Competition regulation

EU MiCA greenlight turns Blockchain.com’s Malta base into hub

Blockchain.com received a MiCA license from Malta’s Financial Services Authority, enabling passported crypto services across all 30 EEA countries under one EU framework. Leaders called it a step toward safer, consistent access.

Malta becomes the hub for scaling operations, citing regulatory clarity and cross-border support. Under the authorisation, teams will expand secure custody and wallets, enterprise treasury tools, and localised products for the EU consumers.

A unified license streamlines go-to-market and accelerates launches in priority jurisdictions. Institutions gain clearer expectations on safeguarding, disclosures, and governance, while retail users benefit from standardised protections and stronger redress.

Fiorentina D’Amore will lead the EU strategy with deep fintech experience. Plans include phased rollouts, supervisor engagement, and controls aligned to MiCA’s conduct and prudential requirements across key markets.

Since 2011, Blockchain.com says it has processed over one trillion dollars and serves more than 90 million wallets. Expansion under MiCA adds scalable infrastructure, robust custody, and clearer disclosures for users and institutions.

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Japan’s G-QuAT and Fujitsu sign pact to boost quantum competitiveness

Fujitsu and AIST’s G-QuAT have signed a collaboration to lift Japan’s quantum competitiveness, aligning roadmaps, labs, and funding toward commercialisation. The pact focuses on practical outcomes: industry-ready prototypes, interoperable tooling, and clear pathways from research to deployment.

The partners will pool superconducting know-how, shared fabs and test sites, and structured talent exchanges. Common testbeds will reduce duplication, lift throughput, and speed benchmarks. Joint governance will release reference designs, track milestones, and align on global standards.

Scaling quantum requires integrated systems, not just faster qubits. Priorities include full-stack validation across cryogenics and packaging, controls, and error mitigation. Demonstrations target reproducible, large-scale superconducting processors, with results for peer review and industry pilots.

G-QuAT will act as an international hub, convening suppliers, universities, and overseas labs for co-development. Fujitsu brings product engineering, supply chain, and quality systems to translate research into deployable hardware. External partners will be invited to run comparative trials.

AIST anchors the effort with the national research capacity of Japan and a mission to bridge lab and market. Fujitsu aligns commercialization and service models to emerging standards. Near-term work packages include joint pilots and verification suites, followed by prototypes aimed at industrial adoption.

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EU investigates Meta and TikTok for DSA breaches

The European Commission has accused Meta and TikTok of breaching the Digital Services Act (DSA), highlighting failures in handling illegal content and providing researchers access to public data.

Meta’s Facebook and Instagram were found to make it too difficult for users to report illegal content or receive responses to complaints, the Commission said in its preliminary findings.

Investigations began after complaints to Ireland’s content regulator, where Meta’s EU base is located. The Commission’s inquiry, which has been ongoing since last year, aims to ensure that large platforms protect users and meet EU safety obligations.

Meta and TikTok can submit counterarguments before penalties of up to six percent of global annual turnover are imposed.

Both companies face separate concerns about denying researchers adequate access to platform data and preventing oversight of systemic online risks. TikTok is under further examination for minor protection and advertising transparency issues.

The Commission has launched 14 such DSA-related proceedings, none concluded.

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Microsoft faces legal action for alleged Copilot subscription deception

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has launched Federal Court proceedings against Microsoft Australia and its parent company. The regulator alleges Microsoft misled 2.7 million Australians over Microsoft 365 subscription changes after adding its AI assistant, Copilot.

The ACCC says Microsoft told subscribers to accept higher-priced Copilot plans or cancel, without mentioning the cheaper Classic plan that kept original features. Customers could only discover this option by starting the cancellation process.

ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said Microsoft deliberately concealed the Classic plan to push users onto more expensive subscriptions. She noted that Microsoft 365 is essential for many and that customers deserve transparent information to make informed choices.

The regulator believes many users would have stayed with their original plans if they had known all the options.

The ACCC is seeking penalties, injunctions, and redress, claiming millions faced financial harm from higher renewal charges. The case underscores the regulator’s focus on protecting consumers in the digital economy and ensuring fair practices by major technology firms.

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Russia orders Apple to set Russian search engine by default

Russia’s federal anti-monopoly service has ordered Apple to preinstall a Russian-made search engine, such as Yandex or Mail.ru, by default on all devices sold in Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union. The regulator claims Apple’s current setup gives foreign providers unfair market advantages.

The letter from FAS director Maxim Shaskolsky said Apple’s practices breach consumer protection laws by denying users equal access to local services. Authorities argue that default settings favour non-Russian search engines and restrict fair competition within domestic markets.

Apple has until 31 October to comply or face potential fines and restrictions. Russia’s Ministry of Digital Affairs warned of serious consequences if the company ignores the directive. Officials noted that Google previously avoided penalties after offering users a search engine choice.

Apple’s relations with Moscow have been tense since 2024, when the firm removed VPN apps under government pressure. Digital rights groups described the move as a threat to privacy, and analysts see the latest demand as part of Russia’s push for greater online control.

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Australia demands answers from AI chatbot providers over child safety

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has issued legal notices to four major AI companion platforms, requiring them to explain how they are protecting children from harmful or explicit content.

Character.ai, Nomi, Chai, and Chub.ai were all served under the country’s Online Safety Act and must demonstrate compliance with Australia’s Basic Online Safety Expectations.

The notices follow growing concern that AI companions, designed for friendship and emotional support, can expose minors to sexualised conversations, suicidal ideation, and other psychological risks.

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the companies must show how their systems prevent such harms, not merely react to them, warning that failure to comply could lead to penalties of up to $825,000 per day.

AI companion chatbots have surged in popularity among young users, with Character.ai alone attracting nearly 160,000 monthly active users in Australia.

The Commissioner stressed that these services must integrate safety measures by design, as new enforceable codes now extend to AI platforms that previously operated with minimal oversight.

A move that comes amid wider efforts to regulate emerging AI technologies and ensure stronger child protection standards online.

Breaches of the new codes could result in civil penalties of up to $49.5 million, marking one of the toughest online safety enforcement regimes globally.

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Lawmakers urge EU to curb Huawei’s role in solar inverters over security risks

Lawmakers and security officials are increasingly worried that Huawei’s dominant role in solar inverters could create a new supply-chain vulnerability for Europe’s power grids. Two MEPs have written to the European Commission urging immediate steps to limit ‘high-risk’ vendors in energy systems.

Inverters are a technology that transforms solar energy into the electrical current fed into the power network; many are internet-connected so vendors can perform remote maintenance. Cyber experts warn that remote access to large numbers of inverters could be abused to shut devices down or change settings en masse, creating surges, drops or wider instability across the grid.

Chinese firms, led by Huawei and Sungrow, supply a large share of Europe’s installed inverter capacity. SolarPower Europe estimates Chinese companies account for roughly 65 per cent of the market. Some member states are already acting: Lithuania has restricted remote access to sizeable Chinese installations, while agencies in the Czech Republic and Germany have flagged specific Huawei components for further scrutiny.

The European Commission is preparing an ICT supply-chain toolbox to de-risk critical sectors, with solar inverters listed among priority areas. Suspicion of Chinese technology has surged in recent years. Beijing, under President Xi Jinping, requires domestic firms to comply with government requests for data sharing and to report software vulnerabilities, raising Western fears of potential surveillance.

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Federal Reserve embraces crypto innovation in payments system

The Federal Reserve has signalled a shift towards decentralised finance, with Governor Waller saying the central bank now welcomes crypto innovators into mainstream payments.

Speaking at the Payments Innovation Conference on 21 October, Waller said the Fed intends to play an active role in the ongoing technology-driven transformation of the financial system.

Waller highlighted how stablecoins, tokenised assets, and AI are reshaping the payments landscape. He said private firms drive innovation but added that public institutions like the Fed must adapt to support evolving financial systems.

The governor said the central bank is exploring how tokenisation, smart contracts, and AI could enhance its own systems and foster closer dialogue with industry innovators.

In a significant policy proposal, Waller revealed that the Fed is studying a new type of ‘payment account’ for legally eligible institutions. The concept would provide streamlined access to Federal Reserve payment rails for fintech and crypto firms without requiring a full master account.

Such accounts would operate under tighter controls, including balance caps, no interest payments, and no overdraft privileges, allowing faster review times while maintaining system safety.

Waller said the payments revolution is underway and urged collaboration between traditional finance and emerging digital sectors. He called the event a turning point for Fed–innovator relations, noting that crypto and distributed ledgers are now part of modern payments.

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UK data stays in the UK as OpenAI rolls out residency

OpenAI will offer UK data residency for API Platform, ChatGPT Enterprise, and ChatGPT Edu from October 24. The option, announced by Deputy PM David Lammy, is tied to a Ministry of Justice partnership. The government says it boosts privacy, security, and resilience for public services and business.

Lammy will unveil the ‘sovereign capability’ at OpenAI Frontiers, citing early MoJ efficiency gains. Over 1,000 probation officers will use Justice Transcribe to record and auto-transcribe offender meetings. Hours of admin shift to AI so staff can focus on supervision and public protection.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says UK usage has quadrupled in the past year. The company pitches AI as a way to save time and lift productivity across sectors. MoJ pilots have sparked interest from other departments, with broader adoption expected.

Data residency is a key blocker for regulated sectors, and this move aims to address that gap. Keeping data within the UK can simplify compliance and reduce perceived risk. It also underpins continuity plans by localising sensitive workloads.

ChatGPT Atlas, an AI-first web browser, was also announced this week. Its arrival could nudge users away from keyword searches toward conversational answers. OpenAI faces rivals Anthropic, Perplexity, and big tech incumbents in that shift.

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ChatGPT faces EU’s toughest platform rules after 120 million users

OpenAI’s ChatGPT could soon face the EU’s strictest platform regulations under the Digital Services Act (DSA), after surpassing 120 million monthly users in Europe.

A milestone that places OpenAI’s chatbot above the 45 million-user threshold that triggers heightened oversight.

The DSA imposes stricter obligations on major platforms such as Meta, TikTok, and Amazon, requiring greater transparency, risk assessments, and annual fees to fund EU supervision.

The European Commission confirmed it has begun assessing ChatGPT’s eligibility for the ‘very large online platform’ status, which would bring the total number of regulated platforms to 26.

OpenAI reported that its ChatGPT search function alone had 120.4 million monthly active users across the EU in the six months ending 30 September 2025. Globally, the chatbot now counts around 700 million weekly users.

If designated under the DSA, ChatGPT would be required to curb illegal and harmful content more rigorously and demonstrate how its algorithms handle information, marking the EU’s most direct regulatory test yet for generative AI.

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