The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the revision of the EU Chips Act, known as 'Chips Act 2.0'. The initiative aims to strengthen the EU's position in semiconductor technologies, with particular focus on advanced manufacturing and artificial intelligence chips. The Commission notes that while the original Chips Act successfully attracted manufacturing investments, further measures are needed across the full semiconductor value chain, including materials, equipment, design and manufacturing. The consultation, which forms part of the Commission's REFIT programme, will run from 5 September to 28 November 2025, with Commission adoption planned for second quarter 2026.

The European Commission has opened formal proceedings against Shein under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) for alleged violations relating to addictive design, lack of transparency of recommender systems, and the sale of illegal products including child sexual abuse material. The investigation will examine Shein's systems to limit illegal product sales in the European Union, risks linked to addictive service design including consumer rewards for engagement, and transparency of recommender systems used to propose content and products to users. Coimisiún na Meán, Ireland's Digital Services Coordinator, will be associated with the investigation as Shein's national coordinator in its EU country of establishment. The proceedings follow preliminary analyses of risk assessment reports and responses to three formal information requests sent between June 2024 and November 2025. The Commission will gather additional evidence through information requests, monitoring actions and interviews, and is empowered to take enforcement steps including interim measures or adoption of a non-compliance decision, or to accept commitments from Shein to remedy the matters under investigation.

The European Commission has formally launched proceedings to assess whether Google applies fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory conditions of access to publishers’ websites on Google Search, as required under the EU Digital Markets Act (EU DMA). The investigation focuses on Google’s site reputation abuse policy, which, according to the Commission’s monitoring, appears to demote news media and other publishers’ websites and content in Google Search results where those sites include content from commercial partners. The Commission is examining whether Alphabet’s demotions may breach Articles 6(5) and 6(12) of the DMA, which require transparent, fair and non-discriminatory conditions for search ranking. The policy appears to affect publishers’ ability to monetise their websites through legitimate business partnerships with third-party content providers. The initiation of proceedings does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation. The Commission aims to conclude its inquiry within 12 months of the opening of proceedings on 13 November 2025. If non-compliance is established, penalties may reach up to 10% of Alphabet’s total worldwide turnover, rising to 20% for repeated infringement, with potential additional remedies including divestment of business operations in cases of systemic non-compliance.

The European Commission has initiated two specification proceedings to clarify Google’s compliance with EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) obligations, formalising its regulatory dialogue with Google without taking a position on compliance. The first proceeding concerns Google’s obligation under Article 6(7) of the EU DMA to ensure free and effective interoperability for third-party developers with hardware and software features controlled by the Android operating system. It focuses on features used by Google’s own artificial intelligence services, including Gemini, and seeks to clarify how third-party AI service providers should receive equally effective access to support fair competition and innovation. The second proceeding addresses Google’s obligation under Article 6(11) of the EU DMA to provide third-party online search engine providers with access to anonymised ranking, query, click and view data from Google Search on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms. It examines the scope of the data, anonymisation methods, access conditions and the eligibility of AI chatbot providers, with the aim of enabling competing search services to improve their offerings. The Commission will conclude the proceedings within six months, issue preliminary findings and draft measures within three months for third-party comment, and has stated that the proceedings are without prejudice to its powers to adopt formal non-compliance decisions, including the imposition of fines or periodic penalty payments.

The European Commission has opened a new formal investigation into X under the EU Digital Services Act and extended an existing investigation to assess whether X has complied with its obligations to assess and mitigate systemic risks arising from its recommender systems and the deployment of the Grok artificial intelligence tool within the EU, in particular risks relating to the dissemination of illegal content such as manipulated sexually explicit material, including potential child sexual abuse material; the Commission considers that these risks may have materialised, causing serious harm to users, and will examine whether X adequately assessed and mitigated such risks, including impacts on gender-based violence and users’ physical and mental wellbeing, and whether it carried out and submitted a required ad hoc risk assessment for Grok prior to deployment, with any confirmed failures potentially constituting infringements of Articles 34, 35 and 42 of the EU Digital Services Act, while the investigation, conducted in cooperation with the Irish Digital Services Coordinator, does not prejudge the outcome and empowers the Commission to gather further evidence and take enforcement action as appropriate.

The European Commission has initiated formal proceedings against Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, and XVideos under the EU Digital Services Act (EU DSA) for suspected breaches regarding protection of minors. The investigation focuses on alleged non-compliance with requirements for age verification measures and risk assessment procedures. The Commission will conduct priority investigations including evidence gathering, interviews and inspections. Stripchat will be de-designated as a Very Large Online Platform, with supervision transferring to Cyprus Radiotelevision Authority in four months. Member States, through the European Board for Digital Services, are launching parallel coordinated action against smaller pornographic platforms to ensure consistent EU DSA application across the European Union.

The European Commission has opened antitrust investigations to determine whether the rules Apple has in place for app developers on app distribution via the company’s App Store violate EU competition rules. The investigations were spurred by complaints from Spotify and an e-book/audiobook distributor regarding the impact that the App Store rules have on competition in the music streaming and e-books/audiobooks sectors. The Commission has informed Apple and Member States’ competition authorities that it has opened proceedings on the matter. On the same day, 16 June 2020, the European Commission opened an antitrust investigation to determine whether Apple's Apple Pay rules violates EU competition measures.

The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation into Meta’s new policy restricting artificial intelligence (AI) providers’ use of the WhatsApp Business Solution. The Commission is concerned the change could block rival AI assistants from WhatsApp while Meta’s own AI service remains available, potentially constituting an abuse of dominance under Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and Article 54 of the European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement.

The European Commission has opened a four-week call for evidence to support the preparation of technical guidance on the application of the ‘do no significant harm’ principle under the 2028–34 multiannual financial framework (MFF). The guidance, mandated under Article 5 of the proposed regulation establishing a budget expenditure tracking and performance framework, will be implemented where feasible and appropriate. The call for evidence will close on 1 April 2026, with final adoption of the guidance planned for Q4 2026.

The European Commission has launched a call for evidence to support the evaluation of Directive (EU) 2018/1808, the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), which was last revised in 2018. The initiative comes in response to rapid developments in the media sector, including the increasing use of connected televisions and other digital technologies for content distribution, shifting viewer preferences toward online platforms and the growing influence of new players such as social media influencers. The consultation is open until 21 December 2025 and will inform a review scheduled for 2026.

The European Commission has launched a call for evidence on its Digital Justice strategy for 2025-2030. The strategy aims to enhance Member States' capabilities to deploy digital technologies, including artificial intelligence tools, within judicial systems. The initiative intends to improve justice system efficiency, resilience and quality while increasing access to justice for businesses and the public. The Commission plans to adopt the strategy in the fourth quarter of 2025. The call for evidence is open from 26 May to 23 June 2025.

The European Commission has opened a call for evidence to gather input on the planned revision of the EU energy security framework. The Commission intends to table a proposal for the revised framework in Q1 2026. The revision seeks to address existing gaps and respond to emerging risks in the EU energy system, including physical and cyber threats to critical infrastructure, climate change-related risks and geopolitical challenges. Alongside this broader call for evidence, the Commission will conduct targeted consultations for stakeholders with technical expertise. The call for evidence closes on 13 October 2025.