Welcome to the October 2026 edition of The Bug.
In this edition, we cover recent antitrust developments across the U.S., EU, and U.K., led by California's new single-firm antitrust law taking effect in 2027, alongside emerging scrutiny of AI company collaborations and Big Tech market practices.
The Feature
A COMPETE-ly New Single-Firm Antitrust Regime in California
California’s Competition and Opportunity in Markets for a Prosperous, Equitable and Transparent Economy Act (the Act) is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027. The Act extends California’s antitrust regime to single-firm conduct (e.g., monopolization) and serves as California’s analog to Section 2 of the Sherman Act, targeting single-firm, monopoly acquisition and maintenance. Its passage comes on the tailwinds of a recent push by states to aggressively enforce antitrust and competition laws.
Businesses with large market shares and operations in the State of California should assess their compliance with the Act and associated risks before it takes effect on January 1, 2027. While some aspects of the Act may already be familiar, questions remain about whether the Act will be interpreted more broadly than the Sherman Act. For example, the Act may reach companies that lack traditional market power and conduct not prohibited by Section 2 of the Sherman Act.
Read our more detailed update here.
The Niche
On October 15, 2026, the EC and the EDPB held a stakeholder workshop on the upcoming guidelines on the interplay between EU competition law and data protection law. The guidelines will address situations where data protection law is relevant to competition assessments, and vice versa. They are likely to be particularly relevant for tech companies whose business models rely on large volumes of personal data.
Other Interesting Antitrust Developments
U.S. The Collaboration on Adversarial Threats and Security Risks Act, introduced by Representative Bob Latta (R-Ohio), is pending in the House Committee on the Judiciary. In part, the bill would provide an antitrust exemption for certain AI-related activities, including agreements for “delaying or otherwise limiting the release, deployment, use, development, training, testing, or evaluation of artificial intelligence.”
U.S. On September 18, 2026, class plaintiffs sued major AI companies for allegedly agreeing to “slow the pace” of AI development and innovation, in violation of the Sherman Act. Buist v. Anthropic, PBC, No. 26-cv-10693 (N.D. Cal.). Class plaintiffs seek per se treatment of the alleged horizontal restraint on output and product quality.
U.K. On October 16, 2026, the CMA proposed to designate Microsoft’s business software as having strategic market status under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act. The CMA’s roadmap of possible interventions focuses on customer choice of AI tools, including alternatives to Copilot; alleged bundling of security products; cloud licensing.
U.K. On October 20, 2026, the CMA launched a consultation on a proposed conduct requirement that would require Apple to open the iPhone’s contactless (NFC) technology to third parties on fair and reasonable terms, through both main international contactless standards. The CMA is not setting prices but expects charges to be “substantially lower than Apple’s current fees.” Comments are due November 17, 2026.
What’s in the Pipeline?
U.S. The administration’s nominee for Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division, Adam Candeub, is pending a full Senate confirmation vote after advancing past the Senate Judiciary Committee (12-10) on September 24.
EU The EC’s revised Merger Guidelines, published in draft in April 2026, are expected by the end of 2026. EC Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera has signaled that the EC will continue to scrutinize acquisitions of AI startups by dominant tech companies, including potential “killer acquisitions.”
