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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is leading 50 states in a bipartisan investigation of Google’s business practices.
The coalition plans to investigate Google’s overarching control of online advertising markets and search traffic, which may have led to anticompetitive behavior.
“Now, more than ever, information is power, and the most important source of information in Americans’ day-to-day lives is the Internet,” Paxton said. “When most Americans think of the Internet, they no doubt think of Google.”
The tech titan is my go-to web browser and search engine; I’ll even admit that I often use “Google” as a verb.
But I also recognize the dangers of monopolistic domination—as do Democrats and Republicans in nearly every state.
According to eMarketer, Google is expected to collect more than $48 billion in U.S. digital ad revenue this year, capturing 75 percent of all spending on search ads in 2019.
“They dominate the buyer side, the seller side, the auction side, and the video side with YouTube,” Paxton said from the steps of the Supreme Court, as reported by The Washington Post.
Other AGs raised additional complaints, covering everything from the way Google processes and ranks search results to the extent of which it may not fully protect users’ personal information.
With that in mind, officials from every state—except Alabama and Silicon Valley home California—as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia have signed onto the bipartisan investigation.
“Google monitors our online behavior, and captures data on every one of us as we navigate the Internet,” Attorney General Ashley Moody, a Republic from Florida, said in a statement.
“This investigation will initially focus on capture of that information and whether Google embedded itself on every level of the online market [for] ad sales to monopolize this industry,” she said.
The Department of Justice, meanwhile, issued its first legal demand for records at the end of August.
“We have answered many questions on these issues over many years, in the United States as well as overseas, across many aspects of our business, so this is not new for us,” Kent Walker, senior vice president of global affairs for Google, wrote in a recent blog post.
“We have always worked constructively with regulators and we will continue to do so,” he added.
Legal experts from each state will collaborate with federal authorities to assess competitive conditions for online services and ensure that Americans have access to free digital markets.
“There is nothing wrong with a business becoming the biggest game in town if it does so through free market competition,” Paxton said on Monday. “But we have seen evidence that Google’s business practices may have undermined consumer choice, stifled innovation, violated users’ privacy, and put Google in control of the flow and dissemination of online information.
“We intend to closely follow the facts we discover in this case and proceed as necessary,” he added.
Past investigations of the tech titan in the US and Europe did not “fully address the source of Google’s sustained market power and the ability to engage in serial and repeated business practices with the intention to protect and maintain that power,” according to Paxton.
More on Geek..com:
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is leading 50 states in a bipartisan investigation of Google’s business practices.
The coalition plans to investigate Google’s overarching control of online advertising markets and search traffic, which may have led to anticompetitive behavior.
“Now, more than ever, information is power, and the most important source of information in Americans’ day-to-day lives is the Internet,” Paxton said. “When most Americans think of the Internet, they no doubt think of Google.”
The tech titan is my go-to web browser and search engine; I’ll even admit that I often use “Google” as a verb.
But I also recognize the dangers of monopolistic domination—as do Democrats and Republicans in nearly every state.
According to eMarketer, Google is expected to collect more than $48 billion in U.S. digital ad revenue this year, capturing 75 percent of all spending on search ads in 2019.
“They dominate the buyer side, the seller side, the auction side, and the video side with YouTube,” Paxton said from the steps of the Supreme Court, as reported by The Washington Post.
Other AGs raised additional complaints, covering everything from the way Google processes and ranks search results to the extent of which it may not fully protect users’ personal information.
With that in mind, officials from every state—except Alabama and Silicon Valley home California—as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia have signed onto the bipartisan investigation.
“Google monitors our online behavior, and captures data on every one of us as we navigate the Internet,” Attorney General Ashley Moody, a Republic from Florida, said in a statement.
“This investigation will initially focus on capture of that information and whether Google embedded itself on every level of the online market [for] ad sales to monopolize this industry,” she said.
The Department of Justice, meanwhile, issued its first legal demand for records at the end of August.
“We have answered many questions on these issues over many years, in the United States as well as overseas, across many aspects of our business, so this is not new for us,” Kent Walker, senior vice president of global affairs for Google, wrote in a recent blog post.
“We have always worked constructively with regulators and we will continue to do so,” he added.
Legal experts from each state will collaborate with federal authorities to assess competitive conditions for online services and ensure that Americans have access to free digital markets.
“There is nothing wrong with a business becoming the biggest game in town if it does so through free market competition,” Paxton said on Monday. “But we have seen evidence that Google’s business practices may have undermined consumer choice, stifled innovation, violated users’ privacy, and put Google in control of the flow and dissemination of online information.
“We intend to closely follow the facts we discover in this case and proceed as necessary,” he added.
Past investigations of the tech titan in the US and Europe did not “fully address the source of Google’s sustained market power and the ability to engage in serial and repeated business practices with the intention to protect and maintain that power,” according to Paxton.
More on Geek..com:
- YouTube Fined $170M For Alleged Child Privacy Law Violation
- LGBTQ+ Video Creators Sue YouTube, Google
- DOJ: Banning Netflix From Oscars May Violate Antitrust Law
Source: Paras Griffin / Getty
Rapper Trina bravely tackled the stage at ONE Musicfest in Atlanta just days after her mother died.
The Miami lyricist’s mother, Vernessa “Nessa” Taylor, died on September 2nd after battling breast cancer. In the wake of her passing, Trina’s camp released this statement: “Thank you all for your kind words and condolences regarding Trina’s mother. It truly gives the family some peace and comfort knowing that ‘Nessa’ lived such a fulfilling life filled with love and abundance.” Trina’s team asks for privacy as the family mourns.”
A few days later, Trina was slated to perform at One Musicfest and showed up despite being in the midst of mourning. The crowd greeted Trina with lots of love and comfort through cheers and encouragement. Trina was visibly overcome with grief on stage.
You can watch below.
• • • • • #trina #trinarockstarr #lhhmia #lhhatl #baddestbitch #diamondprincess #queen #miami #loveandhiphopmiami #citygirls #nickiminaj #cardib #femalerapTrina recently talked to the Recording Academy about a song she dedicated to her mom on her latest album.
“My mom was kinda sick when I was in the studio making this song, and I was in a really down place,” the “Love & Hip Hop” reality star told The Recording Academy at the time.
. “… I called her on the phone, [but] she wasn’t feeling so good, so that inspired the song. I just went into the studio with all these emotions … and that’s how it came out.”
“Respect, admire, love your mom,” Trina continued. “You only get one mom in the entire world. You can never, ever get another one. No matter what happens, one only comes your way, that’s a blessing.”
Just a few months before her mom passed, Trina wrote this about her on Instagram.
“My entire world .. my strength, my weakness, my reason for never giving up, my peace, my joy, my EVERYTHING… 
#TheOne 6/21 
#momma”
Last February, renown voice actor Vic Mignogna was fired after serious and numerous allegations of harassment by fans and co-workers. The accusations included allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and making jokes about pedophilia, homophobia, and/or antisemitism. The response to the allegations caused serious divides in the anime and animation communities. Anime company Funimation (which faces a whole different backlash last week over leaked recordings) cut ties with Mignogna and his co-workers spoke up about how they had tried to draw attention to his bad behavior. But the actor struck back, suing Funimation as well as voice actors Jamie Marchi, Monica Rial and Rial’s fiance Ron Toye for defamation and other claims. After a dramatic hearing and legal wrangling, many of Mignogna’s claims were dismissed last Friday.
The defendants succeeded on a motion to dismissed based on the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA) which protects people from so-called SLAPP suits. SLAPP stands for “Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation” which is a fancy way of saying “suing people for saying mean things about you when you’re a public figure.” This is an important win, because it reaffirms the rights of artists and others to speak out against abusers. Not only are is the bulk of Mignogna’s suit dismissed but he’ll probably have to pay the defendant’s legal fees. Not too shabby.
Elsewhere on the web
Since we’ve talked a lot this weekend about harassment, it’s only puppy dogs and rainbows from here on out. Really. Just watch this video of Chris Evans playing with a puppy at TIFF.
Captain America’s biggest weakness — puppies! @ChrisEvans #TIFF19 pic.twitter.com/XQvtJCnaG1
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) September 7, 2019
While we’re sharing cute things from Toronto, here’s Tom Hanks meeting the cast of Hustlers.
Reporting live from the Variety Studio at #TIFF19: Tom Hanks meeting the #Hustlers
Head to Variety’s Instagram for even more coverage: https://t.co/DrikKkMHok pic.twitter.com/e4XS7E5RrB
— Variety (@Variety) September 8, 2019
Also:
- A look into how life has changed for queer Indians (via Vice)
- Emperial Young has ended her hunger strike to save the OA, but she’s still protesting. (via Emperial Young on Twitter)
- This house looks awesome…if you’re the Blair witch. (via @Nervousjungman on Twitter)
- Castiel is not a puppy, but he’s cute even when he’s kicking butt. (via Entertainment tonight)
And finally, this archaeologist is giving a whole new meaning to rock music.
Archaeologist Dr. Jean-Loup Ringot specialized in prehistoric music demonstrates a Lithophone. 🎵🎶🎵 pic.twitter.com/NvnzXBnRh3
— MBi (@archeometrie) September 6, 2019
(via: CBR, featured image: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
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Rejoice! Writer and director Christopher McQuarrie teased it on instagram, and The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Atwell will be joining the Impossible Mission force in its seventh (yes SEVENTH) go at the cinema, of course opposite franchise star and possible immortal Tom Cruise.
We couldn’t be more excited about this news. We’ve loved Hayley since Captain America: The First Avenger and still mourn the loss of Agent Carter. This, along with the Peggy Carter focused chapter of Disney+ and Marvel’s What If? may just start to scratch our Atwell Itch. Or maybe we should see a doctor about that.
Johnathon Schaech as Jonah Hex — Photo: Dean Buscher/The CW
But that’s not all! In casting news from the DC side of things, Jonah Hex (Johnathon Schaech) will be joining the mega-crossover shenanigans of The Arrowverse Crisis on Infinite Earths. We haven’t seen the tortured, old west law man since the season three finale of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, where he watched a giant, blue plushie defeat a dragon demon (seriously guys, watch this show if you haven’t). Since Hex lives in a different era from the rest of the Arrowverse, this could mean time travel will be an element to the event. Schaech joins an ever-growing roster of Crisis guest stars, including Burt Ward, Jon Cryer and Tyler Hoechlin. We can’t wait to see who else will show up for the party, but if Hex is there maybe it means Beebo isn’t far behind.
Elsewhere around the internet:
- Donald Trump has found yet another way to be corrupt but this time it’s really bad. (via Politico)
- Chuck Wendig out there starting a truly delightful twitter thread of the best pets.
- The CDC shouldn’t have to tell you not to kiss chickens, yet here we are. (via Newsweek).
- Here’s how you can help the Bahamas in the wake of hurricane Dorian. (via Washington Post)
- Joker won the top prize at the Venice Film Festival. (via IndieWire)
Gillian Anderson as … Margaret Thatcher? Okay.
Gillian Anderson will play Margaret Thatcher in The Crown Season Four, now in production. pic.twitter.com/OVCO8o2bVk
— The Crown (@TheCrownNetflix) September 7, 2019
And finally, here’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Andrew Scott (aka Fleabag and Hot Priest) handing out cans of gin (aka Gin in a Tin) to fans.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Hot Priest giving out gin in a tin outside the Fleabag theatre is ❤️ pic.twitter.com/utA7liKbVn
— scouserachel (@scouserachel) September 7, 2019
(featured image: Katrin Marchinowski/Marvel)
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—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—