The BBC reported that Japan’s Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) carried out dawn raids on the offices of Asahi, Sapporo, Kirin and Suntory, investigating whether the four brewers formed a price-fixing cartel. It is one of Japan’s largest consumer-goods antitrust actions in recent years.
According to Reuters, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has formally launched an antitrust investigation into several leading AI companies including Anthropic and OpenAI. The probe will focus on training data sourcing, partnerships, and potential market dominance. This marks the first systematic U.S. regulatory scrutiny of frontier AI companies and signals a shift from pure innovation-first policy to innovation-plus-regulation in the AI sector.
Paramount has reached a settlement with multiple US states over related lawsuits, a source told Reuters, a major step toward closing its merger with Warner Bros. The development marks significant progress toward completing one of the world’s most-watched media mergers.
Core Summary An Associated Press report indicates that a recently filed lawsuit alleges that four leading US artificial intelligence companies — Anthropic, OpenAI, SpaceXAI, and Google — colluded to reach an “illegal agreement” restricting the pace of AI model training and release, with the intent of collectively “slowing down” to preserve industry profits and valuations. The plaintiffs argue that the conduct constitutes horizontal collusion prohibited by US antitrust law. If the allegations stand, the case would become the first AI industry antitrust class action in the United States, with profound implications for the future pace of model releases, talent flows, and compute allocation. ...
The European Commission has imposed a €890 million fine on Google for systematically favoring its own applications in the Play Store, marking the first major enforcement action under the Digital Markets Act.
A US federal judge has issued a temporary injunction halting the merger between Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Discovery, citing incomplete antitrust review. The ruling creates major uncertainty for Hollywood’s studio landscape.
Core Summary California, joined by 11 other states, has filed a federal lawsuit to block Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery. The Associated Press reports that state attorneys general claim the merger would “extinguish competition,” posing threats to consumers and content creators. This represents the largest antitrust legal challenge ever faced by the Hollywood entertainment industry. Event Details According to KCRA television, California’s Attorney General has led a coalition of 12 states in legal action against the Paramount-Warner Bros deal. The AP notes that the joint statement from 12 state attorneys general declares the merger would “extinguish competition,” giving a single entity excessive control over film and television content production and distribution channels. ...
The FTC and state attorneys general reached a landmark settlement with John Deere, granting farmers and independent repair shops full access to repair tools and documentation. The deal marks a major victory for the right-to-repair movement.
Core Summary The US Department of Justice formally approved Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros on June 12, clearing the most critical regulatory hurdle for the largest media merger in Hollywood history. The deal will create an entertainment giant with a massive content library, fundamentally reshaping the global film and television industry. Event Details According to Politico, the DOJ’s antitrust division decided not to challenge the transaction after completing its review, giving the deal key federal clearance. The industry had widely expected strict antitrust scrutiny. ...
EU regulators announce plans to extend the Digital Markets Act to cloud services and AI, intensifying oversight of tech giants.