Movimento Consumatori stated that Netflix was ordered to reduce the prices of its current subscriptions by an amount equal to the unlawful increases, indicating significant consumer rights concerns.
The Italian Competition Authority said it was looking into promotions for skincare products such as face masks, serums and anti-ageing creams that in some cases appeared to target girls under 10.
Companies across sectors such as banking, industry, and technology report that their digital infrastructure is closely intertwined with American software and cloud platforms. Many organizations rely on services from large American suppliers for office software, cloud storage, and AI applications. According to them, this dependence cannot be reduced quickly without operational disruptions.
Traditionally, statistics show that most users will trust what they see at the top of a search page. They don't generally question it. That sort of placement alone can give a company a significant advantage, as it can greatly influence and help shape user behavior on a large scale.
I've been searching for a rental apartment for the first time in years, and one thing was immediately clear: the market has changed dramatically. The prices are much higher, options for long-term rentals are very limited, and scams are everywhere. At The Local Italy we've heard from many people who've been stung or had a near miss with scammers preying on people making an international move. We've reported how rental scams have increased in recent years.
For now, Meta will charge developers in Italy, where the country's competition watchdog asked the company to suspend its policy last December. The company said that the new pricing for non-template responses will begin on February 16. Meta plans to charge $0.0691/ €0.0572 / £0.0498 per message to developers for AI responses. This could result in steep bills for developers if users are exchanging thousands of queries with AI chatbots every day.
The groups complain about "the increasing concentration of power and lack of alternatives in digital markets, the push for deregulation, and the urgent need to enforce digital laws to protect our fundamental rights and create a level playing field for competition and innovation."
Italy could soon be set to ban horse meat as part of a law that would define equine animals including horses, donkeys and mules as pets, therefore making it illegal to kill them. The bill has been drafted by Michela Vittoria Brambilla, a politician with Noi Moderati, a member of Giorgia Meloni's ruling coalition, and is backed by opposition parties. If approved, it would impose jail terms of up to three years and fines of up to 100,000 (87,000) for the slaughter of equines.
How do privacy regulators decide which companies to poke? Often, it's a consumer complaint. Other times, it's a headline. And, sometimes, it's just personal. Regulators are consumers, too, after all. But it's important to remember that every brush with a regulator doesn't turn into a full-blown case, said privacy attorney Tyler Bridegan. Bridegan spent nearly two years as director of privacy and tech enforcement for the Texas attorney general's office. He left government work and returned to private practice in October as a partner at Womble Bond Dickinson.
Australia and the EU are on the brink of striking a long sought after free trade agreement, with both sides talking up significant progress during talks in Brussels overnight. Ahead of a planned visit to Australia by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, due within months, a joint statement issued after the latest talks attended by the trade minister, Don Farrell, signalled major progress. The two sides said they had been able to converge on key differences which have dogged the deal for years.
"With this law, we are implementing European requirements in a maximally innovation-friendly way and creating lean AI supervision with a clear focus on the needs of the economy," Federal Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger said in a statement.
Last year, Google decided not to deprecate third-party cookies in Chrome after all. This year, Google decided to jettison its backup plan and not even launch a planned choice prompt for cookies in its browser. By October, the Privacy Sandbox was all but kaput. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority released Google from its Privacy Sandbox commitments and - Psych. I'm done writing about third-party cookie deprecation, guys. Let's move on, fur real.
Italy has increased its demands around safeguards in the Mercosur trade deal, even as EU officials insist the long-delayed agreement is edging closer to completion, a development that has sharpened tensions within the Irish Government ahead of a major farmer-led protest planned for Saturday. Rome is now seeking to lower the trigger point for suspending Mercosur imports to 5pc, down from the 8pc threshold currently proposed, Italy's stance on the deal is said to be decisive ahead of a crucial EU vote expected on Friday.
The core of this matter is Italy's "Piracy Shield," a law administered by Italy's telecoms regulator, the Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni (AGCOM). Copyright holders can file a blocking request to AGCOM. If the regulator approves the requests, it uses an automated system to inform ISPs and other players that they must block access to certain IP addresses and not provide DNS services to domains suspected of facilitating piracy.
Germany and Italy are deepening defense and economic cooperation with the leaders of the two countries signing an agreement in Rome. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni agreed on closer cooperation in the production of drones, naval vessels, underwater systems and air and missile defense systems. The leaders are also looking to collaborate in the development of electronic warfare and aerial combat defense systems.