New: Watchdog mulls Google probe over ‘anti-competitive’ advertising tech November 23, 2020 The UK competition watchdog is mulling a formal investigation into Google after it received a complaint about the tech giant’s “anti-competitive” new advertising technology. A consortium of businesses today wrote to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) urging it to delay a major new tech release by Google, which they warned would “cement” the tech [...]
Google boss apologises to EU chief over plans to dodge antitrust laws November 13, 2020 Google chief executive Sundar Pichai has apologised to EU industry chief Thierry Breton after leaked documents revealed plans to attack the commissioner over new antitrust laws. In a video conference last night, Pichai insisted he had not seen or signed off on the document and apologised for the way it had come out. The internal [...]
Google critics call for EU to fast-track competition crackdown November 12, 2020 A group of 165 companies and industry bodies has urged the EU to accelerate its crackdown on Google’s alleged anti-competitive practices, warning planned new laws will take too long to come into force. In a joint letter to EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager, seen by Reuters, the critics accused Google of unfairly favouring its own [...]
Social media firms to crack down on Covid-19 vaccine disinformation November 9, 2020 Major social media platforms have agreed a package of measures with the government in an effort to limit the spread of disinformation about any Covid-19 vaccine. Following a meeting with health secretary Matt Hancock and digital secretary Oliver Dowden, Facebook, Twitter and Google endorsed the principle that no company should profit from false or misleading [...]
Screenshot: Will Tim Davie win the generation game? October 30, 2020 A weekly column from City A.M. bringing you all the biggest stories and trends in technology, media and telecoms This week: ** Media Moment of the Week: A sorry soy saga ** Tim Davie and the BBC’s tug of war ** The tech titans’ tumultuous year Media Moment of the Week This week it’s another [...]
Google parent Alphabet returns to growth as advertisers flock back October 29, 2020 Google parent company Alphabet reported a return to growth in the third quarter as advertisers flocked back in their droves after a coronavirus-induced slump. The tech giant, which also owns Amazon, reported revenue of $46.2bn (£35.7bn) in the three months to the end of September, up 14 per cent on the same period last year. [...]
EU to ban tech firms from promoting their own services in new crackdown October 29, 2020 Tech giants will be banned from unfairly promoting their own services and will have to do more to crack down on harmful content under new rules being prepared by the EU. Competition chief Margrethe Vestager today proposed a raft of tough new laws and promised greater powers for enforcement bodies in a bid to tackle [...]
Tech earnings: What to look out for in a bumper day of Silicon Valley results October 29, 2020 All eyes will be on Silicon Valley tonight as the tech giants prepare to unveil their earnings for the third quarter. Google owner Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Twitter are all set to update investors on their trading during a turbulent period dominated by the coronavirus crisis. Earnings season for the so-called FAANG companies kicked [...]
Tech bosses blasted by US politicians over content moderation October 28, 2020 The bosses of Facebook, Twitter and Google faced attacks from US Senators this afternoon during a fiery hearing over how tech firms moderate content on their platforms. The tech chiefs were grilled by a US Senate committee for more than three and a half hours over Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects [...]
US election: Where do Trump and Biden stand on tech issues? October 28, 2020 The bosses of Facebook, Twitter and Google are this afternoon appearing in front of a US Senate committee to face questions over key issues of tech regulation. With tech titans facing increased scrutiny in their home country, the topic is likely to be a key policy issue in the run-up to the presidential election. So [...]