Google will pay 220 million euros ($268 million) and change how its advertising services work, under a settlement with the French Competition Authority, said the agency Monday. This arose from complaints from News Corp., Le Figaro1 group and Rossel La Voix group about Google's DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP) ad service and AdX listing platform. The authority said Google abused its dominant market position by giving preferential treatment to proprietary technologies offered under the Ad Manager brand with regard to the operation of the DFP ad server -- which allows publishers of websites and mobile applications to sell advertising space -- and sell-side platform (SSP) AdX, which organizes auctions by which publishers sell ads. Google penalized its rivals on the SSP market and publishers hard-hit by falling newspaper subscriptions and drop in associated revenue, the FCA said. The decision is the first in the world "to look into complex algorithmic auctions processes through which online display advertising works," said FCA President Isabelle de Silva. Google didn't dispute the facts and offered commitments the authority accepted, including giving publishers better access to data on ad space auctions and making Ad Manager more flexible by letting publishers mix and match technology platforms, blogged Google France Legal Director Maria Gomri. Modifications will be tested in coming months before being rolled out more broadly, including globally, she said.
Vizio is staying in “close contact" with shippers and U.S. port authorities "to continuously assess the situation and our views are informed by the information they provide,” Chief Financial Officer Adam Townsend told us Wednesday. We had asked when Vizio expects an easing of the ports congestion that impeded shipments of its smart TVs from reaching many of their distribution hubs in the first quarter. Vizio expects continued delays to “move some units out of the first half of the year and into the back half,” Townsend told investors May 11 (see report, May 12 issue). Vizio's Q1 smart TV shipments increased 28% year over year to 1.5 million sets despite ports disruptions.
An EU-U.S. trade and technology council could help Europeans learn from the U.S. about issues like 5G network deployment, said Thibaut Kleiner, European Commission policy strategy and international affairs director. EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said Wednesday she hopes to announce such a council in mid-June, when President Joe Biden visits Brussels. The council could be a “good tool for delivery,” not just be a “talk shop,” Kleiner said during a German Marshall Fund livestream Thursday. The two sides will likely prioritize existential issues like climate change over marketplace issues, said ex-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, now a Brookings Institution visiting fellow.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative concluded its one-year Section 301 investigation into the digital services tax policies of Austria, India, Italy, Spain, Turkey and U.K. by imposing and immediately suspending remedial tariffs against those countries, said the agency Wednesday. Putting the tariffs on hold for up to 180 days will give more time to complete the ongoing multilateral negotiations on international taxation at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and through the G20 process, it said. The U.S. “remains committed to reaching a consensus on international tax issues through the OECD and G20 processes,” said USTR Katherine Tai. “Today’s actions provide time for those negotiations to continue to make progress while maintaining the option of imposing tariffs under Section 301 if warranted in the future.” DSTs "undercut significant activity in multilateral negotiations and further fragment the international tax system,” said Information Technology Industry Council CEO Jason Oxman. ITI encourages all governments to "quickly withdraw" DSTs "and double down on their work to realize a multilateral, consensus-based agreement" through the OECD and G20, he said. The Computer & Communications Industry Association “welcomes USTR’s actions in the Section 301 investigations that show the continued commitment of the U.S. to the ongoing negotiations, while making clear that tariffs remain an option if discriminatory taxes continue,” said Policy Counsel Rachael Stelly.
Ingram Micro launched Amazon Web Services on its Mexico cloud marketplace for its reseller network there, it said Thursday. It follows the announcement of a global strategic collaboration agreement with AWS in March and recent launches in Australia and New Zealand. More announcements are expected this year.
Europe must up its game against fake news, European Commission officials said Wednesday. The EC published guidance on how to improve the 2018 code of practice. Recommendations address shortcomings identified in a 2020 review and lessons from COVID-19 disinformation monitoring. The EC wants the code reinforced by: (1) More participation by a wider range of relevant players, such as emerging platforms and the online advertising sector. (2) Demonetization of disinformation. (3) More comprehensive coverage of current and emerging forms of manipulative behavior. (4) Enabling users to better understand and flag disinformation. (5) More fact-checking and better access to data for researchers. (6) Better monitoring of results of the industry actions. The EC urged signers to develop a transparency center. Participants have until fall to come up with a revised draft code. It's needed to make online platforms and others address “the systemic risks of their services and algorithmic amplification,” stop policing themselves alone and prevent money being made on disinformation, while preserving free speech, said Values and Transparency Vice President Vera Jourova. Google and Facebook said they're assessing the guidance and are committed to making the code a success. It “became a true asset in the fight against COVID-19 disinformation and created strong cooperation between regulators and platforms,” Facebook said. “Regionally consistent co-regulatory standards are a crucial element in maintaining an open Internet, ensuring that platforms of all sizes can operate around agreed norms,” emailed Twitter Vice President-Public Policy Sinead McSweeney. “We need platform regulation by legislation and oversight,” not voluntary codes of practice, said European Parliament Member Patrick Breyer, of the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance and Germany. He's preparing the report by the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee on the EC-proposed Digital Services Act (see 2012150022).
The International Trade Commission ordered a Section 337 investigation into allegations in an AliveCor April 20 complaint that the electrocardiogram functions in three series of the Apple Watch infringe three AliveCor patents on arrhythmia tracking, says Wednesday’s Federal Register. The complaint seeks a limited exclusion order and a cease and desist order on Apple Watch imports. Apple didn’t comment Tuesday.
A GI Partners buy of Orbcomm would give the satellite operator access to financial, managerial and technical resources that would help it be more competitive in the global IoT market, Orbcomm said in an FCC International Bureau application Friday seeking OK of license transfers to GI. The $1.1 billion investment firm acquisition was announced last month. The deal includes investment by a company formed to manage foreign reserves of Singapore, Orbcomm said. It said that group would be a passive investor, indirectly hold roughly 19% of Orbcomm and have no governance rights. It said the deal doesn't trigger any national security concerns since no foreign person will control Orbcomm and there won't be any changes to the existing location or control of any Orbcomm network facility.
UL's labs in Basingstoke, U.K., and Stuttgart, Germany, are the first sites in Europe to “address the immediate demand for Wi-Fi 6E wireless testing and certification services,” said the company Friday: “The facilities offer start-ups, scaling businesses and large corporations state-of-the art technology and a comprehensive service solution, including certifications to meet market regulatory requirements around the world, for the smooth introduction of Wi-Fi 6E-enabled products.”
Cisco’s revenue jumped 7% in fiscal Q3 ended May 1 on strong “broad-based demand” across the board in “hybrid work, digital transformation, cloud and continued strong uptake of our subscription-based offerings,” said CEO Chuck Robbins on a Wednesday call. Cisco had “early momentum in the ramping of key technology cycles” including for 5G, he said. Cisco added more than 400 new features and devices to its Webex portfolio in the past six months, said Robbins. Cisco is “extending the Webex suite of devices, including digital signage, touchless calls, room capacity alerts and environmental sensors to help enable a safe return to the office.” Chip supply chain constraints will "be with us through" calendar 2021, he said. The supply chain team entered the middle of the quarter “concerned about what they could see for the next two months” into the shortages, he said. The team since is “getting better visibility,” he said.