Round-up of the latest industry news – March 2022

Regulatory Watch

Round-up latest industry news March 2022. EU has launched investigation into Google and Meta online advertising deal 'Jedi Blue'.

The EU has launched a new antitrust investigation into an online advertising deal between Google and Meta known as ‘Jedi Blue’. The two companies have been accuses of collaborating to divide advertising profits by agreeing not to use competitors’ services which Margaret Vestager, Commissioner for Competition, described as a ‘giant problem’.

A study from Oxford University on the impact of GDPR in the EU suggests that, while all tech companies have been negatively impacted, the largest players have coped better with the administrative burden and may have grown market share at the expense of smaller firms. The study concludes that, while the regulation has had an adverse effect on sales and profits, the main impact has come from compliance costs.

Spacex has reported losing dozens of its Starlink satellites in a geomagnetic storm. The latest launch consisted of 49 satellites, deployed to 210 km above the earth’s surface on 3rd February. The storm struck the following day, hitting 40 of the satellites.