US officials are preparing a new antitrust lawsuit against Google over its power in the online advertising market, according to a Bloomberg report.

Bloomberg cited an unnamed person familiar with the matter as saying the Justice Department could file the litigation by the end of the year.

Google did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment but has held firm that it competes fairly in a very competitive market.

Justice department officials last year sued Google over its dominance in online search and ads, and similar cases have been filed by groups of US states.

US lawmakers advanced blockbuster legislation in June aimed at curbing the power of Big Tech firms with a sweeping reform of antitrust laws, setting the stage for a tough floor fight in Congress.

House Judiciary Committee members approved six bills that take aim at the business practices of Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook.

One of the bills limits the ability of tech platforms to leverage their control across multiple business lines, potentially opening the door to breaking up some of the giant firms.

The bills are headed to the full House of Representatives, where a contentious debate is expected amid fierce opposition from the tech sector and allies. Any bills would need passage through both the House and Senate and the president's signature.

The outcome of the package remains unclear, with lawmakers from both sides breaking from their party.

Twitter lets star users make money from subscriptions
San Francisco (AFP) Sept 1, 2021 - Twitter on Wednesday launched a long-promised "Super Follows" feature that lets creators sell subscriptions for access to special content.

The move came as Twitter strives to be a preferred online venue for clickable stars and to boost its own income in ways that don't clutter the platform up with ads or promotions.

Influencers like makeup artists or sports experts will be able to offer "behind the scenes" content, early access or other perks to their subscribers for a fee ranging from $3-$10 per month.

"With Super Follows, people can create an extra level of conversation on Twitter to interact authentically with their most engaged followers - all while earning money," Twitter product manager Esther Crawford said in a blog post.

"Creating Super Follows content is for anyone who brings their unique perspectives and personalities to Twitter to drive the public conversation."

Crawford noted that the list of such personalities includes activists, journalists, musicians, writers, gamers, astrology enthusiasts, beauty experts, comedians and more.

Twitter had been testing the Super Follows feature, and said it officially launched with a small group of creators in North America.

The option to follow participating creators will roll out globally to people using Twitter on Apple mobile devices in coming weeks.

The feature will be eventually brought to smartphones powered by Google-backed Android software as well as to the twitter.com website reached through browsers, according to Crawford.

Twitter will take no more than three percent of subscriptions as a transaction fee until a creator rakes in $50,000 at the platform, at which point Twitter's share rises to 20 percent, according to the San Francisco-based company.

App store fees, which can be as much as 30 percent of transactions, are paid by creators selling the subscriptions.

Twitter recently added ways for popular users to take gratuities with a "Tip Jar" feature, or make money from online events hosted in "Ticketed Spaces."

The company, which has more than 200 million active users, is looking for new ways to generate revenue without further more advertising.

Google to appeal 500 mn euro French fine in copyright row
Paris (AFP) Sept 1, 2021 - Google on Wednesday said it is appealing a decision by France's competition watchdog to hand it a 500-million-euro ($590 million) fine in a row with news outlets over the use of their content under EU copyright rules.

"We disagree with some of the legal elements, and consider the amount of the fine to be disproportionate compared to the efforts we have put in place to reach a deal and respect the new law," Sebastien Missoffe, head of Google France, said in a statement.

The fine, issued by the French Competition Authority in July, was the biggest in the agency's history for a failure to comply with one of its rulings.

The watchdog said Google had failed to negotiate "in good faith" with media companies in a long-running legal battle over the internet giant's use of snippets of articles, photos and videos in search results.

The row has centred on claims that Google has used this content in its search results without adequate compensation, despite the seismic shift of global advertising revenues towards the search giant over the past two decades.

In April last year, the French competition authority ordered Google to negotiate "in good faith" with media groups after it refused to comply with a 2019 European Union law governing digital copyright.

The so-called "neighbouring rights" aim to ensure that news publishers are compensated when their work is shown on websites, search engines and social media platforms.

Last September, French news publishers including Agence France-Presse (AFP) filed a complaint with regulators, saying Google was refusing to move forward on paying to display content in web searches.

While Google insists it has made progress, the French regulator said the company's behaviour "indicates a deliberate, elaborate and systematic lack of respect" for its order to negotiate in good faith.

The Competition Authority rebuked Google for failing to "have a specific discussion" with media companies about neighbouring rights during negotiations over its Google Showcase news service, which launched late last year.

Missoffe insisted Wednesday that Google "recognises neighbouring rights, and we remain committed to signing agreements in France".

"We have extended our offers to nearly 1,200 publishers and modified aspects of our contracts," he said, adding that the company has "shared data demanded of us in order to conform to the Competition Authority's decision".

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S. Korea bans app payment monopolies in world first
Seoul (AFP) Aug 31, 2021
South Korean MPs on Tuesday passed a law banning Apple and Google from forcing app developers to use the tech giants' payment systems, effectively declaring their lucrative App Store and Play Store monopolies illegal. The bill was approved by 180 votes to nil in the National Assembly, making South Korea the first major economy to pass legislation on the issue, in a move that could set a precedent for other jurisdictions around the world. In the United States three senators this month introduced ... read more