Welcomed explainer from @signal.org's president about last week's serious AWS-related incident. The concentration of infrastructure / resources among "hyperscalers" she points to is reminiscent to what exists with web search infrastructure.

When it comes to web search, #GenAI looks more like a format shift within search than an external disruptive entrant; incumbents, especially Google, are positioned to absorb and dominate it. Without stronger interventions beyond... www.promarket.org/2025/10/20/w...

Just like Google managed to cement dominance on browser and then mobile, its control over distribution points & data advantage is set to reproduce the same w/ AI. It's a call for meaningful policy interventions, but also a call for the plurality of competitors to expand & deepen their partnerships

my latest for @techpolicypress.bsky.social on the US v. Google search antitrust case and just how badly the court missed the opportunity to contend with Google’s power in the genAI market. genAI won’t magically unseat Google’s market dominance, as the court suggests, it will only deepen it

How the DuckDuckGo browser bridges search, web browsing and AI ⬇️ gabrielweinberg.com/p/the-overlo...

Recommended read by @alissacooper.bsky.social: www.techpolicy.press/without-a-pa... "If concerns raised about the inadequacy of the [data sharing] remedy are demonstrated through the failure of competition to take hold, the manner and timeliness for...

I posted a couple times about how DuckDuckGo uniquely integrates AI answers to the search experience. But you better actually hear directly from Tim, one of those making the magic internally. "Search Assist is "unique in that way across the AI answers industry, in that it...

"National champions are too often national chokepoints" - speech by AAG Gail Slater at the Georgetown antitrust enforcement symposium www.justice.gov/opa/speech/a...

"All the privacy debates surrounding Google search results from the past two decades apply one-for-one to AI chats, but to an even greater degree. That’s why we started offering Duck.ai for protected chatbot conversations and optional, anonymous AI-assisted answers in our private search engine."

"la vérité est que, sans produire davantage de richesses, la dette ne permettra plus de soutenir notre niveau de vie et de maintenir à flot notre système de protection sociale." @stephanelauer.bsky.social www.lemonde.fr/idees/articl...

"Google's abusive behaviour...had a negative impact on all European citizens in their day-to-day use of the web"

The impact of those has been negligible (less than 1% change in Google’s market share) because the OEMs’ total dependence on Android to operate in the market rendered the contractual changes impotent. That dependence is as strong in the US as it is in the EU, so we can expect the same result.

At KGI we think a lot about concrete evidence. Seven years ago, the European Commission instituted contractual prohibitions in its Google Android case that were of a similar nature to those included by the court here.

After issuing a liability decision that relied extensively on claims about both the power of defaults and the size of Google’s revenue share payments, the court’s opinion does nothing to prevent Google from continuing to pay distributors for defaults.

The recently published UK's CMA provisional decision to regulate Google search is making that point eloquently: AI *is* impacting usages, but the underlying competitive dynamics remain. Google's key platform & data assets are more critical than ever in the AI era.

J'ai signé la pétition pour appeler le gouvernement français (quand on en aura un) à mettre en œuvre l’initiative "Skyshield". C'est ici: shorturl.at/42Rr5 Il y a bien sûr l'aspect humanitaire. Mais il en va aussi de la défense des intérêts européens. 1/

There's a cognitive dissonance between the finding of monopolization and what the same judge says should be done against it. On the data sharing side, some remedies were approved but with lots of caveats. Hard to see how they will be of any practical use.

Here's what our CEO Gabriel Weinberg had to say about yesterday's US judgment: "We do not believe the remedies ordered by the court will force the changes necessary to adequately address Google’s illegal behavior. Google will still be allowed to continue to use its monopoly to...

The Commission is giving antitrust law / DMA offenders a license to trespass the rules, with these sort of moves. What message does it send to those many businesses - European and foreign - investing and employing in Europe and being harmed by these abuses?

Swallowing a decrease of tariffs on industrial goods while the EU's get hiked up is already tough enough (and might not even pass the EP). So the EC has little choice but to react the way Ribera does. But it might inhibit the actual investigations, and that's maybe the effect that's wanted.

The verdict in US v Google should drop any day now. From @superwuster.bsky.social : "The bigger stakes & larger target of the case have always been the broader ecosystem of information retrieval, which is destined to be shaped by newer technologies like chatbots & AI" www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/o...

Just watched "Burn After Reading", the movie from 2008. I thought everything looked old. At some point some idiots in the movie try and leak (actually useless) CIA intel to the Russian embassy. In the attaché's office, a portrait of Vladimir Putin hangs at the wall...💀

Me facing the CMA reports published right before the holidays

Open Letter from Kush & Linda at @mozilla.org: "We have already seen the impact the EU DMA can have for consumers. The DMCCA has the potential to be even more effective, giving the UK “second mover advantage” with flexible and targeted interventions." blog.mozilla.org/netpolicy/20...

Yesterday, we filed DuckDuckGo's response to the CMA's provisional decision to designate Google Search with Strategic Market Status. Needless to say, we strongly support the designation. The CMA has gathered all the information it needs and we believe they should be taking action now. 1/n

DMA review food for thoughts: gatekeepers or their advisers legally have the right to see submissions from third parties, while the opposite never happens. Requiring gatekeepers fully present their compliance solution in constructive / contradictory workshops is a way of bridging that info gap

iOS automatically placing the selected choice screen browser on the dock doubled Firefox' daily active users & further increased DuckDuckGo's app retention by a factor 9. Why isn't Android required to do the same in the EU? Agree with @open-web-advocacy.org open-web-advocacy.org/blog/googles...

People with iPhones have been telling me that they're seeing these sort of phishing popups on Gmail, Google Maps and the like more these days. With a small, grey "standard browser" at the bottom...in case, you know, Google wanted to respect your choice.

People in France, Germany and Spain agree that the EU should not back down on enforcing its rules on Big Tech even if that upsets Donald Trump, according to a poll out today.

I'm sure the European Commission communications officials persisting use of the the word "adoption" to qualify proposals that have been put forward explains in part why so much of the media confuses EU legislative proposals with EU (actually adopted) laws.

The nontariff trade "irritants" for some are trade boosters for others. I hope reports that the Commission is even merely admitting that regulations like the DMA can be compared to "tariffs" aren't true. www.wsj.com/economy/trad...

Anonymous, independent, effective, and free: meet our new Scam Blocker feature. Automatically active on any version of the DuckDuckGo browser - iOS, Android, Window, Mac. spreadprivacy.com/scam-blocker/

Handy explainer by @jgarciaherrero.bsky.social on the crazy system set up by Meta to track you without your consent even if you used a VPN, the browser’s incognito mode, and refused or deleted cookies in every session. www.zeropartydata.es/p/localhost-...

You don't say? 😱 nypost.com/2025/06/09/b...

Interesting #DMA conversation today hosted by @euractiv.com @beuc.eu's Sebastien nailed it when he said that the DMA did bring more choice, but there is still way too much friction, unnecessary warning screens and the likes that effectively suppress free choice. 1/n

Meta was just caught red-handed using a new tracking technique on Android to covertly spy on people's browsing history, even when in Incognito mode. DuckDuckGo browser users were not affected, since we block Facebook/Meta trackers to start with. www.makeuseof.com/meta-spying-...

Had a great time discussing competition in the search engine market the other day with Cori, Alissa and Oles. We covered DMA impact & next steps, lessons learned from the US v Google trial, and more!

320+ Civil Society Organisations Urge European Commission to Halt Orban’s Latest Crackdown on Media and NGOs /1

Surprise surprise (from @leehepner.bsky.social )

If, like me, you're never too sure what is meant with making it easier to get funding in Europe, this by @paolatamma.bsky.social should fix it. It starts from the households & the incentives people have to invest! Can Europe finally fix its capital markets? - on.ft.com/4iX4fI4 via @FT.

Le fameux "antisémitisme résiduel"

More than 20.000 people support a bold and consistent #DMA enforcement. Today we went to Brussels to handover our petition for a strong DMA to DG Comp. /1

"Search defaults were critical for this trial. Google pays bn to be the front door to the web - not just to protect product quality, but to protect data flow. Every click and query feeds a real-time flywheel no rival can replicate without access to those default slots", writes @kint.bsky.social 1/2

Great recap from the first week of the US v Google search monopolization case by @pressgirlk.bsky.social www.techpolicy.press/analyzing-we...

To publish this in the current climate really feels short-sighted. The ITI should be careful what it wishes for.

The US v Google search monopolization trial entered the remedy phase: what should be done to enable competition at every component of a “vicious cycle” Google has built to freeze competition? @yegg13.bsky.social and other witnesses testified 🧵 (message me for a longer weekly-ish recap)

Meanwhile, in "free speech absolutist" world

Improved browser choice screen re-shown to all EU iOS users, default controls streamlined, including for search (Spotlight), apps like Safari deletable...quite a few wins for the Commission indeed. ec.europa.eu/commission/p... Now, on to Android! spreadprivacy.com/investigate-...

Some "DC effect" from the US trial on Google Search monopolization even before its conclusion? There's movement on banning Google's exclusive pre-installation deals on Android in both Japan & Australia. Others to come? www.jftc.go.jp/en/pressrele... content.mlex.com#/content/164...