Tag Archives: google

ACCC Fines Google $60 Million For Misleading Representations

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In a Media Release, posted by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC), it announced that it was requiring Google LLC to pay $60 million for misleading representations. In short the ACCC found that Google mislead Android users by making them think that the company was not tracking them.

Here are some key parts of the Media Release:

The Federal Court has ordered Google LLC to pay $60 million in penalties for making misleading representations to consumers about the collection and use of their personal location data on Android phones between January 2017 and December 2018, following court action by the ACCC.

The Court previously found that Google LLC and Google Australia Pty Ltd. (together, Google) had breached the Australian Consumer Law by representing to some Android users that the setting titled “Location History” was the only Google account setting that affected whether Google collected, kept and used personally identifiable data about their location.

In fact, another Google account setting titled “Web & App Activity” also enabled by Google to collect, store and use personally identifiable location data when it was turned on, and that setting was turned on by default.

The Media release continues: The ACCC’s best estimate, based on available data, is that the users of 1.3 million Google accounts in Australia may have viewed a screen found by the Court to have breached the Australian Consumer Law.

Google took remedial steps and had addressed all of the contravening conduct by 20 December 2018, meaning that users were no longer shown the misleading screens.

ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said, “This is the first public enforcement outcome arising out of the ACCC’s Digital Platforms Inquiry.”

In addition, the Media Release makes it clear that consumers can access the “Web & App Activity” and “Location History” settings through their Google Account. Consumers can also delete personal data that Google has already collected about them through their Google account.

The Guardian reported that in April of last year, the federal court found Google breached consumer laws by misleading local users into thinking the company was not collecting personal data about their location via mobile devices with Android operating systems.

According to The Guardian, the case revolved around whether it was sufficiently clear Google would still collect and access location data when a user’s location history was set to “off” but their web and app activity was “on” and one of its apps was used.

In my opinion, any company that thinks it is acceptable to trick consumers into let it secretly collect location (and other types of) data, is in the wrong. It is time for these companies to find a much more ethical way to earn revenue.

Internal Documents Show Tech Giants Pushing Out Competitors

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Internal documents from Google and Amazon provided to Politico show new examples of how companies favor their own products over competitors’ – adding ammunition to the push for Congress to toughen antitrust laws, Politico reported.

According to Politico, the documents, which include emails, memos and strategy papers, were shared by the House Judicial committee, which obtained them as part of its long-running antitrust investigation of Google, Apple, Amazon, and Meta that wrapped up in October 2020 with a 450-page staff report. The documents were cited in the report, but had not previously been made available.

The documents bolster the committee’s claims that the internet giants illegally favor their own products, a practice that pending legislation to update antitrust laws would make more difficult, Politico reported.

The U.S House Committee on The Judiciary posted a Press Release titled: “Judiciary Committee Publishes Final Report on Competition in the Digital Marketplace”. Here are some key points from the press release:

The House Judiciary Committee today formally published the Committee’s Report, entitled “Investigation of Competition in the Digital Marketplace: Committee Report and Recommendations.” The report was initially released in October 2020 as a Majority Staff Report following a 16-month investigation, led by the Antitrust Subcommittee, into the state of competition in the digital economy, with a focus on the challenges presented by the dominance of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google.

In April 2021, the Committee held a markup and formally adopted the Report. The Report totals more than 450 pages, detailing the findings and recommendations from a bipartisan investigation that included documents and communications from the investigated firms; submissions from 38 antitrust experts; and interviews with more than 240 market participants, former employees of the investigated firms, and other individuals.

The Verge reported that the documents show how Amazon and Google pressured independent sellers and smartphone manufacturers to favor their own products and platforms over those of their competitors. In a January 2014 email, one Google executive raised concerns over a potential new Samsung service that could compete with the company’s “core search experience.”

In another email, Google executives discuss how Amazon’s involvement changed the market for personal voice assistants. “Amazon has changed the dynamics here,” the heavily redacted email reads. “Amazon has built-in incentive to partner with Alexa since they will pull you from their store if you don’t support it.” The Verge reported.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the tech companies oppose the legislation, saying it would unnecessarily raise the costs of operating platforms that are popular because they benefit consumers and small businesses. According to The Wall Street Journal, lawmakers backing an antitrust bill targeting big tech companies ramped up their push for a vote by releasing internal tech company documents they say show anticompetitive behavior.

I’m not surprised that the big tech companies are engaging in shenanigans. There is a chance that they could face legal consequences if the vote on the antitrust legislation passes.

CMA Plans Market Investigation Into Mobile Browsers and Cloud Gaming

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The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) posted a press release announcing its plans for a market investigation into mobile browsers and cloud gaming. According to the CMA: Apple and Google “hold all the cards” with interventions needed to give innovators and competitors a fair chance to compete in mobile ecosystems.

More specifically, the CMA is consulting on the launch of a market investigation into Apple and Google’s market power in mobile browsers and Apple’s restrictions on cloud gaming through its App Store. In parallel, it is also taking enforcement action against Google in relation to its app store payment practices.

Previous to this press release, the CMA held a year-long study of the companies’ mobile ecosystems. The final report was published on June 10, 2022. The study found that Apple and Google have an effective duopoly on mobile ecosystems that allows them to excise a stranglehold over these markets, which include operating systems, app stores and web browsers on mobile devices.

Andrea Coscelli, Chief Executive of the CMA said:

“When it comes to how people use mobile phones, Apple and Google hold all the cards. As good as many of their services and products are, their strong grip on mobile ecosystems allows them to shut out competitors, holding back the British tech sector and limiting choice.”

“We all rely on browsers to use the internet on our phones, and the engines that make them work have a huge bearing on what we can see or do. Right now, choice in this space is severely limited and that has real world impacts – preventing innovation and reducing competition from web apps. We need to give innovative tech firms, may of which are ambitious start-ups, a fair chance to compete.”

“We have always been clear that we will maximize the use of our current tools while we await legislation for the new digital regime. Today’s announcements – alongside the 8 cases currently open against major players in the tech industry, ranging from tackling fake reviews to addressing problems in online advertising – are proof of that in action.”

The Wall Street Journal reported that the CMA also announced a traditional competition investigation – which could lead to fines – into conditions Google places on in-app payments in its mobile store. That probe is similar to one the regulator opened into Apple’s App Store last year.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple said that it disagrees with some of the CMA’s conclusions and that it aims to work with the British regulator “to explain how our approach promotes competition and choice, while ensuring consumers’ privacy and security are protected.” Google said that it has “reacted quickly to CMA feedback in the past” and would continue to engage with the regulator.

Once again, it appears that big companies like Apple and Google are playing a game. How much can they get away with – and still avoid facing serious consequences – from the regulators of various countries? It seems to me it would be a lot easier for those companies to just comply with various regulators than to fight them.

Legislation Could Force Breakup of Google’s Ad Business

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A bipartisan group of senators led by Utah Republican Mike Lee introduced legislation that would take aim at conflicts of interest in the advertising industry and force Google to break up its dominant online-ad business, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Senators Amy Klobachar (D-MN), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) are cosponsors of this legislation.

The bill is titled “The Competition and Transparency in Digital Advertising Act”. The purpose of this bill is “to prevent conflicts of interest and promote competition in the sale and purchase of digital advertising.” According to The Wall Street Journal, it would prohibit companies processing more than $20 billion in digital ad transactions annually from participating in more than one part of the digital advertising ecosystem.

Senator Lee commented about the legislation: “Digital advertising is the lifeblood of the internet economy, It supports most of the free content and services Americans have come to rely upon, including local journalism, and it allows businesses of every size to reach their customers quickly and efficiently. Unfortunately, online advertising is also suffering under the thumb of trillion-dollar ad companies.

“Companies like Google and Facebook have been able to export their unprecedented troves of detailed user data to obtain vice grip-like control over digital advertising, amassing power on every side of the market and using it to block completion and take advantage of their customers. The conflicts of interest are so glaring that one Google employee described Google’s ad business as being like ‘if Goldman or Citibank owned the NYSE.”…

The Wall Street Journal also reported that similar legislation is to be introduced in the House of Representatives by Republican Ken Buck of Colorado and Democrat Pramilla Jayapal of Washington. If the legislation becomes a law, companies would have a year from the enactment of the legislation to comply with new rules.

The Verge reported that Google spokesperson Julie Tarallo McAlister said the proposed law would ultimately hurt users.

“Advertising tools from Google and many competitors help American websites and apps fund their content, help businesses grow, and help protect users from privacy risks and misleading ads,” said Julie Tarallo McAlister. “Breaking those tools would hurt publishers and advertisers, lower ad quality, and create new privacy risks. And, at a time of heightened inflation, it would handicap small businesses looking for easy and effective ways to grow online.”

According to The Verge, the bill could require Google to divest majorities of its digital advertising business. Google’s advertising marketplace rakes in billions each quarter for the company, pulling in $54 billion across Search, YouTube, and its ad networks in the first quarter of this year alone. Meta (Facebook’s parent company) could also be similarly affected by this legislation.

Personally, I don’t think it is a terrible idea to have reasonable legislation that regulates the amount of money big companies can take in from selling ads. It would also be nice to have more transparency about the pricing of ads. That information could be really significant for a business to fully understand if the price Google gives them for an ad is too high.

Overall, though, I don’t think it was ever a good idea for Google (or Meta) to choose to rely so heavily on the money that it takes in from selling ads. It is not reasonable to presume that their ad systems would be able to sustain them forever.

Google Announces Pixel Buds Pro

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Google posted on The Keyword “Loud and clear, Pixel Buds Pro are here”. The post was written by Product Manager Nidhi Rathi. Pixel Buds Pro look like earplugs with a large bulb that sticks out of them. My best guess is that this is Google’s way of competing with Apple’s Earbuds.

Have you heard? Google Pixel Buds Pro are here. These premium wireless earbuds with Active Noise Cancellation bring you full, immersive sound – now that’s music to our ears. Pixel Bud Pros are built to work great across our full Pixel portfolio and with other Android phones, and they’re packed with all the helpfulness and smarts you expect from Google.

The Keyword states that you can pre-order Pixel Buds Pro on July 21 for $199. To use them requires a device that runs on Android 6.0 or newer.

According to Google, Pixel Buds Pro uses Silent Seal to adapt to your ear, to help maximize the amount of noise that’s cancelled. And built-in sensors will measure the pressure in your ear canal to make sure you’re comfortable even during long listening sessions.

Once you’re listening to your music or podcast, Volume EQ will adjust the tuning as you turn the volume up or down – so highs, mids, and lows consistently sound balanced. Later this year, Pixel Buds Pro will also support spatial audio. So when you watch a spatial audio-supported movie or TV show on compatible Pixel phones, you’ll feel like you’re in the middle of the action.

Pixel Buds Pro come in four different colors: Coral, Lemongrass, Fog, and Charcoal.

Google says that Pixel Buds Pro charge wirelessly and give you up to 11 hours of listening time or up to 7 hours with Active Noise Cancellation turned on. However, there is a footnote that points out “Use of other features will decrease battery life. Battery life depends on device, features enabled, environment and many other factors. Actual battery life may be lower.”

How does Google’s Pixel Buds Pro compare with Apple’s Airpods?

Cost:
Google’s Pixel Buds Pro – $199
Apple’s AirPods 2nd generation – $129
Apple’s AirPods 3rd generation – $179
Apple’s AirPods Pro – $249

Battery Life:
Google’s Pixel Buds Pro – Up to 11 hours of listening time or up to 7 hours with Active Noise Cancellation
Apple’s AirPods 2nd generation – More than 24 hours with charging case / 5 hours of listening time on one charge / 15 minutes of charging provides up to 3 hours of listening time
Apple’s AirPods 3rd generation – Up to 6 hours of listening time with one charge / Up to 30 hours of total listening time with the charging case
Apple’s Air Pods Pro – More than 24 hours of battery life with the MagSafe Charging Case/ Case compatible with wireless chargers/ Up to 4.5 hours of listening time with one charge/ 1 hour of listening time on only 5 minutes of charging

Colors:
Google’s Pixel Buds Pro – Coral, Lemongrass, Fog, Charcoal
Apple’s Air Pods – White

Google Removed Over 3.4 Billion Ads in 2021

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Google posted their 2021 Ads Safety Report. The information was posted on Google’s Ads and Commerce Blog by VP of Product Management, Ads Privacy and Safety, Scott Spencer. The annual report describes Google’s efforts to prevent malicious use of their ads platforms.

The blog post states that in 2021, Google introduced a multi-strike system for repeat policy violations. They added or updated over 30 policies for advertisers and publishers including a policy prohibiting claims that promote climate change denial and a certification for U.S.-based health insurance providers to only allow ads from government exchanges, first-party providers and licensed third-party brokers.

Google says that they removed over 3.4 billion ads, restricted over 5.7 billion ads and suspended over 5.6 million advertiser accounts. They also blocked or restricted ads from serving on 1.7 billion publisher pages, and took broader site-level enforcement action on approximately 63,000 publisher pages.

In addition, Google says it “doubled down” on their enforcement of unreliable content. They blocked ads from running on more than 500,000 pages that violated Google’s policies against harmful health claims related to COVID-19 and demonstrably false claims that could undermine trust and participation in elections.

Google also added a feature to their advertiser controls that allows brands to upload dynamic exclusion lists that can be automatically updated and maintained by trusted third parties. Google also made targeted improvements to the publisher approval process that helped Google better detect and block bad actors before they could even create accounts.

CNET reported that of the 3 billion-plus ads that were removed, over 650 million were pulled for abusing the ad network, while 280 million violated rules on adult content. Other reasons for removal were related to trademarks, gambling, alcohol, health care and misrepresentation. Google also prevented inappropriate ads from showing up on nearly 2 billion publisher pages, and over 600,000 individual publisher sites received enforcement action.

Apparently, Google has made efforts to remove your personal information from Google Search. Google will remove the following: non-consensual explicit or intimate personal images, involuntary fake pornography, “about me” content on sites with exploitative removal content, select personally identifiable information (PII) or doxing content, images of minors from Google search results, and irrelevant pornography from Google search results for your name.

They will also remove content for legal reasons, such as DMCA copyright violation reports and child sexual abuse imagery.

Overall, Google’s efforts sound like a good thing. I want to believe that Google is returning to its “Don’t Be Evil” motto. Nobody wants the types of unfortunate content listed above to be on the internet – for everyone to see – and Google should have started removing that long ago. Seems they finally got there! I also like that Google has been weeding out the bad ads that are full of misinformation. Most people don’t enjoy watching or viewing ads. The least Google could do is get rid of the worst ones before they go live.

Google Launches Data Safety Sections for Apps on Play Store

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Google has launched a Data Safety feature for apps that are on the Google Play store. This was announced on Google’s The Keyword blog in a post titled: “Get more information about your apps in Google Play”. It was written by Vice President, Product, Android Security and Privacy Suzanne Frey.

Google’s Data Safety features are likely a response to Apple’s App Tracking Transparency. It gives iOS users the ability to not only see what each app on their devices is tracking, but also to stop the apps from doing that. The Keyword blog includes information about what their Data Safety feature does:

We heard from users and app developers that displaying the data an app collects, without additional context, is not enough. Users want to know for what purpose their data is being collected and whether the developer is sharing user data with third parties. In addition, users want to understand how app developers are securing user data after an app is downloaded.

Here is the information developers can show in the Data safety section:

  • Whether the developer is collecting data and for what purpose.
  • Whether the developer is sharing data with third parties.
  • The app’s security practices, like encryption of data in transit and whether users can ask for data to be deleted.
  • Whether a qualifying app has committed to following Google Play’s Families Policy to better protect children in the Play store.
  • Whether the developer has validated their security practices against a global security standard (more specifically, the MASVS).

TechCrunch reported that both sets of labels focus on informing users about how apps collect and manage data and user privacy. There are some key differences. Apple’s largely focuses on what data is being collected, including data used for tracking purposes, and on informing the user what’s linked to them. According to TechCrunch, Google’s labels put a bigger focus on whether you can trust the data that’s collected is being handled responsibly by allowing developers to disclose if they follow best practices around data security.

TechCrunch also reported that the labels give Android developers a way to make their case as to why they collect the data on the label, so users can understand how the data is used. This helps inform the user’s decision to download the app. They can also see if the data collection is required or optional.

Personally, I’m in favor of labels that let people know what an app is going to track and/or collect from them if they decide to download an app. The labels require app developers to be more ethical about why they want to grab a user’s data.