Specialist news and analysis on legal risk and regulation

OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta asked by EU about AI law compliance, tech chief says

Fla. AG seeking relief against Meta that goes beyond multistate settlement

US content makers poised to test startup’s fair use loss for generative AI

Qualcomm-Huawei deal shows patents can bridge divided tech world

Huawei, telecom operators may see EU legal clarity on national security bans

Latest News

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Data Privacy and Security

October 08, 2026 | Mike Swift

North America

Trial looms for Apple following loss in Ill. biometric privacy case over Photos app
Colin McDonald

Financial Crime

October 08, 2026 | Samuel Rubenfeld

North America

New US DOJ Fraud Division gets marching orders for corporate investigations
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes

Antitrust, DealRisk®, Mergers and Acquisitions

October 08, 2026 | Curtis Eichelberger

North America

US state AGs say competition enforcement will factor into election campaigns
Trial looms for Apple following loss in Ill. biometric privacy case over Photos app
New US DOJ Fraud Division gets marching orders for corporate investigations
US state AGs say competition enforcement will factor into election campaigns

Antitrust View More

Hong Kong competition regulator's first false-information case goes to court

October 09, 2026

Asia

MLex Summary: An individual appeared in Hong Kong's Eastern Magistrates' Courts on Friday in the first criminal case involving allegedly providing false or misleading information to the Competition Commission,... (more story)

Japan to survey 50,000 businesses on unfair IP practices

October 09, 2026

Asia

MLex Summary: Japan's antitrust watchdog said Friday that it would survey 50,000 businesses to examine potentially unfair practices involving intellectual property rights, know-how and data, following the publ... (more story)

China proposes supply-chain assessments for shipping cooperation agreements

October 09, 2026 | MLex Staff

Asia

International liner shipping companies would be required to assess how their cooperation agreements affect China's shipping-related industrial and supply chains under proposed regulations that would also intro... (more story)

Artificial Intelligence View More

AI systems could come under UK product liability law, expert body proposes

October 09, 2026

Europe

MLex Summary: AI systems and software could be brought under UK product liability law under proposals in a consultation opened this week by the Law Commission of England and Wales, an independent body tasked w... (more story)

AI standard setters say they're 'not late to the party’ in reining in risk

October 09, 2026 | Masha Borak

Europe

Technical standards can help rein in AI risks, but the big developers are less involved than they should be, an ETSI official said — something that may need to change to help bring standard setters fully into ... (more story)

EU must avoid 'risky dependencies' in critical technologies, digital chief says

October 09, 2026 | Matthew Newman and Masha Borak

Europe

Ensuring that the EU doesn’t have risky dependencies in critical technologies — AI, quantum computing, semiconductors, space and cyber security — is one of the top goals for Henna Virkkunen, the European Commi... (more story)

Mergers and Acquisitions View More

Macquarie-Energy Assets deal concessions may be acceptable, UK’s CMA says

October 09, 2026

Europe

MLex Summary: Macquarie has offered to divest assets to ease antitrust concerns over its acquisition of Energy Assets Group, and the proposal may be acceptable, the UK merger-control regulator has said. The Co... (more story)

UniCredit files Commerzbank deal for EU approval

October 09, 2026 | Jean Comte

Europe

UniCredit has requested European Commission approval for its plan to increase its ownership share of German rival Commerzbank, according to an update on the regulator's website. The intended takeover, which wi... (more story)

Baker Hughes sees EU decision on Chart purchase published

October 09, 2026

Europe, North America

MLex Summary: The European Commission on Friday published the non-confidential version of its decision to allow Texas-based Baker Hughes to acquire Chart, which is headquartered in the US state of Georgia. Bot... (more story)

Data Privacy and Security View More

Information demands to TikTok, X and Meta Platforms defended by UK regulator

October 09, 2026 | Imogen Howse

Europe

UK communications regulator Ofcom has defended information demands it issued to TikTok, X and Meta Platforms, saying it needs the data to decide where to focus its work tackling online harms. The three social ... (more story)

'Smart data' programs should embed privacy safeguards, UK regulator says

October 09, 2026

Europe

MLex Summary: Designers of "smart data" programs, which enable customers or businesses to share data with authorized third parties, should build privacy safeguards into their rules and technical standards, the... (more story)

Focus on EU Kids Act to avoid tangle of national rules, Virkkunen urges govts

October 09, 2026 | Sara Brandstätter

Europe

EU governments should prioritize agreement on the proposed Kids Act to avoid a fragmented series of national rules around protecting children online, the EU’s digital chief Henna Virkkunen told MLex, adding th... (more story)

Intellectual Property View More

Merck gets cancer drug bar as Halozyme wins cross-border European injunction

October 09, 2026 | Inbar Preiss

Europe

A Dutch court has barred Merck’s under-the-skin version of cancer drug Keytruda in eight European countries, upholding Halozyme’s drug-delivery patent and applying EU top court guidance allowing courts to issu... (more story)

Japan Supreme Court finds tort liability for free-riding beyond copyright

October 09, 2026 | Toko Sekiguchi

Asia

Japan’s Supreme Court for the first time found the “special circumstances” test satisfied for tort liability when a business copies material outside copyright protection, upholding damages over a free, adverti... (more story)

Cloudflare appeals Italian ruling upholding €14.2m piracy-blocking fine

October 09, 2026 | Giorgi Dvalishvili

Europe

US internet services provider Cloudflare has appealed Italian court rulings that upheld a regulatory order for it to help prevent users in Italy from reaching sites reported as carrying pirated live streams an... (more story)

Financial Crime View More

Former Deutsche Bank trader Bittar has UK rate-rigging conviction quashed

October 09, 2026 | Martin Coyle

Europe

Former Deutsche Bank star trader Christian Bittar had his conviction for rate rigging overturned at the Court of Appeal in London on Friday, days after five former Barclays traders saw similar convictions over... (more story)

Amex Bank fined $350 million by US OCC for BSA, money laundering defects

October 08, 2026 | Neil Roland

North America

The American Express National Bank, one of the US’s largest credit and charge card issuers by transaction volume, was fined $350 million by the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for deficiencies in ... (more story)

Former Barclays trader Merchant says bank must face 'justice' after UK appeal win

October 08, 2026 | Martin Coyle

Europe

Former Barclays trader Jay Merchant, who saw his conviction for rate rigging quashed at a London appeals court on Wednesday, has said he will sue the bank, saying it needed to face "justice."

Financial Services View More

EU banks keep strong capital levels as new rules are phased in, watchdog says

October 09, 2026

Europe

MLex Summary: EU banks remain well above minimum capital requirements as new capital rules are phased in, the European Banking Authority has said, based on second-quarter 2026 data from 129 banks across the EU... (more story)

EU govts reach deal on capital markets integration package stance

October 09, 2026

Europe

MLex Summary: EU finance ministers reached a compromise on Friday on a major package proposal to better integrate and supervise the bloc’s capital markets. It narrows down the scope of EU-level supervision ini... (more story)

China rejects currency-manipulation claims as EU talks intensify

October 09, 2026 | Yonnex Li

Asia

China's central bank has issued a forceful rejection of claims that it manipulates the yuan exchange rate to gain trade advantages, declaring that market forces play the decisive role in determining the curren... (more story)

Trade View More

Industry lobbies urge ambitious EU trade defense to guard fair competition

October 09, 2026

Europe

MLex Summary: More than 40 European industry trade bodies are calling on policymakers to boost the EU's response to unfair trade practices and rising State-driven distortions, Glass Fibre Europe said Friday as... (more story)

Armenia wins EU tariff relief after Russian trade restrictions

October 09, 2026

Asia, Europe

MLex Summary: Almost 80 percent of Armenian exports to the EU will benefit from temporary trade preferences from Saturday, under measures aimed at supporting producers affected by Russian trade restrictions, t... (more story)

EU selects 46 new raw materials projects, with recycling in focus

October 09, 2026 | Ryan Harrison and Oscar Pandiello

Europe

The EU has selected 46 new strategic raw materials projects to strengthen industrial supply chains and reduce reliance on foreign suppliers. Together with earlier selections, they could meet the bloc’s 2030 ca... (more story)

State Aid View More

Greek energy tenders exclude three bidders after EU doubts over foreign-subsidy info

October 08, 2026 | Lewis Crofts

Europe

Three companies are blocked from submitting tenders in two public projects in the Greek energy sector after the European Commission said they'd failed to provide enough information on foreign subsidies, MLex h... (more story)

EU extends ‘temporary’ state aid rules as energy prices remain high

October 07, 2026 | Anna Lauwereys

Europe

The European Commission will extend Metsaf — its temporary state aid framework for energy-intensive industries — allowing EU countries to continue providing subsidies to companies hit by elevated energy prices... (more story)

Romanian compensation for solar energy investors open for views in EU

October 06, 2026

Europe

MLex Summary: The European Commission is seeking feedback into whether an arbitration award — ordering Romania to pay €42.2 million plus interest and costs to 10 solar-energy investors — is in line with state ... (more story)

Energy View More

EU governments approve safeguards against price spikes in new carbon market

October 09, 2026

Europe

MLex Summary: EU governments have formally approved changes aimed at limiting price volatility in the EU’s carbon market for buildings and road transport ahead of its 2028 launch. The changes to the Market Sta... (more story)

Singapore competition watchdog seeks feedback on ENEOS’ proposed Chevron acquisition

October 09, 2026

Asia

MLex Summary: Singapore’s Competition and Consumer Commission is seeking public feedback on ENEOS APAC’s proposed acquisition of Chevron Singapore. The regulator accepted the application on Oct. 2 to assess wh... (more story)

EU gas system can meet winter demand despite lower storage levels, taskforce says

October 08, 2026

Europe

MLex Summary: Although EU gas storage levels are below historical levels, a report from an industry association shows the bloc's gas system is sufficiently flexible to meet demand this winter, an advisory grou... (more story)

Technology View More

Platforms to get updated EU election guidance by year-end, Virkkunen says

October 09, 2026 | Sara Brandstätter

Europe

Online platforms are set to receive updated EU guidance on protecting electoral processes before the end of this year, with a particular focus on emerging risks from artificial intelligence, EU digital chief H... (more story)

China proposes tighter algorithm rules, broader protections for platform workers

October 09, 2026

Asia

MLex Summary: Seven Chinese government agencies have proposed broader protections for platform workers, including restrictions on how companies use algorithms to manage their work, with public comments open th... (more story)

Philippine Senate backs under-18 social-media ban, House favors tiered approach

October 09, 2026 | James Konstantin Galvez

Asia

The Philippine Senate has approved a bill that would prohibit people under 18 from holding or using social-media accounts, setting up a potential clash with a House proposal that would allow teenagers access u... (more story)