When a customer gets refunded for an app they purchased, Apple doesn’t refund the 30% cut they took from the developer, says developer Simeon Saens of Two Lives Left. While [online] payment processors generally don’t refund fees on refunded payments, “the App Store doesn’t position itself as a payments processor the way Stripe does, so Read more about When a Customer Gets Refunded For a Paid App, Apple Doesn’t Refund the 30% Cut They Took From The Developer[…]

A US House antitrust committee is getting set to grill tech’s biggest CEOs, but Microsoft wants them to focus on one in particular: Apple’s Tim Cook. Microsoft President Brad Smith met with the committee several weeks ago and relayed concerns about how Apple manages its App Store, according to the The Information (via Bloomberg). Smith Read more about Microsoft raised Apple’s app store with US house antitrust group[…]

Tim Sweeney, CEO of Fortnite developer Epic Games, criticized Apple and Google for having an “absolute monopoly” on app stores in a Friday interview with CNBC. There aren’t many viable options for distributing mobile software outside the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, and Sweeney chides both for taking a 30 percent fee Read more about Epic Games CEO speaks out against Apple, Google app store monopoly[…]

The former head of DNS regulator ICANN has been named as co-CEO of a company that launched a controversial attempt to purchase the .org internet registry earlier this year. The news has again raised concerns over the revolving doors between regulators and those who need regulation. In the past week, the website of Ethos Capital, Read more about Ex-boss of ICANN shifts from ‘advisor’ to co-CEO of private equity biz that tried to buy .org for $1bn[…]

Workplace messaging software company Slack is accusing Microsoft of monopoly behavior in an antitrust complaint filed today to European Union regulators. Unsurprisingly, the accusations hinge on the same practice that helped make Microsoft rich in the first place. Bill Gates, Windows, innovation, yes, yes, OK—undoubtedly Microsoft had a lot to contribute to the early years Read more about Microsoft’s Doing the Monopoly Thing Again, Slack Says[…]

When Amazon.com’s venture-capital fund invested in DefinedCrowd, it gained access to the technology startup’s finances and other confidential information. Nearly four years later, in April, Amazon’s cloud-computing unit launched an artificial-intelligence product that does almost exactly what DefinedCrowd does, said DefinedCrowd founder and Chief Executive Daniela Braga. The new offering from Amazon Web Services, called Read more about Amazon Met With Startups About Investing, Then Launched Competing Products[…]

we’re advancing our plans to make it free for merchants to sell on Google. Beginning next week, search results on the Google Shopping tab will consist primarily of free listings, helping merchants better connect with consumers, regardless of whether they advertise on Google. With hundreds of millions of shopping searches on Google each day, we Read more about Google aims at Amazon and fires: List your products on Google Shopping for free[…]

The companies that do most to develop and evolve the LibreOffice productivity suite, both for desktop and cloud, say the project’s business model is “beyond utterly broken” and that The Document Foundation (TDF), the charity that hosts the project, has to change its approach. The matter is a subject of intense debate within the board Read more about Company that contributes majority of LibreOffice code complains ecosystem is ‘beyond utterly broken’ – no financial model for FOSS[…]

On July 27th, the CEOs of Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Google — the “GAFA” companies — will testify in front of the House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee. Getting those four people into the same room — even virtually — on the same day is something of a feat and it speaks to how seriously these companies Read more about Big tech’s reckoning starts with an antitrust committee[…]

I’ve used a Samsung Galaxy smartphone almost every day for nearly 4 years. I used them because Samsung had fantastic hardware that was matched by (usually) excellent software. But in 2020, a Samsung phone is no longer my daily driver, and there’s one simple reason that’s the case: Ads. Ads Everywhere Ads in Samsung phones Read more about Ads are taking over Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones — and it needs to stop[…]

Last Friday, it was reported that Canadian smart glasses startup North was on the verge of being snapped up by Alphabet, Google’s parent company. Today, it’s official. North announced the acquisition on both Twitter and in an official blog. Details regarding the terms of the sale were scant, though a Globe and Mail scoop from Read more about Google Just Acquired Smart Glasses Startup North, then kills off the product[…]

As advertisers pull away from Facebook to protest the social networking giant’s hands-off approach to misinformation and hate speech, the company is instituting a number of stronger policies to woo them back. In a livestreamed segment of the company’s weekly all-hands meeting, CEO Mark Zuckerberg recapped some of the steps Facebook is already taking, and Read more about As advertisers revolt, Facebook commits to flagging ‘newsworthy’ political speech that violates policy[…]

Apple has said it has decided not to implement 16 web APIs in its Safari browser’s WebKit engine in part because they pose a privacy threat. Critics of the iGiant, including competitors like Google, see Apple’s stance as a defense against a competitive threat. These APIs, developed in recent years to allow web developers to Read more about Apple: We’re defending your privacy by nixing 16 browser APIs. Rivals: You mean defending your bottom line[…]

Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and a host of other tech giants will have to pay billions of dollars in extra tax after the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal on a stock-option case. America’s top court said [PDF] on Monday it will not review a decision by the Ninth Circuit of Appeals that stock-based Read more about Big Tech on the hook for billions in back taxes after US Supreme Court rejects Altera stock options case hearing[…]

The European Commission has launched two separate antitrust investigations into Apple, focused on the App Store and Apple Pay. The executive branch of the European Union said it would consider App Store rules that force developers to use its own payment and in-app purchase system. In a press release, the Commission referenced a complaint filed Read more about Apple Pay and the App Store are under EU antitrust investigation[…]

Voor 495 euro in een private jet naar Ibiza vliegen, met 25 kilogram bagage, luxesnacks en een glaasje champagne. Dat wil de Limburgse luchtvaartondernemer Philippe Bodson vanaf 4 juli onder de naam Flying Executive in de markt zetten. Op wekelijkse basis vanuit Brussel. Een lijnvlucht voor private jets is geen primeur in Europa. Maar de Read more about Belg opent lijnvlucht met private jets naar Ibiza[…]

The following report appeared on Yahoo! Finance: Privacy-focused browser Brave was found to autocomplete several websites and keywords in its address bar with an affiliate code. Shortly after a user published his findings, Brave CEO and co-founder Brendan Eich addressed the incident and called it “a mistake we’re correcting.” Eich said that while Brave is Read more about Brave Browser Mistake Adds Its Referrer Code For Cryptocurrency Sites – quite a big oops also for privacy[…]

Three online advertisers are suing Google for allegedly violating antitrust laws by monopolizing “digital advertising markets.” “Google leveraged its stranglehold on online search and search advertising to gain an illegal monopoly in brokering display advertising on other companies’ websites,” the marketers allege in a class-action complaint filed last week in U.S. District Court for the Read more about Marketers Bring Antitrust Suit Against Google[…]

Expedia Group’s new CEO isn’t mincing words about one of the company’s biggest challenges: Google’s dual role as a rival in online travel, and a key source of customers through search traffic and paid advertising. “I think Google’s a problem — it’s a problem for everyone who sells something online, and we all have to Read more about Expedia Group CEO Peter Kern: ‘Google’s a problem for everyone who sells something online’ – yup, monopolies are bad[…]

Many smart home device makers rely on subscriptions to keep a steady stream of money coming in, but Wink is learning how that strategy can easily go wrong. The company has announced plans to move to a $5 per month subscription on May 13th (yes, just one week from now), and it’s mandatory. Decline to Read more about Wink smart home users have one week to subscribe or be shut off – yay cloud devices[…]

A California state panel on Friday rejected a request from Elon Musk’s SpaceX for $655,500 in state job and training funds, citing the chief executive’s recent threats to move Tesla, the electric carmaker that he also runs, out of the state. The snub comes as Musk has sparred with officials in Alameda County over his Read more about California officials reject subsidies for Musk’s SpaceX over Tesla spat – might have something to do with opening in defiance of Covid orders[…]

A new study from The School of Business at Portland State University suggests that the aggressive cultures of private equity firms, like venture capitalists, might spill over into the companies that they fund. Venture capitalists are often the hidden players in business decision making, and they are funding startups like Uber, SpaceX and AirBnB. With Read more about New study spotlights the dark side of venture capitalist funding – shows it’s also bad for the bottom line[…]