Google admits anticompetitive conduct in Australia, agrees to modest fine
PLUS: Philippines bans gambling payments; Indonesia warns Roblox; China lures young scientists; And more!
ASIA IN BRIEF Google on Monday admitted to anticompetitive conduct in its dealings with Australian telcos.
Australia’s Competition and Consumer Commission on Monday announced a lawsuit against the web giant after it admitted requiring Telstra and Optus, Australia’s two biggest telcos, to only pre-install Google Search on Android phones they sold to consumers between December 2019 and March 2021.
In return for granting exclusivity, the carriers received a share of the revenue Google generated from ads.
Google co-operated with the regulator, admitted liability, and agreed to AUD$55 million ($35.8 million) fine – pocket change for Google given its annual revenue exceeds $350 billion.
Japan’s biggest newspaper sues Perplexity AI
The Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan’s biggest newspaper, has sued Perplexity AI for scraping its content and using it to create derivative works
The paper’s publisher alleges that Perplexity AI acquired 119,467 Yomiuri articles without permission and summarized them in search results.
The publisher asserts that Perplexity users don’t need to visit its website and that the AI upstart therefore violated the right of reproduction and the right to public transmission under the Copyright Law.
The Japanese company wants Perplexity to stop using its articles and pay ¥16,500 ($112) in damages for each story it scraped – $13.38 million in total.
The suit is the first time a Japanese company has sued an American AI company.
China lures young scientists
China has tweaked its immigration rules to create a new class of visa that allows young science and technology pros to work in the country.
Professional services firm Dezan Shira & Associates suggested China made the change to enhance international collaborations and boost its own innovation ecosystem.
Doing so aligns with Beijing’s policy of advancing its economy and geopolitical power through innovation.
Think tank the Australian Strategic Policy Institute believes that strategy is working, with China leading the world in many critical fields across defense, space, AI, quantum technology, cyber, advanced materials and robotics.
Philippines disconnects banks, gambling services
The central bank of the Philippines last week ordered all financial institutions to remove links providing in-app gambling access from their payment apps and websites.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas gave regulated entities just 48 hours to comply, citing “the surge in online gambling transactions and its impact on the financial health of consumers and their families, and considering the broader social cost.”
The central bank said its order is a “suspension” that will remain in place until it finalizes a policy on online gambling payment services.
Three Australian IT services orgs acquired in a week
Offshore buyers acquired three Australian tech services companies last week.
Accenture last week announced the acquisition of CyberCX, a provider of infosec services.
“The move represents Accenture’s largest cybersecurity acquisition to date and will significantly bolster Accenture’s cybersecurity services in Asia Pacific,” the giant consultancy said.
India’s Infosys acquired 75 percent of cloud and digital transformation outfit Versent Group from Telstra, Australia’s dominant telco. Infosys will have operational control, and Telstra will stick around because, according to Infosys , it has “confidence in the shared potential for growth and customer value, combining Telstra’s connectivity, Versent’s local digital engineering expertise, and Infosys’ global scale.”
The third sale saw investment company EQT offload Nexon Asia Pacific, a leading digital and IT services provider, to Adamantem Capital.
Indonesia tells Roblox to clean up its act
Indonesia’s Minister of Communication and Digital Meutya Hafid last week warned Roblox to improve its ability to comply with local child protection laws.
The Ministry asked Roblox to limit communication access between underage users, implement filters for “vulgar user-generated content”, and clarify parental control features.
Lawmakers are concerned that Roblox exposes children to inappropriate content and abuse. The nation’s Department of Education has even suggested kids quit the game.
Indonesia also wants Roblox to open a local office, presumably so officials can grill the company and its officers. ®