Insights

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The FTC fuses competition, privacy, and consumer protection concerns to open a new front against Big Tech

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Sonia Vasconcellos
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The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is shifting its traditional approach to competition policy by going beyond the question of whether a transaction violates antitrust law to consider whether consumer privacy has been a casualty of Big Tech's rise. However, the FTC’s push to expand its remit and the boundaries of traditional antitrust law will almost certainly be…

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Top in Tech: UKIE CEO Jo Twist on the future of the UK gaming industry

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Conan D'Arcy
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Today on Top in Tech, Conan D'Arcy speaks with Jo Twist, the CEO of the Association for UK Interactive Entertainment, the UK video game industry trade body. Twist has lead UKIE for over a decade and played a pivotal role in building the world-leading UK video game industry. They talk about what separates video games from the rest of the tech industry, how the UK can…

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General Politics

Global Month Ahead: Elections in Brazil, China's National Congress, the EU Energy Crisis, and fears of a global recession

General Politics

Anikó Zsebik
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Welcome back to the Global Month Ahead, Global Counsel's briefing on the events and stories that will define the month to come. In each episode, Global Macro Associate Director Isabelle Trick will hear from different members of the GC team to preview the month's stories before they are in the headlines.

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The European Media Freedom Act stirs a potent cocktail of political imperatives

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Jack Keevill
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Poland and Hungary have given Brussels many headaches. One that has received less attention is the state of press freedom, which the European Commission believes has suffered not only under the Orbán and Kaczyński regimes, but also in Slovenia, Malta, and Greece. Its proposed remedy is the European Media Freedom Act. 

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General Politics

Setting new precedent? Eight insights into the EU’s eighth Russia sanctions package

General Politics

Magnus Obermann
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Following Russia’s mobilisation and annexation of four Ukrainian regions, the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced that EU members had agreed on additional sanctions against Russia, which “will be brought forward as soon as possible.” Political agreement on the eighth EU sanctions package is expected not later than at the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council on…

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California’s Age-Appropriate Design Code may reshape the US online privacy landscape

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Ugonma Nwankwo
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When California – the home of Silicon Valley – passes major internet-related laws, the rest of the country pays attention. As federal data privacy legislation continues to stall, California is once again setting the blueprint. On September 15, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (AADC), which…

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Can the European Health Data Space address transatlantic health data sharing fears?

Health and Life Sciences

Saskia Hirsch
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The European Commission’s proposed European Health Data Space (EHDS) is set to transform health systems in the European Union (EU), offering a wide range of opportunities for research, innovation and policymaking. The EHDS is a health ecosystem comprising of two digital infrastructures: an EU-wide infrastructure to store, access and control patients’ health data to…

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What’s the future of carbon pricing?

Energy & Commodities

Lorna Ritchie
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Globally, we need to decarbonise rapidly, and in all sectors, but the “how” is not always clear. Putting a price on carbon allows the market to dictate its own decarbonisation path based on what is most cost-effective.  

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Top in Tech: leadership changes in the UK and data protection in the US

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Conan D'Arcy
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This week on Top in Tech, Conan D'Arcy is joined by Senior Associate Ugonma Nwankwo and Associate Director Megan Stagman to discuss the tech regulatory impact of the UK's new leadership and recent US data protection proposals.

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The crucial role of the US in helping CEE with supplies diversification and energy security

Energy & Commodities

Katarzyna Nowacka
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Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has struggled to replenish its gas storages and ensure it has sufficient supplies to get through the winter. Russia twice halted gas flows completely through Nord Stream 1 to the continent after Europe and its allies imposed sanctions on Moscow, and the United States is poised to become a major player…

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The EU and US Chips Acts: Mutually beneficial or zero-sum game?

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Max von Thun
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Following the severe disruption in semiconductor supply chains that began during the covid-19 pandemic, governments around the world are taking action to bolster supply chain resilience and strengthen their domestic industries. The US and the EU are no exception, with the Biden administration signing the CHIPS and Science Act into law last month, and the European…

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General Politics

EU - US trade and tech partnerships: on the brink of a breakthrough?

General Politics

Jon Garvie
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When the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) was created following a summit in June 2021, both sides viewed it primarily as a means of reinvigorating a badly damaged relationship, following the failure of the TTIP negotiations, the tantrums of the Trump years and the fall-out over AUKUS. 

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A tale of two transatlantic hawks, but who will win?

General Politics

Ed King
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Inflation has been hitting record highs almost monthly in the US and the eurozone. Monetary policymakers have been scrambling to control inflation without plunging their economies into a deep recession. Initially, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the US Federal Reserve (Fed) took divergent approaches to tackling inflation, but this trend is changing. 

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General Politics

Unpacking von der Leyen’s state of the EU

General Politics

Alessandro Gangarossa
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The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, delivered her third state of the European Union speech on September 14th before the European Parliament, giving sight of her priorities for 2023 and using a rare public platform to speak more directly to audiences beyond the immediate EU stakeholders. 

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General Politics

How resilient is the renewed EU-US cooperation?

General Politics

Ana Martínez
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Nearly two years on from President Biden’s election victory, the ill-tempered clashes between US and EU officials over trade, climate change and security during the last decade can appear a historical anomaly. Leaders on both sides are now increasingly aligned in diagnosing the threats posed by Russia and China and looking to multilateral bodies such as NATO or the UN to…

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End of the honeymoon? Domestic policy priorities test EU-US trade cooperation

Trade & Manufacturing

Alessandro Gangarossa
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The next major point of friction in transatlantic trade relations is emerging around policies to support the domestic electric vehicles industry. The EU has raised grievances around the potential discriminatory effects of the recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the United States – which includes tax credits and incentives for US battery and electric vehicle…

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General Politics

Shelving Schengen – how to unpack the EU’s steps and options to curb Russian tourism

General Politics

Magnus Obermann
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Following an agreement among EU foreign ministers in late August, on September 9th the European Council adopted a recommendation by the European Commission to suspend the 2007 EU-Russia visa facilitation agreement. As of September 12th, Russian applicants for short-term visas face a lengthier, harder and much costlier process. Similar restrictions for long-term visas…

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General Politics

UN General Assembly: progress or paralysis

General Politics

Jon Garvie
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The UN General Assembly’s High-Level General Debate (i.e leaders' speeches) starts on Tuesday, 20 September, facing a hot war in Europe, a dialogue of the deaf between the world’s two superpowers and an accelerating global decline in democratic norms. Some of the lesser-known commitments set out in the UN Declaration of Human Rights – for example, “the right to a standard…

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