Aurélien Mähl 🇪🇺
@apmaehl.bsky.social
Policy @ DuckDuckGo. Follow for Tintin memes and tech/competition policy (or both). Brussels | Berlin
Welcomed explainer from @signal.org's president about last week's serious AWS-related incident. The concentration of infrastructure / resources among "hyperscalers" she points to is reminiscent to what exists with web search infrastructure.
📣THREAD: It’s surprising to me that so many people were surprised to learn that Signal runs partly on AWS (something we can do because we use encryption to make sure no one but you–not AWS, not Signal, not anyone–can access your comms).
It’s also concerning. 1/
It’s also concerning. 1/
PSA: we're aware that Signal is down for some people. This appears to be related to a major AWS outage. Stand by.
October 27, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Welcomed explainer from @signal.org's president about last week's serious AWS-related incident. The concentration of infrastructure / resources among "hyperscalers" she points to is reminiscent to what exists with web search infrastructure.
When it comes to web search, #GenAI looks more like a format shift within search than an external disruptive entrant; incumbents, especially Google, are positioned to absorb and dominate it.
Without stronger interventions beyond...
www.promarket.org/2025/10/20/w...
Without stronger interventions beyond...
www.promarket.org/2025/10/20/w...
Will GenAI Break Google’s Dominance in Search? - ProMarket
Judge Amit Mehta shaped his remedies in the Google Search case on the assumption that startups developing generative artificial intelligence models can restore competition in internet search. Mihir Ks...
www.promarket.org
October 22, 2025 at 2:16 PM
When it comes to web search, #GenAI looks more like a format shift within search than an external disruptive entrant; incumbents, especially Google, are positioned to absorb and dominate it.
Without stronger interventions beyond...
www.promarket.org/2025/10/20/w...
Without stronger interventions beyond...
www.promarket.org/2025/10/20/w...
Just like Google managed to cement dominance on browser and then mobile, its control over distribution points & data advantage is set to reproduce the same w/ AI.
It's a call for meaningful policy interventions, but also a call for the plurality of competitors to expand & deepen their partnerships
It's a call for meaningful policy interventions, but also a call for the plurality of competitors to expand & deepen their partnerships
🆕✍️ Is consumer AI heading for a duopoly? gabrielweinberg.com/p/consumer-a...
October 20, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Just like Google managed to cement dominance on browser and then mobile, its control over distribution points & data advantage is set to reproduce the same w/ AI.
It's a call for meaningful policy interventions, but also a call for the plurality of competitors to expand & deepen their partnerships
It's a call for meaningful policy interventions, but also a call for the plurality of competitors to expand & deepen their partnerships
Reposted by Aurélien Mähl 🇪🇺
my latest for @techpolicypress.bsky.social on the US v. Google search antitrust case and just how badly the court missed the opportunity to contend with Google’s power in the genAI market. genAI won’t magically unseat Google’s market dominance, as the court suggests, it will only deepen it
The Google search antitrust remedies trial decision fails to seriously contend with the tremendous advantages the company holds in the generative AI market due to its search monopoly says Kate Brennan, associate director at the AI Now Institute.
Decision in US vs. Google Gets it Wrong on Generative AI | TechPolicy.Press
Google will continue to enjoy the fruits of its search monopoly to secure its success in the generative AI market, writes Kate Brennan.
www.techpolicy.press
September 11, 2025 at 3:43 PM
my latest for @techpolicypress.bsky.social on the US v. Google search antitrust case and just how badly the court missed the opportunity to contend with Google’s power in the genAI market. genAI won’t magically unseat Google’s market dominance, as the court suggests, it will only deepen it
How the DuckDuckGo browser bridges search, web browsing and AI ⬇️
gabrielweinberg.com/p/the-overlo...
gabrielweinberg.com/p/the-overlo...
The overlooked front in the browser wars
Seamless workflows bridging search, browsing, and AI
gabrielweinberg.com
October 6, 2025 at 8:50 AM
How the DuckDuckGo browser bridges search, web browsing and AI ⬇️
gabrielweinberg.com/p/the-overlo...
gabrielweinberg.com/p/the-overlo...
Recommended read by @alissacooper.bsky.social: www.techpolicy.press/without-a-pa...
"If concerns raised about the inadequacy of the [data sharing] remedy are demonstrated through the failure of competition to take hold, the manner and timeliness for...
"If concerns raised about the inadequacy of the [data sharing] remedy are demonstrated through the failure of competition to take hold, the manner and timeliness for...
www.techpolicy.press
September 26, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Recommended read by @alissacooper.bsky.social: www.techpolicy.press/without-a-pa...
"If concerns raised about the inadequacy of the [data sharing] remedy are demonstrated through the failure of competition to take hold, the manner and timeliness for...
"If concerns raised about the inadequacy of the [data sharing] remedy are demonstrated through the failure of competition to take hold, the manner and timeliness for...
I posted a couple times about how DuckDuckGo uniquely integrates AI answers to the search experience. But you better actually hear directly from Tim, one of those making the magic internally.
"Search Assist is "unique in that way across the AI answers industry, in that it...
"Search Assist is "unique in that way across the AI answers industry, in that it...
September 18, 2025 at 1:07 PM
I posted a couple times about how DuckDuckGo uniquely integrates AI answers to the search experience. But you better actually hear directly from Tim, one of those making the magic internally.
"Search Assist is "unique in that way across the AI answers industry, in that it...
"Search Assist is "unique in that way across the AI answers industry, in that it...
"National champions are too often national chokepoints" - speech by AAG Gail Slater at the Georgetown antitrust enforcement symposium www.justice.gov/opa/speech/a...
Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater Delivers Keynote Address at the 2025 Georgetown Law Global Antitrust Enforcement Symposium
Thank you for having me. It’s such a pleasure to be here at this incredibly important moment in antitrust and technology policy. We are at an inflection point in both. In antitrust enforcement, for
www.justice.gov
September 17, 2025 at 8:59 AM
"National champions are too often national chokepoints" - speech by AAG Gail Slater at the Georgetown antitrust enforcement symposium www.justice.gov/opa/speech/a...
"All the privacy debates surrounding Google search results from the past two decades apply one-for-one to AI chats, but to an even greater degree. That’s why we started offering Duck.ai for protected chatbot conversations and optional, anonymous AI-assisted answers in our private search engine."
September 8, 2025 at 12:09 PM
"All the privacy debates surrounding Google search results from the past two decades apply one-for-one to AI chats, but to an even greater degree. That’s why we started offering Duck.ai for protected chatbot conversations and optional, anonymous AI-assisted answers in our private search engine."
"la vérité est que, sans produire davantage de richesses, la dette ne permettra plus de soutenir notre niveau de vie et de maintenir à flot notre système de protection sociale." @stephanelauer.bsky.social www.lemonde.fr/idees/articl...
« Le sujet n’est pas tant de stabiliser la dette pour faire plaisir à nos créanciers, mais de stopper le déclin »
CHRONIQUE. La hausse des dépenses publiques et des taux de prélèvement n’a fait qu’entretenir les illusions sur un système productif poussif et des services publics de moins en moins efficaces, sans n...
www.lemonde.fr
September 8, 2025 at 11:18 AM
"la vérité est que, sans produire davantage de richesses, la dette ne permettra plus de soutenir notre niveau de vie et de maintenir à flot notre système de protection sociale." @stephanelauer.bsky.social www.lemonde.fr/idees/articl...
Reposted by Aurélien Mähl 🇪🇺
"Google's abusive behaviour...had a negative impact on all European citizens in their day-to-day use of the web"
4/ With this decision, we contribute to ensuring that competition on the merits, based on fair terms and conditions, prevails on digital markets.
See my statement here: ec.europa.eu/commission/p...
See my statement here: ec.europa.eu/commission/p...
Statement by Executive Vice-President Ribera on the adoption of the Google Adtech decision
Today the Commission has adopted a decision finding that Google breached EU competition rules by abusing its dominant position in the display advertising technology industry (‘Adtech\') and imposed a ...
ec.europa.eu
September 5, 2025 at 4:07 PM
"Google's abusive behaviour...had a negative impact on all European citizens in their day-to-day use of the web"
Reposted by Aurélien Mähl 🇪🇺
The impact of those has been negligible (less than 1% change in Google’s market share) because the OEMs’ total dependence on Android to operate in the market rendered the contractual changes impotent. That dependence is as strong in the US as it is in the EU, so we can expect the same result.
September 3, 2025 at 11:31 PM
The impact of those has been negligible (less than 1% change in Google’s market share) because the OEMs’ total dependence on Android to operate in the market rendered the contractual changes impotent. That dependence is as strong in the US as it is in the EU, so we can expect the same result.
Reposted by Aurélien Mähl 🇪🇺
At KGI we think a lot about concrete evidence. Seven years ago, the European Commission instituted contractual prohibitions in its Google Android case that were of a similar nature to those included by the court here.
September 3, 2025 at 11:31 PM
At KGI we think a lot about concrete evidence. Seven years ago, the European Commission instituted contractual prohibitions in its Google Android case that were of a similar nature to those included by the court here.
Reposted by Aurélien Mähl 🇪🇺
After issuing a liability decision that relied extensively on claims about both the power of defaults and the size of Google’s revenue share payments, the court’s opinion does nothing to prevent Google from continuing to pay distributors for defaults.
September 3, 2025 at 11:31 PM
After issuing a liability decision that relied extensively on claims about both the power of defaults and the size of Google’s revenue share payments, the court’s opinion does nothing to prevent Google from continuing to pay distributors for defaults.
The recently published UK's CMA provisional decision to regulate Google search is making that point eloquently: AI *is* impacting usages, but the underlying competitive dynamics remain. Google's key platform & data assets are more critical than ever in the AI era.
I get that AI has changed search competition and the Google antitrust case.
I also remember when the government didn't sue Google over antitrust in 2012/2013, it was partly based on the belief that mobile would jolt competition and blunt Google's power.
That belief was 100% wrong.
I also remember when the government didn't sue Google over antitrust in 2012/2013, it was partly based on the belief that mobile would jolt competition and blunt Google's power.
That belief was 100% wrong.
September 5, 2025 at 1:54 PM
The recently published UK's CMA provisional decision to regulate Google search is making that point eloquently: AI *is* impacting usages, but the underlying competitive dynamics remain. Google's key platform & data assets are more critical than ever in the AI era.
Reposted by Aurélien Mähl 🇪🇺
J'ai signé la pétition pour appeler le gouvernement français (quand on en aura un) à mettre en œuvre l’initiative "Skyshield".
C'est ici: shorturl.at/42Rr5
Il y a bien sûr l'aspect humanitaire. Mais il en va aussi de la défense des intérêts européens. 1/
C'est ici: shorturl.at/42Rr5
Il y a bien sûr l'aspect humanitaire. Mais il en va aussi de la défense des intérêts européens. 1/
September 3, 2025 at 11:48 AM
J'ai signé la pétition pour appeler le gouvernement français (quand on en aura un) à mettre en œuvre l’initiative "Skyshield".
C'est ici: shorturl.at/42Rr5
Il y a bien sûr l'aspect humanitaire. Mais il en va aussi de la défense des intérêts européens. 1/
C'est ici: shorturl.at/42Rr5
Il y a bien sûr l'aspect humanitaire. Mais il en va aussi de la défense des intérêts européens. 1/
There's a cognitive dissonance between the finding of monopolization and what the same judge says should be done against it.
On the data sharing side, some remedies were approved but with lots of caveats. Hard to see how they will be of any practical use.
On the data sharing side, some remedies were approved but with lots of caveats. Hard to see how they will be of any practical use.
DOJ: Google paid distributors for default placement, this entrenched the monopoly.
Judge (verdict): Yes, this was illegal conduct.
DOJ: So as a remedy, you must end the paying of distributors for default placement
Judge (remedy): "Google will be permitted to pay distributors for default placement."
Judge (verdict): Yes, this was illegal conduct.
DOJ: So as a remedy, you must end the paying of distributors for default placement
Judge (remedy): "Google will be permitted to pay distributors for default placement."
September 3, 2025 at 8:18 AM
There's a cognitive dissonance between the finding of monopolization and what the same judge says should be done against it.
On the data sharing side, some remedies were approved but with lots of caveats. Hard to see how they will be of any practical use.
On the data sharing side, some remedies were approved but with lots of caveats. Hard to see how they will be of any practical use.
Here's what our CEO Gabriel Weinberg had to say about yesterday's US judgment:
"We do not believe the remedies ordered by the court will force the changes necessary to adequately address Google’s illegal behavior. Google will still be allowed to continue to use its monopoly to...
"We do not believe the remedies ordered by the court will force the changes necessary to adequately address Google’s illegal behavior. Google will still be allowed to continue to use its monopoly to...
September 3, 2025 at 8:16 AM
Here's what our CEO Gabriel Weinberg had to say about yesterday's US judgment:
"We do not believe the remedies ordered by the court will force the changes necessary to adequately address Google’s illegal behavior. Google will still be allowed to continue to use its monopoly to...
"We do not believe the remedies ordered by the court will force the changes necessary to adequately address Google’s illegal behavior. Google will still be allowed to continue to use its monopoly to...
The Commission is giving antitrust law / DMA offenders a license to trespass the rules, with these sort of moves. What message does it send to those many businesses - European and foreign - investing and employing in Europe and being harmed by these abuses?
EU was scheduled to release a fine against Google. It was pulled at the last minute due to EU-US trade tensions.
Great scoop from MLex.
Great scoop from MLex.
September 2, 2025 at 10:44 AM
The Commission is giving antitrust law / DMA offenders a license to trespass the rules, with these sort of moves. What message does it send to those many businesses - European and foreign - investing and employing in Europe and being harmed by these abuses?
Swallowing a decrease of tariffs on industrial goods while the EU's get hiked up is already tough enough (and might not even pass the EP). So the EC has little choice but to react the way Ribera does. But it might inhibit the actual investigations, and that's maybe the effect that's wanted.
August 29, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Swallowing a decrease of tariffs on industrial goods while the EU's get hiked up is already tough enough (and might not even pass the EP). So the EC has little choice but to react the way Ribera does. But it might inhibit the actual investigations, and that's maybe the effect that's wanted.
The verdict in US v Google should drop any day now. From @superwuster.bsky.social : "The bigger stakes & larger target of the case have always been the broader ecosystem of information retrieval, which is destined to be shaped by newer technologies like chatbots & AI" www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/o...
Opinion | Google Could Get Broken Up This Week. Here’s What It Would Mean.
www.nytimes.com
August 26, 2025 at 9:12 PM
The verdict in US v Google should drop any day now. From @superwuster.bsky.social : "The bigger stakes & larger target of the case have always been the broader ecosystem of information retrieval, which is destined to be shaped by newer technologies like chatbots & AI" www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/o...
Just watched "Burn After Reading", the movie from 2008. I thought everything looked old. At some point some idiots in the movie try and leak (actually useless) CIA intel to the Russian embassy. In the attaché's office, a portrait of Vladimir Putin hangs at the wall...💀
August 21, 2025 at 7:46 AM
Just watched "Burn After Reading", the movie from 2008. I thought everything looked old. At some point some idiots in the movie try and leak (actually useless) CIA intel to the Russian embassy. In the attaché's office, a portrait of Vladimir Putin hangs at the wall...💀
Me facing the CMA reports published right before the holidays
July 24, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Me facing the CMA reports published right before the holidays
Open Letter from Kush & Linda at @mozilla.org: "We have already seen the impact the EU DMA can have for consumers. The DMCCA has the potential to be even more effective, giving the UK “second mover advantage” with flexible and targeted interventions." blog.mozilla.org/netpolicy/20...
A pivotal moment for the UK in digital competition: Lead from the front or let the opportunity slip? – Open Policy & Advocacy
Mozilla’s open letter to the UK’s Secretary of State for Business and Trade, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, and the CEO of the CMA Rt Hon ...
blog.mozilla.org
July 24, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Open Letter from Kush & Linda at @mozilla.org: "We have already seen the impact the EU DMA can have for consumers. The DMCCA has the potential to be even more effective, giving the UK “second mover advantage” with flexible and targeted interventions." blog.mozilla.org/netpolicy/20...
Yesterday, we filed DuckDuckGo's response to the CMA's provisional decision to designate Google Search with Strategic Market Status.
Needless to say, we strongly support the designation. The CMA has gathered all the information it needs and we believe they should be taking action now. 1/n
Needless to say, we strongly support the designation. The CMA has gathered all the information it needs and we believe they should be taking action now. 1/n
July 23, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Yesterday, we filed DuckDuckGo's response to the CMA's provisional decision to designate Google Search with Strategic Market Status.
Needless to say, we strongly support the designation. The CMA has gathered all the information it needs and we believe they should be taking action now. 1/n
Needless to say, we strongly support the designation. The CMA has gathered all the information it needs and we believe they should be taking action now. 1/n