The European Union's Court of Justice (ECJ) dismissed Google's appeal of a €2.4 billion ($2.65 billion) 2017 antitrust ruling, confirming Google abused its dominance by favoring its own Google Shopping service over rivals. This decision follows a failed 2021 appeal. Google's arguments about search traffic impact were rejected. Despite changes made in 2017, the case has broader implications for tech industry competition law.
A lawsuit accusing Google of violating child privacy laws will proceed after a judge denied Google's motion to dismiss. The suit alleges Google ignored child privacy laws by allowing targeted advertising to children under 13 through its Designed for Families (DFF) program. The program allegedly misled parents by labeling apps as safe for kids while allowing data collection and targeted ads. The judge ruled that Google's arguments were insufficient to dismiss the case.
Reddit is under lawsuit by LevelFields, an AI-based investment research platform, for allegedly not verifying if actual people clicked on its ads. The complaint states that Reddit didn't ensure the ads weren't clicked by bots. Reddit refused LevelFields' request for IP address data for ad verification. The lawsuit suggests that Reddit, serving ads on its site, can effectively track click fraud. The case could potentially evolve into a class action.
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A Censuswide survey shows 52% of Americans use ad blockers, a rise from 34% in 2022. The usage is higher among tech professionals, with 66-76% using ad blockers. The main reason is privacy protection. The survey also found Americans are most wary of TikTok, Meta, and X/Twitter misusing their data. Ghostery CEO, Jean-Paul Schmetz, highlighted the need to understand the scope of third-party data collection.