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FAANG Report: Amazon and Facebook facing problems from EU; Google fined by Turkey's competition body

Published: 11:08 20 Sep 2018 EDT

The symbol of the EU.
Amazon and Facebook are coming under fire from the EU.

European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager is questioning merchants on Amazon.com Inc's (NASDAQ:AMZN) use of their data to secure an advantage in selling products against those same retailers, a report by CNBC said.

The anti-trust probe comes as the world's largest online retailer faces growing calls for regulation. Investors and insiders have long cited Amazon's size and reach as reason to break the company up, the report said.

Vestager has the power to fine companies up to 10% of their global turnover for breaching EU antitrust rules. Earlier this year, she levied a record US$5bn fine against Google related to its Android business. She also launched an "in-depth investigation" into Apple and its purchase of music recognition app Shazam.

Amazon stock rose almost 1% to US$1,945.26. 

Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has also been warned by the EU commissioner in charge of consumer protection, Vera Jourova, that it will face sanctions unless it changes its misleading terms and conditions, a report by the Guardian said.

The social media giant has been given until the end of the year to change its terms of service, as Jourova voiced frustration at a dialogue that has run for two years already.

Penalties for breaching consumer law differ across the EU’s 28 member states and the commissioner did not specify any financial penalty.

Facebook shares added 1.3% to US$165.23.

READ: Amazon should split retail and web segments to avoid anti-trust scrutiny, says Citi Research

Turkey's competition authority said it had fined Alphabet Inc's Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) US$15mln for violating competition laws with its mobile software sales, a report by Reuters said.

In a statement, the competition authority said Google LLC, Google International and Google Reklamcilik were given six months to make the necessary changes in order to "reinstill effective competition in the market and end the violation".

Separately, a former Google engineer said he would not be surprised if the Dragonfly search engine for China moved forward despite the potential backlash from human rights groups, a report by Yahoo Finance said. 

Vijay Boyapati said the market in China is simply "too big for them to give up," he said.

Google shares increased 0.95% to US$1,182.23.

READ: Trump administration to spare Apple tech products from next round of tariffs on Chinese goods

Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been more successful than others in avoiding policy blowbacks from President Donald Trump and lawmakers, a report by CNBC said.

Apple's best known products such as its watch and wireless headphones would not be affected by the Trump administration's latest round of tariffs against China.

"Apple is really differentiating itself on privacy right now and protecting its customers from an increasingly hostile digital environment," said the managing director at Elevation Partners, Roger McNamee. He cited privacy improvements that Apple has made to its payment software, maps, and facial recognition.

Apparent disregard for consumers' privacy is something that has gotten Apple's peers in trouble on Capitol Hill, McNamee said. 

 

Apple's stock went up 1.34% to US$221.30.

Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) has announced it will bring "Avatar: The Last Airbender" to the streaming service, a report by IGN said.

Beginning production in 2019, the show will be helmed by original series creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael DiMartino. Netflix will partner with Nickelodeon to bring the magical world back to television. There is no word yet on how many episodes will be shot or who will be cast in the leading roles, the report said.

Netflix stock eased 0.5% to US$365.09. 

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