Today in European Tech: EU unveils plans to - eventually, maybe - rein in Big Tech, Twitter gets a (small) GDPR fine in Ireland, and more

Hello!

Here is what happened today in European tech:

Deals

- Israeli company Artlist is acquiring Motion Array, a digital assets marketplace platform, for $65 million. Through this purchase, Artlist will reach more than six million users worldwide and grow its catalog by more than half a million digital stock assets.

- Israeli enterprise API security company Noname Security came out of stealth today and announced closing a $25 million financing round from Lightspeed, Insight Partners and Cyberstarts.

- Hamburg, Germany-based Taxdoo, a startup that has built what it calls an “automated platform for financial compliance” aimed at cross-border e-commerce companies, has raised $21 million in new funding. Leading the Series A round is Accel, with participation from Visionaries Club, 20VC and existing investor HTGF.

- Spanish company FacePhi, which offers biometric solutions for identity verification, has formalized a new investment agreement with the Swiss fund Nice & Green, for a maximum amount of up to 20 million euros. In addition, it has closed a syndicated loan for up to 13 million with a number of banks.

- Swiss cyber-fraud protection company NetGuardians has raised €15.8 million from private banking client Pictet Group and investment firm ACE & Company.

- Italy’s Banca Generali has announced the launch of a new corporate and commercial partnership with Conio, a company that offers fintech services for Bitcoin, acquiring a $14 million minority stake in the California business.

- Financial services giant Société Générale this morning has acquired France-based Reezocar, in which it had earlier invested. Founded in 2014, Reezocar aids in the process of purchasing and financing used cars in France as well as elsewhere in Europe.

- B2B-focused sales and marketing lead generation platform provider Cognism has acquired the technology assets of Ricochet, a UK startup that has pivoted a few times since its inception but is now behind an eponymous Google Chrome extension for sales professionals and recruiters.

- We also tracked a large number of (other) European tech funding rounds and M&A transactions, all of which we are putting in a handy list for you on Friday afternoon in our weekly roundup newsletter (note: the full list is for paying customers only). Also check out our European tech news section for ongoing coverage.

Worth Knowing

- The European Commission has formally proposed today "an ambitious reform of the digital space, a comprehensive set of new rules for all digital services, including social media, online market places, and other online platforms" that operate in the EU: the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act.

- Facebook, Twitter and TikTok face fines of up to 10% of turnover if they fail to remove and limit the spread of illegal content under laws proposed by Britain on Tuesday.

- Ireland’s Data Protection Commission has issued Twitter with a fine of €450,000 for failing to promptly declare and properly document a data breach under Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

- Facebook will shift all its users in the United Kingdom into user agreements with the corporate headquarters in California, moving them out of their current relationship with Facebook’s Irish unit and out of reach of Europe’s privacy laws.

- Forbes today released the 2020 Midas List Europe, its annual ranking of the top 25 venture capital investors in Europe and Israel.

- Archewell Audio, the newly-formed audio-first production company created by Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan, has announced an exclusive multi-year partnership with Spotify to produce podcasts and shows that tell "uplifting and entertaining stories".

- Portugal is pushing for a pan-European investment plan to roll out a network of undersea cables and upgrade the Continent's digital infrastructure.

- Madrid-founded global investment firm Axon Partners is readying a second ‘fund of funds’ for launch in 2021, focused on tech and life sciences.

- Iceland-based Controlant today announced it is providing monitoring and "Supply Chain Visibility" services to Pfizer, in relation to the delivery of the latter's mRNA-based Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine’s global distribution.

- Dott is better known for its electric scooter service that is available in a few cities across Europe. But the company is working on electric bikes and wants to launch a bike-sharing service in London and Paris in March 2021.

Tell us what you think about this daily roundup and how we can improve it!

And follow us on Twitter of course.