On 5 September 2025, the European Commission issued a landmark decision in Case AT.40670 – Google Adtech, finding Google guilty of abusing its dominant position in online display advertising intermediation in violation of Article 102 TFEU. With a €2.95 billion fine and the Commission’s preliminary view that structural remedies, potentially including divestiture, may be necessary […]
SCiDA’s Digital Markets Regulation Review of 2025
As 2025 draws to a close, the SCiDA (Shaping Competition in the Digital Age) project reflects on a year of remarkable academic output, policy engagement, and collaborative research that has shaped discourse around digital markets regulation across Europe and beyond. Our team has grown and evolved, our research has deepened, and our contributions to the […]
Japan’s Smartphone Act (MSCA)in the Shadow of Competition Law Under-Enforcement
Following the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), Japan has enacted a digital competition regulation (a form of sector-specific regulation that blends competition principles with prescriptive provisions, as Lazar Radic et al. 2024 describe) with a more targeted scope in the smartphone software ecosystem: the Mobile Software Competition Act (MSCA). This blog throws some light […]
Ex ante but Insufficient? The Commission’s Five AI Investigations Launched in Just 22 Days
AI markets are booming across Europe and beyond, and competition and innovation in this sector have sparked extensive discussions worldwide. In just 22 days, the European Commission announced five investigations into artificial intelligence (‘AI’) related services, though not under the same regulatory framework. The investigations into Meta AI and Google AI Overview and AI Mode […]
Conference Debrief – Highlights from the Competition Law & Artificial Intelligence Summit – 2nd Annual
Event was hosted by Thought Leaders 4 Competition in London The Competition Law & Artificial Intelligence Summit – 2nd Annual, held on 2 December 2025 at Carpenters’ Hall, right in the heart of London, brought together competition authorities, legal practitioners, and industry experts to explore the critical intersection of AI and competition law. With artificial […]
Kent v Apple judgment: Implications for digital markets and UK Class Actions
On 23 October 2025, the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) delivered a landmark judgment in Dr Rachel Kent v Apple Inc. [2025] CAT 67, finding Apple liable for multiple abuses of dominance in relation to its App Store operations. The unanimous decision, spanning 396 pages, is a major development in cases concerning digital markets in […]
In the Name of Sovereignty?
Digital Sovereignty has become the new buzzword in today’s European policy circles. The idea itself isn’t new, but its relevance to the EU’s digital economy has reached a fresh peak. The German-French Summit on digital sovereignty on 18 November 2025 in Berlin underlines Europe’s ambition to strategically reduce reliance on non-EU actors across critical layers […]
Idealo Wins €465 Million Against Google – A Worthy End to a Private Enforcement Saga?
The judgment handed down today, 14 November 2025, by the Regional Court of Berlin (Landgericht Berlin II, Case No. 16 O 195/19 Kart(2)) marks a notable milestone in the long-running David-and-Goliath battle between the German price-comparison platform Idealo and Google. Although the awarded €465 million in damages and interest falls far short of Idealo’s initial […]
Operationalising Fairness – Making a Principle Work in the Digital Fairness Act
As algorithmic decision-making and platform power increasingly shape citizens’ daily lives, the EU’s Digital Fairness Act represents a critical opportunity to prioritize fairness alongside innovation. In this guest post for SCiDA, Behrang examines a fundamental challenge threatening the Act’s effectiveness: the absence of a clear, operational definition of “fairness” itself. by Behrang Kianzad, Senior Researcher, […]
The CMA Designates Apple and Google’s Mobile Platforms with Strategic Market Status: A Comprehensive Analysis
On 22 October 2025, the Competition and Markets Authority issued two landmark decisions that will reshape the UK’s mobile ecosystem for years to come. Following the CMA’s first designation decision on 10 October 2025 designating Google Search with Strategic Market Status (read about it in our blog here), the CMA designated both Apple and Google […]