U.S. states launch antitrust probe of big tech; Google ads in focus

Attorneys general from 48 U.S. states, the District of Columbia
and Puerto Rico have opened an antitrust probe into big tech
companies that focuses on Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL.O), Texas
Attorney General Ken Paxton formally announced on Monday.

Paxton leads the probe, he said, which will focus on Google’s
advertising business.

The Big Tech giants that were once praised as engines of
economic growth with massive efficiencies have increasingly come
under fire for allegedly misusing their clout in the market and
lapses such as privacy breaches.

U.S. President Donald Trump has called for closer scrutiny of
social media firms and Google, accusing them of suppressing
conservative voices online without presenting any evidence.

Google specifically has faced accusations that its web search
service, which has become so dominant that it is now a verb, leads
consumers to its own products at the cost of competitors. There
have also been complaints of potentially anti-competitive behavior
in how it runs the advertising side of its business.

Google said in a statement on Friday that it had not yet been
contacted by state antitrust enforcers but would work
constructively with them.

Separately, a second group of state attorneys general, led by
New York, is focusing on Facebook Inc (FB.O), it was announced on
Friday.

The social media platform, which owns one-time rivals Instagram
and WhatsApp and has more than 1.5 billion daily users, has been
criticized for allowing misleading posts and so-called “fake news”
on its service. Will Castleberry, Facebook’s vice president for
state and local policy, said last week that the company would
cooperate with state attorneys general.

One criticism of Facebook is that it has been slow to clamp down
on hate speech, and it recently paid a $5 billion settlement for
sharing 87 million users’ data with the now-defunct British
political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. The consultancy’s
clients included Trump’s 2016 election campaign.

On the federal level, the Justice Department and Federal Trade
Commission are probing Facebook, Google, Apple (AAPL.O) and Amazon
(AMZN.O), also for potential violations of antitrust law.

Google’s parent Alphabet said on Friday the Department of
Justice in late August requested information and documents related
to prior antitrust probes of the company. The company added in a
securities filing that it expects similar investigative demands
from state attorneys general, and that it is cooperating with
regulators.

Amazon, the world’s biggest online retailer, has been accused of
unfair tactics with third-party sellers on its website, who must
pay for advertising to compete against first-party and private
label sales by Amazon itself.

Apple has come under fire from app developers over practices
like making only iPhone apps available through its official App
Store. The music-streaming app Spotify (SPOT.N) has alleged that
App Store policies make it difficult to compete against Apple Music
for paid subscribers.

State attorneys general have fewer resources than the federal
agencies but have been known to team up to take on even giant
corporations.

Most recently, 43 states and Puerto Rico sued Teva
Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd TEVA.O and 19 other drugmakers in
May, accusing them of scheming to inflate prices and reduce
competition for more than 100 generic drugs.

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Gombe Governor Enrols for Enhanced 10 Year Validity
Passport

The Executive Governor Gombe State Alh Mohammed Inuwa Yahaya has
enrolled for the new enhanced 10 year validity passport at the
Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) Headquarters Abuja.

He was received by the Comptroller General of Nigeria
Immigration Service, Muhammad Babandede during the visit.

The new enhanced 10 year validity passport with NIN is in line
with the directive of the Federal Government for applicants to
provide their National Identification Numbers to be captured in the
new passports.

The Governor commended the enhanced status of the Nigerian
passport and effort of the Federal Government of Nigeria in
supporting the NIS to deliver its mandate which resulted in several
turnkey projects and innovations he saw at the headquarters.

He also promised to support the Service to bring to fruition its
projects in Gombe state and the personnel to enjoy their duty tour
in the state.

DCI Sunday James pcc,
Service Public Relations Officer,
Nigeria Immigration Service