An end to Apple + Google’s app store duopoly? New rules under the EU’s Digital Markets Act may give rise to Apple and Google app store rivals, says the Financial Times. The act would require Apple and Google to open up their mobile platforms to app stores owned and operated by other companies — currently not allowed by the TechGiants. The new regulations aim to prevent large online platforms from abusing their market power, says Investopedia, and would place Apple and Google as “gatekeepers,” required to change the rules that govern how apps are distributed across their devices.

Microsoft is keen to capitalize on the new regulations: Microsoft Gaming’s chief exec Phil Spencer said that Microsoft’s lack of presence on Apple and Google devices is an “obvious hole in our capability” that would be “pretty trivial to fix.” Microsoft must complete their USD 75 bn acquisition of video gamer, Activision Blizzard, before they can begin to offer Microsoft Xbox and other content from third party partners “across any screen where somebody would want to play.” Titles like Call of Duty Mobile and Candy Crush Saga could attract players away from Apple and Google marketplaces to an Xbox mobile store. However, Microsoft might need to be patient, as Big Tech companies could appeal the designation of the EU’s DMA, delaying its enforcement beyond its March 2024 deadline.

Are we entering an era in which social media platforms will be sued for causing mental health issues?Schools across the US have filed a host of lawsuits this year against the tech firms behind TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Snapchat, accusing them of creating a mental health crisis among the country’s youth, the Washington Post reports. The legal action first started in January with Seattle’s public schools district, then snowballed into a string of lawsuits in recent weeks as other districts in California, Florida, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey chimed in.

The allegations? Suicidal thoughts and depressive symptoms have seen a spike among high schoolers, one lawsuit contends, citing data released last month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rise in popularity of social media and the decline in the youth’s mental health coincide precisely, the lawsuit says. The districts hold that social media has resulted in grave cyberbullying incidents, threats that have kept students from going to school, and vandalism — as in the case of a TikTok challenge that prompted students across the US to flood toilets, shatter mirrors, and steal bathroom supplies.

The lawsuits are trudging murky waters: Federal law protects online platforms from facing liability for what third-party users choose to post, according to the Associated Press. However, the lawsuits argue that this is a case of algorithms, rather than third-party users, promoting harmful content, and it remains to be seen whether they can overcome what AP describes as a “daunting challenge” to prove the industry is liable for the damages.

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