The fine would put a big dent in one Musk's only revenue-generating moves after taking over Twitter.

The EU has opened an antitrust investigation into Meta over a new WhatsApp policy that could block rival AI assistants from accessing the platform. Complaints from smaller AI developers triggered the probe, which could lead to fines of up to 10% of Meta's global revenue if the company is found to have abused its dominance. Reuters reports: EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said the move was to prevent dominant firms from "abusing their power to crowd out innovative competitors." She added interim measures could be imposed to block Meta's new WhatsApp AI policy rollout. "AI markets are booming in Europe and beyond," she said. "This is why we are investigating if Meta's new policy might be illegal under competition rules, and whether we should act quickly to prevent any possible irreparable harm to competition in the AI space." A WhatsApp spokesperson called the claims "baseless," adding that the emergence of chatbots on its platforms had put a "strain on our systems that they were not designed to support," a reference to AI systems from other providers. "Still, the AI space is highly competitive and people have access to the services of their choice in any number of ways, including app stores, search engines, email services, partnership integrations, and operating systems."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

A consortium of major European banks has formed Qivalis, a new entity in Amsterdam to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin in 2026.

A Tenth Bank Has Now Joined The Euro Stablecoin Consortium

Back in September, nine big European banks announced a consortium aimed at developing and launching a euro-based stablecoin, a digital asset that will have its price pegged to the euro (EUR).

Currently, stablecoins are overwhelmingly dominated by the US dollar (USD), with USDT and USDC, the two largest such cryptocurrencies in the space, accounting for 85% of the market. The consortium’s euro stablecoin intends to provide a real alternative to the USD tokens.

The nine banks that initially kickstarted the plan included ING, Banca Sella, KBC, Danske Bank, DekaBank, UniCredit, SEB, CaixaBank, and Raiffeisen Bank International. As announced in a press release, a tenth European bank in France’s BNP Paribas has now joined the effort.

BNP Paribas is the second largest bank in the bloc and eighth largest globally with over $2.8 trillion in assets. The list of banks part of the consortium already included some heavy-hitters, but BNP Paribas now adding its backing further elevates the project.

BNP Paribas is classified as a global systemically important bank (G-SIB) by the Financial Stability Board, meaning that its stability is integral to the world financial order. Netherlands’ ING, another member of the consortium, is also included in a lower bucket of the same category.

In the initial announcement, the banks had noted that they had formed a new company in the Netherlands to handle the issuance of the euro stablecoin. As revealed by the consortium’s CaixaBank, the Amsterdam-based firm has now been incorporated and named Qivalis.

Qivalis is working on obtaining an electronic money institution license from the Dutch Central Bank, seeking to launch the euro-denominated stablecoin in the second half of 2026. This asset will be compliant with Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCAR), the EU’s framework for digital assets.

Jan-Oliver Sell has been lined up to serve as Qivalis’ CEO. Sell has previously had roles at Coinbase Germany and Binance. “A native Euro stablecoin isn’t just about convenience – it’s about monetary autonomy in the digital age,” noted the CEO.

Caixabank has said that the consortium is open to more banks joining. In October, Bloomberg reported that America’s Citigroup would be joining the group, but so far, the bank’s name hasn’t appeared in any subsequent press release related to the stablecoin project.

In some other news, PayPal’s PYUSD has witnessed some sharp growth since September, as DeFi analytics firm DefiLlama has highlighted in an X post.

As displayed in the above chart, PayPal’s stablecoin had a supply of $1.2 billion in September, but today that figure has sharply gone up to $3.8 billion.

Bitcoin Price

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $92,800, up more than 7% over the last week.

Companies found guilty of breaching Germany's antitrust rules face fines up to 10% of annual turnover.

The post Germany Tests Apple’s Privacy Fixes in Critical Market Test appeared first on TechRepublic.

Companies found guilty of breaching Germany's antitrust rules face fines up to 10% of annual turnover.

The post Germany Tests Apple’s Privacy Fixes in Critical Market Test appeared first on TechRepublic.

An anonymous reader shared this report from CNBC: Italian defense company Leonardo on Thursday unveiled plans for an AI-powered shield for cities and critical infrastructure, adding to Europe's push to ramp up sovereign defense capabilities amid rising geopolitical tensions. The system, dubbed the "Michelangelo Dome" in a nod to Israel's Iron Dome and U.S. President Donald Trump's plans for a "Golden Dome," will integrate multiple defense systems to detect and neutralize threats from sea to air including missile attacks and drone swarms... Leonardo's dome will be built on what CEO Roberto Cingolani called an "open architecture" system meaning it can operate alongside any country's defense systems... Leonardo's dome will be built on what CEO Roberto Cingolani called an "open architecture" system meaning it can operate alongside any country's defense systems.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

EU antitrust regulators will examine whether Apple's Apple Ads and Apple Maps should be subject to the onerous requirements of the bloc's digital rules after both services hit key criteria, with the U.S. tech giant saying they should be exempted. From a report: Apple's App Store, iOS operating system and Safari web browser were designated core platform services under the Digital Markets Act two years ago aimed at reining in the power of Big Tech and opening up the field to rivals so consumers can have more choice. The European Commission said that Apple has notified it that Apple Ads and Apple Maps met the Act's two thresholds to be considered "gatekeepers." The DMA designates companies with services with more than 45 million monthly active users and $79 billion in market capitalisation as gatekeepers subject to a list of dos and don'ts.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

European leaders have spent years warning that the continent risked falling behind the U.S., China and Russia in the global contest for economic, technological and military dominance, and officials now believe they have reached that point. The mood darkened over the summer when Europe found itself on the sidelines as Washington and Beijing negotiated a reset of global trade rules, and turned bleak this month when the White House presented a Ukraine cease-fire plan without consulting European capitals. In July, the EU accepted a trade deal allowing the U.S. to impose 15% tariffs without retaliation. President Trump ignored European calls to pressure Moscow before meeting Vladimir Putin in Alaska in August, telling reporters "this is not to do with Europe, Europe's not telling me what to do." Germany has eased its debt brake to pour $580 billion into a decade-long rearmament program, and the EU has set a 2030 rearmament goal -- defense spending across the region is set to exceed $560 billion this year, double what it was a decade ago. "Battle lines for a new world order, based on power, are being drawn right now," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in September. "A new Europe must emerge."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The accord covers two major legislative texts: the Payment Services Regulation (PSR) and the Third Payment Services Directive (PSD3).

The post EU Reaches Landmark Deal to Curb Online Payment Fraud appeared first on TechRepublic.

The accord covers two major legislative texts: the Payment Services Regulation (PSR) and the Third Payment Services Directive (PSD3).

The post EU Reaches Landmark Deal to Curb Online Payment Fraud appeared first on TechRepublic.

• Crypto firms operating in the EU must report transactions and holdings in a standardised format.
• Regulators will gain wider access to user data, raising privacy concerns.
• ESMA may oversee major exchanges, centralising EU crypto supervision.

The European Union has unveiled a new set of rules that will significantly change how crypto-asset service providers operate across the bloc.

These changes are set to take effect on January 1, 2026, marking one of the EU’s most ambitious attempts to tighten control over crypto activities.

The rules will introduce standardised reporting requirements that will give tax authorities deeper visibility into the cryptocurrency market.

Tougher reporting requirements are coming

At the heart of the new framework is the expansion of the Directive on Administrative Cooperation, known as DAC8.

This update requires crypto exchanges, wallet providers, and other digital-asset operators to report customer holdings and transactions in a standardised digital format.

Once submitted, these reports will be automatically shared among EU tax authorities, enabling regulators to monitor crypto flows and trading activity more effectively.

The regulation, formalised under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2263, also mandates the creation of a comprehensive Crypto-Asset Operator register.

Each reporting operator will receive a unique 10-digit identification number, starting with an ISO country code, to simplify cross-border supervision.

Even when an operator is removed from the register, the information must be retained for up to 12 months, ensuring continuity in regulatory oversight.

Member states are expected to submit annual assessments to the European Commission using standardised reporting templates.

Privacy under the microscope

While the regulation is framed as a measure to combat tax fraud, financial crime, and market abuse, it raises significant privacy concerns for crypto users.

The Transfer of Funds Regulation, which extends the so-called “travel rule” to crypto transactions above €1,000, already requires identification of both senders and recipients, including interactions with self-hosted wallets.

Users may also be asked to verify ownership of their private wallets.

Combined with DAC8, these measures give regulators unprecedented insight into individual trading behaviour, wallet flows, and the activities of service providers.

The European Commission’s broader regulatory package works alongside the Markets in Crypto-Assets framework (MiCA) and upcoming anti-money laundering rules.

Large crypto operators will be expected to carry out detailed customer due diligence, report suspicious activities, and disclose energy consumption for their operations.

Supporters of the new rules, including ECB President Christine Lagarde, argue that a unified EU approach will replace fragmented national supervision, which has historically hindered consistent enforcement.

However, the plan to give the European Securities and Markets Authority direct oversight over major cross-border exchanges and clearing houses has drawn criticism from smaller financial hubs, including Luxembourg, Malta, and Ireland.

They warn that consolidating supervisory powers could raise compliance costs and disadvantage operators in smaller jurisdictions.

The Financial Stability Board, the G20’s leading financial watchdog, also recently noted that strict privacy laws worldwide often impede cross-border cooperation.

The post EU introduces new crypto data-sharing rules for crypto-asset service providers appeared first on CoinJournal.

The move comes after years of rising concern about how online environments affect young people’s mental health, attention, and behavior.

The post EU Lawmakers Push for 16+ Social Media Age Limit in Bid to Protect Children appeared first on TechRepublic.

The move comes after years of rising concern about how online environments affect young people’s mental health, attention, and behavior.

The post EU Lawmakers Push for 16+ Social Media Age Limit in Bid to Protect Children appeared first on TechRepublic.

The European Parliament has passed a non-binding resolution urging an EU-wide minimum age of 16 to access social media, video-sharing platforms, and AI chatbots, with parental consent allowed for ages 13-16 and a hard ban for anyone under 13. "It also proposes additional measures, including a ban on addictive design features that keep children hooked to screens and manipulative advertising and gambling-like elements," reports Reuters. Furthermore, the draft "calls for the outright blocking of websites that don't follow EU rules and to address AI tools that can create fake or inappropriate content." The resolution "carries no legal weight" but reflects the growing concern on the issue of AI companions and algorithm-driven platforms even. "Any binding legislation would require formal proposals from the European Commission, followed by negotiations between EU member states and Parliament in a process that typically takes years to complete," notes the report.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

On this week’s Equity, we sat down with Dennis Green-Lieber, the founder of the AI company Propane, to talk about the booming success of the Nordic ecosystem.

The joint venture’s debut project will be Madrid Sur, a 160,000-square-meter data center complex designed to deliver 144 MW of processing capacity.

The post Echelon Iberdrola Digital Infra to Invest $2.3B in Data Centers in Spain appeared first on TechRepublic.

The joint venture’s debut project will be Madrid Sur, a 160,000-square-meter data center complex designed to deliver 144 MW of processing capacity.

The post Echelon Iberdrola Digital Infra to Invest $2.3B in Data Centers in Spain appeared first on TechRepublic.

The rollout allows individuals to consolidate account information from multiple banks into a single application.

The post Open Banking Launches in Switzerland appeared first on TechRepublic.

The rollout allows individuals to consolidate account information from multiple banks into a single application.

The post Open Banking Launches in Switzerland appeared first on TechRepublic.

The regulator says it is scrutinizing Apple’s App Tracking Transparency framework, which was introduced with iOS 14.5 and later versions.

The post Polish Antitrust Watchdog Probes Apple’s Privacy Policy appeared first on TechRepublic.