Here’s the latest news from the technology industry, which is coming under increasing global scrutiny.
FTC, State Antitrust Suits Against Facebook Dismissed By US Court
The Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust suit against Facebook, along with a parallel case by 48 attorneys generals, was dismissed by a U.S. court on Monday (June 28), CNBC reported. The FTC filed suit against Facebook in late 2020, along with attorney generals from 48 states, claiming that the social media company participated in a systemic plan to get rid of threats to its monopoly.
Antitrust Regulations Progress In Congress
The House Judiciary Committee voted to ratify legislation designed to reduce the market dominance of large technology companies — most notably Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Google — on the heels of intense discussion.
A six-bill package that would aim to restrict Big Tech in different ways was debated on the hill for the last many weeks by the House committee.
For example, The American Innovation and Choice Online Act, is designed at stopping dominant platforms from discriminating against competitors by preferencing their own offerings over others.
The package of legislation, taken as a whole, represents early efforts by the government to update antitrust to account for the existence of huge tech companies by revising antitrust regulations to meet the needs of the moment.
European Commission Looks Into Google’s Advertising Strategies
The European Commission (EC) has rolled out a formal probe into the digital advertising strategies of Google, and the governmental body will evaluate if laws in the European Union (EU) were contravened. The effort is aiming to see if the technology company favored its own digital display advertising offerings in its ad tech supply chain over those of other advertisers and digital publishers.
“Online advertising services are at the heart of how Google and publishers monetize their online services. Google collects data to be used for targeted advertising purposes, it sells advertising space and also acts as an online advertising intermediary,” Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager said in the announcement. The official added that the body is concerned about Google’s activities, which could have made it challenging for rivals to compete with the firm’s tech stack.
UK’s CMA Looks Into Google, Amazon Over Efforts To Curb Fake Reviews
The United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has begun a formal investigation into Google and Amazon regarding worries that the firms have not taken sufficient action to fight against fake reviews on their platforms, according to an announcement.
“We are investigating concerns that Amazon and Google have not been doing enough to prevent or remove fake reviews to protect customers and honest businesses. It’s important that these tech platforms take responsibility and we stand ready to take action if we find that they are not doing enough,” CMA Chief Executive Andrea Coscelli said in the announcement.
Dutch Central Bank: Financial Supervision Changes Needed With The Rise Of Big Tech
De Nederlandsche Bank, the Dutch central bank, said that the increasing importance of large technology firms like Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Google in the financial industry necessitate special attention from authorities like itself. “Boundaries between supervised and non-supervised entities are blurring due to digitalisation, which means new risks may emerge — in the area of IT, for instance. It also means that business models are coming under increasing pressure,” Steven Maijoor, DNB’s new Executive Director of Supervision. said at a press event as per the DNB. However, the official noted that large tech firms offer benefits like “improved user experience, more innovative services and increased efficiency.”
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