Austria Issues First MiCA Fine Against Bitpanda
Austria’s FMA fined Bitpanda €70,000 for MiCA white paper and marketing breaches, marking the first binding EU MiCA enforcement action.
Digital Economy
France Introduces Prior Consent Rules for Telemarketing Calls
France will require prior consumer consent for most telemarketing calls from 11 August 2026, backed by fines of up to €375,000 for companies.
Google Updates EU Hotel Search Results to Comply With DMA
Google’s reported EU hotel-search changes may respond to DMA self-preferencing rules by increasing visibility for travel platforms and hotel websites.
MiCA Reform Signals New EU Rules for Stablecoins and Tokenized Payments
The EU may reconsider MiCA’s treatment of non-EU stablecoins and assess rules for tokenized payments and deposits.
EU Plans MiCA Review for Stablecoins and Tokenization
The EU may revise MiCA to regulate non-EU stablecoin issuers and address tokenized payments, deposits, and emerging payment infrastructure.
GDPR Cited as Key Barrier to AI Releases in Europe
A GovAI report links EU AI model delays mainly to GDPR uncertainty, raising questions about legal clarity, enforcement, and access to frontier AI tools.
Ireland Gives Financial Consumers a Right to Speak to a Human
Ireland’s new distance-financial-services rules strengthen consumer rights to human intervention, clear pre-contract information, and accessible online withdrawal.
Member States can impose certain targeted obligations on online services, CJEU says
The CJEU permits targeted age-verification and roadside-check information restrictions, but requires strict compliance with the E-Commerce Directive’s cross-border safeguards.
EU and Brazil to sign new Digital Partnership
The EU-Brazil Digital Partnership advances cooperation on data protection, AI, connectivity and online safety under the EU’s external digital policy
Apple blames DMA for delaying Siri AI in EU
Apple says DMA concerns will delay Siri AI on iPhone and iPad in the EU while macOS and visionOS access remains planned.