Assistant lawyer Natālija Ķīse complied the material.
Competition & regulatory
DSA: Commission designates ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox as Very Large Online Platforms and Search Engines
Published: 31 August 2026
The European Commission has designated ChatGPT as a Very Large Online Search Engine, and Reddit and Roblox as Very Large Online Platforms, under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The decision follows each service’s declaration that it reaches at least 45 million average monthly users in the EU.
This designation triggers additional obligations under the DSA for the three services, which now have four months (i.e. by January 2027) to comply with enhanced requirements. These include assessing and mitigating systemic risks related to illegal content, the protection of minors, users’ physical and mental well-being, fundamental rights, electoral processes, and public security.
DMA: General Court upholds Commission’s decision not to designate Microsoft as „gatekeeper“ in relation to Edge
Ruled: 2 September 2026
The General Court issued its ruling in Opera Norway v Commission (T-357/24), rejecting in full the challenge to the Commission’s decision that Microsoft Edge did not qualify as an “important gateway” under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), and therefore did not warrant designation as a “gatekeeper.”
Back in February 2024, the Commission had found that although Microsoft satisfied the DMA’s quantitative thresholds for Edge, the company presented sufficiently substantiated arguments showing the browser lacked the necessary gateway significance between business users and end users.
Data protection & intellectual property
Court of Justice rules EU law does not require public disclosure of all shareholders’ data and precludes its unconditional online publication
Ruled: 3 September 2026
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) rendered its judgment in Case C-798/24 Jautiva, determining that EU law does not mandate the public disclosure of information concerning all shareholders of joint-stock companies.
The Court held that the GDPR precludes national legislation mandating that shareholders’ personal data (including their identity, contact information, shareholdings and voting rights) be made accessible online without any conditions governing access. The CJEU concluded that these objectives may be attained through measures that interfere less with individuals’ privacy and personal data rights.
The reference to the CJEU arose from a request for a preliminary ruling submitted by the Constitutional Court of Latvia, in proceedings initiated by 17 minority shareholders.
CJEU rules that social media posts can qualify as copyright-protected works
Ruled: 3 September 2026
The Court of Justice of the European Union delivered its judgment in Case C-598/24, ruling that a text posted on social media can constitute a “work” within the meaning of Article 2(a) of Directive 2001/29/EC, provided it reflects the author’s free and creative choices and is identifiable with sufficient precision and objectivity (with the post’s length, online format, or lack of a traditional literary genre being irrelevant to that assessment). The case originated from a dispute in which a teacher’s Facebook post was reproduced in full by an online publication without her consent.
Trade
Evidence to be provided by importers to prove the country of ‘melt and pour’ when importing steel products
Adopted: 28 August 2026
The European Commission has adopted an implementing act specifying the type of evidence importers must provide to prove the country of “melt and pour” when importing steel products covered by the Steel Regulation into the EU. The “melt and pour” country-of-origin requirement was introduced into the Steel Regulation to improve transparency and traceability of steel products imported into the EU, enabling the Commission to tackle potential circumvention and safeguard the effectiveness of EU steel measures against the impact of global overcapacity. The implementing act takes effect on 1 October 2026. From that date, importers will be required to state on their customs declaration the country where the steel was melted and poured in order to import steel products subject to the Steel Regulation into the EU market.
