French regulator fines Google $166 million for ‘brutal’ ad suspensions
Google says it was protecting the French public from deceptive websites.
Topic: Regulation
SEO industry ‘a minefield of dodgy practitioners’: Australian official seeks action
Small business advocate is calling for new regulation.
All About the GDPR
While deregulation has been a stateside trend over the past decade, the 28 members of the European Union are gearing up for a massive increase in regulations around data privacy in the form of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — and this regulation will make a splash across the pond as well. Briefly, virtually […]
Google Piracy Algorithm May Be Reviewed By UK Regulators
The Guardian reports that regulators within the United Kingdom will be reviewing Google’s efforts to remove piracy web sites from their search results because they feel Google has not done enough. In August, Google launched the Pirate Algorithm, which is designed to lower the ranking of sites that are repeatedly reported and found to have […]
SEMPO To Feds: Hands Off Google
The search trade association SEMPO sent a letter to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz asking for regulators to restrain their urge to regulate Google. In the letter SEMPO argues “Free-market innovation in the Search industry is a key element in ensuring that the Internet continues to serve humanity’s needs as our reservoir of vital information and […]
Facebook “Frictionless Sharing” Creating Friction With Privacy Advocates, Regulators
Mark Zuckerberg at F8, the Facebook developer conference held last week, exhorted people to “tell their life story” on Facebook via its new Timeline feature. Facebook also promoted new Open Graph apps integration and so-called “frictionless sharing.” But frictionless sharing is already creating a great deal of friction for Facebook in privacy circles and with […]
Deconstructing “Search Neutrality”
The concept of “search neutrality” that has recently emerged is an attractive idea to many, appealing to notions of even-handedness and fair play. However it completely breaks down when one seriously considers its implications in practice. We’ve written a great deal about the challenges and problems lurking behind “search neutrality.” Now in an academic article, […]
Net Neutrality: What Do The New Rules Mean And What’s Next?
The new “net neutrality” rules passed yesterday by the FCC (3-2 along partisan lines) are a kind of “Rorschach test.” Depending on where you sit on the political spectrum or in the internet economy you may see the new rules as “not going far enough” or “a unnecessary power grab by the government.” Some people […]
Google To German Privacy Official: Turning Over Private WiFi Data To You Would Violate Your Own Law
Google continues to bump up against frustrated government regulators around the globe who are convinced that the company is doing sneaky things and willfully violating domestic privacy laws. Yesterday European privacy officials continued to express disapproval and assert that Google’s data retention policies violate its six month data retention rule. Today the NY Times covers […]
Consumer Groups Trying To Preempt Behavioral Targeting For Mobile Ads
The Center for Digital Democracy and U.S. Public Interest Research Group, the same groups that initiated the FTC’s investigation into “behavioral advertising” online, have “amended their complaint” with the FTC to extend to mobile advertising. According to the 50+ page document filed yesterday: Right before the commission’s eyes, many of the same consumer data collection, […]
Google, Yahoo Delay Paid Search Deal
Google and Yahoo said on Friday that they were delaying implementation of their controversial paid search ads deal to allow more time for the Justice Department to evaluate its potential impact on the marketplace. Google had previously said the deal would go into effect as scheduled despite absence of a final regulatory determination of the […]