Google v Yelp; Telegram falls foul of EU regulators; Retail Media Spend Growing

by John Still on 2nd Sep 2024 in News

Yelp is taking Google on, Telegram falls foul of EU regulators, and retail media spend growing..

Yelp is taking on Google in a legal showdown. Yelp is suing Google, claiming the tech giant uses its dominance in web searches to push its own reviews and stifle competition. Yelp's CEO, Jeremy Stoppelman, argues that Google’s practices are keeping higher-quality Yelp reviews from getting the visibility they deserve. This isn't Google’s first legal battle over its market behavior. Google is already appealing two antitrust rulings that name its search business and app store as illegal monopolies. With the massive Google antitrust trial set to kick-off on September 9th, this could mean big changes are on the horizon for how tech giants operate, especially when it comes to monopolistic practices.

Next, it's been a tough week for Telegram, as it now finds itself under the European Union’s microscope. The EU is investigating Telegram for possibly underreporting its user numbers. If Telegram has more than 45 million monthly users, it would need to comply with stricter rules under the Digital Services Act. In February, Telegram reported 41 million users. If the numbers don't add up, they could face substantial regulatory pressures.

Finally, a new ANA report shows that retail media spend will rise 26% this year, to almost $55bn. The report also showed that many advertisers see RMNs as a “have-to-buy” versus a “want-to-buy, and that 63% of brands said retailers’ influence was “a lot of the reason” they used them.