Google appoints former Unilever top brass as MD for the UK and Ireland December 9, 2022 Google has appointed the former top brass at Unilever as its new managing director for the UK and Ireland. American tech leader and entrepreneur Debbie Weinstein will look after the technology giant’s business in Britain from March 2023, saying it feels like “coming home”. Weinstein will take over from Ronan Harris, who joined the company [...]
Google appeals record £3.5bn EU anti-trust penalty December 1, 2022 Google has filed an appeal with the EU’s top court this afternoon over a record €4.13bn (£3.5bn) fine. The tech giant said it will be challenging the commission’s largest ever anti-trust penalty handed down in 2018 that took aim at its Android operating system, suggesting that it restricted mobile competition and consumer choice. In the [...]
Google sued by 130,000 firms over ad dominance November 30, 2022 Google has been sued in a claim by 130,000 firms that argue its advertising strategy has cost them billions of pounds in lost revenues. The competition claim valued at up to £13.6bn at the Competition Appeal Tribunal accuses Google and its parent firm Alphabet of abusing its dominant position in online advertising and “earning super-profits [...]
Former Google exec Gill Whitehead named Ofcom lead for online safety November 30, 2022 A former Google executive will be joining Ofcom to oversee its new duties as the regulator for online safety. Gill Whitehead will head up the media watchdog’s Online Safety Group from April 2023, reporting to chief exec Dame Melanie Dawes. Whitehead currently leads the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum (DRCF) which oversees the digital expertise of four member regulators: the [...]
Competition watchdog launches deeper probe into Apple and Google’s mobile dominance November 22, 2022 Competition regulators continue to cast their net towards Google and Apple, with a new in-depth investigation launched this morning over their mobile browser dominance. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it would be examining whether new rules are needed for users and developers in this space after it conducted a consultation. Around 97 per [...]
YouTube bets on social shopping in Tiktok style videos to drive growth November 15, 2022 IN A BID to diversify its revenue streams from the dwindling ads market, YouTube is going head first into the world of shopping. While the tech firm, which is owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet, launched its short-form, TikTok style video offering ‘Shorts’ in 2020, the firm is now testing how budding influencers can sell [...]
Starmer says Tories are ‘dragging feet’ in making platforms pay for news November 1, 2022 Sir Keir Starmer has backed calls to make social media platforms pay for news content, accusing the government of dragging its feet on the matter. Writing for campaign group Journalism Matters, the leader of the opposition said that big tech’s dominance of the online advertising space is to the detriment of consumers, other rivals and [...]
Tech giants plunge in value after weak earnings October 29, 2022 US tech giants have had more than $250bn wiped off their value in the past week as investors fled in the wake of a weak set of quarterly earnings and warnings of an advertising slowdown.
Google and Microsoft drag tech stocks both sides of the Atlantic October 26, 2022 Disappointing results from both Google owner Alphabet and Microsoft have dragged down tech shares both sides of the Atlantic. Nasdaq was down two per cent at the opening bell, whilst European tech stocks fell 1.8 per cent to lead sectoral losses. It comes after Alphabet said third-quarter revenue grew six per cent to $69.1bn, raising [...]
Former Google boss says regulation must focus on choice rather than tech interference October 24, 2022 Former Google ads boss said the government needs do more to restrict market dominance, but shouldn’t interfere too much with how the tech ecosystem actually works. Speaking with Morning Wire, former Silicon Valley exec turned search-engine startup founder Sridhar Ramaswamy said that regulators need to find a balance between keeping behemoths like Apple and Google [...]