In today’s Digest, we discuss Google being fined $36M over Aussie telco deals, Meta planning a fourth AI shake-up in six months, and EU digital rules stalling a US trade statement.

Google fined over Aussie telco deals

Google has agreed to pay a fine of AUS$55m (£28.6m) in Australia after regulators ruled the company struck anti-competitive deals with major telecom operators. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said Google paid Telstra and Optus to pre-install its search app on Android phones between late 2019 and early 2021, reducing competition from rival search engines. 

Google admitted the deals with Australian telecom operators had a considerable impact on competition from rival search engines and confirmed it has stopped making similar agreements, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said. 

Meta plans fourth AI shake-up in six months

Meta is preparing its fourth shake-up of artificial intelligence operations in six months, according to The Information. The company plans to split its new AI division, Superintelligence Labs, into four groups: a "TBD Lab," a products team handling the Meta AI assistant, an infrastructure team, and the long-term research unit FAIR. The move follows the underwhelming reception of Meta’s latest open-source Llama 4 model and several senior staff exits.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg is accelerating efforts to develop artificial general intelligence and expand cash flows. Last month, Meta raised the lower end of its capital expenditure forecast by USD$2bn (£1.56bn), setting a new range of USD$66bn (£51.5bn) to USD$72bn (£56.2bn) for the year. The company said the increase reflects growing investment in infrastructure. 

EU digital rules stall US trade statement

The European Union and the United States are struggling to finalise a joint trade statement, with disagreements over digital regulation holding up progress. Two EU officials said Washington is pressing to leave room for concessions on the bloc’s Digital Services Act, which requires Big Tech firms to police their platforms more aggressively. “The commission has said that relaxing these rules is a red line,” one official stated.

A US official offered a different view, saying, “We continue to address digital trade barriers in conversations with our trading partners and the EU agreed to address these barriers when our initial agreement was struck.” The delay has also stalled a US pledge to cut tariffs on EU car exports from 27.5% to 15%.