World News

E.U. Takes Aim at Alphabet, Apple and Meta in Wide-Ranging Investigations

Published

6 months ago

March 25, 2024

Alphabet, Apple and Meta were told by European Union regulators on Monday that they were under investigation for a range of potential violations of the region’s new competition law.

The inquiries are the first that regulators have announced since the Digital Markets Act took effect on March 7, and they signal the bloc’s intention to tightly enforce the sweeping competition rules. The law requires Alphabet, Apple, Meta and other tech giants to open up their platforms so smaller rivals can have more access to their users, potentially impacting app stores, messaging services, internet search, social media and online shopping.

The investigations in Brussels add to the regulatory scrutiny the largest tech companies are facing globally. Last week in Washington, the Justice Department sued Apple for breaking antitrust laws with practices that were intended to keep customers reliant on their iPhones and less likely to switch to a competing device. Google and Amazon are also facing federal antitrust lawsuits.

The E.U. investigations center on whether Apple and Alphabet, the parent company of Google, are unfairly favoring their own app stores to box out rivals, particularly restrictions that limit how app developers can communicate with customers about sales and other offers. Google is also being investigated over the display of search results in Europe, while Meta will be questioned about a new ad-free subscription service and the use of data for selling advertising.

The European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm, can fine the companies up to 10 percent of their global revenue, which for each runs into the hundreds of billions of dollars annually. The commission has 12 months to complete its investigations.

The companies had already announced a number of changes to their products, services and business practices to try to comply with the Digital Markets Act. But in announcing the investigations on Monday, regulators said that their changes did not go far enough.

“Certain compliance measures fail to achieve their objectives and fall short of expectations,” said Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission’s executive vice president, who announced the investigations at a news conference in Brussels. Compliance with the law, she said, “is something that we take very seriously.”

The investigations intensify a yearslong campaign by European regulators to loosen the grip of the biggest tech companies on the digital economy. This month, Ms. Vestager announced a 1.85 billion euro ($2 billion) fine against Apple for unfair business practices related to the App Store. Google and Meta have also been subject to E.U. investigations.

The Digital Markets Act, first passed in 2022, was intended to give European regulators more authority to force the tech giants to change their business practices without the drawn-out process of filing traditional antitrust lawsuits, which can take years to resolve. A key aspect of the law is that the companies cannot favor their own services over similar products offered by rivals.

As part of the investigations, Alphabet, Apple and Meta will now be required to disclose more information to regulators about their business practices. The companies said they had made changes to comply with the new rules.

Among the changes, Apple announced in January that developers would have new ways to reach customers in the European Union, including allowing outside app stores to be available on iPhones and iPads for the first time. Google also made changes to its products, including how it displays search results for flights, hotels and shopping services.

Meta created a new subscription service that allows E.U. users to pay €13 per month if they want to use Facebook and Instagram without advertisements. Regulators said the policy essentially forces users to either pay a fee or agree to have their personal data used to target advertising.

“The commission is concerned that the binary choice imposed by Meta’s ‘pay or consent’ model may not provide a real alternative in case users do not consent,” the commission said in a statement.

A spokesman for Meta said it would “continue to engage constructively with the commission.” Apple said it had “demonstrated flexibility and responsiveness to the European Commission and developers, listening and incorporating their feedback.” Oliver Bethell, the director of competition at Google, said the company would “continue to defend our approach in the coming months.”

Many in the tech industry have wondered how aggressively E.U. regulators would enforce the new competition law. In Brussels, the tech companies have been participating in workshops about how the rules would be carried out. At the same time, many app developers, competitors and consumer groups have complained to regulators that the changes made by the companies so far were insufficient.

“Today’s opening of investigations into Meta, Google and Apple is a sure sign that the commission means business in enforcing the Digital Markets Act,” said Monique Goyens, director general of the European Consumer Organization, a group in Brussels that has been critical of the tech industry.

On Monday, regulators also said they were gathering information about Amazon’s compliance with the Digital Markets Act. Regulators said the company might be favoring its own branded products in its online store, in violation of the law.

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Lucy Letby victims’ families upset at ‘innocence’ claims

Published

40 mins ago

September 9, 2024

Paul Burnell

A solicitor representing the families of six victims of Lucy Letby said speculation about the safety of the nurse’s conviction was “upsetting” for all of her clients.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Tamlin Bolton said: “I can’t stress enough how upsetting that has been for all of the families that I represent.”

Letby was jailed for the rest of her life for the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of seven others at the Countess of Chester hospital.

An inquiry into how Letby was able to commit her crimes is set to begin on Tuesday.

Ms Bolton said the families wanted to “make sure they put their voice across,” but added that they were “restricted by wanting to keep themselves confidential and private”.

“So it’s a really difficult challenge for them to try and avoid social media, avoid the reporting about it.”

Ms Bolton said it was distressing for child relatives of Letby’s victims to see the speculation online.

The solicitor later told BBC Radio 4: “The families are devastated by the reporting at the moment. It is the families that are going through this, continuing to go through this in its enormity and sincerity.

“They are the ones still raising children now, who will have to explain to them one day exactly what happened to them as children or their siblings on that unit.

“If you are going to give an expert opinion on something and hold yourself out as an expert, it’s really important that you have all of the information before you make that declaration or you give that opinion.

“Because anything else outside of that is simply speculation and it would be unfortunate to fall prey to the same trap that you are being critical of when you reference the jury’s decision and the decision of the Court of Appeal.”

Ms Bolton also said said her clients felt there were “still gaps” in their understanding of what happened.

She said: “The duty of candour between the hospital and the parents is one of the key issues of the [Lucy Letby] inquiry: how they were told about what had happened to their children, when they were told and when they should have been informed.

“For a number of the parents, they weren’t even aware that their children had suffered any kind of collapses or incidents on that unit until they were contacted by the police.

“So it’s really important that that’s made clear to them and they can see the full picture, the full story of what happened, particularly given what we’d heard in the press following the criminal trial about the consultants’ efforts to try and raise their concerns about Letby.”

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World News

Hollywood Bowl cancels show after power outage amid L.A. heat wave

Published

9 hours ago

September 9, 2024

Times staff

In a weekend marked by power outages due to extreme heat, the Hollywood Bowl had to cancel its Sunday program after the historic venue lost electricity.

No details were available about the cause of the power outage or how long it was supposed to last.

On the social media platform X, Hollywood Bowl officials said “if a new date for this performance can be confirmed, details will follow and tickets for the original date will be valid for the new performance date.”

Grouplove and Tiny Habits were scheduled to perform.

Both the Los Angleles Department of Water and Power and Southern California Edison reported scattered outages this week, hitting such areas as University Park near USC, Echo Park, Northridge and Valley Glen.

The National Weather Service in Oxnard said that “dangerously hot conditions” would continue in the region through Monday.

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Heat to blame as thousands are without power across San Diego County

Published

11 hours ago

September 9, 2024

Anna Ashcraft

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The heat wave scorching Southern California will continue at least another day and the power grid is working hard to keep up.

The National Weather Service (NWS) reports the record-breaking high temperatures will continue through Monday night for all areas of San Diego County.

VIDEO: Hail falls from sky in Valley Center amid isolated storms

San Diego’s valley areas, including Santee, El Cajon, Escondido, La Mesa, Poway and San Marcos, are under an excessive heat warning until 8 p.m. Monday with temperatures expected in the 100s to 110s.

While San Diego’s coastal areas are under heat advisories through 8 p.m. Monday — San Diego, Oceanside, Vista, Chula Vista, Carlsbad, Encinitas and National City. NWS says high temperatures are expected in the uppers 80s and low 90s near the coast, and 90s to 100 degrees just a few miles inland.

NWS forecast for Southern California on Monday as heat warnings remain in place (Photo: National Weather Service)

As San Diego’s power grid works to keep up with the demand from the record-breaking temperatures, tens of thousands of people across the county were without power Sunday.

A San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) spokesperson told FOX 5/KUSI Sunday afternoon they believe the heat is related to the mass power outages across the county, however they are still investigating the cause.

The spokesperson also took the chance to thank their customers for being patient and said SDG&E crews are working around the clock in the heat to bring back power to all those impacted.

Southern California heat wave brings record temperatures to these areas

At one point Sunday, more than 10,000 people were without power in the Jamacha area, according to SDG&E.

SDG&E's outage map shows power outages across San Diego County Sunday as the record-breaking heat continues to scorch the region (Photo: SDG&E) — SDG&E’s outage map shows power outages across San Diego County Sunday as the record-breaking heat continues to scorch the region (Photo: SDG&E)

As of 5 p.m. Sunday, the SDG&E outage map is reporting the following outages across San Diego County:

San Juan Capistrano
City Heights/ Chollas Creek/ Oak Park
University Heights/ North Park/ Normal Heights
Granite Hills/ Bostonia/ E El Cajon
N Vista
Escondido
El Cajon
City Heights/ Chollas Creek/ Oak Park
City Heights/ Chollas Creek/ Oak Park
University Heights/ North Park/ Normal Heights
Fletcher Hills/ El Cajon
Blossom Valley/ El Monte
Lemon Grove
NE Escondido/ Dixon Lake/ Daley Ranch
University Heights/ North Park/ Normal Heights
Lemon Grove
La Presa/ Spring Valley/ Rancho San Diego

SDG&E reports most of these outages are weather related while the rest remain under investigation.

Meanwhile, many areas across Southern California have been experiencing severe weather amid the high temperatures. Parts of the county this weekend have seen thunderstorms with high winds, heavy rain and hail.

If your power goes out during an extreme heat event, there are several steps you can take to stay cool.

According to the CDC, residents can dress in lightweight clothing, use battery-powered fans to cool your home, stay hydrated, reduce activity, take cool showers, keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed to preserve food, close blinds and curtains to help keep out the sun, along with finding alternative ways to prepare food like grilling outside.

Call 800-CDC-INFO for more information on what to do during a power failure in hot weather.

Those in San Diego County impacted by the power outages can find more information, check the status of an outage and report an outage with SDG&E’s outage map.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News.

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