Tech giants Google and Facebook have come under fire in a Senate inquiry for their “threats” to block news in Australia if a draft media bargaining code proposed by the ACCC is passed without any amendments.
Facebook and Google should not be expected to solve the challenges currently facing the Australian media industry, according to the social media giant, which has called on the government to address concentration in the media market.
The ACCC is considering taking legal action against Google after the search giant completed its $3 billion acquisition of fitness device company FitBit before the consumer watchdog could finish its investigation into the transaction.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has rejected a behavioural undertaking from Google intended to assuage the regulator’s competition concerns about its planned $3 billion acquisition of fitness device company Fitbit, saying it would be challenging to monitor and enforce.
The Federal government will introduce legislation on Wednesday that will require Google and Facebook to pay news publishers to exploit their content and give them a heads up of major changes to search algorithms.
Apple wants to stay a competition lawsuit brought by video game developer Epic Games in Australia, claiming a clause in its developer contract requires any dispute between them to be heard in a California court.
Google is seeking to assuage ACCC concerns that its planned $3 billion acquisition of fitness device company Fitbit would further entrench its market power by giving it access to a treasure trove of user data, promising the regulator that it will not use data collected through wearables for advertising purposes for at least 10 years.
Epic Games, maker of the popular Fortnite game, has taken its courtroom battle with Apple to Australia, hitting the tech giant with a lawsuit for allegedly abusing its market power.
A solicitor who failed to respond to calls from the Federal Court has been criticised by a judge for filing what appeared to be a “deficient” application in a case run on behalf of gangland lawyer Zarah Garde-Wilson in her bid to obtain details from Google over the identity of an online reviewer.
Google has rejected claims by the ACCC that it tricked consumers into agreeing to expanded collection of their personal data, saying that it instead sought “explicit consent” from users through an “easy-to-understand opt-in consent mechanism”.