Welcome to the CAVEAT Weekly Newsletter, where we break down some of the major developments and happenings occurring worldwide when discussing cybersecurity, privacy, digital surveillance, and technology policy.
At 1,550 words, this briefing is about a 7-minute read.
At a glance.
- Google is set to face an EU antitrust fine.
- Disney to pay FTC $10 million to settle lawsuit.
The EU aims to impose an antitrust fine on Google for adtech.
The news.
On Friday, reports emerged that the European Union (EU) is preparing to impose a “modest” antitrust fine on Google. This fine follows a four-year-long investigation after a complaint was filed with the European Publishers Council. For context, this complaint also eventually led to the European Commission levying charges against Google, which claimed that Google was favouring its own advertising services and threatened a potential breakup.
While the EU’s antitrust chief, Teresa Ribera, has traditionally utilized a more aggressive penalty strategy, this modest fine would mark a notable departure from previous policy stances. Reportedly, this shift comes as Ribera aims to have companies end their anti-competitive practices rather than punish them for it.
The fine is expected to be imposed in the coming weeks, and the EU will not order Google to sell a portion of its adtech business.
The knowledge.
This latest fine connects to a broader shift in how both the EU and the United States (US) are handling Big Tech. Over the past several years, the EU has launched dozens of investigations and levied numerous multi-million euro fines against some of the largest Big Tech companies. Some examples include:
- Meta’s 2025 fine: A warning that the EU aims to impose daily fines on Meta for breaching the Digital Markets Act (DMA) due to its pay-or-consent model.
- Apple’s 2025 DMA antitrust fine: A 500 million euro fine that the European Commission levied against Apple due to its App Store using “anti-steering” practices.
- Amazon’s 2021 fine: A case, which, while recently reduced, originally fined the company for 1.13 billion euros for alleged marketplace dominance abuse.
While each of these instances is only a small selection of the numerous cases that the EU has opened against Big Tech companies in recent years, the EU has widely been seen as one of the leaders when it comes to addressing Big Tech companies' influence over markets. However, in recent years, the US has also begun to increase its scrutiny over these same companies.
Though many of the ongoing antitrust cases were championed by the former Biden administration, President Trump has surprised many with how aggressively his administration has continued these ongoing lawsuits. Since taking office, President Trump’s administration has actively pursued breakups of Google and Meta, and continues a high-profile suit against Amazon.
These actions demonstrate a clear trend showing that regulators in both the EU and the US are moving to curb Big Tech’s influence.
The impact.
The EU’s decision to impose only a modest fine on Google suggests a potential shift in how it handles antitrust policy. Rather than relying on major fines and breakups, the EU may be testing whether lighter punishments with incentives could improve conduct. If successful, this could result in a major shift in how the EU manages Big Tech.
For companies, this change could be significant. In the US, antitrust enforcement has been moving to a more aggressive and stricter framework that sees breakups as a solution, while in Europe, regulations are changing. Together, these trends could change how companies engage with both regions and how they assess operational risks.
Disney settles FTC privacy lawsuit.
The news.
On Tuesday, Disney agreed to settle a privacy lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). With this settlement, Disney has agreed to pay $10 million. This case was originally filed by the Department of Justice. In their complaint, the agencies argued that the company had violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection (COPPA) Rule when it collected personal information from children who watched YouTube videos, which were mislabelled as “Made for Kids,” without parental consent.
More specifically, the complaint says that this mislabelling allowed Disney to collect data from children under the age of thirteen and use that data for targeted advertising.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson commented on the complaint, stating:
“This case underscores the FTC’s commitment to enforcing COPPA, which was enacted by Congress to ensure that parents, not companies like Disney, make decisions about the collection and use of their children’s personal information online.”
The knowledge.
This most recent case ties to another 2019 lawsuit between the FTC and YouTube, which resulted in a $170 million settlement. This case involved the same COPPA Rule and how YouTube was illegally collecting the personal data of minors without parental consent. The complaint alleged that YouTube violated the COPPA Rule by collecting personal information from viewers of child-directed channels without first notifying parents and getting consent.
In this case, former FTC Chairman Joe Simons stated:
“YouTube touted its popularity with children to prospective corporate clients. Yet when it came to complying with COPPA, the company refused to acknowledge that portions of its platform were clearly directed to kids.”
These two cases are reflective of a broader effort to mitigate how companies are monitoring and collecting minors’ personal data. Outside of the many states passing laws restricting access to social media platforms, such as in Florida and Georgia, federal lawmakers have also attempted to address these efforts. At the federal level, lawmakers have tried to pass both the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and an updated version of COPPA. Though both of these efforts have failed to pass Congress, each of these efforts is reflective of the growing momentum to control minors’ access to the internet by limiting exposure to social media platforms, potentially harmful content, and how much information can be collected on minors.
Though some have criticized these efforts by labeling them as infringements on free speech and government censorship, the Supreme Court has been ruling in favor of these efforts. For both a 2023 Texas state law and a 2024 Mississippi state law, the Supreme Court has upheld these laws. Notably, for the Texas law, the Court emphasized that mandating stricter age verification requirements only “incidentally” burdened adults and did not infringe upon adult rights.
The impact.
Disney’s settlement reinforces the direction of the US’s data privacy policy. Regulators are steadily increasing pressure on companies that collect data, signaling that COPPA enforcement remains a top priority. Though this settlement may be relatively minor for Disney, this settlement demonstrates how the US government is seeking to broaden its authority when protecting children online.
For parents, the settlement reinforces the government’s intent to continue taking a more active role in managing how children engage online. For companies, it suggests that future enforcement actions may not stop at settlements but could expand to larger and more consistent fines, stricter compliance requirements, and new federal legislation.
Highlighting key conversations.
In this week’s Caveat Podcast, our team discusses the US government taking a stake in private firms. Under the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA), the US government can potentially take a stake in a company. Our team discusses how this has most recently emerged with the federal government taking a nearly ten percent stake in Intel through the CHIPS and Science Acts.
Like what you read, and curious about the conversation? Head over to the Caveat Podcast for the full scoop and additional compelling insights. Our Caveat Podcast is a weekly show where we discuss topics related to surveillance, digital privacy, cybersecurity law, and policy. Got a question you'd like us to answer on our show? You can send your audio file to caveat@thecyberwire.com. Hope to hear from you.
Other noteworthy stories.
Italian court reduces fine on Amazon.
What: An Italian court reduced a 2021 1.13 billion euro fine.
Why: On Tuesday, the Lazio administrative court upheld the main findings of this 2021 fine but recalculated the initial fine. The new fine will be around 750 million euros. This fine was originally issued in response to Amazon's restricting competition in Italy.
In response to this reduction, Amazon stated:
“We will continue to defend our position on the case. More than half of all annual sales on Amazon in Italy come from small and medium businesses (SMBs). We have 20,000 Italian SMBs that sell on Amazon, including sellers that manage shipment themselves, and we constantly invest to support their growth.”
Meta is adding new AI safeguards.
What: Meta has announced that it is adding new safeguards to its artificial intelligence (AI) products.
Why: On Friday, Meta announced that it plans to add new safeguards aimed at protecting teenagers. These safeguards will help ensure that AI systems avoid flirty conversations and specific topics related to self-harm or suicide. Meta stated that these new safeguards are already being implemented and will be continuously updated to further refine them.
New Mexico to invest $315 million into quantum.
What: New Mexico plans to invest $315 million in quantum computing.
Why: On Tuesday, Governor Lujan Grisham announced a new funding effort to advance the state's quantum computing efforts. In this funding, $185 million will come from the sovereign wealth fund. Additionally, another $60 million will come from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the state. Additionally, $25 million of the funding from the state will be put towards pairing scientists with entrepreneurs for developing business opportunities.
With this announcement, Governor Grisham stated that “we don’t intend to be reckless, but we intend to be fast.”