France fines Google €150m over anti-competitive behaviour December 20, 2019 France’s competition authority has fined Google €150m (£123m) for anti-competitive behaviour and mistreating advertisers who bought keyword adverts on its search engine. The search engine giant was accused of “brutal and unjustified” suspension of some advertisers by French authorities, which accused Google of abusing its dominance in the sector. Read more: Amazon, Apple and Google [...]
Rivals ‘can’t compete’ with Google and Facebook on digital advertising, watchdog warns December 18, 2019 Tech giants Google and Facebook dominate Britain’s digital advertising market to such a great extent that rivals can no longer compete with them on “equal terms”, the competition watchdog has warned. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) also raised concerns over the pair’s dominance undermining the ability of newspapers and other providers to produce “valuable [...]
Watchdog steps up probe into tech giants over digital ad dominance December 15, 2019 The competition watchdog is set to publish its initial findings into the dominance of tech giants in the digital ad market this week, paving the way for a possible in-depth investigation. In July the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a market study into Google and Facebook, amid concerns the so-called duopoly could be stifling [...]
Rugby, Avengers Endgame, and Article 50: What trended on Google in 2019? December 11, 2019 Rugby, cricket and Game of Thrones topped Google searches in both London and the UK, as Google released its 2019 Year in Search lists today. Google also revealed the most popular people, events, and topics searched in London and the UK. England’s run to the final of this year’s Rugby World Cup propelled the event [...]
Changing of the guard: Google founders make way as tech giant gears up for new era December 4, 2019 Google’s announcement that co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin will step back from their top roles is, in some senses, a groundbreaking moment. Since starting the iconic search engine in a rented California garage in 1998, the pair have grown the firm into one of the world’s most valuable companies, turning themselves into two of [...]
Tech giants set to spend £25bn on advertising this year December 2, 2019 Eight tech titans including Google, Facebook and Amazon dominate the global advertising industry and will spend £25bn on advertising this year, according to new research. Google parent company Alphabet, Facebook, Amazon, Ebay, Netflix, IAC, Uber and Booking.com spent over £20bn on advertising in 2018, and are set to account for five per cent of global [...]
Price comparison rivals urge EU regulators to take action against Google November 28, 2019 Axel Springer’s price comparison shopping service Idealo and a group of European rivals have urged the EU’s competition regulators to enforce a ruling against Google as they accused the tech giant of favouring its own service. In a letter to European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager signed by companies from 21 EU countries, the group said [...]
Google activists fear backlash after four workers fired over data breaches November 26, 2019 Google has fired four employees it accused of breaching data security policies, sparking accusations that the company was retaliating against activists. The US tech giant said the dismissals came after an investigation found that the staff members had accessed work, calendars, and emails of other Google staff. Read more: Google vows to curb political ad [...]
Google’s research reveals how millennial shopping habits are changing November 25, 2019 The Christmas season is a time for family and cheer. But for brands and retailers, the time between late November and early January represents the most crucial — and most competitive — period of the year, accounting for up to 30 per cent of annual sales. As journalist Katharine Whitehorn once said, “from a commercial [...]
Google admits major underreporting of General Election ad spend November 20, 2019 Google has admitted to severely underreporting spending on UK political advertising ahead of the upcoming General Election, with errors affecting both the Conservative and Labour parties. Google’s weekly transparency reports on advertising spending by political parties and other organisations contain major discrepancies because heavy spending on search terms is not always recorded, The Guardian reported. [...]