Publishers rally as Google advertising antitrust trial restarts in US September 9, 2024 One month after a US court ruled that Google illegally maintained its monopoly on internet search, the tech giant is back in the dock. This time, Google’s lucrative online advertising business, which last year raked in nearly $240bn (£183bn), is under fire, with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and 17 states accusing its parent company, Alphabet, of monopolising digital [...]
Google accused of using its dominance to harm the competition September 6, 2024 Google has been accused of using “anti-competitive practices” which harm thousands of publishers and advertisers in the UK. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it has provisionally found that the US giant could be negatively impacting rivals over open-display advert technology. According to its findings, the watchdog said that when placing digital adverts on [...]
X-odus: Musk platform ‘distinctly not well received’ by marketers September 5, 2024 Marketers’ trust in Elon Musk’s X as an effective platform for advertising has plummeted since 2022, with advertisers anxious about the “brand safety” that the controversial social media channel offers. Approval ratings for the social media channel have plummeted to minus 21 per cent, down from plus 15 per cent just two years ago, according [...]
Apple has ‘significant concerns’ over CMA probe into its Safari mobile browser September 4, 2024 Apple said it has “significant concerns” with the UK competition watchdog investigation into the supply of mobile browsers. In 2022, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a probe into the dominance of Apple’s Safari browser and Google’s Chrome browser, along with the possibility that Apple may be restricting the cloud gaming market through its [...]
Wall Street carnage continues as Nvidia leads US tech selloff September 4, 2024 A wave of panic selling hit Wall Street on Tuesday, with the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite, and Dow Jones Industrial Average all suffering their steepest daily percentage declines since early August. The carnage was widespread, with nine of the 11 sectors within the S&P 500 sinking into the red, led by sharp declines in technology, [...]
Google facing £1bn competition lawsuit from professor on behalf of SMEs August 23, 2024 A professor has launched a class action lawsuit against Google on behalf of SMEs he said have been negatively hit by excessive commissions on its Play Store. Competition law professor at the University of Strathclyde, Barry Rodger, has alleged that Google has abused its dominant position by excluding competition in app distribution and by charging [...]
Google and Apple probes dropped by CMA amid pivot to new regime August 21, 2024 The UK’s competition watchdog has decided to close two investigations into Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store, citing a shift in priorities. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was investigating whether Google and Apple have been using their app stores to put British app developers at a disadvantage. It was concerned the tech giants [...]
Is Google a monopoly? Sort of, but that’s the free market August 20, 2024 How about a little trust in the dynamism of the free market? Writes Matthew Feeney
Can we stop AI from destroying the planet? August 16, 2024 AI is increasingly finding itself in the crosshairs of investors concerned about its environmental toll. Many are coming to terms with the fact that the technology supposedly leading us into a smarter future might be dragging the planet backwards when it comes to climate commitments. Big tech’s climate ambitions are hitting a rather inconvenient truth: [...]
FCA and UK payments regulator launch inquiry into ‘risks’ of Paypal, Apple and Google Pay July 16, 2024 It follows previous work by the PSR on contactless mobile payments and the FCA’s examination of big tech’s role in financial services.