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E.U. regulators target Google’s ad-tech business
European Union antitrust regulators may order Alphabet Inc.’s Google to sell a part of its advertising technology business further intensifying trans-Atlantic efforts to diminish the tech giant’s dominance in digital ads, a report from Reuters said. While break-up orders from the EU competition enforcer are rare, frustration has been mounting after Google failed to address competition concerns, the report added.
Google is the most dominant digital advertising platform in the world with a 28% market share of the global ad revenue. The company’s dominance in online advertising has been increasingly questioned over the past few years.
FTC looks to block Microsoft-Activision deal
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission asked a judge to block Microsoft from closing on its $69 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard, warning the companies could move forward this week.
The FTC sued the companies and sought a temporary restraining order warning that Microsoft could begin making changes in the company including entering new contractual relationships on behalf of Activision Blizzard. Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision faced similar opposition in the U.K. with the country’s antitrust regulator blocking the deal saying it could hurt competition in the nascent cloud gaming market.
Centre denies CoWIN data breach
The Union Health Ministry of India said reports of a data breach of beneficiaries who received COVID vaccinations are “without any basis and mischievous in nature”. The ministry also said that the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) had been asked to investigate the issue a submit a report.
The response comes as reports emerged that a Telegram bot was found giving details including personally identifiable data like Aadhaar numbers, PAN, and even Passport numbers in response to the individual’s mobile number.
