UK’s competition regulator asks for views on breaking up Google
The U.K.’s competition regulator has raised concerns about the market power of digital ad platform giants Google and Facebook in an interim report published today, opening up a consultation on a range of potential inventions — from breaking up platform giants to limiting their ability to set self-serving defaults and enforcing data sharing and/or feature interoperability to help rivals compete.
Breaking up Google by forcing it to separate its ad server arm from the rest of the business is one of a number of possible interventions it’s eyeing, along with enforcing choice screens for search engines and browsers that use non-monetary criteria to allocate slots — versus Google’s plan for a pay-to-play offering for EU Android users (which rivals argue does not offer relief for the antitrust abuse the European Commission sanctioned last year).
The U.K. regulator is also considering whether to require Facebook to interoperate specific features of its current network so they can be accessed by competitors — as a fix for what it describes as “strong network effects” which work against “new entrant and challenger social media platforms.”
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched the market study in juli — a couple of weeks after the U.K.’s data watchdog published its own damning report setting out major privacy and other concerns around programmatic advertising.
It is due to issue a final report next summer — which will set out conclusions and recommendations for interventions — and is now consulting on suggestions in its interim report, inviting contributions before February 12.
Since beginning the study, the CMA says it has received several requests to open a full-blown market investigation, which means it has a statutory duty to consult on making such a reference.
Based on initial findings from the study, it says there are “reasonable grounds” for suspecting serious impediments to competition in the online platforms and digital advertising market.
The report specifically flags three areas where it suspects harm — namely:
- the open display advertising market — with a focus on “the conflicts of interest Google faces at several parts of its vertically integrated chain of intermediaries”;
- general search and search advertising — with a focus on “Google’s market power and the barriers to expansion faced by rival search engines”;
- social media and display advertising — with a focus on “Facebook’s market power and the lack of interoperability between Facebook and rival services”;
Other concerns raised in the report include problems flowing from a lack of transparency in the digital advertising market; and the difficulty or lack of choice for consumers to opt out of behavioral advertising.
However, the regulator is not making a market investigation reference at this stage — a step which would open access to the order making powers which could be used to enforce the sorts of interventions discussed in the report. Instead, the CMA says it favors making recommendations to government to feed into a planned “comprehensive regulatory framework” to govern the behaviour of online platforms.
Earlier this year the U.K. government set out a wide-ranging proposal to regulate a range of online harms. Although it remains to be seen how much of that program prime minister Boris Johnson’s newly elected Conservative government will now push ahead with.
“Although it is a finely balanced judgement, we remain of the view that a comprehensive suite of recommendations to government is currently the best way forward and are therefore consulting on not making a market investigation reference at this stage,” the CMA writes, saying it feels it has further investigation work to do and also does not wish to “cut across” the government’s plans around regulating platforms.
“The concerns we have identified regarding online platforms such as Google and Facebook are a truly global antitrust challenge facing governments and regulators. Therefore, in relation to some of the potential interventions we may consider in a market investigation, and in particular any significant structural remedies such as those involving ownership separation, we need to be pragmatic about what changes could efficiently be pursued unilaterally by the UK,” it adds, saying it will “continue to work as closely as we can with our international counterparts to develop a coordinated position on these issues in the second half of the study.”
Antitrust regulators in a number of countries have been turning their attention to platform giants in recent years — including Australia och the U.S.
The new European Commission has also talked tough on platform power, suggesting it will further dial up scrutiny of tech giants and seek to accelerate its own interventions where it finds competitive harms.
Responding to the CMA report in a statement, Ronan Harris, VP, Google U.K. and Ireland, told us:
The digital advertising industry helps British businesses of all sizes find customers in the UK and across the world, and supports the websites that people know and love with revenue and reach. We’ve built easy-to-use controls that enable people to manage their data in Google’s services — such as the ability to turn off personalised advertising and to automatically delete their search history. We’ll continue to work constructively with the CMA and the government on these important areas so that everyone can make the most of the web.
A Facebook spokesperson also sent us this statement:
We are fully committed to engaging in the consultation process around the CMA’s preliminary report, and continuing to deliver the benefits of technology and relevant advertising to the millions of people and small businesses in the UK who use our services.
We agree with the CMA that people should have control over their data and transparency around how it is used. In fact, for every ad we show, we give people the option to find out why they are seeing that ad and an option to turn off ads from that advertiser entirely. We also provide industry-leading tools to help people control their data, like “Off Facebook Activity”, and to transfer it to other services through our Data Transfer tools. We look forward to further engagement with the CMA on these topics.
Shotgun shell wedding placeholders that are up for sale are shamed on Reddit as ‘tacky’ and ‘trash’
A Facebook Marketplace listing that’s advertising shotgun shell placeholders for weddings and similar events has set tongues wagging on social media.
The screenshotted listing, which shows two red shotgun shells with a bride and groom place card, has caught the attention of the “Wedding Shaming” subreddit, a 535,400-member Reddit forum where anonymous users shame wedding themes, brides, grooms, guests and vendors.
“Nothing says classy like shotgun shells!” A Reddit user captioned their screenshotted post on Sunday, June 4, which has received more than 750 upvotes and a “tacky” label.
The Facebook Marketplace listing is advertising over 100 shotgun shell placeholders for $100.
“All cement filled for weight to ensure they wouldn’t blow over. Name cards not included in,” the listing explains.
One Reddit user commented on seeing the shotgun shell placeholder listing discussed in a Facebook group — and that the lister is based in New Zealand, so the price is in New Zealand dollars (NZD).
A Facebook Marketplace seller (not pictured) from New Zealand is listing shotgun shell placeholders for sale — which can be used in weddings and similar formal events. (iStock)
“It’s $100NZD, which is like $60USD,” the person wrote. “Not that it makes it any better. I was shocked it was an actual buy/sell group and people were commenting that they were cool.”
Several Reddit users agreed that they found the seller’s asking price to be steep, since it’s a decor project that can be done relatively cheaply.
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Other members of the “wedding shaming” subreddit questioned the possible message a bride and groom might want to send with shotgun shell placeholder.
“Gives a new meaning depth to a shotgun wedding,” one Reddit user wrote.
“How romantic, giving your guests a bullet with their name on it. Literally,” another user wrote.
Said yet another Reddit user, “So trash. I’m sorry if this offends anyone but guns are horrendous things that ruin people’s lives every day.”
“Why do we get the ugly color?”
This same commenter added, “What’s wrong with having harmless flowers? When did a rose or peony ever commit an atrocity at a school?”
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One Reddit user wrote that the placeholders are a “waste [of] reloadable shells” — and questioned why another color wasn’t used for the wrapping of the shotgun shells, such as pink or purple.
Some wedding hosts add name placeholders to tablescapes when there’s arranged seating for guests — while others skip this entirely for open seating. (iStock)
“Why do we get the ugly color?” the user asked.
Not every Reddit user in the “wedding shaming” forum is against the Facebook Marketplace seller’s shotgun placeholders.
“Is it bad that I kind of love it now?” one user wrote. “It’s tacky as hell but it’s a great joke,” the person added.
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“I actually like this for upcycling, and it is one less bullet in the world,” another user wrote.
“I knew someone who did shotgun shells in their wedding that was not cowboy-themed because someone who had passed in the family had actually made their own ammo with those shells and they wanted that member represented in some way,” another user shared. “Actually kind of cool in my opinion.”
Shotgun shell placeholders seem to be a common decor addition in gun-themed weddings. (iStock)
One Reddit user defended people who might find the shotgun shell placeholders appealing for their wedding.
“Oh, come on … Not all of them are bad etc. I honestly think some [people] are just having fun with it ’cause they can,” the user wrote, which earned more than 10 downvotes.
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“It all depends where [you’re] at,” the person added. “I’ve been to weddings where most had [guns] or [were] carrying,” the Reddit user continued.
“It was fun and interesting and they were very nice people.”
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Fox News Digital reached out to the Facebook Marketplace seller for comment.
Shotgun shell boutonnieres are another gun-themed decor item that grooms and groomsmen have incorporated in nontraditional weddings. (iStock)
The Facebook Marketplace listing was uploaded on Thursday, June 1, in Hastings, Hawke’s Bay, which is an inland city of New Zealand on the east coast of North Island.
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Users of the “wedding shaming” subreddit have generally frowned upon wedding themes that involve guns, including engraved bullet casings, bullet boutonnieres, hunting cake toppers, camouflage attire and wedding portraits with firearm props.
Micro-social media: What is it and which tools should you try?
Handla om seven out of 10 Americans use social media to keep up with each other’s lives, for entertainment, and to stay on top of the news, according to the Pew Research Center. But as many people reach a decade or more of perusing mainstream social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, their attitudes toward social media are shifting.
That’s not to say people are living more of their lives offline, but that people are instead shifting their online presence from general social-networking sites to more niche ones that pander to their interests and encourage online social interaction beyond likes and reposts.
Also: US Surgeon General releases social media health advisory for American teens and tweens
Sites like Twitch, Discord, Reddit, and TikTok encourage people to interact with the content they care about and connect with others, whether they’re talking about food, gaming, movies, or TV shows.
To support this focus on their interests, people are turning to micro-social networks, which are specific to one topic and include fewer users to interact with.
LinkedIn is a mainstream micro-social network because its only purpose is to connect with people about professional topics. BeReal is another example of a micro-social network, as it encourages people to only connect with people they know personally and share updates about their lives.
Also: LinkedIn introduces AI tool to make curating your profile easier
Dörren intill, another micro-social media network, is a digital space where people share updates about local events or happenings.
So, how can you create your own micro-social networking atmosphere online? Group texts that include both iPhone and Android users can be messy and laggy, and private groups on mainstream social media sites exclude those who don’t have an account. Here’s two alternatives.
Create a WhatsApp group
I en WhatsApp group, users can add up to 256 people and control who is in the group. Users can send text messages, GIFs, photos, videos, and documents. And because WhatsApp is available in the Play Store and the App Store, the app is available for iOS and Android.
Also: WhatsApp users can now use Chat Lock to secure private or sensitive chats
WhatsApp is also ideal for any social groups that span borders, as sending messages and making calls internationally on WhatsApp uses your device’s internet connection instead of minutes.
A WhatsApp group is best suited for people who want to mimic a group text without the technical difficulties that can arise for Apple users when texting an Android device.
Create a photo album for sharing
If you’re interested in sharing photos with a group of family or friends, consider creating a shared photo album on Google Photos.
Third-party apps — rather than Apps connected to the device operating system — are better to use in groups of people that mix iPhones and Android phones. That’s because Apple makes a point that only its products, apps, and services work best within its device ecosystem. So, sharing an Apple Photo album with Android users could prove difficult.
Also: How to set up a locked folder in Google Photos on Android
Google Photos works well on iOS; users can share one album with multiple people. Each added person can upload photos, look at photos someone else has uploaded, and leave comments on each photo.
PhotoCircle is another photo-sharing app, but it has an emphasis on sharing shots from an event or occasion. For example, if you’re attending a wedding, you can share photos from the wedding with guests and participants. If you work with people around the country, a shared PhotoCircle album makes it easy to share project-related photos.
Also: 7 ways you didn’t know you can use Bing Chat and other AI chatbots
Users can leave comments on photos shared in a PhotoCircle album, all photos are backed up in PhotoCircle’s cloud, and only people with access to the album can see the shots. Shared photo albums and photo-sharing apps are best for people who prefer sharing photos to sending messages, making calls, or sharing videos.
"Skrämmande": Massachusetts-man avstängd från Facebook efter att ha delat kryptiskt brev om demokratins undergång
A Massachusetts man helped fuel one of the biggest digital dust-ups and social-media mysteries of recent years.
And after he did — Chad Jones then experienced the “terrifying” power of Big Tech titans to silence the voices of ordinary Americans.
He’s now doubling down on his efforts to speak out against tyranny in the digital town square and beyond.
“I went MIA on social media for a while for sharing some pretty innocuous things,” Jones, a venture investor working to bring alternative energy to impoverished nations around the world, told Fox News Digital in an interview.
“The idea that they’re stifling voices as part of the normal course of business is terrifying.”
Chad Jones is a venture investor from Massachusetts who is working to bring alternative energy to emerging-market nations. He was banned from Facebook after he shared a mysterious letter from a California judge that spawned a viral social-media debate. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)
The social-media soap opera began in 2022 when Jones, originally from California, posted on his personal Facebook page a cryptic letter allegedly written in December 2021 by an 85-year-old retired California judge, Keith M. Alber.
The letter claimed that the current endangered state of American democracy was predicted with frightening accuracy in the 1950s.
The judge’s shocking claim spawned a frenzied reaction on social media.
“The idea that they’re stifling voices as part of the normal course of business is terrifying.”
“My first year of college was 68 years ago,” Alber wrote in a brief letter to The Epoch Times in December 2021.
“One class I took was political science. A half-page of my textbook essentially outlined a few steps to overturn democracy.”
Alber’s letter enumerated those steps: “1) Divide the nation philosophically. 2) Foment racial strife. 3) Cause distrust of police authority. 4) Swarm the nation’s borders indiscriminately and unconstitutionally. 5) Engender the military strength to weaken it. 6) Overburden citizens with more unfair taxation. 7) Encourage civil rioting and discourage accountability for all crime. 8) Control all balloting. 9) Control all media.”
The judge’s letter struck home with many readers, including Jones — who felt the textbook from decades ago predicted the crisis of democracy that the nation faces today.
It also spawned heated debate online — with members of each end of the American political spectrum claiming the other side was responsible for the fascist dystopia outlined by the judge.
Many people, however, doubted the authenticity of the letter, especially with the judge’s failure to cite the name of the textbook.
Snopes.com weighed in, claiming last May that it talked to Alber and that the letter was authentic. Alber died later last year.
But, the outlet wrote, “One of the more popular postings of the article came from a Facebook account named Chad Jones. As of mid-May 2022, that post had been shared more than 11,000 times.”
Jones was unaware that his post had gone viral until Fox News Digital contacted him last week.
“The silent majority is no longer silent like they used to be.”
Meta blocked him from his Facebook account soon after he posted the letter. He couldn’t get access to the post, even as it continued to ignite thousands of responses.
“When I looked at the letter, it really struck me as a variation of Saul Alinsky’s ‘Rules for Radicals,’” said Jones when asked what prompted him to share the letter.
Immigrants from Venezuela cover up during a dust storm at a makeshift immigrant camp located between the Rio Grande and the U.S.-Mexico border fence on May 10, 2023, in El Paso, Texas. A mysterious letter written by a retired California judge in 2021 claims that the country’s open border is part of an effort to end American democracy and was predicted in a 1950s political science textbook. (John Moore/Getty Images)
“The whole basis is to tear down our system and build something new and different, something not aligned with our traditional American concepts of individual freedom and personal liberty.”
Thousands of people agreed with Jones; thousands more did not.
It appeared to be a vigorous public debate.
Yet Jones was silenced for sharing the letter that spawned the discourse and the entire post itself has disappeared since.
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Jones reemerged on Facebook months later with an alternate account.
“It seems that silencing voices in the electronic town square falls right in line with what Alber wrote about,” said Jones.
Meta blocked Jones from his Facebook account … He couldn’t access the post – even as it continued to ignite thousands of responses.
He said the experience has only stiffened his resolve to speak out on social media and other platforms.
He feels that “millions of Americans” learned the same lesson when they were silenced for daring to challenge Anthony Fauci, the federal government and media during the COVID-19 panic.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), helped lead the country’s COVID-19 response in the Trump and Biden administrations. He stepped down in December 2022. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“The silent majority is no longer silent like they used to be,” said Jones.
“They’re no longer willing just to take their opinions silently to the voting booth. There are millions of us out there now fighting the effort to silence debate.”
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Jones uses Facebook only socially, he said. So he didn’t suffer any financial or business distress. But he lost plenty personally.
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“The one thing I do miss are the pictures, the memories, the reunion photos. I can’t get back any of it. That kind of sucks,” he said.
“It’s all a little scary because I have kids. What kind of world will they be inheriting if we don’t fight back?”
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