This week, regulators stepped up scrutiny of major technology platforms, the media industry saw another significant consolidation move, and new standards emerged to address how AI systems use publishers’ content. In today’s MadTech Daily, we cover Brussels weighing a corporate tax on Big Tech and ad spend dropping 3.4% in August.

The European Commission has preliminarily classified Azure and Amazon Web Services as “gatekeepers” under the DMA. It is also considering taxing big American tech companies through a broad corporate levy, in a bid to raise EU revenue without provoking US backlash.

Ofcom is investigating whether Meta failed to carry out sufficient risk assessments before launching the Instagram feature, Instants, back in May.

After months of controversy, the Paramount-Warner Bros deal has closed at $110bn, with the new company to be named “Skydance”. Meanwhile, Walmart Connect is partnering with Warner Bros. to bring Walmart audiences to live linear TV.

SPUR published Content Telemetry 1.0, a technical standard meant to bring more transparency to how AI systems use publishers’ content.

Finally, Singapore's digital economy hit a new milestone, reaching 144bn Singapore dollars in 2025 and accounting for 19.3% of the country's GDP.