World
EU digital enforcement barometer amid rising pressure from US Big Tech
The European Commission will conclude several investigations launched against Big Tech in the coming months. As US tech giants pressure the EU to retreat and align with laissez faire tone struck by the incoming Trump administration, we take stock of the ongoing probes.
The two-year anniversary of the introduction of the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) – rules that aim to ensure fair competition in online platforms – is approaching, and with it come deadlines in outstanding probes into US tech giants Apple, Meta and Alphabet.
We look at the enforcement action the European Commission has taken up till now, and what to expect under the EU executive’s new mandate and the second administration of US President Donald Trump.
Incoming Trump administration
In September 2023 the Commission identified six gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft, who together account for 22 core platform services that fall under the scope of the rules. Last year, it added hotel renting website Booking.com to the list. They all had six months to comply with the rules.
Under the DMA, these companies need to ensure they offer more choice and more freedom to end users and business users.
However, the new Republican administration led by Donald Trump, which will be inaugurated on 20 January, is likely to pose new challenges for the Commission.
Some of the Big Tech CEOs have spoken out against stringent EU regulation, and changed some of their fact-checking and inclusion policies in the US. If those changes were to apply in the EU as well, that would raise questions about the compliance with the DMA’s sister-legislation, the Digital Services Act (DSA), which obliges platforms to tackle illegal content and protect minors online.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has sought to improve his relationships with the incoming president: following Trump’s election victory in November, Zuckerberg flew to Florida and dined with the Republican at his Mar-a-Lago club.
Earlier this month, Meta announced that it would replace Meta’s fact-checkers in the US with a “community notes” system similar to Elon Musk’s platform X.
EU Commission changes
Henna Virkkunen, the EU Commissioner for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, told a press conference last week that despite these developments, the Commission is “fully enforcing the regulations – both the DSA and the DMA – there have not been any delays.”
“Everyone doing business here needs to respect the rules. What we want to achieve is a fair and safe environment,” she added.
J. Scott Marcus, a researcher at the Brussels based think tank the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), told Euronews that the change of US administration “will create far more political tensions relative to the DSA than it does for the DMA.”
“The Trump administration is likely to complain incessantly about the protections that DSA provides for, against dissemination of lies and disinformation into the EU. The DMA, by contrast, is largely a matter between the firms and the EU, and the US government is not as much involved,” he added.
On the EU-side, the situation has changed as well: the DMA was spearheaded by Margrethe Vestager, long-time EU competition chief who dealt with many high-profile competition cases, but will now be taken over by Spain’s Teresa Ribera, who has a background as a national energy minister.
Antitrust is just part of her portfolio, she is also in charge of climate and industry dossiers. Whether this will mean a change of course, remains to be seen.
Daniel Friedlaender, Senior Vice-President at tech lobby CCIA, said that the DMA process was “needlessly politicised, moving away from the intended goals and towards decisions by tweet.”
“If a review can help get back to the initial clear objectives, namely to increase contestability and fairness, then a pause for reflection can help,” he added.
Outstanding probes
The Commission started its first DMA probes last year. On 25 March, the EU executive opened non-compliance investigations into Alphabet – Google’s owner – Apple and Meta. In the meantime, the EU enforcer has sent preliminary findings to Apple and Meta.
Regarding Apple, the investigation found in June that the App Store rules were in breach of the DMA as they prevent app developers from freely steering consumers to alternative channels for offers and content.
Concerning Meta, the Commission considered in July that its binary decision to force citizens to either pay or give up their data to use the service does not comply with the DMA.
After receiving the findings, gatekeepers can defend themselves and reply in writing. The Commission has 12 months starting from the opening of the proceedings to adopt a non-compliance decision. In case of an infringement, the gatekeepers risk fines up to 10% of their total worldwide turnover and up to 20% in case of repeated infringements.
The other investigations launched in March 2024 concern Alphabet’s rules on steering in Google Play, whether Alphabet favours its own services such as Google shopping in search results on its search engine and whether Apple’s measures prevent users from freely choosing browsers outside Apple’s ecosystem.
The Commission has also said that it has started gathering information to clarify whether Amazon may be preferencing its own brand products on the Amazon Store.
A third non compliance investigation aimed at Apple was also opened in June into the tech giant’s new contractual terms for developers to access alternative app stores and the possibility to offer an app via an alternative distribution channel.
A Commission spokesperson said last week that the technical phase of those investigations were still ongoing, adding “we need to be sure we win those cases in court, we need to be strong enough.”
World
2 people killed in collision between jet and vehicle at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, source says
NEW YORK (AP) — An Air Canada regional jet struck a fire truck on the runway after landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport late Sunday night, crushing the nose of the plane, according to authorities and photos of the wreckage.
Two people were killed, according to a person familiar with the investigation into the crash. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an active investigation.
Two Port Authority employees who were traveling in the fire truck also were injured, the person said.
There were 72 passengers and four crew members aboard the aircraft, a Jazz Aviation flight operating on behalf of Air Canada, according to a statement from the airline. The flight originated at Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, the major airport serving Montreal.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a statement that the jet had struck a rescue and firefighting vehicle that was responding to a separate incident at about 11:45 p.m. The airport was closed as of 3 a.m. to facilitate the investigation, officials said.
Photos and videos from the scene showed severe damage to the front of the aircraft, with cables and debris hanging from a mangled cockpit. Nearby, a damaged emergency vehicle lay on its side.
Stairways used to evacuate passengers from aircraft were pushed up to the emergency exits on the jet, a Bombardier CRJ. The impact left the jet with its crumpled nose tilted upward.
In the moments before the crash, an air traffic controller could be heard on a radio transmission giving clearance to a vehicle to cross part of the tarmac, then trying to stop it.
“Stop, Truck 1. Stop,” the transmission says. The controller can then be heard frantically diverting incoming aircraft from landing.
Jazz Aviation issued a statement confirming the accident and noting the passenger and crew list was preliminary and subject to confirmation.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it was investigating the incident.
World
Trump, Starmer agree Strait of Hormuz must reopen as Middle East conflict escalates
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President Donald Trump spoke with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday to discuss escalating tensions in the Middle East, with a focus on the urgent need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restore global shipping.
The leaders discussed the current situation in the Middle East, and in particular, the need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to resume global shipping, Downing Street said in a statement.
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Keir Stamer, UK prime minister, during a news conference providing an update on the situation in the Middle East, at Downing Street in London, UK, on Thursday, March 5, 2026. (Tolga Akmen/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“They agreed that reopening the Strait of Hormuz was essential to ensure stability in the global energy market. They agreed to speak again soon.”
The call came amid a rapidly intensifying conflict in the region, with Iran blocking the strategically vital strait since the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes against Iranian targets on Feb. 28.
The military action triggered swift retaliation from Tehran and has since escalated into a broader regional war as Iran has sent missiles into numerous neighboring countries not directly involved in the initial conflict.
UK NUCLEAR SUBMARINE DEPLOYED TO ARABIAN SEA BEFORE IRAN TARGETS KEY US-UK BASE: REPORTS
President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters during a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in the Oval Office of the White House, on St. Patrick’s Day, Tuesday, March 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
On March 21, Trump issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Iran demanding the reopening of the key maritime route, through which approximately 20% of the world’s oil supply passes.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump warned that failure to comply would result in further U.S. action, including potential strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure.
EU PUSHES FOR END OF IRAN WAR IN A MANNER WHERE ‘EVERYBODY SAVES FACE’
Bulk Carrier, Belray, in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz on March 22, 2026 in northern Ras al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. (Getty Images/Getty Images)
Sunday’s conversation between Trump and Starmer perhaps reflected a thaw in the tense relationship between the two leaders.
Trump had publicly criticized the U.K. government, stating that Britain “should have acted a lot faster” in allowing the U.S. to use British military bases for strikes targeting Iranian missile sites.
Starmer had also maintained that the use of U.K. bases could only be justified under the principle of “collective self-defense” in the region.
He had initially declined to support the U.S.-Israeli military operation, drawing repeated criticism from the White House.
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Meanwhile, Trump appeared to apply public pressure, sharing a “Saturday Night Live” clip Sunday mocking the British prime minister’s handling of the crisis.
World
French elections: Paris stays left as far right makes mixed gains
France’s municipal runoff delivered a mixed verdict for the country’s main political forces on Sunday: the Left held Paris with Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire, the far-right and its allies scored a major symbolic win in Nice, and mainstream parties pointed to resilience in several big and mid-sized cities ahead of the 2027 presidential race.
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Municipal elections in France are local contests to elect mayors and local councils, but they are closely watched because they test party organisation, alliance-building, and grassroots strength before national campaigns begin.
In the capital, Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire defeated conservative rival Rachida Dati, ensuring Paris remains under left-wing control after outgoing mayor Anne Hidalgo chose not to seek another term.
The result extends a quarter-century of left-led rule of the capital and hands to the Socialists one of the most visible prizes of the night. Grégoire presented the result as a mandate for a progressive vision of the city.
Elsewhere, the left also had reasons to celebrate. In Marseille, Socialist incumbent Benoît Payan was re-elected after the far right had hoped to seize France’s second-largest city.
While in Lyon, Green mayor Grégory Doucet held on after a hard-fought race against his conservative rival, which was reshaped by a last-minute merger with the list of hard-left party France Unbowed.
Socialists record strong showing
The Socialists also held or performed strongly in several regional cities, reinforcing the impression of a broader recovery for the traditional left.
For the far right, the picture was more complex. National Rally (RN) leader Jordan Bardella hailed what he called the party’s biggest local breakthrough, and RN kept the southwestern city of Perpignan while also winning smaller municipalities.
But the party fell short in several of the larger cities it had targeted, notably Marseille, Toulon and Nîmes. The exception was Nice, where Éric Ciotti — once a senior figure in the mainstream right and now allied with RN — won the race, giving the far right and its partners control of France’s fifth-largest city.
The elections also brought clearer signs of fragmentation on the centre-right and in President Emmanuel Macron’s camp.
Former prime minister Édouard Philippe was re-elected in Le Havre, strengthening his standing as a possible 2027 contender, while Macron’s centrist forces could point to a symbolic win in Bordeaux, where Renaissance candidate Thomas Cazenave defeated outgoing Green mayor Pierre Hurmic.
At the same time, the loss of Macron’s former PM, François Bayrou, in southwestern Pau, underlined the vulnerabilities of the broader presidential alliance.
Turnout remained a concern. According to the Interior Ministry, participation in mainland France stood at 48.1% at 5 p.m., higher than the Covid-disrupted 2020 election but still below pre-pandemic levels.
Taken together, the results do not predict who will succeed Macron in 2027. But they do sketch the political landscape from which that contest will emerge: a left that can still win major cities, a mainstream right that remains locally entrenched, a centre searching for durable footholds, and a far right that is growing but may still face limits in the country’s biggest urban battlegrounds.
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