1. Cybercrime & Cybersecurity
1.1. Cybercrime
Organised crime: Europol analyses the most threatening criminal networks in the European Union and highlights their ability to capitalise swiftly on opportunities, diversify their activities and adapt to technological and economic developments. In particular, the report emphasises their increasing use of digital services, legitimate business structures and corruption to facilitate their criminal activities (Europol report of 21 August 2026)
1.2. Cybersecurity
AI and cybersecurity: During an internal assessment, OpenAI’s AI agents bypassed the isolation measures in their environment, exploited a zero-day vulnerability and compromised Hugging Face’s infrastructure. The incident highlights the growing capabilities of AI systems to carry out complex cyber operations (OpenAI press release, 26 August 2026).
2. Desinformation and information warfare
Disinformation: OpenAI has removed a number of ChatGPT accounts linked to a Russian disinformation campaign promoting the International Burke Institute, a fake think tank based in Israel. The accounts were using ChatGPT to generate content posted on several social media platforms to promote pro-Russian narratives (OpenAI press release, 25 August 2026).
3. Personal data and privacy
3.1. Data breaches and incidents
Fingerprinting: AliExpress is reportedly using the WebAudio API to generate an inaudible sound signal and analyse the device’s response in order to create a digital fingerprint that enables it to track users without using cookies (Press release dated 24 August 2026).
3.2. Penalties and regulations
Personal data: TikTok and ByteDance have reached a $400 million settlement with the US Department of Justice to settle legal proceedings concerning the collection of data from children under the age of 13 without parental consent, in breach of COPPA. TikTok will pay $300 million immediately and a further $100 million subject to certain conditions (US Department of Justice press release of 21 August 2026).
Facebook is verifying its human users: Meta is launching Facebook Verified, a free programme enabling users aged 18 and over to obtain a badge following verification via a video selfie. This measure aims to distinguish real people from fake profiles and automated accounts, but involves the collection of additional biometric data (Press release dated 24 July 2026)
4. Digital Economy and Competition
Domain names: On 12 August, ICANN closed its 2026 application round for new gTLD extensions, having received over 1,600 applications. The proposed extensions will be published following administrative review on ‘Reveal Day’ (ICANN press release of 13 August 2026)
Video games and digital sovereignty: The European Video Games Observatory proposes increasing public support for the sector, in particular by funding marketing and distribution, and regulating ‘dark patterns’ and attention-extraction models. It also calls for the development of sovereign European digital infrastructures (European Video Games Observatory report of 1 September 2026).
5. Artificial Intelligence
5.1. Copyright in the age of IA
Copyright: Carlsen Verlag, Marc-Uwe Kling and Astrid Henn have brought legal proceedings against OpenAI in Germany, alleging that ChatGPT has reproduced copyright-protected material from the book *Das NEINhorn* and objecting to the use of their works to train AI models (Press release from Carlsen Verlag dated 19 August 2026).
Sony Music takes legal action against Anthropic: Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell Music are suing Anthropic, accusing it of using thousands of copyright-protected musical works – obtained in particular through illegal downloading – to train its Claude models. The publishers are claiming up to $150,000 per infringed work and are seeking an injunction to stop these practices (Press release dated 28 August 2026)
5.2. Regulation and supervision
AI Development: The G20 has adopted an approach that supports the development of artificial intelligence over strict regulation, thereby aligning with the United States’ policy of promoting innovation. Europe, for its part, remains cautious and emphasizes risk management, giving member states the freedom to set their own rules. (Press release from the U.S. Department of Commerce, September 3, 2026)
6. Intellectual Property and counterfeiting
6.1. Legal actions and proceedings
6.2. Regulation and supervision
7. Regulation & Justice
7.1. French Law
7.2. European Law
DSA: The European Commission has designated ChatGPT as a very large search engine (VLOSE), and Reddit and Roblox as very large online platforms (VLOP), as these services exceed the threshold of 45 million monthly users in the EU. They will be required to comply with the DSA’s enhanced obligations by January 2027, particularly regarding systemic risks and the protection of minors (European Commission press release of 31 August 2026)
CJEU: Google may be liable for its partners’ content: The CJEU has ruled that Google may lose the liability exemption applicable to hosting providers when it plays an active role in relation to the content of a creator with whom it has entered into a commercial partnership, in particular by reviewing that creator’s videos prior to the agreement. The judgment concerns the promotion of gambling on YouTube (CJEU judgment in Case C-421/24 of 16 July 2026).
