Policy Wrap: US Justice Department announces fast-paced schedule for the Google advertising case, RBI Governor urges setting up of a grievance redressal system in digital payments, and more
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US Justice Department announces fast-paced schedule for the Google advertising case
The U.S. Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit challenging Google LLC's practises in the domain of digital advertising technology was given a fast-paced timeline by a federal judge on Friday, moving the case along more quickly than either side had anticipated.
Following a brief hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge John Anderson in Alexandria, Virginia, issued an order establishing January 18, 2024 as the deadline for Alphabet Inc.'s Google and Justice Department attorneys to provide factual evidence and expert reports.
The litigation's accelerated speed might put further strain on both parties, but especially on Google as it builds its defence.
In contrast to the Justice Department, Google said that it need longer time since it lacked the benefit of an investigation "with the federal government's subpoena power."
In January, the Justice Department and eight states had filed a lawsuit against Google, alleging that the corporation had improperly stifled competition in the domain of advertising technology. The lawsuit seeks to compel Google to sell its ad manager suite.
RBI Governor urges setting up of a grievance redressal system in digital payments to ensure public trust
In his speech at the Payment System Operators (PSO) Conference in Kochi on Saturday, March 18, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Shaktikanta Das emphasised the value of having a cost-effective and readily accessible grievance redressal system for digital payments. The grievance resolution process in the digital payments industry, he added, is crucial for maintaining and gaining the public's trust.
The governor of the RBI continued by contrasting the infrastructure of a physical bank with that of the digital world in terms of the resolution of complaints. When it comes to Digital Payments, the difference from the traditional bank branch model is that users find it challenging to identify the proper forum for resolving their complaints.
A user of a digital payment method typically finds it difficult to locate the appropriate forum for filing a complaint, which makes the option more significant to that user. The more people struggle to find a solution to their problems, the less likely it is that they will try digital payments in the future.
As digital payments become more prevalent in India, there is also a chance that operational resilience, cyber security, and data privacy issues could become problems. The RBI governor appealed to the PSOs to always take into consideration online threats and place suitable provisions to combat such risks that can potentially harm the PSOs as well as their customers.
Second leg of Startup20 Engagement Group held in Sikkim
On March 18 and 19, 2023, Gangtok, Sikkim hosted the second meeting of the Startup20 Engagement Group, which was recently established under India's G20 Presidency.
According to a formal announcement, the Startup20 Engagement Group's Finance Task Force convened in Sikkim with the goal of increasing access to money for entrepreneurs by offering funding and investment platforms. Additionally, the task force communicated with the foreign investor ecosystem of G20 countries to synchronise tax and regulatory rules to boost public involvement in startup finance.
Through the publication of a best practises paper on startup investments, it provided entrepreneurs with opportunities for networking, capacity building, and pitching to the global investor community.
The task force talked about establishing bilateral and multilateral partnerships with governments, decision-makers, academic and research institutions, business groups, and international organizations, as well as startups that are particularly interested in sustainable development objectives (SDGs). The task force will also support and promote firms that are working to achieve the SDGs through targeted financing, incubation, and mentorship.
According to the statement, the Inclusion and Sustainability Task Force is determined to identify the unique requirements of startups and entrepreneurs run by women, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ communities, minorities, and other groups, and will support them by providing them with access to the market and financial resources.
Google tracks most amount of data of users amongst Bigtechs
According to prominent VPN service Surfshark Google collects the most user data out of the five big digital companies, which includes Twitter, Apple, Amazon, and Facebook in the list, according to an analysis by StockApps.com. As per the analysis, Google tracks 39 different private types of data for every user. It also mentions that Facebook and Twitter both save more data than is necessary.
It also mentioned that, Apple complies with more customer data requests (82%) as compared to Meta, Google, and Microsoft (72%, 71% and 68%, respectively).