Proof of Age, Leap of Faith: The EU KIDS Act’s Security Gamble
The European Commission’s proposed EU KIDS Act would bar children under 15 from creating or using accounts on certain social-networking and video-sharing services, with a guardian-controlled option for 13- and 14-year-olds. It would also require providers to build broader safety protections into their services. Both sets of obligations would rely on age assurance—methods for verifying ... Proof of Age, Leap of Faith: The EU KIDS Act’s Security Gamble
Brussels Writes the Answer Key
Ask Brussels what ChatGPT is, and you get two answers. Under the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), the European Union regulates it as artificial intelligence. On Aug. 31, the European Commission supplied another answer when it designated ChatGPT as a Very Large Online Search Engine under the Digital Services Act (DSA). Each classification comes with ... Brussels Writes the Answer Key
The Right-Answer Machine: Who Decides What Chatbots Should Say?
The trouble with chatbots is right there in the name: They talk. When that talk contributes to harm, policymakers face a deceptively difficult question. Should they seek rules that amount to policing dangerous conduct, or deciding what the chatbot should have said instead? The question matters because chatbots have quickly become one of the most ... The Right-Answer Machine: Who Decides What Chatbots Should Say?
The Nanny State Goes Shopping
Antitrust used to ask a simple question: are firms making consumers worse off? Increasingly, it asks a different one: are consumers making the “wrong” choices? The consumer welfare standard (CWS) often draws criticism as narrow or inattentive to broader concerns. That familiar critique rests on a basic misunderstanding of what the standard is designed to ... The Nanny State Goes Shopping
Social Media Bans and the Problem of One-Size-Fits-All Policy
The push to restrict teens’ access to social media is accelerating worldwide, even as the underlying evidence remains uncertain. In recent years, policymakers across various jurisdictions have proposed restricting or banning minors’ access to social media platforms. Governments across a growing number of jurisdictions are considering age-based restrictions, mandatory parental-consent requirements, or outright bans for ... Social Media Bans and the Problem of One-Size-Fits-All Policy
When a Blue Checkmark Becomes a €120 Million Problem
The European Commission’s first major enforcement action under the Digital Services Act (DSA) offers an early glimpse of how the European Union intends to regulate large digital platforms—and how far that approach may diverge from the U.S. model. The DSA is an EU regulation governing how online intermediary services operate, including social-media platforms, online marketplaces, ... When a Blue Checkmark Becomes a €120 Million Problem
Whose Failure Is the Failed Amazon/iRobot Merger?
The European Commission told Amazon in November 2023 of its preliminary view that the company’s proposed acquisition of iRobot restricted competition in the market for robot vacuum cleaners (RVCs) and could hamper rival RVC suppliers’ ability to compete effectively. The deal, the Commission asserted, would give Amazon incentive to foreclose iRobot’s competitors by engaging in ... Whose Failure Is the Failed Amazon/iRobot Merger?
