Bird, Dott and Lime hindered access to the free ride packages reserved for subscribers to Rome’s local public transport system.

The Italian Competition Authority has concluded the investigations, launched in November 2025, into three operators authorised to provide micromobility services (e-bikes and e-scooters) within the territory of the Roman municipality for the 2023-2026 period.

Bird, Dott and Lime were fined a total of almost EUR 2.7 million for preventing holders of the Metrebus card (the annual pass for Rome’s local public transport system) from using the free ride packages (so-called Passes) that the operators had undertaken to provide when bidding for the service.

In particular, the Authority found that the three companies had adopted inadequate measures and organisational arrangements for handling users' requests. This made the activation process burdensome, caused lengthy delays in issuing the Passes and, consequently, reduced the period during which users could benefit from them.

In the case of Bird, the Authority also established a further unfair commercial practice consisting of the arbitrary deactivation of user accounts, without providing prior information about the circumstances that could justify such action or giving users an opportunity to be heard.

The practices had a significant impact on consumers, as the three companies restricted access to a more sustainable mobility service that complements local public transport through to the use of less polluting vehicles.

Rome, 6 August 2026

Text of the decision Lime

Text of the decision Dott

Text of the decision Bird

Under the commitments, the company will remove the requirement for prior confirmation of the decision not to travel and enhance the existing channels for refund requests. In addition, it will create a dedicated section on its website providing key information in the event of disruptions affecting rail services.

The Italian Competition Authority has closed with commitments an investigation into Trenitalia's refund policy launched in December 2025. The proceedings concerned the company's alleged practice of hindering passengers' right to a full refund of the ticket price when they decide not to travel because it is reasonably foreseeable that the train will arrive at its final destination with a delay of 60 minutes or more, whether due to a delayed departure, a missed connection, or the cancellation of a service. In particular, to obtain a full refund, Trenitalia imposed on passengers a disproportionate requirement that is not provided for by the rules on rail passengers' rights: passengers had to obtain formal confirmation of their decision not to travel by contacting the company's call center or a station ticket office shortly before the disruption.

The Authority has closed the investigation without a finding of infringement and has made the commitments submitted by Trenitalia binding, as they are deemed sufficient to address the issues raised. The company committed to remove the requirement for passengers to obtain the mentioned formal confirmation for any refund request, and to enhance the existing channels through which refund requests can be submitted. In addition, Trenitalia will create a dedicated section on its website providing passengers with key information in the event of disruptions affecting rail services. Within three months, Trenitalia must report to the Authority on the measures it has taken to implement the commitments.

Rome, 30 July 2026

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Text of the commitments

Mr. Saverio Valentino, who was appointed as President of the Italian Competition Authority by the President of the Senate, Ignazio La Russa, and the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Lorenzo Fontana, took office yesterday as Chairman of the Authority. “I am deeply grateful to the Presidents of the two Houses of Parliament for entrusting me with this role. For me, this represents the culmination of a professional career entirely devoted to competition law,” commented the newly appointed President.

Mr. Valentino, a lawyer born in Rome in 1971, has served as a Commissioner of the Italian Competition Authority since 13 June 2023. Admitted to the Rome Bar since 1999 – and qualified to practise before the Court of Cassation since 2013 – as well as to the New York Bar since 2001, he has mainly specialised in Italian and EU competition law. He has acted before the courts of the European Union, Italian administrative and civil courts, the European Commission, the Italian Competition Authority and other competition Authorities in several countries around the world.

After graduating with honours in Law from Sapienza University of Rome in 1995, Mr. Valentino obtained a Master’s in EU law (LL.M.) from the College of Europe in Bruges in 1996 and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the University of Chicago Law School in 2000. He also worked with the European Commission’s Directorate-General I, within the unit responsible for multilateral trade policies and issues relating to the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Rome, 17 July 2026

Milan-Cortina 2026: the Italian Competition Authority issues fines of over €2.5 million for ambush marketing

The fined companies conducted advertising campaigns and promotional activities which frequently featured or evoked the Olympic symbols and emblems, and/or official names such as “Milano-Cortina/Milano-Cortina2026”. Investigations prompted by the monitoring activities of the Special Antitrust Unit of the Italian Financial Police.

The Italian Competition Authority has closed its investigations launched starting from January 2026 into Harmont&Blaine S.p.A., Rialto S.p.A. (“Il Gigante” supermarkets), MD S.p.A. (“MD” supermarkets), Magazzini Gabrielli S.p.A. (“Oasi” supermarkets), RetailPro S.p.A. (“Pro7” supermarkets) and Butan Gas S.p.A., finding the companies to have breached the prohibition against ambush marketing. The companies have been fined over 2.5 million euro in total.

The investigations were launched following monitoring activities carried out by the Special Antitrust Unit of the Italian Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza). The Authority exercised its powers under Law Decree 16/2020 (converted by Law 31/2020) concerning ambush marketing. In particular, the Authority found that, despite not being the official sponsors of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, the companies Harmont&Blaine S.p.A., Rialto S.p.A., MD S.p.A., Magazzini Gabrielli S.p.A., RetailPro S.p.A. and Butan Gas S.p.A. created an association between their brand and the Olympics, thereby misleading the public as to the identity of the official sponsors.

During the Olympic Games, the companies conducted advertising campaigns and promotional activities which frequently featured or evoked, in different forms, the Olympic symbols (five rings) and emblems, and/or official names such as “Milano-Cortina/Milano-Cortina2026”. These elements were found to amount to ambush marketing, in breach of the prohibition laid down in article 10 of Law Decree 16/2020.

Rome, 17 July 2026

Text of the decision Harmont & Blaine

Text of the decision Il Gigante

Text of the decision MD

Text of the decision Butan Gas

Text of the decision Oasi

Text of the decision PRO7

Authority concerned that Microsoft may have failed to make it sufficiently clear that its subscription service had been integrated with the “Copilot” and “Designer” artificial intelligence services

The Italian Competition Authority has launched an investigation into Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd. and Microsoft S.r.l. over an unfair commercial practice relating to the information provided to consumers about the increase in the subscription price for the “Microsoft 365” service. This information appears to have been provided in a fragmented manner, without making it sufficiently clear that the subscription service had been integrated with the “Copilot” and “Designer” artificial intelligence services. Moreover, it seems that consumers were placed, by default, on a new subscription plan at a higher price, unless they exercised their right of withdrawal.

In the Authority’s view, this conduct may be contrary to consumer rules, since Microsoft appears to have failed to provide consumers with sufficient information to assess the changes made to the service offered and, as a consequence, make an informed decision as to whether or not to renew their subscription. The way in which the information was communicated may also constitute an aggressive practice, as it appears to have unduly restricted consumers’ freedom of choice.

Rome, 26 June 2026

The company misleadingly advertised time-limited promotions and discounts, including through the use of a “countdown timer”.

The Italian Competition Authority has imposed a 2 million euro fine on Deghi S.p.A. for engaging in an unfair commercial practice. The Authority found that between January 2024 and the end of December 2025, the company repeatedly used a “countdown timer” to advertise time-limited discounts which, once expired, were renewed under the same pricing conditions with a new “timer”. In doing so, Deghi misleadingly presented the prices and discounts of many products advertised as being “on promotion” on its website https://www.deghi.it/.

The practice is particularly insidious, as it is based on a manipulation technique known as a “dark pattern”: it imposes a fake time limit on promotional product offers in order to pressure consumers to make a purchase, thereby exploiting the so-called “scarcity heuristic”.

Rome, 25 June 2026

Text of the decision

The inquiry, to be conducted jointly with IVASS, will focus primarily on the functioning of risk allocation systems (e.g. bonus-malus systems and merit classes) and of the direct compensation procedure, as well as on possible barriers to consumer switching (e.g. black boxes and price comparison tools)

The Italian Competition Authority has launched a market investigation to examine possible competition concerns in the motor insurance sector. The investigation will be carried out jointly with the Italian Institute for the Supervision of Insurance (IVASS), responsible for regulating and overseeing the insurance sector, within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding between the two institutions.

The motor insurance sector is substantial in size, given the mandatory nature of motor insurance and the widespread use of motor vehicles, with premiums of around €13,5 billion in 2025. Over the years, the legal and regulatory framework governing motor insurance has been amended on several occasions, including following recommendations made by the AGCM through its advocacy work. These changes were aimed at making the system more efficient and increasing competition between insurers. However, there may still be some unresolved concerns, which the Authority and IVASS consider should be examined further as part of the market investigation.

The inquiry aims to assess whether, under the current legal and regulatory framework, there are factors in the motor insurance sector that may be hindering the development of competition for the benefit of end consumers. It also seeks as to identify any measures that could address those factors.

In particular, the market investigation will focus on how risk allocation systems (e.g. bonus-malus systems and merit classes) and the direct compensation procedure operate. It will also examine the role of devices that monitor driving behaviour and vehicle activity, such as black boxes, and whether these may hinder consumer switching. The inquiry will further consider how the complexity of commercial offers and discounting practices affect the proper functioning of price comparison tools, including Preventivass.

Alongside the inquiry, a public consultation (Call for inputs) has been launched to gather feedback from stakeholders on the issues at hand, described in greater detail in the decision opening the market investigation. Feedback may be submitted no later than 31 July 2026 at the following e-mail address: [email protected].

Rome, 18 June 2026

Text of the decision

The Digital Markets Act requires Apple to grant third parties free and effective interoperability with hardware and software features controlled via Apple’s iOS and iPadOS operating systems.

The Italian Competition Authority has launched an investigation into Apple Inc., Apple Distribution International Ltd and Apple Italia S.r.l. (hereinafter, “Apple”) over its compliance with the Digital Markets Act (hereinafter, the “DMA”) interoperability obligation that applies to Apple’s iOS and iPadOS operating systems. Pursuant to Article 6(7) of the DMA, Apple must ensure that third-party providers of consumer cloud are granted free and effective interoperability with the iOS and iPadOS operating systems and are given access under equal conditions to the same hardware and software features as those available to Apple’s iCloud.

The Authority has indications that third-party providers of consumer cloud may not be placed on an equal footing as Apple’s iCloud. This is because they appear to lack access to the same features used by or otherwise made available to iCloud. For example, it appears that Apple does not allow alternative cloud storage services to use the iOS and iPadOS features enabling end users to perform a full backup of their devices’ data, while those same features are available to Apple’s iCloud.

This marks the first time the Authority exercises its powers under Article 38(7) of the DMA, specifically conferred on it by Law 214 of 30 December 2023, the “2022 Annual Law on Pro-competitive Reforms” and, in particular, Article 18, “Measures for the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2022 on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector”. Under this Law, the Authority can support the European Commission (hereinafter “Commission”) with preliminary investigations under the DMA. The investigation was launched in close cooperation with the Commission.

The findings of the Authority will be shared with the Commission to support it in its role as sole DMA enforcer.

Rome, 16 June 2026

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According to the Authority, the advertisements mislead consumers into believing the products are harmless to health or less harmful compared to other tobacco products

The Italian Competition Authority has imposed a 7 million euro fine on Philip Morris Italia S.r.l. – a company active in the production and marketing of manufactured tobacco products – for engaging in an unfair commercial practice. Following a complex investigation prompted by a complaint from the Ministry of Health, the Authority found that the expressions and claims “smoke-free”, “smoke-free products” and “building/planning/accelerating a smoke-free future”, used as part of a wider marketing strategy for its combustion-free tobacco products, mislead consumers – including minors – into believing that the products are harmless to health and/or less harmful than other tobacco products, particularly traditional cigarettes.

The evidence gathered during the inspections and investigation actually indicates that current scientific and clinical knowledge does not support the claim that these products are less harmful or harmless, not least because of the presence of nicotine.

The Authority has instructed Philip Morris Italia S.r.l. to inform it – within sixty days of being notified the decision – of the measures put in place to bring this practice to an end.

Rome, 10 June 2026

• Text of the decision