The details of a long-awaited deal between Google and the EU are finally out. The agreement requires Google to list three competitors in certain types of search listings, and to agree to other, wide-ranging conditions. Read more »
After a two-year investigation into Google’s search business, the feds finally issued a decision. The outcome is a clear win for Google — here’s an easy Q&A about what happened and what it means. Read more »
Many of the biggest stories in the connected consumer space occurred mostly offstage in 2012, from Apple’s new media services to policymakers in Washington. Overall, the past 12 months have laid important groundwork for significant advances in the connected consumer space. The year 2013 should be eventful. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Smartphones can enable an amazing level of connectivity, but they can also allow that activity to be monitored and used in controversial ways. But for mobile marketing to realize its full potential, consumers may need to sacrifice their privacy to one degree or another. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Google is making changes to its search algorithms that will penalize websites hit with copyright-removal claims, but the company is saying very little about what criteria it will use to determine who gets hit and who doesn’t — can we trust it to make the right decision? Read more »
In the first quarter of 2012 all eyes were on the screen, both big and small. Apple’s new Retina display pushed video streaming, and broadcast-TV streaming service Aereo’s launch was quickly followed with litigation. These events and more are discussed in a new quarterly report. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
In the fight to determine who dictates web privacy, web users are like a a chew toy at risk of being torn asunder by two competing dogs — played this week by Google and the European Union. But the best option is empower consumers themselves. Read more »
Is Google’s new privacy policy another sign it has broken its promise and is becoming more evil? Or is the fuss over the new version — which will allow the search giant to share data among its various services — a tempest in a privacy teapot? Read more »
Google is promoting its new “personalized search” features as an enhancement for users, but Twitter and others say the integration of Google+ results uses the company’s dominance in search to promote its own service, an argument that could turn up the antitrust heat in Washington. Read more »
Last week brought alarming accounts about how a firm called Carrier IQ may have used key logging technology to record millions of phone mess… Read more at paidContent »
In all probability Facebook did not agree to implement any procedures in its deal with the FTC that it wasn’t already going to face significant pressure to implement — not from any U.S. authority but instead from the European ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The Federal Trade Commission today released a much-anticipated settlement with Facebook over a series of privacy breaches. The deal has some… Read more at paidContent »
Facebook has settled with the Federal Trade Commission over allegations that it has been deceptive about the amount of privacy users have on the social networking site. The company has also given two executives the title of “Chief Privacy Officer” to oversee its privacy commitments. Read more »
When it comes to the promise of data as the currency of the web, the current state of affairs has privacy advocates and many consumers up in arms. But it doesn’t have to be the one-sided affair it is today, in which companies have all the data and all the rights, and we shouldn’t have to be afraid of who’s doing what with our information. With laws, products, practices and education, data can become a far more valuable currency than cash ever was. Keeping that in mind, this research note examines five issues that must be addressed by policy makers and entrepreneurs so that they can deliver on our data-driven digital future. Companies mentioned in this report include Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Irony alert: The Federal Trade Commission may have just saddled Facebook with 20 years of privacy audits, but that’s not stopping it from ta… Read more at paidContent »
Connectivity changes everything. That’s the credo driving just about every corner of our day-to-day lives. As human beings, we are now connected to one another through not just our social networks but also our cars, the books we read, the albums we download and even our own health and wellness habits (to name just a few areas). With that in mind, GigaOM Pro has singled out certain areas in the technology industry where we see this shift to constant connectivity taking place most drastically. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Being a monopoly may be irritating to competitors, but it’s not illegal. The problem with applying antitrust law to Google is that even if you assume it has a monopoly and is being anticompetitive, it’s not at all clear how that is bad for consumers. Read more »
After years of finger-pointing by competitors, Google is finally coming under the scrutiny of federal antitrust regulators. But just like a similar investigation into Microsoft a decade ago, a federal inquiry into whether Google’s behavior is illegal is likely to be a giant waste of time. Read more »
