The EU's Digital Markets Act requires Google to share anonymized search data with competitors to level the playing field in search. Google's initial compliance offer was useless because their anonymization stripped out the data's value, so EU regulators had to design a better approach that protects user privacy while keeping the data actually useful.

• Google's 90% search market share in Europe gives it massive advantages in machine learning—they can see what people search for, what they click, and how long they stay on results, which competitors desperately need but don't have.
• Google deliberately crippled their first anonymization proposal to comply with the DMA in name only; competitors rejected it because the data was worthless for improving search engines.
• The EU's solution uses both technical measures (modifying the data itself) and non-technical measures (contractual restrictions, employee oversight) to reduce re-identification risk to acceptable levels while preserving enough data utility for competitors to actually build better search engines.

The European Commission designated ChatGPT, Reddit, and Roblox as "very large online platforms" under its Digital Services Act, forcing them to remove illegal content and protect minors or face fines up to 6% of global revenue. All three services exceeded 45 million EU monthly users, triggering stricter regulatory requirements by year-end.

• ChatGPT joins X's Grok in facing DSA investigations, marking the EU's expanding enforcement of digital safety rules on AI services
• Companies must comply with obligations including illegal content removal and minor protection by December 31 or face substantial penalties
• The 45-million-user threshold automatically triggers enhanced scrutiny, meaning any platform crossing that mark in the EU becomes subject to these rules

From February 18, 2027 the EU will force phones, tablets and cordless phones to have batteries that users can remove and replace with common tools or none at all. The rule also sets standards for safe handling, disposal and lifecycle management of batteries. Manufacturers will likely adopt these designs globally, making devices easier to repair.

• Starting February 18, 2027, EU law requires phones, tablets, and cordless phones to have user-removable/replaceable batteries using common tools or none at all
• Any proprietary tool a manufacturer requires must be provided free with the product
• "End user" is defined as any untrained adult, so battery swaps can't be locked behind special skills or proprietary equipment
• Like the EU's USB-C mandate, manufacturers will likely apply this design globally rather than make EU-only versions, potentially bringing swappable batteries to phones worldwide by 2027