Specialist news and analysis on legal risk and regulation

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Susan Li, Meta's chief financial officer

Artificial Intelligence, Data Privacy and Security, Technology

October 22, 2026 | Mike Swift

North America

Meta says youth-related legal costs drove 68% expense growth; more trials loom

Artificial Intelligence, Data Privacy and Security

October 21, 2026 | Emma Whitford

North America

PHP incident shows AI exposing longstanding cyber vulnerabilities

Data Privacy and Security

October 21, 2026 | Mike Swift, Xu Yuan and Madeline Hughes

North America

Meta hit with $25bn fine by New Mexico judge for 'systematic' privacy deceptions

Antitrust View More

South Korea unveils draft guidelines targeting AI washing, deceptive advertising

October 22, 2026

Asia

MLex Summary: South Korea’s antitrust regulator on Thursday unveiled draft guidelines aimed at curbing misleading advertising involving artificial intelligence, including “AI washing,” exaggerated performance ... (more story)

Apple must open iOS to rival app stores, payments in Australia, judge rules

October 22, 2026 | Saloni Sinha and Sean Maguire

Oceania

Apple must open its iOS operating system to rival app stores and payment systems in Australia without a fixed expiry date, a judge ruled Thursday in Epic Games’ long-running antitrust case. Federal Court Judge... (more story)

Apple must open iOS to rivals in Australia, but Epic loses global remedies bid

October 22, 2026

Oceania

MLex Summary: Apple must open its iOS ecosystem to rival app distribution and payment systems for Australian account holders without a fixed expiry date, allowing developers enrolled in Apple’s developer progr... (more story)

Artificial Intelligence View More

South Korea's state-led AI push faces reckoning over strategy, motives

October 22, 2026 | Choonsik Yoo

Asia

South Korea’s ambition to become a leading artificial intelligence power faces growing scrutiny as critics question how the government selects projects, allocates funding and measures success, with plans for a... (more story)

Japan telecom panel weighs tighter cybersecurity rules amid AI-powered attacks

October 22, 2026

Asia

MLex Summary: An expert panel under Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications began discussions Thursday on protecting telecom infrastructure amid a surge in cyberattacks powered by frontier arti... (more story)

US judge takes up Anthropic's fair use defense in music copyright dispute

October 22, 2026 | Maria Dinzeo

North America

Whether Anthropic's Claude spits out song lyrics verbatim, creates derivative works or generates new songs, Anthropic’s use of those lyrics isn't transformative, lawyers for music publishers argued Wednesday a... (more story)

Mergers and Acquisitions View More

Verisk, AccuLynx debate 'willful conduct' at Delaware Supreme Court

October 21, 2026 | Curtis Eichelberger

North America

The Delaware Supreme Court spent most of a hearing Wednesday questioning lawyers for Verisk Analytics and AccuLynx over the meaning of the term "willful conduct" and promised to try to return a quick decision ... (more story)

AI enforcement, cross-border deal risk on the rise, global antitrust survey says

October 21, 2026

Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania

MLex Summary: Artificial intelligence and digital markets remain a top focus for regulators around the world, according to a Berkeley Research Group survey of senior antitrust practitioners across Europe, the ... (more story)

AkzoNobel-Axalta review in final stages; remedies limited to US and EU, CEO says

October 21, 2026 | Flavia Fortes

Europe, North America

AkzoNobel’s merger with Axalta is approaching the final stages of regulatory review, with planned business sales in the US and Europe the only remedies sought by competition authorities, AkzoNobel chief execut... (more story)

Data Privacy and Security View More

Japan's PPC plans public consultation on regulatory amendments

October 22, 2026

Asia

MLex Summary: Japan's Personal Information Protection Commission said Wednesday that it plans to seek public comments through late November on draft amendments to implementing regulations under the country's p... (more story)

Sixth Circuit hears arguments about US FCC privacy rules en banc

October 21, 2026 | Madeline Hughes

North America

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit was asked by telecommunications groups to strike down 2024 Federal Communications Commission privacy rules because they closely resemble 2016 rules that Congress removed.

Plaintiffs suing Politico make third go at wiretapping allegations in US suit

October 21, 2026 | Xu Yuan

North America

Plaintiffs suing Politico in a US privacy lawsuit over website tracking made their third attempt to raise a claim under California's wiretapping law after a federal judge previously found the allegations were filed too late.

Intellectual Property View More

India patent delays pose Supreme Court dilemma: Who pays for lost years?

October 22, 2026 | Freny Patel

Asia

India’s Supreme Court will examine whether patent holders deserve compensation for government delays that erode enforceable protection, weighing inventors’ rights against competition and Parliament’s authority... (more story)

Japan's Supreme Court redraws line where tort can step in when copyright stops

October 21, 2026 | Toko Sekiguchi

Asia

Japan’s Supreme Court has supplied its first example in 15 years of when copying unprotected material becomes tortious, while leaving the limits for rival businesses in future cases still unclear.

France’s press copyright overhaul could shift platform payment disputes

October 21, 2026 | Inbar Preiss

Europe

France is passing a new law to give communications regulator Arcom powers to settle neighboring-rights payment disputes between news publishers and online services. This would offer an alternative to competit... (more story)

Financial Crime View More

US moves to dismiss charges against Colombian conglomerate in bribery case

October 21, 2026

Latin America, North America

MLex Summary: US prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss charges against Corporacion Financiera Colombiana SA, also known as Corficolombiana, after saying the company has met the terms of its deferred-prosecution agreement.

Former Nodus Bank board member sentenced in US to prison in fraud case

October 21, 2026

North America

MLex Summary: Jose Gregorio Suarez, at various times a member of the Nodus Bank board and a general manager of a related finance company, was sentenced to 31 months in prison after pleading guilty to fraud charges.

Vector Wealth chief Dawkins fined in UK, banned from financial services

October 21, 2026

Europe

MLex Summary: Jeffrey Dawkins, the former head of Vector Wealth, has been banned from the UK's financial services industry and fined £270,000 over high-risk bond sales that lost investors £4 million. The Finan... (more story)

Financial Services View More

Securitization revamp agreed by EU governments, lawmakers

October 21, 2026 | Fanny Roux

Europe

EU governments and lawmakers struck a deal on a revamped EU securitization framework Wednesday night in Strasbourg, France. They adjusted the capital rules initially proposed by the European Commission, change... (more story)

US OCC adopts GENIUS Act rules that trouble banking groups

October 21, 2026 | Neil Roland

North America

The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency became the first of four agencies due to adopt GENIUS Act stablecoin rules, though the OCC’s departure from its original proposal drew sharp criticism from banking groups.

Schufa sees Germany’s top court refer credit-score legal dispute to lower court

October 21, 2026

Europe

MLex Summary: Germany's top court has clarified the conditions under which credit-reference agency Schufa must give individuals information about the process used to calculate a credit score. Judges said the g... (more story)

Trade View More

US tank car companies split on antidumping duties for Mexican imports in USITC hearing

October 21, 2026 | Zack Budryk

North America

The US International Trade Commission should impose antidumping and countervailing duties on railway tank cars and components from Mexico, industry representatives argued at a hearing Wednesday during the prel... (more story)

EU carbon border tax revamp targeted for November deal; divisions remain

October 21, 2026 | Oscar Pandiello

Europe

Key questions over the scope of the EU’s carbon border tax expansion and possible temporary exemptions remain unresolved after opening talks, MLex understands. Negotiators outlined their positions but reached ... (more story)

EU needs broader China trade deal by March, lawmakers say ahead of Beijing visit

October 21, 2026 | Cynthia Kroet

Asia, Europe

The EU should pursue a broader trade agreement with China to tackle industrial subsidies and market-access barriers by March, leading European Parliament lawmakers said ahead of a visit they are making to Chin... (more story)

State Aid View More

Indonesia seeks to tap digital-market growth to spur innovation, investment

October 20, 2026

Asia

MLex Summary: Indonesia is seeking to turn its large digital consumer market into a source of greater productivity, innovation and domestic technology development while strengthening regulatory certainty for i... (more story)

Japan's METI seeks more investment in Rapidus

October 20, 2026

Asia

MLex Summary: Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Monday in documents submitted to a Finance Ministry advisory panel that it plans to seek a total of 400 billion yen (around $2.5 billion) i... (more story)

Italy’s energy decree set for EU state aid review after agreement with regulator

October 16, 2026

Europe

MLex Summary: Italy's energy decree — aimed at shielding households and businesses from high electricity prices — will undergo EU state aid scrutiny, after the national government and the European Commission r... (more story)

Energy View More

EU carbon reserve threshold to rise to 700m allowances under provisional deal

October 21, 2026

Europe

MLex Summary: The European Parliament and EU governments have reached a provisional agreement to raise the limit on carbon allowances held in the EU’s market stability reserve from 400 million to 700 million a... (more story)

EU Parliament and governments’ CRMA negotiations to begin on Nov. 4

October 20, 2026 | Cynthia Kroet

Europe

Talks on amendments to the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act will begin on Nov. 4, as governments seek more information on a proposed center to help secure supplies. The European Commission plans to circulate a ... (more story)

EU aims to conclude UK food and carbon market deals by Nov. 20 summit

October 20, 2026

Europe

MLex Summary: The EU aims to conclude negotiations with the UK on a deal to ease food and agricultural trade by aligning health and safety rules, as well as linking their emissions trading systems as a package... (more story)

Technology View More

Amazon, Google, Meta may face binding EU decisions on network fee disputes

October 21, 2026 | Matthew Newman

Europe

Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft could be required to negotiate network interconnection terms with European telecom operators and face binding regulatory decisions if talks fail under proposals by the Europe... (more story)

Clearview AI appeal risks UK–EU gap in privacy protections, court hears

October 21, 2026 | Imogen Howse

Europe

Allowing Clearview AI’s appeal over the UK privacy regulator's power to fine it would leave people in the UK with less privacy protection than those in the EU, a London court heard on Wednesday. Advocacy group... (more story)

Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, Orange face proposed cuts to EU wholesale roaming caps

October 21, 2026 | Matthew Newman

Europe

Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone Group, Orange and Telefónica could face lower caps on wholesale data roaming charges under proposals by the European Parliament’s lead telecom lawmaker. Michał Kobosko’s draft report... (more story)