Google’s Android app store monopoly violates antitrust law, jury finds

Artist's conception of Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney jumping for joy at news of the verdict.
Enlarge / Artist’s conception of Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney jumping for joy at news of the verdict.

Epic Games

While Epic’s antitrust arguments against Google had many similarities to those in the company’s earlier case against Apple, the verdicts could not have been more different. A federal jury took only a few hours of deliberation Monday afternoon to determine that Google had an illegal monopoly in the markets for Android app distribution and in-app billing services.

The jury unanimously answered “yes” to all 11 questions on the verdict form, indicating that Epic had proven those monopolies existed in every worldwide market except for China. Google “engaged in anticompetitive conduct” to establish or maintain the monopoly and illegally tied the Google Play store to the use of Google Play billing, according to the verdict. The jury also agreed with Epic’s arguments that programs like “Project Hug” and agreements signed with Android phone OEMs represented an “unreasonable restraint on trade,” harming Epic in the process.

With the verdict set, US District Judge James Donato will hold hearings next month to determine the best way to remedy Google’s anticompetitive monopoly power. During the trial, Epic did not ask for monetary damages but asked that it and other developers be able to introduce their own Android app stores and use their own billing systems on Android devices “without restriction.”

The verdict came after closing arguments where Epic lawyer Gary Bornstein argued that Google’s actions “led to higher prices for developers and consumers, as well as less innovation and quality.” In his closing arguments, Google lawyer Jonathan Kravis said that the Android maker is effectively constrained in the mobile app market by Apple and that “Android phones cannot compete against the iPhone without a great app store

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Promotion returns to depicting gals more often in domestic roles, review finds

Dive Temporary:

  • Fifty-7 % of people in commercials throughout 2021 and 2022 ended up women, even though 43% had been males, in accordance to the “Gender in Marketing 2023 Report” from CreativeX.
  • In 2022, males had been cast in experienced roles 73% much more generally than women as opposed to the past year and 30% additional normally in leadership roles. Females ended up cast 46% more frequently in domestic roles and 3.6% much more generally in loved ones configurations. These developments have been compounded when age and race have been taken into thought.
  • The representation of females in experienced options declined 21% in 2022, while spending on these types of ads fell 35%. The effects suggests gender representation in advertising shifted very last year, with ladies a lot more possible to be cast in domestic or loved ones roles than in the earlier year. 

Dive Insight:

Irrespective of the higher proportion of woman representation in the advertising house, the internet marketing marketplace is even now a extensive way from accurate fairness. Past a change towards portraying gals much more commonly in domestic and spouse and children roles, the amount of females operating in the marketplace fell 24% in between 2021 and 2022, in accordance to She Runs It. The reduction of girls personnel in the space could be partly liable for the decreased illustration of girls in the expert location across promoting categories.

Even though professional options total had been utilised a lot less routinely very last year — possibly for the reason that of the growth of operate-from-residence and hybrid operating — there was even now a crystal clear change in gender representation, for every the findings. Of the characters in advertisements revealed in experienced configurations, 61% had been girls in 2021. By 2022, that amount dropped to

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Study finds Google Play app privacy labels are ‘false or misleading’

An investigation into data safety labels on the Google Play Store has allegedly uncovered “serious loopholes” that allow apps like Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook to easily provide false or misleading information regarding how user data is shared. The study, conducted by the Mozilla Foundation, identified 40 of the most globally downloaded Android apps on the Google Play Store and discovered almost 80 percent had discrepancies between their privacy policies and the information listed on Google Play’s data safety section.

Google launched its data privacy section for the Play Store last year, noting that developers had sole responsibility to provide “complete and accurate declarations” for the information collected by their apps by filling out a Google Data Safety Form. Mozilla argues that these self-reported privacy labels may not accurately reflect what user data is actually being collected due to shortcomings in the safety form’s honor-based system, such as having vague definitions for “collection” and “sharing” and failing to require apps to report data shared with “service providers.”

Mozilla studied the top 20 free apps and top 20 paid apps and then graded them with a score of “poor,” “needs improvement,” or “OK” based on its findings. Sixteen of the 40 total apps, including Twitter, Minecraft, and Facebook, received a “poor” grade, while 15 apps — including TikTok, YouTube, Google Maps, Gmail, WhatsApp, and Instagram — achieved “needs improvement.” Just six apps received an “OK” grade, most of which were mobile games such as Candy Crush Saga and Subway Surfers. Three apps — UC Browser-Safe, Fast, Private; League of Stickman – Best acti; and Terraria — hadn’t even filled out the Google Data Safety Form.

Mozilla’s grading for the top 20 paid Android apps on Google Play.

“Consumers care about privacy and want to make smart

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