The Blockchain Association has sent a letter to president-elect Donald Trump and Congress, outlining key reforms for the crypto industry during the first 100 days of Trump’s administration. The letter, signed by CEO Kristin Smith, highlights the need for new leadership at the IRS and Treasury Department, alongside changes to policies hindering crypto innovation.
Smith criticised inconsistent taxation on digital assets and the IRS’s ‘Broker rule’, which requires brokers to disclose gains and losses on crypto transactions, warning it could drive businesses offshore. The association also called for rolling back the SAB 121 accounting guideline, labelling it ‘punitive’ and harmful to crypto firms.
The letter further urged reforms to end the exclusion of crypto companies from traditional banking, citing the need for fair access to financial services. To support innovation, the Blockchain Association proposed creating a crypto advisory council to work alongside Congress and regulators.
The association emphasised the importance of a balanced regulatory framework to protect consumers while fostering growth, stressing the role of public-private partnerships in establishing effective policies.
India’s Competition Commission has rejected Apple’s request to pause an antitrust investigation, clearing the way for the case to progress. The investigation alleges Apple breached competition laws by exploiting its dominant app store position. Apple disputes these claims, arguing its market share in India is minor compared to Android devices.
The controversy began in 2021 when the non-profit Together We Fight Society (TWFS) accused Apple of anti-competitive practices. In August, the commission ordered investigation reports to be recalled, following Apple’s claims of sensitive information being leaked to rivals. Revised reports were issued after redaction disputes, but Apple requested a suspension, citing non-compliance by TWFS.
Regulator in India dismissed Apple’s concerns, calling its request to halt proceedings ‘untenable.’ The commission has now instructed Apple to submit audited financial records for three fiscal years to assess potential penalties. Apple has yet to respond publicly to these developments.
Senior officials at the Competition Commission are reviewing the evidence and will issue a final ruling. The case highlights broader scrutiny of major tech companies’ market behaviour, particularly regarding app store operations and developer relations.
The European Commission has closed its antitrust investigation into Apple’s e-book and audiobook practices after the original complaint was withdrawn, TechCrunch reported. The probe, launched in 2020, examined Apple’s in-app payment rules and its restrictions on third-party developers informing users about alternative payment methods.
This inquiry followed a similar case involving music-streaming apps, which led to a $2 billion fine against Apple earlier this year after Spotify alleged unfair competition. Despite the closure of the e-book case, the Commission clarified that this does not mean Apple’s practices comply with EU competition laws.
The investigation’s conclusion underscores the EU’s ongoing efforts to regulate tech giants and ensure a fair digital marketplace, with Apple remaining a focal point of scrutiny.
The US Supreme Court has decided to allow a class-action lawsuit against Meta, Facebook’s parent company, to move forward. The case stems from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, where the political consulting firm accessed personal data from 87M Facebook users and used it for voter targeting in the 2016 US presidential election. Meta had sought to block the lawsuit, but the court dismissed its appeal.
Investors claim Meta failed to fully disclose the risks of data misuse, leading to two major drops in its stock price in 2018 when the extent of the privacy breach became public. Meta has already paid a $5.1B fine and a $725M settlement with users over related allegations.
The lawsuit is one of several legal challenges facing big tech firms. A separate case against Nvidia is under review, as investors allege the company misled them about its dependency on cryptocurrency mining.
A significant step in financial regulation will see major tech companies processing over 13 billion transactions annually subject to closer oversight. The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has finalised a rule bringing digital wallets and payment apps under the same scrutiny as banks. The move aims to enhance consumer privacy protections, combat fraud, and ensure fair account management.
The rule, targeting services like Apple Wallet, Google Pay, and Venmo, signals a shift in recognising digital payments as essential consumer tools. CFPB Director Rohit Chopra emphasised the need for oversight that reflects the growing reliance on these services. The measure, first proposed a year ago, has undergone substantial revisions to refine its scope and application.
Only companies processing over 50 million transactions annually will fall under the rule, a change from the initially proposed threshold of 5 million. Moreover, the regulation focuses solely on transactions in US dollars, excluding digital assets from its purview. Critics, including the Financial Technology Association, argue that the rule lacks a clear justification, though some in the banking industry support its introduction.
Set to take effect 30 days after its publication in the Federal Register, the rule has sparked debate over its future under a changing regulatory landscape. With the growing role of digital payments in daily life, the rule marks a pivotal moment for the industry and consumer protections alike.
Amazon is likely to face an EU investigation next year into allegations that it favours its own brand products on its online marketplace, according to sources familiar with the matter. If found in violation of the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), Amazon could face a fine of up to 10% of its global revenue.
The potential investigation will be overseen by Teresa Ribera, the incoming EU antitrust chief, who will take office next month. Amazon has denied any wrongdoing, stating it complies with the DMA and treats all products equally in its ranking algorithms. The company has been in ongoing discussions with the European Commission about its practices.
The DMA, implemented last year, aims to curb the dominance of Big Tech by prohibiting preferential treatment of their products and services. Alongside Amazon, other tech giants such as Apple, Google, and Meta are also under scrutiny. Amazon shares fell 3% following reports of the possible investigation.
OpenAI is under scrutiny after engineers accidentally erased key evidence in an ongoing copyright lawsuit filed by The New York Times and Daily News. The publishers accuse OpenAI of using their copyrighted content to train its AI models without authorisation.
The issue arose when OpenAI provided virtual machines for the plaintiffs to search its training datasets for infringed material. On 14 November 2024, OpenAI engineers deleted the search data stored on one of these machines. While most of the data was recovered, the loss of folder structures and file names rendered the information unusable for tracing specific sources in the training process.
Plaintiffs are now forced to restart the time-intensive search, leading to concerns over OpenAI’s ability to manage its own datasets. Although the deletion is not suspected to be intentional, lawyers argue that OpenAI is best equipped to perform searches and verify its use of copyrighted material. OpenAI maintains that training AI on publicly available data falls under fair use, but it has also struck licensing deals with major publishers like the Associated Press and News Corp. The company has neither confirmed nor denied using specific copyrighted works for its AI training.
US prosecutors have urged a federal judge to impose sweeping changes on Google to dismantle its alleged monopoly on online search and advertising. Proposed remedies include forcing Google to sell its Chrome browser, share search data with competitors, and possibly divest its Android operating system. These measures could remain in place for up to a decade, overseen by a court-appointed technical committee.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) and state antitrust enforcers argued that Google’s dominance, with a 90% share of US searches, has stifled competition by controlling critical distribution channels. The DOJ aims to end deals where Google pays companies like Apple billions annually to make its search engine the default on their devices. Prosecutors also want restrictions on Google’s acquisitions in search, AI, and advertising technology, as well as provisions for websites to opt out of training Google’s AI systems.
Google has called the proposals extreme, warning they would harm consumers and the economy. Alphabet’s legal chief, Kent Walker, said the measures represent “unprecedented government overreach.” Google will present alternative proposals in December, while a trial to decide the remedies is scheduled for April.
If implemented, the proposals could reshape the tech landscape, lowering barriers for competitors like DuckDuckGo. The case highlights broader global efforts to curb the power of tech giants and promote fair competition.
Gary Wang, a former FTX executive, has avoided prison after cooperating extensively with prosecutors in the case against cryptocurrency exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Judge Lewis Kaplan acknowledged Wang’s lesser role in the $8 billion fraud and commended his efforts to accept responsibility. Wang had pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges but argued he was initially unaware of the scale of the misconduct.
Wang, a former chief technology officer at FTX, admitted to altering the platform’s software under Bankman-Fried’s direction, granting Alameda Research special access to customer funds. Despite realising the fraud later, Wang continued maintaining the system but expressed regret in court, vowing to dedicate his life to making amends. Prosecutors highlighted his assistance in uncovering the fraud and his current work on tools to combat market manipulation.
The two met during a summer math camp in their youth and later studied at MIT before founding FTX. Wang was part of the close-knit group living with Bankman-Fried in a luxury Bahamian penthouse before the exchange’s collapse in 2022. The company’s failure exposed the misappropriation of customer funds, leading to Bankman-Fried’s 25-year prison sentence, which he is currently appealing.
Wang’s sentencing marks the conclusion of legal actions against Bankman-Fried’s inner circle. Others implicated included Nishad Singh, who also avoided jail, and Caroline Ellison, sentenced to two years. Prosecutors emphasised Wang’s unique skill set and role in aiding investigations, describing his cooperation as pivotal in holding the former FTX leadership accountable.
Privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo has urged the European Commission to launch three new investigations into Google’s compliance with the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). DuckDuckGo argues that the rules, designed to curb Big Tech dominance, have not yet delivered meaningful change in the search market.
The Digital Markets Act, adopted in 2022, requires major tech firms to ensure users can switch services easily and prohibits practices that favour their own products. DuckDuckGo’s senior vice-president, Kamyl Bazbaz, claimed in a blog post that Google’s measures fall short of the law’s requirements, calling for formal probes to drive compliance.
Google is already under two DMA-related investigations concerning its app store rules and alleged discrimination against third-party services. A spokesperson for the company stated that Google is cooperating with the Commission and has made significant adjustments to its services. They emphasised consumer choice and data protection as key priorities while rejecting claims of non-compliance.
DuckDuckGo also accused Google of proposing to share anonymised search data with competitors that excludes the vast majority of search queries, rendering it ineffective. Additional allegations include failing to make switching search engines straightforward. Companies breaching the DMA could face fines up to 10% of their global annual revenue.
