Legal News

Roughly 70% of notifications used the CCPC’s simplified procedure (63 cases), indicating ongoing extensive reliance on a fast-track route for unproblematic transactions. Overall, in total, average clearance periods were around 40 calendar days; simplified reviews averaged about 16 calendar days, and the longest case, concluded in 2025, required 344 calendar days......

Meta Platforms, Tik Tok, X and Amazon are now well used to the steady rhythm of enforcement under the EU's content-moderation law, but are increasingly encountering private actions that seek remedies for alleged shortcomings. Such claims were always envisaged by the EU's Digital Services Act ( EU DSA), operating alongside public oversight by the European Commission and national regulators, and they are now emerging as a growing exposure for Big Tech platforms. Most of the EU DSA lawsuits disclosed to date have been brought by advocacy groups and consumer organisations in Germany and the Netherlands, and have been filed in national courts (see here, here and here). As a result, these first decisions take effect only at the national level. One example is a recent Dutch ruling in summary proceedings that compelled Meta to offer Facebook and Instagram users a...

EU Member States are facing a challenge to ensure smooth cross-sectoral and cross-border co-operation between the regulators tasked with enforcing the bloc EU's AI law, with no easy solution to navigate the complexity. Timetables for crucial elements of the EU AI Act have already slipped. Most EU countries failed to meet August 2025’s deadline to establish national authorities to oversee rules for high-risk AI systems. Setbacks in creating compliance tools, including technical standards, have led the European Commission to suggest postponing the high-risk regime, thereby granting Member States additional time to ready their governance arrangements. The EU AI Act leaves it to national governments to decide how to organise AI oversight, resulting in enforcement duties being spread across a mix of data protection authorities, telecom regulators, cybersecurity agencies and other regulatory bodies. “ The institutional structures vary in each country, and we need to...

According to an internal memo, EU capitals have challenged the Commission’s method for deferring the start of key obligations under the bloc’s AI rulebook. Their concerns focus on suggested postponement of the entry into application of core legal requirements. Previous month, Commission unveiled a bundle of tweaks to the EU AI Act—dubbed the digital omnibus on AI—which in turn would push back the moment when duties for providers of high‑risk AI systems begin to apply. This long‑anticipated hold‑up stems from setbacks in drafting the technical standards needed to operationalise the rules for companies, and from slow progress in setting up competent national authorities. Yet the Commission’s chosen route has prompted a series of pressing and urgent queries, signalling increased legal uncertainty for businesses......

On 19 November 2025, the European Commission unveiled its Digital Omnibus on AI Regulation Proposal, a package of targeted measures designed to smooth the practical rollout of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act ( AI Act). At its core sits a conditional deferral tool that permits high‑risk AI duties to be postponed until the requisite harmonised standards, common specifications and Commission guidance are in place. For Annex III high‑risk AI systems, obligations would start six months after a Commission decision confirming the availability of such standards or guidance. For Annex I systems, including those within the MDR and IVDR, obligations would commence 12 months after that decision. If no decision is issued, the long‑stop dates are 2 December 2027 for Annex III and 2 August 2028 for Annex I. Impact on MDR/ IVDR—regulated AI systems The proposal directly affects AI‑enabled medical devices and IVDs. Because AI systems covered by the MDR and...

DNA plans DNA plans face a coordinated pushback from six Member States, which are pressing the Commission to drop its bid for a fully harmonised telecoms regime and to recast the overhaul as a directive, a joint text dated 26 November 2025 and seen by MLex shows. While a regulation has direct and uniform effect across all EU countries, a directive sets targets that countries must meet but allows them to decide how to implement the rules. The paper was submitted by: Austria France Germany Hungary Italy Slovenia They argue that Europe’s telecom markets remain marked by significant differences, requiring the legal flexibility that only a directive can deliver. A regulation, they warn, would bypass national implementation and impose uniform obligations with no room to reflect long-standing domestic frameworks, especially in sensitive areas such as lawful...

Though a mature field of law, the regime on dawn raids has drawn fresh scrutiny after the General Court’s ruling in Michelin ( Case T 263/23). That decision led to the partial annulment of a Commission inspection decision. This limited success sparked debate over the evidential and procedural thresholds the Commission must satisfy when carrying out surprise inspections lawfully. A subsequent ruling of the General Court in Red Bull ( Case T 306/23) restates the breadth available to the Commission at the preliminary investigative phase as it seeks to identify material capable of underpinning its case regarding suspected breaches of competition rules. The scope of the Commission’s discretion The Commission enjoys a wide margin of discretion to authorise an unannounced inspection where there are reasonable grounds to suspect an infringement of competition rules. That discretion is firmly grounded in the legal framework of...

On 19 November 2025, the Commission unveiled its Digital Omnibus proposal. It comprises two principal strands: one delivering ‘quick fixes’ to pain points in Regulation ( EU) 2024/1689, the EU AI Act, and another, more intricate, amending the data acquis, most notably Regulation ( EU) 2016/679, the EU General Data Protection Regulation ( EU GDPR), Directive 2022/58/ EC, the e Privacy Directive, and Regulation ( EU) 2023/2854, the EU Data Act. The headline items are delays to the high-risk AI rules under the EU AI Act, and a fresh EU GDPR lawful basis of legitimate interest for processing personal data when developing or operating AI systems (with safeguards). There is much to absorb—just as we get to grips with the new regime, changes are proposed, some bound to be disputed while others will be seen as eminently sensible. Here we outline the key...

Coimisiún na Meán’s Investigations Team On 12 November 2025, Coimisiún na Meán’s Investigations Team opened a formal investigation into the provider of the X online platform ( X) under the EU DSA. The probe will determine whether X has infringed Article 20 of the DSA. It follows concerns raised by Coimisiún na Meán’s Platform Supervision Team about X’s compliance with Article 20, reinforced by information supplied by the NGO Hate Aid and a user complaint. The investigation will examine: whether individuals can appeal X’s decisions not to remove content when they report material they believe breaches X’s terms of service whether reporters are properly told the outcome of a report and advised of their right to appeal the decision whether X operates an internal complaints-handling mechanism that is easy to access and user friendly......

Paul D Clement of Clement & Murphy PLLC, representing X Corp, Twitter International Unlimited Company and Twitter Asia Pacific PTE Ltd, told a three-judge panel that US District Judge Vince Chhabria was wrong to deploy the ‘most extraordinary remedies in the judicial arsenal’ by issuing an anti-claim injunction that halted overseas cases pending for over 500 days. He contended Judge Chhabria acted ‘with the thinnest of reasoning’ and pressed the Ninth Circuit to set the order aside. His submissions arose at a hearing on the appeal in Media Matters of America’s breach of contract suit, lodged against X Corp in March 2025—months after the platform formerly known as Twitter brought a raft of defamation actions against Media Matters in courts in Texas, Singapore and Ireland. The Media Matters case alleges X Corp and its billionaire chief executive Elon Musk embarked on a...

Ryanair has lost a court bid to challenge the allegations in a 2023 antitrust investigation in Italy, over accusations it abused its market dominance by restricting travel agents in the country from selling its fares A ruling released on 17 November 2025 shows Italy’s TAR found inadmissible Ryanair’s attempt to contest a confidential chargesheet it received in October 2025. The court also dismissed the airline’s request for an interim injunction to halt the chargesheet’s effects, a step that would have effectively frozen the antitrust investigation itself......

Participants in the drafting round examined a proposed section designed to set commitments on harmful tax practices under the UN framework convention on international tax co-operation. Governments have convened in Nairobi, Kenya, for the third of nine public drafting meetings planned up to 2027, with this round running until 19 November 2025, as part of the broader process. The text was tabled by the co-leaders of the convention’s drafting working group—among them Ghanaian tax official Daniel Nuer—who steered the 12 November 2025 discussion. The draft provides that tax incentives should be substance-based, linked to investment or performance, and not simply profit-driven. It also pledges collaboration on developing concrete policies, such as country-by-country reporting, and on introducing relevant measures, including minimum taxes on business activities, to ensure consistency. Speaking for the 54-member African Group, Zambia’s representative said the section requires a...

CJEU recognises Meta’s direct interest in Bindl appeal Meta has been deemed to have a direct stake in German citizen Thomas Bindl’s action against the European Commission, with a 29 October 2025 order from the Court of Justice of the EU stating that the outcome could bear on the legality of Meta’s own data-transfer arrangements under EU privacy rules. The ruling permits Meta to submit representations backing the Commission; the company declined to comment. “ The court can now put Meta’s Standard Contractual Clauses ( SCCs) to the test as well,” said Bindl’s counsel, Christian Däuble of Spirit Legal. SCCs are contractual instruments enabling personal data to be sent beyond the EU subject to defined privacy safeguards. “ As it will also rule, following Mr Latombe’s appeal, on the validity of the Data Privacy Framework, we welcome this step as it should deliver legal...

The statement follows. The DPC has maintained regular engagement with numerous companies leading AI innovation, concentrating on safeguarding responsible creation and roll-out of the technology for people throughout the EU/ EEA. In March 2025, Linked In notified the DPC that it intended to train its proprietary generative AI systems on the personal data of Linked In members located in the EU/ EEA, with training slated to commence in early November 2025. Following an in-depth examination of the data protection materials supplied by Linked In, alongside substantial direct interactions, the DPC pinpointed a range of risks and additional concerns linked to the company’s planned processing of personal data. The DPC set out these issues and issued several recommendations to Linked In, aimed at mitigating the potential adverse effects its proposal could have on individuals’ data protection rights. These steps reflect the DPC’s continued...

Meta Platforms warned of ‘increasing headwinds’ On 29 October 2025, Meta Platforms cautioned of ‘increasing headwinds’ tied to legal and regulatory pressures, warning it could suffer ‘a material loss’ amid a wave of US cases in 2026 alleging Instagram and Facebook were engineered to be addictive for young users. Announcing third-quarter results, Chief Financial Officer Susan Li told investors Meta is continuing to monitor active legal and regulatory matters, with mounting challenges in the EU and the US that could meaningfully affect its business and financial performance. Li noted that several youth-related trials set for 2026 may ultimately lead to a material loss. Meta also flagged a possible revenue impact before the end of 2025 stemming from action by the Commission regarding the ‘less personalised’ targeted-ads product launched in the EU last year, a ‘pay or consent’ model that has likewise drawn scrutiny from the...

EU judges are set to consider Ryanair’s bid to contest an Irish dawn raid ordered by Italy’s competition watchdog, determining whether the airline may view specific correspondence shared by the two authorities in question. Italy’s Council of State has asked the EU Court of Justice to clarify if those communications count as ‘internal’ and thus must be withheld from Ryanair. On Wednesday, the Council of State— Italy’s supreme administrative tribunal—acting on applications from both Ryanair and the Italian competition authority ( AGCM), chose to send a preliminary question to the EU’s highest court, within the framework of Ryanair’s challenge to an earlier judgment (see here). That step may prolong the ongoing probe and delay the inquiry further. Ryanair has also pursued proceedings in Ireland about the searches undertaken there......

Background The Minister for Health has postponed the commencement of selected elements of the Public Health ( Alcohol) Act 2018 (the ‘ Act’) until September 2028. In May 2023, the Minister also approved into law the Public Health ( Alcohol) ( Labelling) Regulations 2023 (the ‘ Regulations’) and S. I 248/2023, which stated that section 12 of the Act, introducing health warning labelling requirements for alcohol products, would begin on 22 May 2026. This requirement has now been delayed, with the Minister for Health stating it is ‘in light of economic circumstances’, in reply to a recent parliamentary question. That deferral concerns, in particular, the labelling obligations under section 12 of the Act. Why the Act was introduced The Act was brought forward to tackle concerns about alcohol use in Ireland and the associated social, health and economic harms linked to its misuse. In 2012, the...

Over the decade since the Paris Agreement was struck in 2015, the speed of shifts in attitudes, laws and regulation on climate issues has been dizzying. In the earlier part of that period, an emerging international consensus took shape around financing the transition to net zero. Positioning itself to lead, the EU unveiled its ambitious Sustainable Finance Action Plan in 2018, setting out a comprehensive framework of new disclosure obligations to furnish investors with the information needed to align allocations with their sustainability objectives. In the US, at federal level, the Securities and Exchange Commission tabled proposals to standardise the way companies report climate-related risks and impacts, while many states brought in their own sustainability reporting requirements. The Inflation Reduction Act 2022 then introduced substantial tax incentives to accelerate the shift towards sustainable energy......

Statement follows, formal complaint attached. Complaint v Ireland to Commission re process appointing ex- Meta lobbyist as DPC. 28 October 2025 The absence of protections against conflicts of interest and political meddling will be widely read by the technology sector as a clear green light for impunity. Today, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties lodged a formal complaint about Ireland with the Commission. As set out in the filing, Ireland did not ensure sufficient guarantees of independence and neutrality in the procedure to select a new DPC. That procedure culminated in choosing a former Meta lobbyist. EU law demands that supervisory bodies be not only independent and impartial, but also stand above any......

Irish airline Ryanair has received a chargesheet in an Italian abuse-of-dominance probe started two years ago, MLex has learnt Officials are examining suspected tactics that hamper travel agencies’ ability to sell Ryanair tickets and ancillary services, while funnelling customers towards the carrier’s own direct sales channels. According to MLex, the Italian antitrust authority, the AGCM, issued an extensive formal statement of objections less than a month ago, clearly once again restating concerns it expressed when launching the case in September 2023. The inquiry into Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers is currently slated to wrap up by December 2025, yet is being significantly hindered by Ryanair’s ongoing court actions in both Italy and Ireland. At the Italian regulator’s request, Ireland’s antitrust authority raided Ryanair’s Dublin airport offices last year, and the airline has also gone to court to reclaim documents the AGCM seized and relied upon in its...