Business

Google Loses Seven-Year Antitrust Fight Against EU

Published

7 months ago

September 10, 2024

Google has lost a seven-year battle with the European Commission as the EU’s highest court upheld a $2.7 billion antitrust fine against the search giant, as reported by Reuters.

Antitrust regulators originally levied the penalty against Google in 2017 for favoring its own shopping service against local rivals.

“Google’s strategy for its comparison-shopping service wasn’t just about attracting customers by making its product better than those of its rivals,” EU commissioner Margrethe Vestager said at the time. “Instead, Google abused its market dominance as a search engine by promoting its own comparison-shopping service in its search results, and demoting those of competitors.”

Google lost its first appeal with a lower court in 2021, sending the appeal to Luxembourg’s Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). The company argued that it was being punished for its dominant position in the market and that the original decision “erred in law by treating quality improvements… as abusive.”

However, the CJEU judges upheld the lower court’s decision that the company is allowed to have a dominant position but not to abuse it. “In particular, the conduct of undertakings in a dominant position that has the effect of hindering competition on the merits and is thus likely to cause harm to individual undertakings and consumers is prohibited,” they noted.

Google is also fighting a legal battle in the EU that could force it to sell parts of its adtech businesses over similar arguments that it favors its own services over those of competitors. The EU commission found that since Google is unlikely to change its behavior, only the “mandatory divestment” of part of its services would address competition concerns. Google has accumulated 8.25 billion euros ($9.12 billion) in EU antitrust fines over the last ten years.

Business

BBNaija Star Nengi Speaks on Motherhood

Published

7 days ago

March 18, 2025

Samson Adeyanju

By Jesusemen Oratokhai

Former Big Brother Naija housemate Nengi Hampson has shared her first public message since welcoming her daughter, Moon.

In a heartfelt post on March 16, 2025, Nengi revealed that she gave birth on February 21, describing motherhood as the most fulfilling experience of her life.

“I was made to be a mum… nothing has ever felt more right,” she wrote, embracing her new journey with joy.

Business

FIRS Pledges Stronger Tax Policy for West Africa

Published

7 days ago

March 18, 2025

Samson Adeyanju

By Adenike Lawal

The Federal Inland Revenue Service has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening tax policy development across West Africa.

Speaking at the West Africa Tax Administration Forum in Abuja, Executive Chairman Dr. Zacch Adedeji stressed the need for better domestic resource mobilization to drive economic growth in the region.

He highlighted the role of effective communication in tax administration, emphasizing that clear messaging is key to building public trust and ensuring compliance.

Dr. Adedeji urged tax professionals to exchange ideas, adopt best practices, and collaborate on improving regional tax systems.

He noted that Nigeria has played a leading role in advancing tax cooperation across West Africa and will continue to support capacity-building initiatives.

Business

CTV Nigeria Debuts on GOtv

Published

2 weeks ago

March 13, 2025

Samson Adeyanju

By Emmanuel Ogbodo

Catholic Television, Nigeria (CTV), has officially launched on the GOtv platform, expanding its reach to millions of viewers across the country.

According to a communication from MultiChoice, the channel went live today, March 13, 2025, at 10 a.m. (WAT) on GOtv channel 115.

It is available on all GOtv packages, from GOtv Lite to GOtv Supa Plus.

This milestone marks a significant step in bringing faith-based content to a wider audience, providing Catholic programming, religious teachings, and wholesome entertainment to subscribers.

With this launch, Catholic TV Nigeria strengthens its presence in the digital space, offering spiritual nourishment to viewers seeking faith-inspired content.