorbing so much executive headspace & public airtime that there is less space to think about other issues, such as the uglier side of Trump’s policies. It gobbles up bandwidth, literally and metaphorically.” https://on.ft.com/4p6tJXF
US FTC Chair: “The Trump-Vance FTC will never back down from taking on Big Tech.”
‘At the DoJ, Slater is also showing no signs of relenting. “The United States will not tolerate the abuse of power by digital monopolies,” she wrote on Tuesday’ https://on.ft.com/4m9d3MQ
‘A #Meta spokesperson told the Financial Times that the EU’s Digital Markets Act was also a key point during the Trump-Zuckerberg meeting. “While digital taxes were discussed, much of the meeting focused on the #DMA”’ https://on.ft.com/47owSvJ
‘xAI is suing OpenAI and Apple over allegations that they are engaging in anticompetitive conduct. The lawsuit, filed in a Texas court on Monday, accuses the companies of “a conspiracy to monopolize the markets for smartphones and generative AI chatbots”’ https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/aug/25/musk-xai-lawsuit-open-ai-apple?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
‘Meta will license technology from artificial intelligence image and video generation start-up Midjourney, as the social media group shifts towards working with third parties as its struggle to keep pace with rivals.’ https://on.ft.com/4lFBmS0
‘Elon #Musk attempted to enlist Mark #Zuckerberg in his near-$100bn bid to take control of #OpenAI this year, according to a court filing, in what would have been a rare alliance between two billionaires who have previously challenged each other to a “cage fight”.’ https://on.ft.com/4mQOLHV
‘EU officials are now worried the new American legislation will spur the already growing use of dollar-denominated tokens and believe that a digital euro is needed to protect the single currency’s dominance across the continent.’ https://on.ft.com/41kYf61
“AI companies…claim…they do not represent an existential threat to the web…and that businesses that depend on the web for an audience will continue to thrive. Perhaps. But if much of the attention is sucked away by a chatbot, the future of web browsing looks tenuous.” https://on.ft.com/4mUp89l
‘Meta inflated a crucial advertising metric by nearly 20 per cent and deliberately bypassed privacy rules on Apple iPhones in a bid to boost revenues, a former staff member has told a 🇬🇧 employment tribunal.’ https://on.ft.com/4lyqvt1
“The minister charged with tackling violence against girls has called on smartphone makers to do more to embed child protection technology into their devices, as she defended the UK’s new requirements for online age verification.” https://on.ft.com/45YfgFJ
“We thought the UK was going strong for 18 months or so here until the most recent decision to not mandate competing stores,” EPIC CEO Tim Sweeney said. “To not pursue that just seems like a blunder to me.” #CMA #DMCCA https://on.ft.com/4oC4tbD
“in an era dominated by a handful of technology companies it is important to distinguish between hiring talent and strategic market consolidation. Antitrust authorities must focus on a transaction’s competitive implications, regardless of the form it takes.” https://on.ft.com/3HCT36L
Imagine “Terminator 7: Terms and Conditions, in which humanity’s downfall comes not from nuclear warfare but from everyone absent-mindedly agreeing to Skynet’s new privacy policy, triggering an army of leather-clad enforcers to collect on the fine print” 😂 https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/aug/18/the-ai-future-is-too-scary-even-for-james-cameron-where-can-the-terminator-franchise-go-from-here?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
‘Two EU officials said the US wanted to keep the door open for possible concessions on the bloc’s Digital Services Act, which forces Big Tech companies to police their platforms more aggressively. The commission has said that relaxing these rules is a red line.’ #DSA https://on.ft.com/4lwyEhS
‘Tech chiefs are particularly vulnerable because of their fame as well as public hostility about corporate profits, lay-offs, data misuse and their increasing political role since the 2024 presidential election campaign.’ https://on.ft.com/3HfLnHH
‘Russian hackers took control of a Norwegian dam this year, opening a floodgate and allowing water to flow unnoticed for four hours, Norway’s intelligence service has said.’ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/14/russian-hackers-control-norwegian-dam-norway?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
‘Elon #Musk has accused #Apple of breaking antitrust rules and threatened to sue the US tech company over how his #X social media and #Grok artificial intelligence tool are ranked in the #iPhone maker’s influential App Store.’ https://on.ft.com/4lozXiH
“The US has undoubtedly had an exceptional run over the past decade, but it has created wealth mainly at the very top. That is not necessarily a plus for society, particularly not in a time of growing anger against wealth inequality and oligopoly power.” https://on.ft.com/3V0y2WF
‘Iranian-linked [hackers]…did not appear to have breached the defences of Israel’s military and biggest companies…but focused on smaller businesses in their supply chains that were softer targets.
‘These included logistics and fuel groups, as well as HR companies’ https://on.ft.com/3HtN5Fl
“Argentina’s revived intelligence agency, the SIDE, has been monitoring more than a dozen opposition leaders, union representatives, trade syndicates, pensioner groups & disability organisations in an apparent violation of national law, according to the [leaked] document.” https://apple.news/ASxNHT1pASR2IvRPlHyRghA
‘OpenAI’s larger [open-weights] model performed similarly to its closed o4-mini model, while its smaller version had results close to its o3-mini system. The small model required less memory to run, “making it ideal for on-device use cases”, such as phones or laptops, #OpenAI said’ https://on.ft.com/3IVaZtV
“Palantir’s growth is the stuff of dreams; its valuation is the stuff of fantasy. The data analytics company reported a 48% increase in sales for Q2 2025, a blistering pace… But a share price that has increased sixfold in a year suggests common sense has left the building.” https://on.ft.com/3J0aE9h
If dynamic pricing and payments “continue to expand, and trying to buy things or earn money begins to feel increasingly like making a series of bets in the dark, then more and more people will start to suspect the corollary: that the house always wins.” https://on.ft.com/4lVk0BH
Londoner arrested by 3 police, who arrived in a riot van at her door at 4.45am and seized her phone and computer, after she posted about her ex-partner, a serving police officer, on Facebook 😱https://apple.news/AUA_XWa8mTjaL0N5I0idwxQ
The @ec.europa.eu “initially saying they wouldn’t even accept the 10% the UK did, undermining their position by publicly arguing about and then deferring retaliation and ruling out the use of the anti-coercion tool they spent so long designing looks truly feeble.” https://on.ft.com/40GSYp3
‘A further priority for [UvdL] was to preserve the EU’s right to regulate. The US tech industry has pushed hard for Trump to pressure the EU to weaken laws regulating online speech and data management [&] digital taxes. So far [she] has refused to compromise on those issues.’ https://on.ft.com/471fKvG
“the #US has a lot more to lose than either side’s behaviour would suggest. Whatever pain the US can impose through #tariffs, the #EU can do the equivalent through measures against service imports or US companies’ intellectual property rights.” https://on.ft.com/4lKubJ9
"#Trump has now set the stage for our next financial crisis by backing (and... trading) #crypto. What happens when we get financial chaos and more voter cynicism about mainstream politics at a time when there is less interest or ability for the govt to buffer a downturn?" https://www.ft.com/content/efc848c0-0990-4623-98ed-1176e97f04cb
CEO Sarah ‘Cardell insists there is “no tension” in promoting competition, supporting consumers and aligning with the 🇬🇧 government’s growth agenda. “The #CMA has a central role as part of the story for the UK’s economic success over the next five years”’ https://apple.news/AI1N8OAG-RQG3BoA2xpbNmg
‘#China’s premier Li Qiang said #AI innovation was hindered by “bottlenecks” such as the supply of computer chips and obstacles to talent exchange.’ https://on.ft.com/3ILfSWk
“The potential to combine these tools — using an #agent to steer people towards, or even make, their next purchase, then taking a commission — points to how #OpenAI could become a power on the commercial web.” https://on.ft.com/4kSfIK9
‘#GM and #Ford — not to mention #Apple… are rethinking their plans for self-driving cars. That leaves the future of the US #robotaxi market in the hands of just a few of the richest, most determined tech giants — and a handful of start-ups bold enough to challenge them.’ https://on.ft.com/44LLCTO
🇬🇧 Home Office will share more data - including…location of asylum hotels - with Just Eat, #Deliveroo & #Uber Eats [so] food delivery companies are “empowered to go further in detecting patterns of misuse, identify unauthorised account sharing & quickly suspend accounts" https://apple.news/AahNrkfWyTL2H-UTmHWROLg
“the #EU just isn’t ready. It’s got the technical & legal #trade tools but the political economy is not yet lined up. Some member states are concerned about alienating #Trump b/c of…Ukraine; some are concerned about counter-retaliation; some are quite sympathetic to him anyway” 😵💫 https://on.ft.com/4eW2CKe
‘$500 billion #Stargate effort unveiled at the White House to supercharge the U.S.’s #AI ambitions has struggled to get off the ground and has sharply scaled back its near-term plans.’ https://apple.news/AxaOODuxDTjyxvlIsCQ2C4A