New York attorney general candidate Zephyr Teachout says it’s time to “explore breaking up” Facebook and Google under state and federal antitrust laws if she is elected.
Teachout, a Democrat, told a crowd outside the Manhattan office of the New York Daily News – the day after the paper fired half of its staff, that tech companies are to blame for dominating the advertising space, “drawing revenue from newspapers and publishers,” reports the Washington Post.
Downstairs from the @NYDailyNews newsroom, NY AG candidate Zephyr Teachout says she wants to work with other states to launch an anti-trust investigation into Google and Facebook, including how they affect local news. pic.twitter.com/i29yMH2yEE
— Alyssa Katz (@alykatzz) July 25, 2018
“As attorney general,” said Teachout, “I would work with my colleagues in other states to launch a major antitrust investigation to look into the ways in which Facebook and Google are wielding and may be abusing their duopoly powers.”
The Attorney General hopeful’s campaign pledge comes amid a national debate about competition and monopoly, as many – including President Trump, have set their sights on tech giants for unfair practices. – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]The European Union is fining Google $5.1 billion for antitrust violations related to its Android mobile operating system, CNBC reported
Google was ordered to stop its conduct with 90 days or face even more fines.
“Google has used Android as a vehicle to cement the dominance of its search engine,” said Europe’s antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager, according to The New York Times.
The Times framed the EU’s action as part of Europe’s battle to limit the clout of American technology companies.
“These practices have denied rivals the chance to innovate and compete on the merits. They have denied European consumers the benefits of effective competition in the important mobile sphere. This is illegal under E.U. antitrust rules,” Vestager said.
The fine sets a new record, surpassing the $2.7 billion fine Google was hit with last year for favoring its shopping service over those of competitors. – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]After a Wall Street Journal exposé that revealed some companies use humans to read some of your emails, to improve the services and apps they have built upon email, Google came out with its blog post to reassure users that their Gmail accounts are safe.
That’s the right response, considering that Google is practically in the same boat as Facebook when it comes to user data and privacy handling, and the Cambridge Analytica scandal indirectly affects the company, whose entire business is built on user data. Not to mention that Google had its own series of privacy mishaps over the years, so it’s great to see the company get in front of this.
But don’t expect Google to tell you that it’ll stop allowing developers to read your emails if they so desire. In a blog post on the matter, Google insists that your security and privacy is safe within Gmail, even if other parties do access your private data:
We make it possible for applications from other developers to integrate with Gmail—like email clients, trip planners and customer relationship management (CRM) systems—so that you have options around how you access and use your email. We continuously work to vet developers and their apps that integrate with Gmail before we open them for general access, and we give both enterprise admins and individual consumers transparency and control over how their data is used. – READ MORE
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