Fines, investigations and insider sales – Blick gives an overview of what’s happening now at Apple, Google and Co.: Authorities target tech giants

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The European Commission filed a lawsuit against major tech companies Alphabet, Meta and Apple on Monday. The companies belong to what Bank of America calls the “Magnificent 7.” Along with Amazon, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla, they constitute the heavyweights of the stock market in the American technology index Nasdaq.

But for several months now, three of the fabulous seven have had a falling out. On the one hand, politicians are changing business models with new requirements. On the other hand, there are signs that the technology boom in the stock market may soon come to an end. Events at a glance.

The EU Commission’s investigation concerns the Digital Market Act, an initiative aimed at limiting the market power of large digital services. Alphabet’s competition watchdogs, in particular, are investigating whether the company is using the Google search results listing for its own competitive advantage. Services such as Google Maps, Google News and Google Shopping should be preferred in the search.

France previously fined Google 250 million euros last week. The group had not made a voluntary commitment from 2022. The starting point was a dispute with French media companies complaining about the unfair use of their content. In addition to violating the voluntary commitment, Google is also said to be using content from publishers to train the AI ​​Gemini without its knowledge.

Apple has been in crisis for a long time. The EU Commission’s latest actions are just the tip of the iceberg. The technology group with the iconic apple logo was fined 1.8 billion euros at the beginning of March. Apple had abused its dominant position in the market in the distribution of its music streaming service Apple Music to iPhone and iPad users.

Last week, US antitrust authorities followed suit: The US government accused Apple of unfair competition. Specifically, it concerns accusations that Apple blocks rivals’ apps, chat services, and games in its own app stores. The group recently had to reauthorize games from European gaming provider Epic Games. He had previously complained that Apple was “making conditions unfavorable for developers.”

In the ongoing process, the EU Commission also has concerns about the application store. iPhone owners cannot delete certain pre-installed applications and are therefore forced to use the company’s services. In some cases, users may need to pay additionally for these services again.

Apple is defending itself against allegations that it threatens the principles that make Apple products “stand out” in a competitive market. But the company also noted that this also sets a dangerous precedent for the government wanting to interfere with the development of the technology.

The focus of the EU investigation is the payment model of Facebook and Instagram platforms, which were introduced in October 2023. Instagram can be used ad-free for a monthly fee of 13 francs. For an additional 6 francs, the ads will also be removed from Facebook; otherwise, personalized ads will be shown to customers. The EU Commission is now examining whether this indirectly forces users to disclose their personal data.

Last fall, the European Commission classified some technology giants, including Meta, as “watchdogs”. Due to their market power, these companies are subject to stricter requirements for their products and offerings. In the case of the meta, the WhatsApp messaging service should also allow messages from other smaller providers. Companies have six months to implement the requirements.

It’s not just politics that’s putting pressure on the image of big tech companies right now. On Wall Street, analysts are observing increased insider selling. Specifically: corporate bosses are selling their own shares – lots of them. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, 60, sold shares of the online retailer for nearly nine billion dollars, according to an analysis by data service Verity.

Peter Thiel (56), the founder of the data information system Palantir, sold shares worth $ 175 million this month, while Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg (39) bought $ 135 million by selling a block of shares for the first time in years.

Analysts say this is not a good sign. Selling out may be a sign of lack of confidence in your company or your valuation. Stock market pundits even go so far as to claim that this is the beginning of the end of the stock market’s tech boom. So it seems like it’s only a matter of time how long the “Magnificent 7” will continue to be spectacular.

Source :Blick