Kalakshar US

Europe has accused Google of “abusive practices in online advertising technology” that could lead to its ad business being split up, the EU Commission wrote in a statement of objections. It found preliminarily that since Google is unlikely to change its behavior, only the “mandatory divestment” of part of its services would address competition concerns.

“Google is present at almost all levels of the so-called adtech supply chain,” executive VP Margrethe Vestager said in a statement. “Our preliminary concern is that Google may have used its market position to favor its own intermediation services. Not only did this possibly harm Google’s competitors but also publishers’ interests, while also increasing advertisers’ costs.”

Google’s ad business is now under attack on several fronts. Earlier this year, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) sued Google to break up its ad business, accusing it of illegally monopolizing the market. That in turn forced key ad tech rivals to abandon the market, dissuade new ones from joining and left the few remaining competitors “marginalized and unfairly disadvantaged,” the regulator said.

There is nothing wrong with being dominant as such. What our investigation has shown though, is that Google appears to have abused its market position. It did so by ensuring that both its intermediation tools on the buy- side and on the sell-side would favour AdX in the “matching” auctions.

The EU Commission said Google is dominant in virtually all parts of adtech via services for both advertisers and publishers, along with an ad exchange called AdX. That would be fine by itself, but it accused Google of abusing its market position by making sure both its buy- and sell-side intermediation tools would favor its own exchange. “In other words, we are concerned about two potentially anticompetitive conducts by Google, which are both about favoring AdX,” the Commission wrote.

In one case, AdX was able to bid after all other bidders had done so, and in another, it was informed in advance of the value of the best bids from rivals. On the supply side, Google Ads placed bids nearly exclusively on its own exchange, giving it a significant advantage over competitor’s exchanges, according to the EU.

The Commission said that any remedy demanding Google change its behavior would be ineffective. “The Commission’s preliminary view is therefore that only the mandatory divestment by Google of part of its services would address its competition concerns,” according to the statement of objections.

Google will now be able to respond to the complaint before any judgement is issued. On top of being split up, the company could face a fine of up to 10 percent of its yearly global turnover, pending any appeal. It’s unusual for the EU to suggest any remedy ahead of a guilty judgement, The Wall Street Journal noted. Engadget has reached out for a statement from Google.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/eu-could-breakup-googles-ad-business-over-antitrust-violations-124549344.html?src=rss 

Vodafone has announced its intentions to merge with Three, pulling together the UK’s two remaining standalone mobile networks. The move comes in a market that has seen major consolidations in recent years between Virgin Media’s merger with O2 and BT Group’s purchase of EE. If regulators approve the deal, Vodafone and Three’s new company will become the largest mobile phone operator in the UK, with an estimated 27 million customers. 

“Three UK and Vodafone UK currently lack the necessary scale on their own to earn their cost of capital. This has long been a challenge for Three UK’s ability to invest and compete,” (Three Owner) CK Hutchinson Group Co-Managing Director Canning Fok said in a statement. “Together, we will have the scale needed to deliver a best-in-class 5G network for the UK, transforming mobile services for our customers and opening up new opportunities for businesses across the length and breadth of the UK.” Vodafone will own 51 percent of the company, while CK Hutchinson controls the rest. 

The merger with Vodafone isn’t the first time Three has tried to couple up with a competitor. In 2015, its parent company announced plans to buy O2 for £10.25 billion ($12.96 billion), but the European Commission and Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked the purchase over concerns of “reduced competition” and “higher prices.” However, O2 was able to merge with Virgin Media in 2021 after the CMA determined that similar concerns were unfounded. Vodafone and Three are attempting to sweeten the latest deal with a promise to invest £11 billion ($13.9 billion) across ten years in the UK’s 5G infrastructure, in line with the government’s targets.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/vodafone-and-three-plan-to-merge-into-the-uks-largest-mobile-network-123642148.html?src=rss 

If you’ve been looking at Shark’s self-emptying robot vacuums, now’s your chance to get one for almost half the price. The Shark AV2501S model, which comes with a base that has a 30-day capacity, is currently 45 percent off at Amazon: It usually sells for $550, but you can get it right now for $300. That’s only a dollar off its all-time low from Black Friday last year. Shark’s AV2501S is a cheaper version of the AV2501AE model that comes with a base that can hold 60 days’ worth of dirt. 

The vacuum uses 360-degree LiDAR vision to accurately map your home and be able to effectively clean it while avoiding objects in its path. It can even adapt to the changes that happen in your house, which are most likely plentiful if you spend any amount of time in it. Once it has a layout of the floor, the vacuum cleans it in a precise matrix grid and takes multiple passes to ensure that it sucks up all the dust, pet hair, dander and debris that it can. 

This particular model can clean for two full hours before it needs to return to its dock and recharge. It has the capability to pick up from where it left off once it’s done charging, and it can automatically empty the dirt it collected into its base, which you only have to empty once a month. In addition, the vacuum supports Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, allowing you to set cleaning schedules and initiate on-demand cleaning simply by issuing voice commands. Of course, you can also do those via Shark’s mobile app, which we found easy to use when we tested it out. 

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sharks-self-emptying-robot-vacuum-with-a-30-day-capacity-base-is-45-percent-off-113146728.html?src=rss