Google and Facebook face might of legislatures and regulators

Taking on the titans, Andrew White, The Weekend Australian, Saturday:

(Rod Sims) hasn’t seen anything quite like the tech titans — particularly Google and Facebook — for their cavalier attitude towards the interests of their billions of users around the world.

Transparency needed, BBC, Friday:

Australian regulators plan to launch the world’s first office dedicated to scrutinising algorithms used by tech giants such as Facebook and Google. The idea is to reveal how these companies match adverts to users. A new, special branch of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission is to carry out the work … “These companies are among the most powerful and valuable in the world,” said Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. “They need to be held to account and their activities need to be more transparent.”

Why not use French wine as a bargaini­ng tool? Angela Charlton, Associated Press, Saturday:

France is pushing ahead with a landmark tax on tech giants like Google and Facebook — despite US President Donald Trump’s threats of retaliatory tariffs on French wine. After Trump slammed the “foolishness” of the tax in a tweet and promised reciproc­al action, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said “France will implement” it anyway.

Business reporter Dan Asche, BBC, Wednesday:

The US Department of Justice has announce­d what many consider to be a long-overdue investigation into the tech giants. But should the likes of Google, Amazon and Facebook be worried? The decision to probe whether tech firms are competing properly follows heightened scrutiny of the companies in Washington. And it comes as Facebook is expected to be fined $5 billion for privacy violations.

Soo Rin Kim, American Broadcasting Company, Saturday:

Democrats vying for presidential election in 2020 are finding themselves caught in a Catch-22 as they spend millions to take advantage of the sway social media giants have on voters as they criticise big tech as having­ too much power.

Matthew Knott, The Sydney Morning Herald, July 20:

Brad Sherman, a Democrat congressman from California, went the furthest on Wednesday when he argued that Facebook’s new crypto currency project, Libra, may cause more damage­ to Americans than September 11 (terrorist) Osama bin Laden.

Matt Egan, CNN Business, June 5:

Washington, hopelessly divided on countless critical issues, has found a common enemy in Big Tech. That bipartisa­n backlash poses a threat to the epicentre of the decade-long bull market. Facebook, Google owner Alphabe­t, Amazon and Apple tumbled­ on Monday after media report­s revealed that US regulators have laid the groundwork for potential antitrust investigations of these dominant tech companies.

Ryan Tracy, The Wall Street Journal, July 16:

Concerns about the power of the major technology companies echoed across the nation’s capital on Tuesday, with politicians in both parties demanding more regulatory scrutiny of the tech giants’ reach and plans for expansion. In three hearings which were focused on Facebook (anti-trust subcommittee chairman David Cicilline said: “In an effort to promote and continue this new economy, congress and anti-trust enforcers allowed these firms to regulate themselves … But as a result, the internet has become increasin­gly concentrated.”