Category: Economics

UK finally gets around to banning fake reviews and ‘sneaky’ fees for online products

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The United Kingdom has banned “outrageous fake reviews and sneaky hidden fees” to make life easier for online shoppers. New measures under the Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumer Act 2024 came into force on Sunday that require online platforms to transparently include all mandatory fees within a product’s advertised price, including booking or admin charges. Read more about UK finally gets around to banning fake reviews and ‘sneaky’ fees for online products[…]

How much foreign aid is spent domestically rather than overseas?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Much of foreign aid is spent on goods that are shipped overseas: food supplies, medicines, or humanitarian assistance in emergency situations.1 But a surprising amount of what’s reported as foreign aid is not sent abroad; it’s spent domestically. Foreign aid budgets in rich countries can include the costs of hosting refugees, some scholarships to foreign Read more about How much foreign aid is spent domestically rather than overseas?[…]

FTC removes posts critical of Big Tech from its website

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has removed over 300 blog posts published during the agency’s leadership under former chair Lina Khan, Wired reports. These include posts that are critical of companies like Amazon and Microsoft for their handling of customer data. The FTC did not respond to a request for comment. As FTC chair during Read more about FTC removes posts critical of Big Tech from its website[…]

Apple must allow app sideloading in Brazil within 90 days, judge orders

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Brazil has ordered Apple to allow users to bypass the App Store and sideload apps within 90 days, according a report in Valor Econômico seen by 9to5Mac. The new ruling follows similar orders issued in Europe and elsewhere that were referenced by the Brazilian court. “[Apple] has already complied with similar obligations in other countries, Read more about Apple must allow app sideloading in Brazil within 90 days, judge orders[…]

GameStop CEO Scapegoats DEI for Company Troubles. So much for diamondhands then.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen took to X on Tuesday to blame wokeness and DEI for the retail chain’s impending exit from Canada and France. The company, which managed to survive the pandemic thanks to the infamous memestock frenzy, has closed more than 700 stores since 2020 as more game distribution moves digital. In a release, Read more about GameStop CEO Scapegoats DEI for Company Troubles. So much for diamondhands then.[…]

Meta slashes staff and their stock options, but it’s ok: executives’ annual bonuses just went from 75% base salary to 200% and stock is around 2000% of salary

Posted on by Robin Edgar

After another round of mass layoffs and reports of slashed stock options for remaining employees, Meta has like clockwork opted to reward its top executives with a substantial bonus increase. The Facebook giant revealed in a government filing that its Compensation, Nominating and Governance Committee (CNGC) approved a target annual bonus increase for its top Read more about Meta slashes staff and their stock options, but it’s ok: executives’ annual bonuses just went from 75% base salary to 200% and stock is around 2000% of salary[…]

Amazon Is Making It Harder to Move Your E-Books Around

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Amazon is once again demonstrating that buying things in today’s world does not mean you actually own them. The company is closing a loophole that enabled owners of Kindle books to strip them of their anti-piracy protection and take them elsewhere. Some avid digital books enthusiasts prefer other e-reading applications to Amazon’s Kindle—perhaps because another Read more about Amazon Is Making It Harder to Move Your E-Books Around[…]

Stellantis Introduces Pop-Up Ads in Vehicles, Bombarding your Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler display every time you stop

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Car technology is supposed to make driving safer, smoother, and more enjoyable. But Stellantis, the parent company of Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler, and Ram, seems to have taken a different approach—one that prioritizes ad revenue over user experience. In a move that has left drivers both frustrated and bewildered, Stellantis has introduced full-screen pop-up ads on Read more about Stellantis Introduces Pop-Up Ads in Vehicles, Bombarding your Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler display every time you stop[…]

Buy now, pay later installment payments increase retail spending, study finds

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…]Buy now, pay later (BNPL) is an increasingly popular payment method, allowing customers to spread payment into interest-free installments over a few weeks or months. Worldwide BNPL spending was $316 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow to $450 billion by 2027. With major retailers such as Walmart and H&M partnering with BNPL providers Read more about Buy now, pay later installment payments increase retail spending, study finds[…]

Billion-pound lawsuit against Apple over App Store opens in UK

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The complaint, filed in May 2021, accuses Apple of breaching European and UK competition laws by “its exclusion of any other app stores from iOS devices” like iPhones and iPads. It claims that some 20 million Apple users may have been overcharged by the company “due to its ban on rival app store platforms”. The Read more about Billion-pound lawsuit against Apple over App Store opens in UK[…]

2024 Open Source Software Funding Report

Posted on by Robin Edgar

This report summarizes insights from the inaugural 2024 Open Source Software Funding Survey1, a collaboration between GitHub, the Linux Foundation, and researchers from Harvard University. The objective of this study was to better understand how organizations2 fund, contribute to, and otherwise support open source software. Key Findings Scale Organizations contribute $7.7 billion USD annually to Read more about 2024 Open Source Software Funding Report[…]

DOJ Will Push Google to Sell Chrome to help Break Search Monopoly

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Top Justice Department antitrust officials have decided to ask a judge to force Alphabet Inc.’s Google to sell off its Chrome browser in what would be a historic crackdown on one of the world’s biggest tech companies. The department will ask the judge, who ruled in August that Google illegally monopolized the search market, to Read more about DOJ Will Push Google to Sell Chrome to help Break Search Monopoly[…]

Meta Fined €798 Million by EU Over Classified Ads Dominance in Facebook

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Meta Platforms Inc. was hit with a €798 million ($841 million) fine by European Union regulators by tying its Facebook Marketplace service to the social network, the US tech giant’s first ever penalty for EU antitrust violations. In a groundbreaking decision, the European Commission ordered Meta to stop tying its classified-ads service to Facebook’s sprawling Read more about Meta Fined €798 Million by EU Over Classified Ads Dominance in Facebook[…]

Apple faces UK iCloud monopoly compensation claim worth $3.8B

Posted on by Robin Edgar

U.K. consumer rights group ‘Which?’ is filing a legal claim against Apple under competition law on behalf of some 40 million users of iCloud, its cloud storage service. The collective proceeding lawsuit, which is seeking £3 billion in compensation damages (around $3.8 billion at current exchange rates), alleges that Apple has broken competition rules by Read more about Apple faces UK iCloud monopoly compensation claim worth $3.8B[…]

Pakistan limits outdoor activities, market hours to curb air pollution-related illness – attacks symptom but not cause

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Pakistan’s Punjab province banned most outdoor activities and ordered shops, markets and malls in some areas to close early from Monday to curb illnesses caused by intense air pollution. The province has closed educational institutions and public spaces like parks and zoos until Nov. 17 in places including Lahore, the world’s most polluted city in Read more about Pakistan limits outdoor activities, market hours to curb air pollution-related illness – attacks symptom but not cause[…]

Corning facing EU antitrust suit over Gorilla Glass seals

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Corning’s Gorilla Glass is found in countless tech products, from smartphones and wearables to automobile windshields, and the European Commission has an inkling its success is due in part to the US-based business cutting anticompetitive deals. The EC announced a formal antitrust investigation into Corning yesterday, accusing the company of abusing its dominant position as Read more about Corning facing EU antitrust suit over Gorilla Glass seals[…]

Fake job postings proliferate in layoff-hit tech industry

Posted on by Robin Edgar

f you didn’t hear back about that great-looking tech position you applied for, it might not be because there were too many applicants scrambling to find a job amid rolling layoffs. There’s a distinct possibility the posting was fake to begin with. We’re talking here about “ghost jobs” a practice of posting openings for positions Read more about Fake job postings proliferate in layoff-hit tech industry[…]

American Airlines Wins $9.4 Million From ‘Skiplagged’ Site That Exploits Airlines’ Overbooking Business Model

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A Texas federal jury has awarded American Airlines a whopping $9.4 million in a lawsuit filed against Skiplagged.com, a website that helps travelers get cheaper flights by booking flights with a connection and then abandoning the connecting flight to the final destination. The airline industry loathes Skiplagged, even though there’s technically nothing illegal about the Read more about American Airlines Wins $9.4 Million From ‘Skiplagged’ Site That Exploits Airlines’ Overbooking Business Model[…]

DOJ Reveals Its Plan for Breaking Up Google’s Search Monopoly

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Department of Justice has laid out its broad-strokes plan for ending Google’s monopoly over internet search after winning its antitrust case against the company in August. The sweeping changes could end Google’s position as the default search engine on billions of devices and require the company to share key information about its search algorithms Read more about DOJ Reveals Its Plan for Breaking Up Google’s Search Monopoly[…]

Supreme Court Snubs Martin Shkreli’s Last-Ditch Bid to Avoid $64 Million Fine over hiking unique life saving drug price from $13.50 to $750 a pill

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Martin Shkreli has been fighting a $64.6 million fine he acquired in 2022 for blocking affordable alternatives to Daraprim, a lifesaving antiparasitic drug. Shockingly, it turns out nobody on the Supreme Court cares to hear about it. No justices dissented on Monday when the court said it declined to hear an appeal by representatives of Read more about Supreme Court Snubs Martin Shkreli’s Last-Ditch Bid to Avoid $64 Million Fine over hiking unique life saving drug price from $13.50 to $750 a pill[…]

Epic judge orders Google to let rivals set up app stores

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A US court has ordered Google to refrain from a wide variety of business practices the web giant uses to bolster its Play Store, as a consequence of its December 2023 antitrust defeat against Epic Games. In that case, Epic argued that Google’s Play Store rules and contractual agreements with developers and partners violated the Read more about Epic judge orders Google to let rivals set up app stores[…]

Google’s AI enshittifies search summaries with ads

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google is rolling out ads in AI Overviews, which means you’ll now start seeing products in some of the search engine’s AI-generated summaries. Let’s say you’re searching for ways to get a grass stain out of your pants. If you ask Google, its AI-generated response will offer some tips, along with suggestions for products to Read more about Google’s AI enshittifies search summaries with ads[…]

Juicy licensing deals with AI companies show that publishers don’t really care about creators

Posted on by Robin Edgar

One of the many interesting aspects of the current enthusiasm for generative AI is the way that it has electrified the formerly rather sleepy world of copyright. Where before publishers thought they had successfully locked down more or less everything digital with copyright, they now find themselves confronted with deep-pocketed companies – both established ones Read more about Juicy licensing deals with AI companies show that publishers don’t really care about creators[…]

LG Has Started Showing Screensaver Ads on Their Smart TVs | Lifehacker

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Like them or not, ads run the world. They’re the reason so much content out there is free of charge—or, at least, less expensive. But while it’s one thing to watch an ad before jumping into a YouTube video, or to see ads surrounding an article, it’s another thing entirely to be forced to see Read more about LG Has Started Showing Screensaver Ads on Their Smart TVs | Lifehacker[…]

Google’s 2.4 billion euro shopping comparison fine upheld by Europe’s top court

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Europe’s top court on Tuesday upheld a 2.4 billion euro ($2.65 billion) fine imposed on Google for abusing its dominant position by favoring its own shopping comparison service. [….] The fine stems from an antitrust investigation by the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, which concluded in 2017. The commission said at Read more about Google’s 2.4 billion euro shopping comparison fine upheld by Europe’s top court[…]