EMEA Daily: CMA Fines Meta $2M for Violating Initial Enforcement Order; Europe Continues Regulatory Spree with European Chips Act

In today’s top Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) news, the U.K.’s competition regulator has fined Meta $2 million for failing to reveal staff departures, and the European Commission will propose legislation to deal with microchip shortages in Europe.

Plus, Airtel Africa, a division of telecom giant Bharti Airtel, reported double-digit growth across key financial metrics, the U.K.’s tax agency updated its rules on how to tax proceeds from decentralized finance (DeFi) lending and staking, and Apple reduced its payments commission made through alternative payment methods for dating apps in the Netherlands.

CMA Fines Meta $2M for Violating Initial Enforcement Order

The Competition and Markets Authority has fined Meta 1.5 million pounds (more than $2 million) for failing to tell the U.K. regulator about staff leaving the social media company, a condition of its initial enforcement order.

The CMA imposed the order on Meta, formerly Facebook, in June 2020 as part of its plan to purchase Giphy. It’s standard to ensure the companies involved in a proposed merger “continue to compete with one another as they would have before the deal took place.”

Europe Continues Regulatory Spree With European Chips Act

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Thursday (Feb. 3) that the commission will propose new legislation to deal with microchip shortages in Europe, the European Chips Act, as early as next week.

The proposal aims to increase microchip production across the continent and reduce dependency on suppliers from outside Europe.

OECD’s Principles Can Guide Governments to Design AI Regulatory Frameworks

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a driving force of innovation due to its rapidly evolving technology, strong cross-domain connectivity, and the growing number of industry applications, Luis Aranda, AI policy analyst at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), told PYMNTS.

Aranda is part of a team that produced the first set of principles on artificial intelligence. The OECD AI Principles are the first such principles signed up to by governments. They include recommendations for public policy and strategy, and can be applied to AI developments around the world.

Interim Chairs Tapped for FCA, PSR as Randell Plans Early Departure

Richard Lloyd, senior independent director of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), will serve as the FCA’s interim chair. Aidene Walsh will be the interim chair of FCA subsidiary Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), while a recruitment campaign is underway to replace Charles Randell, who is stepping down this spring.

Randell is the chairman of both entities and is departing June 1. Lloyd was recently reappointed for a second three-year term on the FCA board. Walsh has been a non-executive director on the PSR Board since June 2020 and is an executive director at Banking Competition Remedies.

Airtel Africa Has Nigeria to Thank for Strong Double-Digit Growth in Q3 2021

Airtel Africa, a subsidiary of Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel, showed strong double-digit growth across all key metrics in its financial results for the nine-month period ended Dec. 31, 2021, the company reported.

In terms of headline numbers, the company reported a 21.7% increase in revenue to $3.5 billion during the period, generating a net profit of $540 million. Total customers grew almost 6% to 125.8 million across the region, with a surge in mobile data and mobile money services customer bases.

UK Regulator Updates Tax Rules on DeFi Lending, Staking

The United Kingdom’s tax agency has updated its rules on how to tax revenue from decentralized finance (DeFi) lending and staking in proof-of-stake networks, the mechanism used to validate cryptocurrency transactions.

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the U.K. agency responsible for tax collection, published updated guidance Wednesday (Feb. 2) stating that how a tax return from lending or staking, the process of locking up crypto holdings to obtain rewards or earn interest, is taxed depends on whether it is considered capital or revenue.

Apple Lowers Rates for Dutch App Store Payments

Apple said it will collect a 27% commission on payments made through alternative payment methods for dating apps in the Netherlands, down from 30%.

The tech giant revealed the change on its website Thursday (Feb. 3), saying it was done to comply with an order last month from the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM).

UK Merchants Cut Costs by Adopting Open Banking Payments

Traditional card-based payment options carry high costs and introduce “an awful lot of friction” into payment processes, often leading to a high rate of online shopping cart abandonment.

That is the viewpoint of Brian Hanrahan, CEO of open banking payments firm Nuapay, which was acquired by global payment solution company EML Payments last year to add open banking and real-time account-to-account (A2A) payments capability to their portfolio.