This week’s headlines are marked by legal tensions, AI fuelled traffic spikes, and game changing publishing deals. In today’s digest, EU warns Shein to fix violations, xAI Partners with Telegram, and IAB launches Retail Media Certification Programme.

Tensions escalated between two digital heavyweights as Disney filed a lawsuit against YouTube and former executive Justin Connolly, accusing the platform of encouraging Connolly to breach a multi-year employment agreement. Disney claims the abrupt departure benefits YouTube directly and undermines critical business discussions between the two companies.

The legal dispute comes as YouTube continues to dominate the television space. For the third consecutive month, YouTube topped Nielsen’s Media Distributor Gauge, claiming 12.4% of total TV watch time in April, its highest share to date.

In traditional media, the long running ownership uncertainty at The Telegraph has come to an end. A consortium led by RedBird Capital Partners has agreed to acquire the newspaper group in a deal valued at approximately £500m. 
Meanwhile, ChatGPT is rapidly becoming a critical traffic driver for publishers. According to Similarweb data reported by Digiday, the AI-powered assistant sent 243.8 million visits to 250 news and media websites in April, nearly double the 123.2 million visits tracked in January.