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The competition watchdog has rejected Google’s promise that it would not distort competition should it be allowed to acquire wearables manufacturer Fitbit. The tech giant had undertaken that it would not use the acquisition to harm competition, restrict competitors access to health data or use health data for advertising. While

Despite major concessions to Facebook and Google in the latest version of the news media bargaining code, it remains “unworkable” according to the search giant who now argues it will place the entire open internet at risk. Google says the code – an arbitration mechanism used to force digital platforms

Google “white flag” and then share the terms of the surrender with your friends on Facebook. Australia’s attempt to make Google and Facebook pay for news content is set to be undermined by late concessions to the tech giants following threats they would withdraw services from the local market. Any

France’s data regulator today announced it had fined Google 100 million euros and Amazon 35 million euros – around AU$219 million – for placing advertising cookies on users’ computers without consent. The french regulator, CNIL, conducted investigations into the tech giants between December last year and May regarding their french

The Morrison government will introduce on Wednesday its legislation forcing Google and Facebook to face arbitration if they fail to come to commercial deals with traditional media on payment for content. The government resorted to the mandatory bargaining code after it was clear agreement wouldn’t be reached for voluntary arrangements

Australia’s competition regulator is closely monitoring the US antitrust case against Google and will seek to reform Australian merger laws next year. Competition tsar Rod Sims also warned against privatising assets as part of a COVID recovery. In his annual address to the Law Council of Australia Business Law Section’s

Google parent company Alphabet’s share price jumped on Friday when it released financial results that crushed analysts expectations, including a return of advertising dollars that had dipped for the first time during the pandemic. For the quarter ending September 30 the advertising and search giant reported more than US$37 billion

The consumer regulator is sharpening its focus on big tech, warning platform giants are pervasively tracking Australian users and dominating the local online advertising markets in its first major update since its landmark Digital Platforms inquiry. The ACCC late last week released its first six-monthly report on digital platform services,

Google’s relationship with Apple — specifically the deal which sees Google search bundled into Apple’s Safari browser — is at the heart of the decision by the DOJ today to launch an antitrust case against the search giant. But it’s also about more than just the bundling deal. As Constellation

A public-owned, “public-purpose social network” run by the national broadcaster should be developed to lessen Australia’s reliance on Google and Facebook, a think tank has proposed as the tech giants threaten to hold back local services. Facebook has threatened to stop Australian users from sharing news stories on its platform