Google to make $700m payout to millions of US customers The tech giant has been forced to reimburse US customers and allow more competition on its Play Store after it was accused of using illegal restrictions and overcharging consumers on in-app purchases. It forms part of an antitrust settlement in the US, ahead of a […]
Google to make $700m payout to millions of US customers
The tech giant has been forced to reimburse US customers and allow more competition on its Play Store after it was accused of using illegal restrictions and overcharging consumers on in-app purchases.
It forms part of an antitrust settlement in the US, ahead of a legal battle with Fortnite maker Epic Games, which accused Google of having a monopoly on the mobile app business.
It must also provide an alternative payment system for in-app purchases as well as its own.
Adobe halts $20bn Figma deal after regulatory roadblocks
On Monday the computer software company shelved the deal, claiming there is “no clear path” for antitrust approvals in Europe and the UK for what would have been among the biggest buyouts of a software startup.
Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) last month said the deal would harm innovation for software used by the vast majority of UK digital designers, echoing similar concerns from the EU on the potential reduction of competition. The UK regulators have in recent weeks indicated that it would require remedies for Adobe to divest Figma design, a core asset of the acquisition.
Adobe will pay a termination fee of $1 billion to cloud-based designer platform Figma for backing out.
EU clamps down on Musk’s X over disinformation
The EU commission has opened formal proceedings against X based on several infringements of the Digital Services Act.
“The opening of proceedings means that the Commission will now investigate X’s systems and policies related to certain suspected infringements. It does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation,” said Commission spokesman Johannes Bahrke.
The EU said its probe would also consider the effectiveness of X’s so-called Community Notes system, allowing contributors to comment on the accuracy of posts.
TomTom joins Microsoft on AI-based assistant for vehicles
The digital mapping giant will, with the help of Microsoft, develop an artificial intelligence-driven conversational assistant for cars.
TomTom said the assistant will let users “converse naturally with their vehicles” and provide voice interaction for infotainment, location search, and car command systems.
The voice assistant was developed using a variety of Microsoft services, including its Azure OpenAI. It has been integrated into TomTom’s Digital Cockpit, an open, modular in-vehicle infotainment platform, as well as other automotive infotainment systems.
